Miyu Irino‘s “Boku no Mitsuketa Mono” strays away from the rock sound in “E=mc²“. With the expectations high after that, does this one lives up to the hype?
Title: Boku no Mitsuketa Mono Label: Kiramune Release date: 08/05/15 Genre: J-Pop
Tracklist:
1. THE REVUE 2. 不埒なセッション 3. Happy Day 4. アジサイの花束 5. 月と僕の距離 6. 見果てぬ世界、繋がる想い
Track by track analysis:
1. THE REVUE
The slow tempo drums, the brass, a funky bass, and the melodic piano do the honors in this track. A trip back to a jazzy night back in the 20’s/30’s is in order with this track.
It’s simple but incredibly addictive right from the intro.
Laidback, classy, and jazzy instrumental – a fatal trio that demands strong yet smooth vocals that only Miyu can deliver impeccably. Interesting track to kick off this mini-album, let’s see if the momentum keeps up.
2. 不埒なセッション
We’re provided with a complete 360º from this track. Kicking off with rap bits but quickly calling the guitars into the mix, 不埒なセッション shows us a different side to Miyu‘s music.
The mix between rock, pop, and jazz fit surprisingly well in this track, besides the fact the intro might induce you in error because this is not a hip-hop/rap track at all.
Somehow the chorus sounds like it could be from GRANRODEO, it has that excitement and power without being aggressive that only GR knows how to deliver, yet this track is from Miyu and it sounds great nevertheless.
It’s also safe to say that Daisuke Namikawa and Kenichi Suzumura (fellow seiyuu and Kiramune peers) provided the vocals to the rap bits in the intro and ending parts of the track.
The first 20 seconds into the track were golden and if the guitar parts kept going in that direction this track could have easily been one of the more interesting ones in the mini-album. Still, it is energetic, catchy, and fun.
3. Happy Day
Trademark Miyu‘s debut days pop track. Simple, resorting instrumentally in the piano, slow drums, and the bass to give the listener that bright “aura” that his music usually has around.
This song leaves a whole lot of space for Miyu to showcase his vocals and that’s exactly what he does in this track.
With no problems whatsoever maintaining his keys throughout the track while showing us how steady his vocals are Happy Day turned out to be a solid track yet, as a whole is a bit bland.
Lacks some excitement, twists, a powerful outro, or something of the sort. Not bad but could be a whole lot better because the vocal performance was pretty solid.
4. アジサイの花束
Going back to Miyu‘s pop-rock focused on the acoustic guitars we find アジサイの花束, an upbeat track where guitars, bass, and drums reign with no opposition.
Instrumentally wise just take a look at the outro and the bridge that impress with both the guitar solo as well as the sweet moment with Miyu alongside with piano as his only accompaniment. Beautiful melody and execution in the instrumental.
On the other side, Miyu fits like a glove in the whole track, the genre where he shines the best is pop-rock and this track simply confirms it. It’s a performance full of emotion that grabs you from the very first second and that is something to commend.
5. 月と僕の距離
Slow, emotional, and mesmerizing might be some of the words used to describe this beautiful track. The setting: Miyu and a piano. Simple isn’t it? And it’s more than enough to impress everyone.
As a ballad, 月と僕の距離 keeps things really raw and doesn’t require any other instrument to complement it. Very close to an acapella, this is a hard track to sing for the wide majority of singers because you have no backup to save you from a slightly poor performance.
You’re basically stripped of everything presenting only your voice alongside the piano. Miyu fared well in this song. To notice that he has no special or trained vocal traits like vibrato or even the ability to make falsettos but his bare voice, as gentle and tender as it is, does the job with full marks. Less is definitely more.
6. 見果てぬ世界、繋がる想い
Energetic, upbeat is the way we complete this mini-album. 見果てぬ世界、繋がる想い brings back the whole “band” environment that was missing in the previous track and those elements add to the excitement surrounding the promotional track for this mini-album.
The pop lyrics along with the laidback, fun alternative rock instrumental mix to their best making this one of the most entertaining tracks in this release.
The vocal performance was steady but had its highs when Miyu reached for the higher notes in the chorus. Overall a good track and a solid way to complete the mini-album.
Final considerations
Miyu got rid of the synths and heavy guitars from “E=mc²” and decided to embrace jazz as well as some elements previously used in his first releases.
The result is that “Boku no Mitsuketa Mono” sounded fresh at times, a bit overplayed at others, but in the end, this release is entertaining, youthful, and catchy, with its obvious highs and lows.
Definitely not Miyu‘s best release to date but it’s not a bad one.
The highlights lie on THE REVUE and 月と僕の距離, the two tracks that really brought something new to the table. The jazz elements that have been the “trend” in the latest Kiramune releases made their way into Miyu‘s music and impressed. On the other side, the completely stripped 月と僕の距離 is a pearl in Miyu’s repertoire.
If you ask us if it’s worth purchasing this release the response won’t be 100% one way or the other. If you’re a die-hard Miyu Irino fan then it’s worth it. If you’re looking for great, exciting, solid releases, I’d say that the majority of Kiramune artists this year have released better music than him.
“Boku no Mitsuketa Mono” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
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