Irino Miyu takes an interesting turn with “E=mc2”, embracing a matured and intense pop-rock driven sound that suits him.
Title: “E=mc2” Release date: 19/02/2014 Label: Kiramune Genre: Pop-Rock
Tracklist:
1 - Bing Bing Knight 2 - Loud! 3 - それでもなお 4 - さらば、君よ。 5 - 日々 6 - どこまでも
Track by track analysis:
1. Bing Bing Knight
A pop-rock song to kick off the album “Bing Bing Knight” is one of the best songs Miyu Irino has released so far.
With raging guitars, speedy drums, and aggressiveness in his vocal work, Miyu seems to have changed a bit the original direction of his musical career, his bright pop from singles like “Faith” and the mini-album “Advance” seem to be a thing from the past with this new sound.
The vocal work is incredibly technical and well done showing that Miyu Irino not only is getting old but he’s evolving with the times getting better with every release he makes.
2. Loud!
“Loud!” makes its way in this mini-album with a more electronic, synth-driven instrumental than the previous track but still sounding completely different from his previous releases.
Bits of voice manipulation here and there but without a doubt giving an interesting twist to the track, almost like an 80’s rock vibe to it.
Guitars are back again leading the spotlight on a track slightly milder when in comparison with the energetic “Bing Bing Knight”.
The synths fell in the right places and come out as a good plus to a great track. Overall solid vocal work delivered by Miyu sounding right on track with this one.
3. それでもなお
Now we’re looking at a track full worked by Miyu Irino. Miyu was in charge of the music and lyrics on this one and yet again it shows another side to his music.
Taking a more acoustic route on this track we are presented once again with a rich instrumental with soulful guitar riffs and the addition of the acoustic guitar to make things more interesting.
“Soredemo nao” is a solid track with a good feeling behind it, one of those laid-back pop-rock tracks that will put a smile on everyone’s face. Interesting to listen to what Miyu Irino sounds like when he himself is on the helm.
4. さらば、君よ。
“Saraba, kimi yo” comes off as the weakest track in the mini-album.
Turning slightly towards the already known territory, this track sounds a bit like some of Miyu’s releases, “Cocoro” comes to the mind quite a few times while listening to this track.
Still, when listening to this track you get a weird feeling about it, maybe it’s the instrumentalization but the track gives a little of season feel because it sounds like a Christmas song. Big ideas but these seem to fail in the end with this track.
5. 日々
With lyrics were written by Miyu Irino “日々” goes again to that acoustic sound we found in “Soredemo nao“.
With acoustic guitars, noticeable bassline, piano, and full focus on the vocals this track is a bit more laidback and yet giving that cheerful vibe from it. Taking a look at the vocal work we can say that Miyu seems to have improved an awful lot which turns out to somehow improve his overall sound with those secure highs and lows that, in the past, were a bit shaken and not that certainty behind it.
6. どこまでも
Reaching the final track in this mini-album we’re presented with “Doko made mo” (Forever).
Back to the pop-rock pace dictated by “Bing Bing Bright”, “Doko made mo” comes off as a great way to end the mini-album, making things come to full circle.
A track that makes good use of the guitars, delivering a good solo in the outro, the quick drums, and the highly noticeable bassline from start to finish setting the upbeat pace to the track gives another boost to the track.
A strong finish for this mini-album.
Final considerations
This is Miyu’s strongest, most solid, and most interesting release to date with a lot of good highlights.
“E=mc²” seems to be like a full trip to a whole new sound in Miyu’s repertoire and a good trip to boot. Like some people say “I’m not getting older, I’m leveling up” this seems to fit Miyu’s sound that sounds like it has matured settling for a more pop-rock-driven sound.
It resorts more to the full band sound with the guitars making their way to the spotlight, the bass that now, more than ever, is put to good use, and the synths that come to guitar a more “retro” feel to his sound.
He’s grown as a singer and that is clearly noticeable in this mini-album with him on the helm directing his sound for two occasions. His vocals seem more sure of themselves, his highs and lows are more precise, and overall his mid-toned voice is giving its best in this release.
Big highlights in this mini-album are “Bing Bing Bright” and the daring “Loud!“. These two tracks come off as the engine in this release with a new approach that didn’t fail in the end to bear fruits.
Looking at the mini-album’s title it seems that Miyu was trying, from the very beginning, to experiment with his sound and in the end, the formula used turned out to give good results. This is Miyu Irino at his best.
E=mc² is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
