MY▼MILKY▼WAY is back with another single. Rejet‘s resident “cute” unit bring us “Kashimashi Love“, their second single, one that will certainly erase our initial doubts about it.
Single: カシマシLOVE Label: Rejet/Pitagoras Release date: 14/09/2016 Genre: J-Pop
Tracklist:
01. カシマシLOVE 02. Hand in Hand 03. カシマシLOVE -off vocal- 04. Hand in Hand -off vocal- 05.ミニドラマ「ピタゴラスアイドルの休日 ～MY♥MILKY♥WAY編～」
Track by track analysis:
01. カシマシLOVE
With a funky bass taking the lead for the first time on a MMW release, we’re presented with “Kashimashi Love“, a track that easily makes us forget the messed up debut release by this unit. Well, besides the funky bass that is really at the core of this track, we also need to point out the synths, something that seems to be essential for this cross unit since day 1. But if you’re thinking “oh god, the synths will be annoying again“, then don’t worry. They don’t hinder the song to the point that you’ll want to change songs. In result the instrumental mixes a bit of synth driven pop with the technicality of the slap bass, a mix swiftly done that will grab your attention. Vocally we need to thank the gods. There’s no more “cute” way of singing within this song, which is a blessing. Everyone sounds incredibly well and melodic throughout the whole track, a delight to listen to. 4.5/5
02. Hand in Hand
On a quiet note, “Hand in Hand” exudes a different charm from this unit. With a simple instrumental rooted on a looping delicate piano melody, each and every member gets to showcase his vocals without anything distracting in their way. The instrumental alone is pretty basic and laidback, sounding cute and sweet without being obnoxious to the listener. Vocally we have everyone on point delivering each of their lines in a gentle, careful way – even Suzuki that was asked to sing in a “cute” way again. This track is a tie with the title track in terms of quality. Despite the fact that this instrumental is simpler than the previous tracks’, it doesn’t lack as much in the vocal department as you’d expect (despite IwaD insisting on changing the vocal tone when everything would have sounded well if it wasn’t changed). It turned out to be an interesting track. 4.5/5
Final rating:
A lot of things changed this time around and My Milky Way are finally sounding more pleasing to the ears. The instrumentals seem to have been revamped and we got not only a little bit of funkiness with the mesmerizing bass line for “Kashimashi Love“, but we also got a simple, sweet song to finish this release coherently. On the vocal department we need to thank the gods for the little amount of “cute” singing on this release. Someone might have realized that by asking KENN and Yuto Suzuki to sing in a “cute” way they were wasting their vocal talents, in result the title track has everyone singing pretty close to their usual registry and the difference is abysmal in comparison with “Magical RuRuRuRu“. The same can’t be said for the second track but it wasn’t as annoying as it turned out with their debut single. Funny enough, Someya seems to be the one to escape all attempts to sound even remotely “cute” on MMW‘s releases.
In the end “Kashimashi Love” is a clear upgrade from that shabby debut release. We can only expect things to get better from here on – if this formula is upgraded, we’ll certainly be presented with something surprising next time around.
“Kashimashi Love” is available for purchase on CDJAPAN for all overseas fans.
[…] [As previously reviewed] With a funky bass taking the lead for the first time on a MMW release, we’re presented with “Kashimashi Love“, a track that easily makes us forget the messed up debut release by this unit. Well, besides the funky bass that is really at the core of this track, we also need to point out the synths, something that seems to be essential for this cross unit since day 1. But if you’re thinking “oh god, the synths will be annoying again“, then don’t worry. They don’t hinder the song to the point that you’ll want to change songs. In result the instrumental mixes a bit of synth driven pop with the technicality of the slap bass, a mix swiftly done that will grab your attention. Vocally we need to thank the gods. There’s no more “cute” way of singing within this song, which is a blessing. Everyone sounds incredibly well and melodic throughout the whole track, a delight to listen to. 4.5/5 […]