Anthos* keeps its music groovy and fun with a ton of maturity while bringing a ton of new things to the table in “Q”.
Anthos* features vocals by Kent Ito, Wataru Komada, Toshiki Masuda, Shunichi Toki, Daiki Hamano, Seiichiro Yamashita, and Shun Horie.
Review
Title: Human or Doll: Q
Label: AIЯRIDE RECORDS. / Movic
Release date: 17/01/2025
Genre: Dance/R&B pop
Tracklist:
1 - Project Archive: A 4-1
2 - Project Archive: A 4-2
3 - Project Archive: A 4-3
4 - Project Archive: A 4-4
5 - Project Archive: A 4-5
6 - Q.E.D.
7 - No Drama
Track by track analysis:
6 – Q.E.D.
Anthos* opens the curtains to this CD with “Q.E.D.”, song bringing distorted low synths as the background builds up for the addictive beat that will instantly make you jam along to this tune.
The song is incredibly bassy in the verses, with a slow pacing to the hi-hat-driven beat – quite simple yet massively effective – and a deep bassline – heavily edited to the point that it feels more like a tuba than a bassline. I’m making a crazy comparison, but that’s what I felt when listening to this part for the first time.
The build up to the chorus goes all ethereal with atmospheric synths leading us to one of the most stylish choruses Anthos* has delivered. I especially love how downtempo and self-contained it is and also, how vocals-focused it is this time around. I love the discreet synth stabs, adding a layer of elegance to this performance, perfectly complementing the vocals.
The outro has a couple of interesting things going on in there. First, the Middle Eastern-inspired melody playing in this section, then the cool arpeggio run – programmed, as that would be insane to play on a live instrument – that leads up to a quieter section all about its ethereal vibe, creating the perfect stage for the vocals.
When it comes to the vocals, I love that this time we don’t have the normal structure of pairing up the main vocals and then the sub-vocals and rappers on the other side. This time around, the members are shuffled, adding some unpredictability to the performance because you don’t know if there’s a rap section coming or belting by the main vocal line. I love this to this performance as it keeps you guessing.
And the truth is, this song is just pure groovy vibes with smooth vocals on top. And yes, everyone is singing this time around – the rapping is really soft and there’s no rap section per se.
7 – No Drama
And wrapping up this release is “No Drama”. The song kicks off with an acappella and, oh boy, the whole vibe to this song is so early 90s hip-hop mixed with early 00s R&B pop and I was all in as soon as it started playing.
The song is quite minimalistic in its composition, featuring a deep bassline, acoustic guitars, and a groovy bassline, all mashed up with scratches and fades from the turntable.
I love the dramatic build-up to the chorus, with the main vocals subtly bringing more tension to the performance, leading up to one of the most refreshing choruses I’ve heard in the past couple of years.
While this song has nothing genuinely new – nothing truly is, my friends -, the throwback to two different eras and the perfect mashup took this song to different heights. This is a genuinely fun, inventive and refreshing song in Anthos*’s repertoire.
And honestly, I wanted more of this, alas the song is pretty short.
Final considerations
The kick-off of the 4th season of CDs for Anthos* brings us “Human or Doll: Q”. So, I don’t about you but I enjoyed how different yet familiar this release sounds.
On one hand, the music is as groovy and fun with a ton of maturity as ever. But, on the other hand, it brought a ton of new things to the table for Anthos*, mostly instrumental-wise.
In “Q.E.D.”, the dark synths mixing with a dirty bassline – extremely distorted and low – was something I was not expecting. Still, the group has done something similar before, not fully, but certainly, elements or how some parts in this song were approached were nods to previous songs by the group.
Then, in “No Drama”, you’ve got the mix of two of the best eras in music history, especially for fans of hip-hop and pop: the 90s and early 00s. The song is plenty of fun, bringing turntables elements to the song made the whole mashup feel like it was happening as the song played, which was plenty of fun.
Also, on the vocal end, I was all in for the acappella opening “No Drama” and how “Q.E.D.” kept me guessing where the belting and rapping parts would go and the thing was… this song was fully focused on the singing and everyone was performing on such a high level that I couldn’t help but smile as I listened to the song.
All in all, Anthos* keeps their sound fresh and inventive in “Human and Doll: Q”.
“Human or Doll: Q” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
