In “Air Quotes”, CHISE focuses on the concept of “Beauty” for this CD, bringing “Diremption” and “Diamond” to the spotlight.
CHISE is voiced by Wataru Komada.
Review
Title: Anthos* 2nd solo series -Air Quotes- “CHISE” Label: AIЯRIDE RECORDS. / Movic Release date: 05/10/2023 Genre: EDM/Pop
Tracklist:
1 - Diremption 2 - Diamond
Track by track analysis:
1 – Diremption
A distorted synth melody and a clap track open the doors for “Diremption”. Slowly, atmospheric synths make their way into the verses, adding a dreamy layer to this track.
As you get closer to the chorus, strings and a progressive hi-hat-driven beat join in to raise the tension to the slow-paced chorus.
Expect fancy synth stabs leading the way, a groovy bassline, and a simple beat + clap track to be more than enough to make you dance along to this tune.
The second verse is completely different in vibe, having much more happening in the instrumental in comparison with the first one. The drums and the bassline carry over from the chorus to this part, adding a bit more dynamic to this song.
On the vocal end, Wataru Komada is singing fairly well, using a double track for more power on the delivery but besides that, he’s doing an awesome job in this groovy song.
Strong, strong kick-off to this CD.
2 – Diamond
“Diamond” shows a different side to CHISE bringing a beautiful harp as the lead in the intro and verses. The song focuses on beauty and with that as its concept, the harp is responsible for the main melody of this song, a first for anyone in Anthos*.
Things change around in the pre-chorus, with polysynths joining in and making the instrumental more crowded and, should I say, really busy on those high frequencies which, for some people, may make the chorus really hard to digest.
In my case, I’m not fond of the chorus exactly because of that excessive focus. If you love your heavy EDM music, then the chorus will have the opposite effect on you as it caters to fans of EDM music.
Expect as always sassy lyrics coming from CHISE. “You’re not on my level” is quite the powerful statement in a song about being flawless like a “Diamond”. For sure I’ll give him credit for confidence and sassiness yet again.
And yet again, Wataru Komada is performing in English, and yet again we get a strong performance. Even if his pronunciation may not be the clearest, 90 to 95% of what he is singing is clear and clean and with a lot of flair to boot!
I’ve been loving his performances in English so please keep them coming!
While far from perfect, “Diamond” has the makings of a statement song wrapped up in a shiny EDM sound. However, it lacked a layer of “perfection” to make it truly shine in this CD.
Final considerations
Honestly, I was expecting a powerful release like “Persona” was.
While we didn’t get that with CHISE’s entry in the “Air Quotes” digital single series, it goes without saying that this is a fun entry.
CHISE focuses on the concept of “Beauty” for this CD, bringing “Diremption” and “Diamond” to the spotlight. Both songs have an underlying dreamy vibe, courtesy of atmospheric synths however, they end up being two songs that have little in common.
“Diremption” focuses more on being groovy while “Diamond” goes for a unique charm that brings the exterior beauty and delicate vibes from the harp and hard-hitting interior from the powerful beat. It is as if the song is a direct representation of CHISE himself, which is a neat detail.
Also, the lyrics in “Diamond” had my full focus. This is a song performed in English, it is sassy again – yes, I do love it when CHISE gets sassy – and quite the confident statement.
For me, the only thing lacking is a toning down of the synths in the chorus as I feel those are too overwhelming – in a bad way – for my taste.
All in all, I was expecting much more from CHISE’s “Air Quotes” CD taking into account how he was flawless before however, a change in composers and a completely different approach to himself in this CD led to interesting changes with mixed feelings for me.
What is Hana-Doll*?
Hana-Doll* is an idol project created by Movic (TSUKIPRO, VAZZROCK, Tsukiuta, etc.). Anthos* and Loulou*di are groups signed to the fictional talent agency Amagiri Production.
All CDs in this franchise include drama tracks and songs by each group.
Anthos* consists of Kent Ito, Wataru Komada, Toshiki Masuda, Shunichi Toki, Daiki Hamano, Seiichiro Yamashita, and Shun Horie.
Loulou*di consists of Toshiyuki Toyonaga, Shunsuke Takeuchi, and Daiki Yamashita.
“Air Quotes” is available for streaming on Spotify.
Do not support piracy. Remember to support Anthos* by streaming via official outlets.
