Shouta Aoi’s “Collage” is, easily, one of the best albums of 2024. A show stealer of a statement mini-album that makes me want more and more from him.
Review
Title: Collage
Label: King Records
Release date: 04/12/2024
Genre: Rock/Pop/Dance/Ballad
Tracklist:
1 - FALL
2 - Magic Of Love
3 - ハイドアンドシーク
4 - そのままで
5 - Da La La
Track by track analysis:
1 – FALL
This mini-album kicks off with “FALL”, song featuring composition by one of visual-kei’s greats, Lynch.’s Hazuki.
The song kicks off with dirty guitar riffs and intense bassy drums, powering their way in a way that makes me wish Shouta Aoi would perform visual-kei rock more frequently.
The verses bring minimal synths in the background, in a way being a take on Shouta Aoi’s usual electronica sound, but it is kept to a bare minimum, serving as an accent in what is, easily, Aoi’s heaviest song to date.
When it comes to the chorus, you’ll find yourself wanting to scream along with the lyrics. The way the instrumental opens up with those overdriven guitar riffs in the background feels grandiose and high stakes, keeping you on your toes while headbanging like crazy.
When the bridge arrives, guitars go low and dirtier, giving away to a shredding guitar solo that feels too brief – in my opinion – before clashing with Shouta Aoi’s powerful tenor vocals.
This is an unbelievable opening to an album, easily the best opening song to an album released by a male seiyuu artist in 2024.
2 – Magic Of Love
The tone changes completely to “Magic Of Love”, song that brings a loungy dance sound with atmospheric synths leading the way in the intro before rewarding listeners with a retro-style pop tune.
The main melody instantly grabbed my attention. Those distant synths give a futuristic vibe to this song, delicately painting the soundscape as the bass and the arpeggio synth lead in the background creating an addictive and dreamy sound you’ll want more of.
I love the downtempo in this song, making this dance tune more about the good vibes and the performance on vocals while still being danceable and a lot of fun to listen to.
The chorus to this song will – if the song hasn’t yet by now – grab your attention. I’m not one to enjoy EDM tunes with a cutesy vibe but this chorus is something else completely. It had me glued to my seat, bobbing my head like crazy as I let the infectious beat take over.
It has disco influences as well as the simplicity of early 00s pop music. The punchy bassline put a massive smile on my face as well – if you love a good, deep and groovy bassline, this song delivers that.
When it comes to the vocals, Shouta Aoi also changed things around. His voice is softer, higher, and youthful, suiting the sweet tone in this downtempo dance tune.
This is how you nail a cute pop EDM tune, making it both sweet and incredibly addictive without sounding cheesy or repetitive.
3 – ハイドアンドシーク (Hide and Seek)
The song is followed by “Hide and Seek”, another change in tone and vibe within this eclectic release. A jaunty piano leads the way insanely fast and with quite the interesting changes in key going on in there.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg as this fast-as-hell track has a simple, relentless beat, atmospheric synths and an underlying Latin Jazz vibe that is only taken over by the dominating pop sound.
The second verse slows things down for a bit, muffling vocals, and stifling the instrumental briefly before changing dynamics and adding clarity to this intense tune.
When the chorus kicks in you’ll have a massive smile on your face. This song is crazy fun and the chorus will stick in your head without you noticing.
I think that jazzy piano had me going but then the unusual singing style and tempo got me so into this one that, by the time the song wrapped up, I hit replay.
On vocals, you can expect Shouta Aoi to bring a lot of energy to this performance. While he is steady and punchy in the verses, he speeds up and adds more and more energy to this tune the further you get into it. In the chorus, expect him to bring plenty of falsetto to complement the fancy piano melodies going on in the background.
This is quite the unhinged and fun performance by Shouta Aoi.
4 – そのままで (Sono mama de)
Shouta Aoi comes forward with “Sono mama de”, a song for which he wrote lyrics. This song kicks off with delicate strings, a sweet acoustic guitar, and a beautiful piano melody.
This is going to be a tearjerker and you know it. The instrumental subdues when the verses kick-off, leaving the spotlight for Shouta Aoi’s sweet vocals, close to you, almost lullabying you. The piano is gentle in the background, adding a layer of beauty to those major key melodies.
In good ballad fashion, the song is slowly adding new elements to itself as the song progresses to make it sound more powerful and impactful. And believe me, this one is quite the song!
The chorus already counts with electric guitars and live drums, marching their way into this song and adding power and more emotion to the performance.
I love especially how Shouta Aoi’s falsetto and high notes shine with those emotional strings playing in legato in the background as the piano goes solo during the outro. It is such a memorable ending to this song.
Once again, whenever Shouta Aoi writes lyrics to a song you know the performance is going to blow you out of the park. “Sono mama de” is that song for him.
5 – Da La La
And wrapping up this release is “Da La La”, song that brings a strong K-pop sound to the spotlight. The bassline is dirty and tight, and the beat is addictive, with the hi-hat leading the way.
I can see dashes of inspiration from artists like Taemin, blending masculine power with an androgynous beauty to the performance. This is addictive, delicate yet extremely intense.
The chorus is simple but let me tell you, it demands a powerful choreography. The bass is deep, the synths tight and impactful while the beat is steady and composed throughout.
The ruffling of the drums in the second verse was such a neat detail to stop the song and make the lyrics sink in. This song is not for the faint of heart. Shouta Aoi went all in to make fun of critics, haters, and everyone who can’t enjoy his music for what it is: a form of art.
When the bridge arrives and the synths take over, the soundscape opens – sounds less “in your face” – and, for a brief moment, everything echoes in the background, atmospheric synths adding another layer of beauty to this song.
In the outro, I love the way his vocals blend with the background. Also, the style and poise in those is something… WOW. This is a statement song, this is a message to haters. And I love how classy he sends that message. Go off, Shoutan!
Final considerations
Shouta Aoi wrapped up 2024 with a sleeper hit – easily a top 3 best album of the year. “Collage” is powerful, a statement entry in his repertoire, showcasing a versatile solo artist who is having a ton of fun with him music, performances, and overall aesthetics.
I’m not one to be too big on dance tunes but “Da La La” is song of the year for me. A statement to shut up the haters and everyone else who simply doesn’t know how to enjoy things – or stay away from things they don’t like. It is a look into the person behind the artist and how Aoi copes with criticism – and as you can tell, he’s pretty much aware of all the criticism as he addresses that in the lyrics. The song is also ridiculously addictive, having a unique duality to it – the sort of cutesy intro that then shifts into a powerful song in which there are both delicate and intense charms working in tandem. The song matches the ironic tone of the lyrics and music video only complements that – throwing people off with the cutesy look and choreography and powerful lyrics.
The rest of the mini-album is amazing as well, it opens with a rock tune that is tailored to highlighting Shouta Aoi’s vocals, putting him front and center without any distractions. ” FALL” is the perfect example that Aoi can and absolutely nails rock music when it is tailormade for his vocals, not just for show – like in previous releases.
“Hide and Seek” kept me coming from more with its jazzy sound – a first in Shouta Aoi’s repertoire (and hopefully not the last!). “Magic of Love” will cater to longtime fans of his sweet pop sound and “Sono mama de” shows yet again why Aoi should write more of his lyrics because every single song he pens is beautiful.
All in all, Shouta Aoi’s “Collage” is, easily, one of the best albums of 2024. A show stealer of a statement mini-album that makes me want more and more from him.
“Collage” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN and Amazon Japan (they ship internationally).
Source: Shouta Aoi official website
