XlamV‘s 3rd EP, “Landscape”, impresses with an out-of-the-box set of songs that will leave you in awe.
Review
Title: Landscape
Release date: 05/03/2025
Label: REISEN RECORDS
Genre: Trap/Jazz-pop/R&B
Tracklist:
1 - The Chain
2 - Work Drama Track [Morning TV Show]
3 - Invitation
4 - Work Drama Track [Afternoon TV Show]
5 - Spark
6 - Work Drama Track [Evening TV Show]
7 - About Us
Track by track analysis:
1 – The Chain
A deep, aggressive trap beat with a distorted bassline and dramatic brass hits opens the door to “The Chain”. Oh boy, this intro is quite a statement from the group.
The verses are intense and violent, albeit incredibly slow-paced, bringing those urban hip-hop vibes that XlamV excels at. There isn’t a lot going on in the background in purpose, creating a dark, gritty, and intense soundscape that puts your full focus on the vocals.
The build-up to the chorus changes things around and gets more melodic and softer on the instrumental, with the soundscape opening with atmospheric synths creating a soft background to the vocals.
I feel that the chorus where this song misses the mark for me. The chorus is quite short, and repetitive, and nothing pretty much happens in there. Yes, it’s a cool build-up from the powerful verses, but it doesn’t serve as a tension-reliever or the climax to this song, at least, in my opinion.
Also, the bridge cranks up the tension with the steady snare-driven beat and dirty synths in the back as the group repeats the same two sentences over and over again.
Once again, this song does have strong K-pop vibes, so maybe, if you’re expecting a bit more depth on the vocal end, this song slightly missed the mark. But if you came for the vibes and poise, oh boy, they deliver that and some more!
3 – Invitation
“Invitation” follows up and now XlamV brings a French-inspired jazzy, fancy sound led by snap fingers, brass, and a deep bassline.
The verses bring acoustic guitars to the mix, playing to your right, as the beat keeps its steady, bouncy tempo, complemented by the punchy bassline as the vocals shift from clean singing to a rap section leading up to the pre-chorus.
The soundscape is quite exclusive and private and you feel that by how close XlamV’s members are to the listener.
And oh boy, those high notes in falsetto leading the way into the chorus? That’s a thing of beauty.
When the chorus kicks in, you’ll be jamming like crazy to this song. The vocals are exciting even if that section is brief – it really feels incredibly short.
And because XlamV still has more surprises up their sleeves, expect a stylish piano solo as the brass adds a bright and fun element to the song, neatly wrapping up this song.
5 – Spark
The intro synths in “Spark” give off strong 80s pop vibes, dreamy, distant, yet slightly distorted. The soundscape feels like a shattered dream, filled with underlying allure with feelings of attraction and love seeping through.
However, there is much more to this song. It slowly builds up to one of the most stylish mid-tempo dance tunes when it gets to that chorus. The soundscape opens and welcomes a jaunty, reverberating piano melody echoing in the background as electric guitars play to your right, muffled in the background.
But can we talk about the vocals? This song may capture your attention with its progressive dance vibes mixed with R&B, but the vocals are the selling point for me. The work done on this front is unbelievable.
These high notes, the falsetto, the harmonies, the warm and full mid-toned vocals in the chorus, and then the R&B touch given by Tasuku Hatanaka and Makoto Furukawa to this performance is something that made me loop this song more times than I expected when I first pressed play in this song.
“Spark” certainly kept me coming for more and more with a refreshing and unique sound not only in XlamV’s repertoire but also in the 2D music scene.
7 – About Us
And wrapping up this release is “About Us” with dreamy atmospheric synths serving as the backdrop to the fun beat leading the way to this groovy song.
The verses are a blast, with the vocals being a highlight, going fast and stylishly as rap takes over midway through the melodic parts. That resulted in quite an unpredictable vocal line that kept me on the edge of the seat.
The ethereal, dream-like soundscape feels like it puts you at center stage, enjoying the performance, with the backing vocals playing behind you while the leading ones are panned around you at the front. I love this as a whole. The separation between vocal layers and the instrumental itself kept me coming from more in this song.
When this song wrapped up, I was begging for more of that beautiful falsetto, high notes, harmonies, stylish rap, and dreamy vibes. What a song. Wow.
Final considerations
“Landscape” is quite a unique entry in XlamV’s repertoire. With songs that defy the norm in pop music composition and bring in new genre blends for the group to explore, this release will keep long-time fans on edge, not knowing what’s coming while it’ll be a rock solid intro to the group for newcomers.
“Spark” stands out the most in this release with the most unique composition in the group’s repertoire. I was not expecting to have a song that doesn’t follow the traditional pop composition structure, which is usually what makes pop music addictive, but then again, XlamV has been all about approaching pop in refreshing ways.
This song certainly flips the script and delivers something genuinely unique for you to discover. For some people, it may sound slightly odd on a first listen but believe me when I say that this is the best song in this release.
All in all, XlamV’s “Landscape” is a refreshing entry in their repertoire, showing that the group not only continues to be one of the most interesting 2D pop groups at the moment, but also that they have the vocals to match all the intensity, technicality and uniqueness of their sound and performances.
What is VS AMBIVALENZ?
VS AMBIVALENZ is a 2D music project by NIZISTA. It has a pretty unique format in which only 7 out of the 14 members were chosen through voting that went on from 2021 up until late 2022.
XlamV (read: Kranve) consists of Jintaro (CV: Chiaki Kobayashi), Nagomu (CV: Shintaro Asanuma), 39YEAH↗ (CV: Makoto Furukawa), Issei (CV: Kengo Kawanishi), Lion (CV: Tasuku Hatanaka), Auguri (CV: Ayumu Murase), and Subaru (CV: Reiou Tsuchida).
To get to know more about this project, please refer to THTFHQ’s extended article about VS AMBIVALENZ.
“landscape” is available for purchase at Amazon Japan (they ship internationally) and CDJAPAN.
vanessa-chan!!!! olhe pra eles não lembra loulou*di vibes?!
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