We’ve entered December, which all however ensures a gentle stream of ballads from each Okay-pop and J-pop. This softer vitality tends to be fairly seasonal, as listeners search coziness over musical bombast. Japan has an particularly insatiable urge for food for ballads, making NiziU’s AlwayS the right launch for this time of yr.
AlwayS begins life as a simple piano ballad earlier than remodeling halfway by. OST-style manufacturing is briefly changed by skittering percussion, echoing the drum and bass sounds discovered in lots of current releases. Then, the music’s balladness (is {that a} phrase?) comes again full pressure with a flourish of electrical guitar. To my ears, this final portion of the music is most profitable. However then once more, I occur to take pleasure in a dramatic association.
As thrilling as these instrumental shifts are, AlwayS by no means finds melodies as charming. Nice ballads are all about melody, and on first pay attention I walked away from AlwayS with little recall of how the music really went. Too typically, it appears that evidently the melodies are merely tracing comparable traces to different present ballads. However with no distinctive calling card of its personal, AlwayS passes by with out a lot impact.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Manufacturing | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
Grade: C