Album Rating: 4.0
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but to deem this album EDM ignores as much of its character and composition as comparisons with seiko et. al. hence, discussing this album by reference to songwriting pop but not hardcore techno (or vice versa) feels like rendering an incomplete account of what it is: a rare meeting point of EDM and pop, more precise than the synthpop and electropop we're familiar with, most of which is just pop but with the guitars swapped out for electronics imo. i saw a complaint on rym that the vocals on this werent mixed loud enuf and that's because this material is truly driven by the production as much as (and sometimes even more than) the vocals. mariko's vocals rarely ever draw focus away from the production, partly because of how they're written, and partly because of the production's pervasive foregrounding in the mix. the result is that the vocals and production feel like they're bound inseparably without ever overwhelming or subjugating one another; the production is not merely a backdrop or accompaniment to the vocals as it so often is in mainstream pop. only other japanese artist i can think of off the top of my head who's achieved such a masterful synthesis of techno and pop is zin-say from almost 40 years ago. so it's quite a unique and refreshing work in the current landscapes of both japanese pop and electronic music; it brings the two together in a way that few have been able to do before, and that deserves acknowledgement beyond a mere "electropop" tag
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