Review Summary: Incoherent, yes, but still fairly enjoyable.
Egoist (stylized as "EGOIST") have an interesting story behind: they are a fictional band existing in the world of a japanese cartoon called "Guilty Crown", but in the real world they consist of a singer named Chelly and a songwriter/producer named Ryo (known to work with Supercell). They should have made only this album, but a new single came during 2013, and now something more is expected. Alright, the history lesson is over.
The album begins with Chelly gently singing the short opener "Genzai no Akari", leading into the second track "The Everlasting Guilty Crown", which breaks the quiet atmosphere with the sound of an electric guitar and keeps evolving thanks to its layered structure blending synths with guitar riffs (which, unfortunately, are hard to hear) and leading into a big and infective chorus. This is a really promising start, but unfortunately the follow up is not what one would (and should) expect. The third track goes in fact with a full electronic sound and breaks the build up that the first two tracks just created with its laid back rhythm.
From this point, the album seems to enter an identity crisis. It goes through a little rocker, it goes through a sugary j-pop tune, it goes through a filler (containing some really questionable synths and acute sounds), then it decides that it's time for pop again. It also thinks that the listener should listen to some 8-bit beats (?!). And finally, how to end the album? With ballads, of course! Even better: with four ballads! There is a ballad for everyone. Acoustic guitar? Check. A little orchestration? Check. Piano? Check!
Aside from the questionable tracklisting, listen after listen something becomes clear: on their own, the songs work. As an album, this is a mess... but that doesn't mean that the songs are necessarily bad. The title track has a lot of growth value, and makes for a pleasant listen with its layers of synths. "Lovely IceCream Princess Sweetie" (yes) is a funny pop tune that can count on its variety (it even has a couple of guitar solos). "Departures ~Anata ni Okuru Ai no Uta~" is a good and relaxing ballad that sadly suffers from the problem of being the fourth ballad in a row.
Not mentioning the quality of the vocals would be a crime. Chelly has a truly good voice that works well during the album and its style changes. A good example of her performance would be the title track. Her voice feels serious here, and it can feel cute in the poppier songs. On a side note, she is pretty young (she was 17 years old when she joined Egoist).
Overall, this album has some severe flaws. It's not coherent, it has filler, it has a weird tracklisting (why putting so many ballads at the end?), it has a good start up that leads nowhere. Anyway, most of the songs are enjoyable and some are even relaxing. Plus, it has a good production and a very good singer. Recommended for j-pop listeners.
Recommended tracks:
The Everlasting Guilty Crown
Extra Terrestrial Biological Entities
LoveStruck
