Review Summary: A refreshing take on the Midwest Emo subgenre chock-full of interesting & lush musical ideas, spearheaded by an obscure Japanese band.
Quote:
My heart has lost its color /
But I’m still lying with a song
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It's difficult for me to stumble upon something so well-put and emotionally poignant most days. I mean, I'm always searching for that next
big musical thing in my life, whether it be as myself as a composer & guitarist or a new artist to step into. And when I discovered
Pegmap & more specifically this album, it all sort of lit up for me upon first listen. You can immediately tell upon the first moments of the first track "小さな世界" that this is a noteworthy release; the first few bars of guitar arpeggios & ride cymbals, and the captivating vocal melody are the perfect outset to
See You. All along, the most seemingly unlikely option was the perfect fit for me - that being, a heavily obscure Japanese band with an album cover of the sky.
With
Pegmap's compositional style, it's evident that something's novel with their sound. More than any Midwest Emo band, they are able to craft such alluring & lush soundscapes that don't overtly rely on tropes of the genre. The guitar arpeggios are not exactly intricate, but instead open & drawn out, filling the song wondrously. The drumming style at times reminds me of what's present in
American Football, that being detailed & creatively played grooves combining multiple uncommon meter changes together. This doesn't exactly go the Math Rock direction (plus, I'm pretty sure the most common time here is 4/4, though there are probably some unusual ones I heard too), but it does nonetheless find numerous new sounds that aren't too overplayed. Of course, except for a few tracks, this album basically eschews having bass as a prominent element in the mix -- which has worked for these types of bands before, and it still does here.
And lush it is, because this release has some particularly standout moments baked in its compositions. Like the opener, the melodies in "日々の泡" are nigh-masterful. They're delivered with such emotion & sincerity, and I haven't been able to get them out of my head. The whole sedating atmosphere & slower tempo of most of the song is just something I cannot get enough of. It can't be stated enough how well a lot of these songs just fit together, being immediately memorable. What's executed so well is even when they repeat the first few measures half-way through the song, which always gets me when it happens because it's so powerful in a sense. Other bands wish they could pace themselves as well as
Pegmap does on this track.
It also can't be stated enough how effective the band's vocalist is. I would wager that he actually completes the whole album's sound, due to how sublime he performs. His proficiency in shouting & all the emotion being expressed at all times in his voice just ties together every element of the record and lets it all flourish. Seriously, in a genre that's pretty populated by less technically gifted vocalists (though I would argue in a lot of cases a lot of them are still effective), this is easily the best I've ever heard. Although, this might come as a shock, but I can't understand a lick of Japanese - so I'm unable to fully enjoy the lyricism. There is, however, a YouTube link up that includes translated lyrics - though they might be slightly dodgy as it's not so easy to translate song lyrics. The themes seem to include brooding & also a decent amount of poetic imagery. I wouldn't really expect the lyrics to be a huge factor, though, even if this band
was English.
It's easy to be familiarized with most of the track's dynamics, that being the proven effective contrast of dramatic vocals with a lush & calmer instrumental backing. Though, there are a couple more harder-edged tracks that could be favorably compared to J-Rock bands like, say,
Eastern Youth. "渦" captivates me in an instant with its energizing guitar harmony in the first few seconds. I also like all of the heavier drum beats they're utilizing here, albeit they're not as prominent in the song's mix. What I really love, though, is how they have multiple guitar tracks at a time, which complement each other greatly & also widen the mix. You could also easily categorize "それとなく" under here - which I similarly adore. Just hearing that guitar melody play throughout it over the distorted chords is pure ear candy. Most of the enthralling melodies are executed vocally, but here they use a guitar track to fill that purpose -- flawlessly.
Despite all of this, every album has its inescapable flaws. And it's no different here, because not everything sticks faultlessly. By all means, "AM 4:00" is a good song, but it's probably the worst cut off here. A lot of it is repeating a lot of the same techniques & sounds the band was able to execute with better prowess elsewhere. Yet, there is a fantastic moment within it, that being the intriguing guitar pad that subtly crescendos & closes out the track. The closer, "ワルツ", I would also claim is a little less up to snuff. Maybe both of these tracks feel a bit played out, or a little too sluggish & meditative, that when they do climax it doesn't feel as satisfying as it did on others.
But with everything said,
See You remains a wonderfully delightful & underappreciated album. It's a product with clear amounts of passion poured into it, and every minute feels intentionally laid out. Multiple times,
Pegmap is able to embed something totally fresh to the scene, whether that be an interesting riff or one of its spoken word segments. It's something that's bittersweet in its nature, and concurrently luxuriant in creative motifs, melodies, and musical ideas. If you haven't yet heard of it, I'd recommend you fix that, because this is one for the ages.
