Artist: Perfume
Release: July 8, 2009
Versions: CD-only, CD+DVD
Singles: love the world, Dream Fighter, One Room Disco
(italicized tracks are album tracks/significantly new)
Take Off: Not bad for an intro. Nothing too remarkable, but it gets the job done.
love the world: A cute, minimal pop song. Slightly down-tempo, but definitely catchy.
Dream Fighter: This strong, running humanity anthem is both affirming and fun to dance to!
edge (⊿-mix): I need to be honest, when I learned edge would have a ⊿-mix, I assumed it would be trimmed and/or remixed. edge (⊿-mix) isn't really either of those. This 8:43 ( <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... omgwtf.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' /> ) song keeps the arrangement mostly the same, but the breaks are much longer, sometimes twice as long as the original, and have a lot more variety. Some new synth lines were added, mainly during breaks. Instrumental choruses are also present during breaks before the regular chorus.
NIGHT FLIGHT: Very 80s inspired. Up-tempo arrangement and heavily filtered vocals make this a cute electropop song. The interlude leaves something to be desired.
Kiss and Music: Perfume goes hip-hop...Perfume style! Think Negai and Take Me Take Me. I really want to hear gangster Perfume. Pretty short and a somewhat limited arrangement. Feels more like a study into that style.
Zero Gravity: Starts off slow and picks up into a more bossa nova style (much akin to capsule's older releases). Vocals are higher pitched than usual. There a real summer feel to the song, but the intro gives off more of a blue, cold feel than a warm feel. Definitely upbeat and cheerful, but there's a strange aftertaste of "fake." Arrangement is well done, but the instruments are chintzy.
I still love U: A hard-edged electropop song with a hint of 80's ballad. Down-tempo and kind of boring. Not really danceable, not really singable. Very heavily filtered vocals. The song is in a sort of tempo limbo. If it were faster, it could be a kind of memorable pop song; if it were slower, it could be a good ballad. As it is, it's just a hodgepodge. Also, interlude? What's that? I still love U has three measures of breakdown (which was pretty cool), but no real interlude to speak of.
The best thing: Chic, hard, and driving describe this really well. Arrangement is nice and instrument choice is good. Vocals feel very weak. Harmonies would work really well here; instead, all three vocals become this single vocaloid track for what could be a really lifting chorus. Epitome of a track with too-heavily filtered vocals. Nice, but not memorable.
Speed of Sound: Starts off with a nice funk beat. Vocals really downplayed. Reminiscent of Butterfly, but with less verse.
One Room Disco: Catchy dance track with a great, if not somewhat out-of-place chorus. Also, probably the only time I've particularly liked a tom roll in a song ever.
Negai (Album-mix): Extended An intro and different outro. A down-tempo ballad with an "end of things" feeling.
I have low expectations for ⊿, especially after GAME, but the new tracks, if not more generic than GAME's, were more of the material I like. Songs like NIGHT FLIGHT and Kiss and Music make me hopeful for future releases. Songs like edge (⊿-mix) make me scared <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... nfused.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':cryalot:' />
