reviews / 2019

MITSUME - Ghosts

Name: MITSUME – Ghosts
Item: Ghosts
Rating: 6
Author: Federico Romagnoli

2019 (Space shower music)

indie-pop, indie-rock

by Federico Romagnoli

Mitsume are a quartet from Tokyo, whom we already covered on OndaRock at the time of their previous studio effort, "A Long Day", three years ago.

Their career has been a slow chase across three albums with a derivative sound (name-checking all the usual English-speaking idols), and a somewhat amateurish production quality, which nevertheless proved useful in setting up their leap in quality when, with the aforementioned fourth album, they understood the need to flesh out their own formula with production values to match. jangle pop This shift allowed the interplay of their instrumental textures - which had meanwhile become more refined - to come through at their best, moving towards a subtle pop/funk interlock.

Unfortunately, with this new album, we have to note a disappointing lack of movement. The band hasn't regressed to the days of tin-can drum sounds and vocals buried under a muddled echo, but neither has it taken any steps in new directions. If someone told us this new "Ghosts" was made up of leftovers from the "A Long Day" sessions, we wouldn't bat an eyelid, which makes you wonder why it took a full three years for the mountain to give birth to a mouse.

With the surprise factor of "A Long Day" gone, and without the brilliant single that launched that record ("Akogare"), the feeling here is one of autopilot. It's as if the band, after working so hard to refine their approach, clung on tight once they finally squared the circle, becoming incapable of any further development as a result.

All this while the leading names of the local scene prove their eclecticism with every new release. That said, the result is still listenable, at least for anyone happy with an unpretentious pop record, good enough to keep on in the background while doing something else.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

04/07/2019

Share on

This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Federico Romagnoli, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

Read the original in Italian · About the English edition