IRI - Sparkle

iri, one of the most interesting voices on the Japanese urban scene, wastes no time: just over a year after the excellent “Shade”, along comes “Sparkle”, an album that picks up the trail of the elegant, nimble sound laid down by its predecessor while also pushing decisively toward an even more elaborate aesthetic. Built once again on a solid funk backbone, the project sees its author further expand her expressive palette, on one hand turning the clock back several decades, on the other broadening her instrumental range through a conscious use of bass, guitars and drums. Is this a more pop-leaning record? Possibly, but it would be wrong to think of it as any kind of dumbing-down.

Even without the previous record's run of juggernaut choruses, “Sparkle” is a meticulously crafted album that reaffirms the singer's interpretive qualities (her velvety power, which never resorts to vocal showboating while still asserting its full specific weight) and the refined tone of the compositions, once again central to iri's creative evolution. Singles like the title track (electric R&B wrapped in stylish acid-jazz packaging) and the feverish “24-25” (where a more properly jazz spirit coexists with sinuous electro phrasing) have put the gritty, multifaceted character of the whole album on best display, chasing both curious bossa nova trajectories (the opening of “Come Back To My City”) and hypnotic journeys back in time, in a calibrated return to the glittering city-pop saga (“Runaway”).

Meanwhile, iri moves with curiosity, brushing crystalline melodies over distinctive new jack swing revivals (“Best Life”, which seems to look at the revival of certain old-school approaches happening in neighbouring Korea), layering guitar fuzz over sparkling, staccato pop-rap (“Miracle”), blending every element into a perfectly assembled picture.

The numbers that would make her a true leading figure of the Japanese scene are still missing, but what's certain is that the young artist from Zushi is building a discography of the highest calibre. Recognition, one way or another, won't be long in coming.

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10/06/2020