Perfume

evenwith

evenwith

Love them to death and haven’t listened to the other previews yet but my god…..every single released so far has been beyond disappointing. Like I cant even get through The Light without turning it off halfway through. It’s just so ugly sounding.

And the art direction for this is kinda cringe. It looks cheap and kitsch and just not…..them? At all?

Really not trying to hate but yeah the album tracks better serve.
 
FunkyButChic

FunkyButChic

I'm about finished with my first playthrough and I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say this might be their strongest album since LEVEL 3. It feels fresh. I love Plasma, but it was a very introspective album. You could tell the whole project was about looking backwards. Despite the nostalgic dressing, Nebula Romance is new territory.

The most shocking aspect might be the girls themselves. They feel front and center. Really interesting toplines and great use of their individual tones. I'm about experience the most insane FOMO not being at the tour because we're probably in for a treat.
 
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eatyourself

eatyourself

any
I agree that this album sounds fresh for them. The vocals aren't compressed to death (I love how they harmonize with each other in parts and you can clearly tell it's two different people dd), there's more acoustic instrumentation, the songs have space to breathe... it's certainly a more laid back experience considering everything else they have released, but I would say there is a lot more of the Perfume DNA in this album than in Future Pop or even Cosmic Explorer - which aren't bad albums at all, just felt a little lost in the mix of the times they were released. Here there's less compromise to trying to appease to a certain audience, every song seems to follow the same intent. Track 11 was the track that took me off guard the most, the ancient/tribal vibes! Come on yoga!
 
FunkyButChic

FunkyButChic

They had a 25th anniversary livestream and did a performance of IMA IMA IMA.



They also teased something but I'm not sure if it's for the whole album (a short film?) or just a video for Cosmic Treat which will be the promo single for the album. Here it is on its own.

 
digitalkaiser

digitalkaiser

Okkkkkay after a bunch of repeated listens this album is really shaping up. Honestly, even The Light really works and becomes such a fun opener in the context of the rest.

The vocals on this are my favorite part, really different for them. Loving this concept album concept.


Get ready to blast off, feel the funky beat
Join the interstellar party, it's a cosmic treat
So melodies in the air, sounds spinning around
Play that space funk, it's a cosmic treat!!!!
 
X/S

X/S

Finally had time to sit down and listen to this. What a breezy blast. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, as tbh, I find the whole space-age concept extremely overdone and the execution here very on the nose (I also hate the album cover ddd), but I can't make the songs not bop. I'm not sure if anything quite reaches the heights of Plasma, but it's still far ahead of Future Pop or Cosmic Explorer (or even LEVEL3 or JPN tbh) in that it feels like a proper record rather than just a bunch of singles pasted together. Kudos to Nakata once again as I think it's his production alone here that keeps things sophisticated and expensive-sounding when this easily could have fallen into cheesy budget pastiche. "Jikuu Hana" especially is probably the strangest (complimentary) and most beautiful thing he's done in some time. It almost gives me "Negai" vibes - a much-needed moment of zen contemplation toward the back of the record.

I'm also very curious about the promo strategy this time around, not only with it being a two-part project but also that they're staggering the digital and physical releases. Considering how big physicals still are in Japan, I'm interested to see how this will chart.
 
FunkyButChic

FunkyButChic

X/S said:
I'm also very curious about the promo strategy this time around, not only with it being a two-part project but also that they're staggering the digital and physical releases. Considering how big physicals still are in Japan, I'm interested to see how this will chart.
Click to expand...

It's gonna be interesting to see where this charts, for sure. Polygon Wave managed a Top 10 debut on digital sales and streaming alone, even with a small window to promote its release. They have a healthy digital presence in Japan so I think we can expect higher, but of course their numbers are still dependent on physicals as their audience skews older.

I'm also crossing my fingers they do promo to build up those pre-orders. They missed the top spot with Plasma so I feel like they want to avoid a repeat of that, especially since they're emphasizing this as an anniversary release.
 
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Crisp X

Crisp X

she/her
I was ready to write this off as an album I'd have to be in a certain mood to play, as The Light is an oddly weak opener and I'm a bit over the 80s synthpop/retrowave thing as of late, but then they decide to close the album with a bang, hitting us with the one two punch of 時空花, a ballad reminiscent of Negai and 23:30 (both of which I LOVED back in the day, so happy they did something as mellow again), and the bonkers メビウス and... yeah they did it again.

I do think Love Cloud remains the best thing on here. It blew my mind when it came out, giving me the same rush their iconic 2006-2013 run did. I assumed it would end up on Part 2 in case the latter goes in a slightly different direction, so its inclusion here took me by surprise as it sticks out a little bit sonically. Who knows what they have in mind for it though. Anyway, due to not being hyper receptive to the main soundscape at the moment, the rest will be a grower but this is another solid entry into their discography.

edit: Also saw a couple comments on rateyourmusic mention Especia in a lighthearted way and yup yup it reminds me so much of this super underrated group!! Strongly recommend diving into their discography if you're into the same 80s inspired style. Here's my favorite song from them:

 
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4Roses

4Roses

I splurged on Alien and it’s kinda a flop. It came with a Miss Dior sample and, honestly? I’m obsessed. Let me pen my Xmas wishlist real quick

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