We’ve entered December, which all however ensures a gradual stream of ballads from each Okay-pop and J-pop. This softer vitality tends to be fairly seasonal, as listeners search coziness over musical bombast. Japan has an particularly insatiable urge for food for ballads, making NiziU’s AlwayS the right launch for this time of yr.

AlwayS begins life as an easy piano ballad earlier than reworking halfway by way of. OST-style manufacturing is briefly changed by skittering percussion, echoing the drum and bass sounds discovered in lots of latest releases. Then, the track’s balladness (is {that a} phrase?) comes again full drive with a flourish of electrical guitar. To my ears, this final portion of the track is most profitable. However then once more, I occur to take pleasure in a dramatic association.

As thrilling as these instrumental shifts are, AlwayS by no means finds melodies as fascinating. Nice ballads are all about melody, and on first hear I walked away from AlwayS with little recall of how the track truly went. Too typically, it appears that evidently the melodies are merely tracing related strains to different current ballads. However and not using a distinctive calling card of its personal, AlwayS passes by with out a lot impact.

Grade: C