Borderland is Mami Kawada's 12th single released this May 30, 2012 under Geneon Entertainment. The titular track was used as the opening theme for the action anime Jormungand. Being more like a sister anime to Black Lagoon, Jormungand was expected to be tied up with MELL. However, her absence from the spotlight due to medical reasons, they say, gave Mami Kawada her newest anime tie-up in about 4 years.
A new tie-up grants exposure to probably a different set of audience in Japan, or even in the whole world. Was Borderland worthy of this chance? Did it live up to expectations?
01. Borderland
02. Angel // resident of the nightmare
03. Borderland (instrumental)
04. Angel // resident of the nightmare (instrumental)
Borderland
Lyrics: Kawada Mami
Composition: Tomoyuki Nakazawa
Arrangement: Tomoyuki Nakazawa, Takeshi Ozaki, Kazuya Takase
Borderland did live up to expectations. Kawada Mami is back with a rock/trance song once again, the same feat that gave her the success with her past single No buts! This time TakaNakaZaki arranged the song, yes, three people worked on just one song. And their efforts are greatly reflected on the single.
The song arrangement is highly reminiscent of No buts! with all the hype and rocking beats. Borderland offers a rough twist though. The trance inclinations of Takase and the guitar riffs characteristic of Nakazawa blended so well to create a ragged, badass sounding song. The tunes and melody were catchy, memorable, and addictive. After I've Sound's generic work on Serment, the group finally came up with something more original sounding as Borderland.
With this song, the I've producers showed us that their skills and creativity are far from rusting. The end product was genius, and it seems as if the song minus the vocals can be a stand-alone track, awesome in itself.
Mami Kawada did great on the vocals. However, too much autotune made it all sound so robotic and unnatural. While this may not have been a good move, it seems autotune was what the theme demanded, as I've Sound also did with MELL's Red Fraction. Besides, this is the first time that Mami's voice was ever under such heavy autotune.
Mami's English pronunciation still has lots of room for improvement. No doubt about that. But hey, it's the latest trend on Japanese songs nowadays.
Setting that aside, the vocals did well on assuming a mysterious, dark tone, in accordance with Jormungand's theme. Once again, she made the song more fitting to its anime tie-up. The chorus could have been more climactic, but the way the song turned out in the end makes one not ask for more. It was good as it is.
With this song, the I've producers showed us that their skills and creativity are far from rusting. The end product was genius, and it seems as if the song minus the vocals can be a stand-alone track, awesome in itself.
Mami Kawada did great on the vocals. However, too much autotune made it all sound so robotic and unnatural. While this may not have been a good move, it seems autotune was what the theme demanded, as I've Sound also did with MELL's Red Fraction. Besides, this is the first time that Mami's voice was ever under such heavy autotune.
Mami's English pronunciation still has lots of room for improvement. No doubt about that. But hey, it's the latest trend on Japanese songs nowadays.
Setting that aside, the vocals did well on assuming a mysterious, dark tone, in accordance with Jormungand's theme. Once again, she made the song more fitting to its anime tie-up. The chorus could have been more climactic, but the way the song turned out in the end makes one not ask for more. It was good as it is.
Upbeat, rocking, and darkly satisfying. Borderland is proof of I've Sound's brilliance, and a show-off of Mami Kawada's preferred and established singing style.
Rating: 9.7/10
Angel // resident of the nightmare
Lyrics: Kawada Mami
Composition and Arrangement: Takase Kazuya
A solely Takase-produced B-side for this single. Angel // resident of the nightmare sounds like anything Takase came up with in the past. The A-side may have that modern feel, but the coupling track is a nice message to I've fans that the group hasn't totally ditched their roots.
Angel // resident of the nightmare reeks of old-school I've Sound goodness. It has that signature feel that gave I've popularity, as did, for example, Eiko Shimamiya's verge or KOTOKO's Lament. The song is heavily infused with trance elements, devoid of too many layers, and uses raw vocals just like the old times.
Mami's vocals is smooth-flowing, ethereal, and calming. A dark ballad. Enjoyable and good, yes, but flawed. The song lacks a defining moment, a strong, memorable point just like Kawada Mami's EXTRACT ~The truth in me~ which was apparently a Takase song too. The chorus is not climactic at all, a characteristic style of Takase as heard on most of his creations (i.e. Mami's triangle).
The B-side indeed is a weak track, probably the weakest among any other B-sides on Mami's singles since Linkage. Too weak that the A-side overshadows it. Angel // resident of the nightmare is not horrendous nor outstanding. Just an average dark song that is still an enjoyable and listenable track for the most parts.
Rating: 7.3/10
Overall, Borderland single shows us that I've Sound is back on track and can manage on itself with what it has despite having lost one vocalist after the other. While this may well be one of the best Mami single after a long while, Borderland still did not manage to achieve the same success as No buts!
Of course, that is dependent on a lot of factors. Kawada Mami's style, with how dark and rocking it is, does not appeal to everyone, just like its anime tie-up Jormungand. Her singing style has more of a niche market, and so is I've. The single debuted on #12 in the weeklies, and reached as high as #9 on its first day. It sold 7,575 copies on its first week. Not bad compared to her previous single Serment.
Apart from that, competition with other famous Japanese artists or groups gives I've artists a very slim chance of making it into the top ten. I've Sound or Kawada Mami may not break into the mainstream market but who cares? They make good music anyway. The fruits of their labor may not well be rewarded but that's how things go. It's reality and dream.
Mami's vocals is smooth-flowing, ethereal, and calming. A dark ballad. Enjoyable and good, yes, but flawed. The song lacks a defining moment, a strong, memorable point just like Kawada Mami's EXTRACT ~The truth in me~ which was apparently a Takase song too. The chorus is not climactic at all, a characteristic style of Takase as heard on most of his creations (i.e. Mami's triangle).
The B-side indeed is a weak track, probably the weakest among any other B-sides on Mami's singles since Linkage. Too weak that the A-side overshadows it. Angel // resident of the nightmare is not horrendous nor outstanding. Just an average dark song that is still an enjoyable and listenable track for the most parts.
Rating: 7.3/10
Overall, Borderland single shows us that I've Sound is back on track and can manage on itself with what it has despite having lost one vocalist after the other. While this may well be one of the best Mami single after a long while, Borderland still did not manage to achieve the same success as No buts!
Of course, that is dependent on a lot of factors. Kawada Mami's style, with how dark and rocking it is, does not appeal to everyone, just like its anime tie-up Jormungand. Her singing style has more of a niche market, and so is I've. The single debuted on #12 in the weeklies, and reached as high as #9 on its first day. It sold 7,575 copies on its first week. Not bad compared to her previous single Serment.
Apart from that, competition with other famous Japanese artists or groups gives I've artists a very slim chance of making it into the top ten. I've Sound or Kawada Mami may not break into the mainstream market but who cares? They make good music anyway. The fruits of their labor may not well be rewarded but that's how things go. It's reality and dream.
Just wanted to note that "Borderland" has a very drum and bass feel to it. Check out a band like Pendulum. Similar mix of drum and bass and rock. One of the tracks on the latest KOTOKO album is in the same style as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing that out.
DeleteAnd thanks for the visit and the comment too :)
I'm going to be in the minority here, but at first, I sort of hated Borderland. I'm not sure exactly why, maybe because of the stupid auto-tune everywhere. She's yottameters ahead of Rebecca Black, so she doesn't need any autotune. Although I eventually warmed up to it, I still don't enjoy it as much as others do. However, I still have a soft spot for Borderland, since it's sill a Mami song, and it's the OP for Jormungand, whose ED, Ambivalentidea was sung by Nagi Yanagi, who, as vocalist for supercell, sung Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari, which until now is one of my absolute favorite anime songs.
ReplyDelete