The newest IDOLMASTER SideM‘s WORLD TRE@SURE series CD suffers some hiccups along the way but still manages to capture a beautiful, cold and quiet soundscape inspired by Finland.
Title: THE IDOLM@STER SideM WORLD TRE@SURE 07
Label: Lantis
Release date: 03/04/2019
Genre: Pop
Tracklist:
01 - Purely&Kindly
02 - MEET THE WORLD!(Finland Ver.)
03 - Purely&Kindly(Off Vocal)
Track by track analysis:
01 – Purely&Kindly
Purely&Kindly has a Christmas-y vibe exuding from its delicate, slow paced, strings and bells-driven instrumental. Acoustic guitars, a deep bass line and a simple piano melody help adding the finishing touches to this gentle song. The song counts with a blues-y guitar solo that fit this song’s vibe. The soundscape created is very reminiscing of a snowy, quiet winter morning.
On the vocal end, this group counts with several higher toned vocalists whom were able to grasp the song’s gentle nature, ultimately delivering a solid performance. 4.5/5
02 – MEET THE WORLD!(Finland Ver.)
Built around a playful piano melody and groovy bass line, MEET THE WORLD! takes pride in its upbeat and danceable sound. Atmospheric synths, strings and simple bass-driven drums add the finishing touches to this instrumental, creating an addictive and, at the same time, inspiring sound. Paying close attention to this song, it actually sounds like a throwback 80’s pop tune – mainly due to its piano melody.
By this time this song is already more than known among fans, most must already know the lyrics by heart. What really changes is the vocal performances. Each group gave their unique twist to this song and that has resulted in several impressive takes on it. As for Finland’s team, they managed to give, once more, a gentle performance. Their vocals aren’t the explosive or overly technical type but are more than enough to deliver a pleasing performance that channels the group’s theme to perfection. 4.5/5
Final rating:
After a couple of feisty, upbeat songs, it is time for a cool down with this entry in THE IDOLM@STER SideM WORLD TRE@SURE series.
IDOLMASTER SideM’s 7th WORLD TRE@SURE entry presented us with Finland’s team.
The country was represented through a Christmas-y sound, not really something that one would immediately think of when mentioning Finland. Contrary to other entries in which, by the instrumental, it was easy to pinpoint the country represented, this was not that obvious. Deducting that Finland’s representative music or traditional music falls in the Christmas-y pit is perhaps the laziest representation of a country’s music we’ve found in this series. Karelian inspired folk, kantele powered folk, opera and heavy metal are far better representations of Finland’s music history. Putting that inaccuracy aside, Purely&Kindly sounds like it captured the quietness and gentleness of Finland’s snow covered landscapes in winter. Pacing, instrumentalization, performance don’t have any major flaws, making this an enjoyable, sweet sounding song.
MEET THE WORLD! continues to impress with each entry. At this point there have been all sorts of takes on this song, and most lineups have been able to leave a unique mark. Shun Horie (Beit), Yoshitaka Yamaya (W), Yuya Nakada (Sai) and Hiroshi Watanabe (HighXJoker) made a balanced quartet that performed this song comfortably.
All in all, this is an entry that might have failed to tap into Finland’s traditional music but is still an enjoyable listen, with instrumentals and solid vocals making up for that flaw.
THE IDOLM@STER SideM WORLD TRE@SURE 07 is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
