ユナイト (UNiTE.) - "MEANiNG" album REVIEW

[fitear1590 2414]

1. grow into UNiTE.

Some will see this as a filler SE track, but I love it when Mio goes all out with the synth arrangements! I think he has a really signature sound! In any case, I'll take this over the sounds of creaking floor boards and rumbling thunder any day. I'd say it's on par with their other SE melt into UNiTE., AKA really awesome.

9/10

2. Meaning

It's lovely how grow into UNiTE flows directly into the intro of this song! The verse (particularly the first 2 lines or so) have very KIDDIE-ish vocal melodies which are nice! Solid guitar work all around and I like how relaxing it sounds during 1:30ish-1:38ish. Catchy chorus with fittingly "intense" vocals from Yui. More KIDDIE-ness with the "Whoa-ohhh" at 1:40 and the vocal melody at 2:09. A nice heavy, yet interesting breakdown. Sounds like it could break into a rap fest, but it doesn't! Then comes a beautifully arranged soft part with more great Yui vox. Basically, this song is wonderful and a great showcase of UNiTE's core style. Literally the only fault I can find in this song is during the second chorus, when Yui does a strange falsetto for a few words, but it doesn't decrease my love for this song at all!

10/10

3. 失望エミュレイター (shitsubou emulator)

Starts of with those kinda angular weird riffs (luv them) and then goes into a heavy chugfest. Obviously, this song is meant to be the "parallel" song of 絶望クリエイター (zetsubou creator) from the first album. However, this song has possibly better verses and DEFINITELY a better/more powerful chorus. All the growling/gang vocal sections are extremely satisfying and just icing on the heavy cake. Well done boys. I'd say this is probably UNiTE's best "heavy" song, along with 退廃レトリック (taihai rhetoric).

9.25/10

4. 約束 (yakusoku)

The first of the 3 "old" tracks. 約束 was released this summer, so I'll just post my previous review: "Written by lead composer Shiina Mio. This is pretty much quintessential UNiTE right here: dramatic twinkly pop-rock, accentuated with technical (semi-mathy) guitar riffs. Just about everything sounds great in this song, but I will say the first chorus seems a bit disjointed from the verse before it. There's a great guitar solo in the middle. Afterwards, there's a slow piano part and I really liked those epic drums that were used, haha." I still reallllly like this song, though I will say the fact that Meaning precedes it (a song similar in style and just a bit better), does perhaps bring the rating of 約束 just a smidge. Just shows that UNiTE is steadily improving and outdo-ing older songs!

8.5/10

5. L for U

This title means "Lesbian for you," yes? Anyway, CaRaN (one of my compatriots of UNiTEdom) predicted I wouldn't like this song. Admittedly, it is punctuated with a few rap sections (which I usually don't like), but I don't know why, I found them very tolerable this time around! When the music explodes at 0:16 after the little rappy/vocal intro, it's beauty! Some great synth action in this song. The verses are also really "sweet," thanks to Yui's nice vocals and the soft guitar work. The chorus has some vocoder-y "Yeah-ee-yeah!" going on which is fun, but perhaps repeated a few too many times. After an almost acapella section, the okay rap comes back and the synths explode again into one final, energetic chorus. The song ends with an appropriately chuggy riffed, speedily-drummed outro. Pretty great song, despite some minor things that I'm usually picky about, haha.

9/10

6. 可塑性MAGIE (kasosei MAGIE)

The song kicks off with cool "awkward" riffs, so I thought we were in for another 提案 ("teian" from the first album), but then the verse has this "marchy" drumming quality and the vocals don't sound too interesting. From the intro until the first chorus, the song is a bit underwhelming for me. Then, the chorus is nice, as UNiTE's usually are! The guitar solo in the middle is well-done and almost reminds me of the band Rubik. Wish I understood the lyrics though. What's with the "241p" thing? I'm still waiting for the first part of the song to grow on me, because I do like it from the chorus onward.

7/10

7. cinema verite

Has a bit of a classic "slower-paced" Canzel song feel to it, like sink or something. I was interested to read in an interview that Yukimi found drumming in this song the most difficult. I wouldn't have guessed it at first, but with a closer listen, I can hear it and it adds some depth to the song. Like the last song, cinema verite has a cool guitar solo as well. An improvement over 可塑性MAGIE, but still not as good as the album's first few tracks.

7.5/10

8. イオ (io)

The second of the 3 “old” songs and probably my least favorite. This is mainly due to the somewhat grating guitar riff from 0:18-0:33 (and its various repeats throughout the song). Is that considered pinch harmonics or something? In any case, I don’t particularly like how it’s used here. HOWEVER, it’s still a great track overall thanks to guitarist LiN’s creative touch. He has a style that’s a bit different from lead composer/guitarist Shiina Mio (more on that in the next song). My favorite part comes in at 0:49 when the synths and bass explode into a funky little “dance rock” section that’s just perfect. I wish I could understand LiN’s lyrics, because he seems to write some weird/interesting stuff (more on that in the next track, believe you me!) My other favorite part is from 1:36-1:51, where Yui repeats the same line, but it keeps building up and goes into the guitar solo! Really great track, marred only by some guitar riffs that I personally don’t enjoy.

8.5/10

9. Cocky-discuS (mysteriously written “Corky-discuS” on the lyrics sheet)

WTF have you done this time, LiN? As I mentioned in my review of the 約束 (yakusoku) single, LiN has become quite the wildcard composer of UNiTE. This song is no exception. Starts off with a strange hotel music/video game music (idk) type sound and then goes into some funky riffs. The lyrics in this song seem positively WTF-tastic. Engrish lines like “He’s a RAD FRESHWATER FISH!”, “毎日watch paint dry”, “Enchanted Boy!! *WOO HOO*”and “Scaly Nerd BABY” hint that LiN is no stranger to psychedelics. However, this song is FUN with a capital FU(ck). The lyrics only add to it! It took me 2 listens to really understand the humorous, weird energy that the song exudes, but now I LOVE it. Even the guitar solo and synth section in the middle is perfection. The dark, “kooky” keyboard part is almost reminiscent of something みそっかす (miso kasu) might do! I still really love BadRequest (the parallel “goofy LiN track” from the first album), but Cocky-discuS has pretty much become the better song for me at this point.

10/10

10. アポカリプティックサウンド (apocalyptic sound)

Interesting sound effects? Like one of those post-apocalyptic (oh, I get the title!) Hollywood movies. This is probably the more generic of the 2 main “heavy” tracks on the album. Even though the first set of chuggy riffs are literally the same note played over and over, it’s a’ight. I can see it being good headbang-fodder during the live shows. Unfortunately, the riffs at 0:56-1:10 aren’t so heavy and certainly don’t give off any sort of “apocalyptic” vibe. It might have been cool in Canzel, but UNiTE have shown that they have better production and can play some pretty heavy shit when need be, so that is a little bit of a bummer. The chorus is nice, though! (As usual!) The little breakdown in the middle is pretty cool when the sound effects come back in. While not nearly as good as 失望エミュレイター (shitsubou emulator), this track is miles above walpurgis (the second-string heavy track from UNiTE’s first album). A pretty good effort, that should have been heavier or better yet, more creative.

8/10

11. 青と白のコトバ (ao to shiro kotoba)

Yet another “parallel” song. This one falls under the “dreamy, soft song composed by drummer Yukimi and includes the word ‘kotoba’” category. This song is straight-up beautiful; kudos Yukimi. Yui’s vocals sound great as ever and the song has some lush background arrangements. I only have 2 small complaints. There’s one little out-of-place scream near the middle of the song, pretty unnecessary imo. The other thing is that the background arrangement stuff from about 0:12 to 0:30 sounds VERY similar to the arrangement from 答え無いコトバ ("kotaenai kotoba" from the first album). While I’m pretty sure Yukimi is making a deliberate connection between the two songs, it’s still something to mention. Anyway, otherwise, I absolutely love this song and find myself listening to it extremely often.

9.75/10

12. AIVIE

The final of the 3 old singles. Not much new to say except I really like it and kudos to vocalist Yui for writing such a nice track.

9/10

13. life time relation

Guitarist Shiina Mio says “fuck you” to the other band members and creates a song that is fully arranged, haha. He actually did this on the first album as well (see: epilogue) and this is another solid entry in his repertoire. As stated earlier, I think Shiina Mio has a real knack for these digital arrangements, so more power to him for creating these types of songs. I REALLY like “epilogue” because it had these beautiful piano parts and a great beat, but this song has a slightly different feel. More relaxed, maybe? The saxophone in the middle of the track was definitely a surprise, albeit a very pleasant one. The outro with the little synth organ (or whatever that sound is supposed to be) is cute. I think I might like “epilogue” just a touch better, but this song is also very cool.

9/10

14. クオリア (Qualia)

Guitarist LiN’s final offering on the CD. On クオリア, he reins in the quirkiness and delivers a nice, heartfelt pop-rock closing track. Prominent bass-work and drumming throughout, Yui sounds great, blah blah. There’s some technical guitar riffs that tap along as the melody develops. As the song goes on, there's little piano and violin flourishes in the background and the chorus gets more dramatic. A random side note, LiN's previous band "LeMpicka?" seemed to like the word Qualia (I know at least two of their mini-albums used the word), so I wonder if he originally wrote this song for that band and then he UNiTE-tified it for this album? In any case, a wonderful closing track.

9/10

15. AIVIE pf ver.

An arranged piano version of the song AIVIE. Simple, beautiful, awesome! I consider it more of a little bonus track than a real album closer, but I thoroughly enjoy it.

Really nice/10

Conclusion:

The first thing to note about this album is its quantity! 15 tracks and only 3 of them were previously released. That has to be some kind of record for the visual kei world, haha. This feels like a very "hearty" album, clocking in at an hour, which is also nothing to scoff at for a pop band. Don't let the quantity fool you; this album doesn't skimp on the quality. With only a single song that I found to be about average, every other track has something (if not a LOT of things) to love. MEANiNG is an extremely solid album with so many songs that are breaking into the god-tier of UNiTE's discography (songs like "Meaning," "失望エミュレイター," "Cocky-discuS," and "青と白のコトバ"). Perhaps my main overarching criticism of the album is the fact that it seems to have been structured with the first album in mind. Think back on all those "parallel tracks" that I mentioned. While most of the connections are very superficial (except for maybe "青と白のコトバ" and "答え無いコトバ"), they still invite a shallow listener to think that UNiTE is bringing nothing new to the table on their second album. After listening to this album solidly for the past month, I can safely say I enjoy it more than their first album STARTiNG OVER'S (which in retrospect reading my review, I may have overrated by half a point or so). No sign of "sophomore slump" on this album. UNiTE isn't even two years old and they've released 2 solid albums. I can't wait to see them continue to develop their sound! Truly my favorite Japanese pop-rock band and imo, one of the most promising visual kei bands out there right now. If you're looking for some good ol' pop-rock, you gotta give them a try.

9/10