featured review #73: Charisma.com - 愛泥C

[Zeus 7997]

 

Tracklist:
1 サプリミナル・ダイエット
2 骨抜きに恋して
3 腰掛けラップ
4 PH4
5 GODcustomer
6 等身大グレー
7 ベルサッサ
8 自撮ール

 

| Slowly losing charisma, but still a fun release.

 
Pop gets the short end of the stick in "serious musical discussions". A lot of pop is swept under the rug as formulaic music for simple-minded people, so it's challenging for a pop musician to innovate while essentially staying the same artist. It boils down to mixing together a bit of something old, a bit of something new, and the musical equivalent of Chemical X. These are the ingredients which form The Hit Single, a coveted substance sought by many, found by few, and difficult to produce at scale. Over the last few years Charisma.com has taken the approach of slowly but steadily expanding their musical palette in order to produce many Hit Singles. The beats of last year's OLest were much more dynamic than the offerings found on their debut EP for example; they pushed their sound to a place they hadn't taken it before while still keeping the pop hooks and hard hitting commentary that got them fans. Their newest release 愛泥C is set to bring everything together and take it up another level, but inconsistency holds it back.
 
I would describe the issue as death by one thousand tiny cuts. Elements don't come together as they should. I am no stranger to famous Japanese producers assisting the dynamic duo, but it feels like the different producers never agreed on the core sound of the album. It will bounce from pop to dance music to hip hop very fast, and sometimes they go off on weird tangents or include cringe-worthy sections (most specifically "GODCustomer"), which requires the flow of the album be immaculate to make up for the constant change in mood. It's not. There's the lead single "サプリミナル・ダイエット" which is classic Charisma to a fault, the deliciously smooth "PF4", and the infectious "ベルサッサ" which catches my ear and please me greatly. Then there are the tracks which sound pleasant but leave no effect at all on me, such as the end track  "自撮ール". Then there are the more abstract trap influenced bangers such as "腰掛けラップ", where Itsuka shows some difficulty in flowing with the beat. It's unfortunate that the most abstract beats are the most beastly but also complemented with trap influences and a very lazy chorus where the beat drops and they echo a phrase for eight bars. It's supposed to sound hard but doesn't. Charisma.com feel much more comfortable in electro pop / hip-hop territory and it shows. Charisma seem to have an easier time making snazzy hits when they stick to pop territory and I'd much prefer if they kept the trap influences to a minimum.
 
Bigger isn't always better, and when some tracks bang hard and others fall flat, the whole experience feels like empty calories. More than ever it feels like they're forcing themselves to be catchy, hip, and "lolsorandom". I adore where the duo takes their brand of pop music, but not at the expense of consistency. They need to stop trying so hard. Throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the listener is a surefire way to lose their attention. Scale some of the stranger elements of the beats back a tiny bit, get all your producers in a room to talk about the experience as a whole, and keep the hard hitting social commentary mixed with humorous lyrical themes the band is known for. There needs to be the right amount of direction to offset the spastic insanity that is Charisma.com.

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