featured review #77: Through The Deep by The fin.

[fitear1590 2414]

 

Tracklist:
1. White Breath
2. Divers
3. Through The Deep
4. Heat
5. Anchorless Ship
6. Night Time (Petite Noir Remix) 

 

 | Brief rain on our parade or a sinking ship?

The fin. is one of the few Japanese indie bands that have managed to gain oh-so-coveted international attention. This is not only due to their accessible lyrics (god knows ‘the West’ has an aversion to music that isn’t in English), but also their more Western-oriented musical style (I’ve seen comparisons to Phoenix). They're completely unlike anything from J-indie favorites such as 凛として時雨 (Ling Tosite Sigure) or Cinema Staff. Check my 2015 EOTY list and you’ll find The fin.’s gorgeous first album Days With Uncertainty, proudly featured. Unfortunately, I don’t foresee their latest EP having that privilege on this year’s list. So what went wrong on Through The Deep? Let’s dive in.
 

The EP opens up in strong form with “White Breath” picking up right where Days With Uncertainty left off. The song sports gorgeous bubbling synths and a dreamy, falsetto chorus. Sadly, the band doesn’t capitalize on this momentum and begins their descent on the following track. “Divers” has some funky flair, but overall, the song is repetitive and a bit of a snoozer. “Through The Deep,” ironically the EP’s title single, is where the band truly flounders. Despite a gorgeous video—though we already knew they had a great visual aesthetic with their "Night Time" PV—the song is disappointing. For some reason, Yuto curiously sings one note for 90% of the track. The delivery of this vocal monotony does nothing to highlight the beautiful music; instead, it just makes his Engrish sound clunky and robotic. “Heat” provides a soothing palate cleanser, but clocking in at just over a minute, it hardly leaves an impression, quickly evaporating into nothingness. “Anchorless Ship,” which first leaked last year on the band’s Soundcloud, is a commendable attempt to get the EP afloat again. Compared to the lush synthwork of “White Breath” and “Heat,” this track is distinguished by its sparse chirps. It has a slow buildup like “Divers,” but it is ultimately a welcome ‘new’ direction for the band and the most successful on this particular release, despite the cheap fade out.

It has been stormy seas so far, so how does The fin. finish off the EP? With a goddamn remix. Rarely has a remix gotten me excited and “Night Time (Petite Noir Remix)” does absolutely nothing to change my mind. In fact, this is one of the most egregious remixes I’ve heard, simply due to the injustice it inflicts upon one of the band’s flagship tracks. The vocals are reprogrammed in some strange off-beat way and the buoyant guitar riffs are replaced and flattened into repetitive wubbly bass notes. It’s a total throwaway track – the rancid icing on an already underwhelming cake. Though I seem to be in the minority (the EP has been pretty well-received in various English-language press outlets), Through The Deep sadly does not showcase the talent I heard in The fin.'s previous work. With a strong first EP (Glowing Red On The Shore) and debut album, they have occupied the unique liminal space between indie scenes in Japan and abroad. As the make their way through the deep (a.k.a. touring greater Asia and the UK), I hope they’ll gain inspiration and eventually put out another release that is on par with their first two. The fin. are better than this, plain and simple!

 

 

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[Chi 2624]

I swear i'm the only one that didn't dislike this release even tho i know this doesn't compare to their first album...

also agreed with you i don't like remixes either so the last track was meh, i don't think i even listened to it till the end

but the rest of the album was alrighty....i like my chill musicz

 

they were guests for one of the last shadow puppets' shows in japan #RELEVANCY!!11

 

Edited June 28, 2016 by seurong

[Original Saku 1593]

2 hours ago, seurong said:

I swear i'm the only one that didn't dislike this release even tho i know this doesn't compare to their first album...

also agreed with you i don't like remixes either so the last track was meh, i don't think i even listened to it till the end

but the rest of the album was alrighty....i like my chill musicz

 

they were guests for one of the last shadow puppets' shows in japan #RELEVANCY!!11

 

 

No you're not the only one, I also really liked this EP  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[The Reverend 3566]

19 hours ago, fitear1590 said:

 

With a goddamn remix. Rarely has a remix gotten me excited

 

 

Amen!

 

*goes to check out the first album based on your review AND so I can choose option B in the poll*

[doombox 4421]

10 hours ago, seurong said:

I swear i'm the only one that didn't dislike this release even tho i know this doesn't compare to their first album...

also agreed with you i don't like remixes either so the last track was meh, i don't think i even listened to it till the end

but the rest of the album was alrighty....i like my chill musicz

 

they were guests for one of the last shadow puppets' shows in japan #RELEVANCY!!11

 

 

I'm with you on this one. I didn't hate it at all. Like you said, I still like their older releases more but I thought this one was nice. 

 

I guess I'm option B in the poll?