Hi:BRiD has rapidly become my current favorite indie band ever since I was introduced to them via Kenta (my love of TINC knows no bounds ^^). Glider is their third single, and their third release with guitarist Kiki. The first release being Utopia, and the second being Story of Mermaid. My copy came just about 14 hours ago at the time of writing, and after a few listens, I’m giving this review a shot.
glider: I remember the sample Zero put up on his blog a few months ago for this song: I loved it then and love it now as a full arrangement (Zero’s samples are … interesting to say the least). Glider is one of their first songs to really do a good job of showcasing what Kiki is capable of! I can’t say I love his work as much as I loved Kenta’s work on Butterfly. (the TINC fan in me won’t allow for it), but Kiki’s certainly improved tremendously since Utopia. Zero stands out as usual (damn his loudness! j/k) and Kisara’s line is interesting as always. I will say that the synth in this song could stand to be farther back in the arrangement as its distracting (as always!), and I wish I could hear JILL a little better, or at least a little clearer. But overall, I’m very pleased with this song.
Castles in the air: Louder and heavier than glider, I’m glad Zero’s written another heavy song for them. I’m quickly becoming fond of this sound– I really think that they should do more of it. Kiki’s gotten a little grungier (to me that’s the best way to describe the sounds I’m hearing, but its not accurate persay) and it reminds me of Butterfly. in parts, which is great since Butterfly. is simply outstanding for a first release. Again with the distracting synth!! JILL’s voice is much nicer at the lower register the song is written at. Let’s keep it down there!!
liars game: Another heavier track written by Zero. Has bizarre English in it that I can’t understand except for “liars game” which really isn’t that bad. There’s a neat little bit around 1:40 but then they ruin it by having JILL rap. *sad face * However popular rap might be in Japan, not everyone does it well. JILL does not do it * well *. Liars game continues the trend begun in glider with the improvement in Kiki’s guitar work — I am unsure as how much is actual improvement of skill and how much is an improvement in arrangement though. Either way, its a wonderful change.
Overall: This release continues to showcase Zero’s songwriting skills, and everyone’s individual talents. For my part, I love that the audio quality is significantly better than the last two singles, which for some reason suffered from unusually poor audio quailty (Yes I own them ^^). I could live without the synth though, really I could. Its just a distraction to me.