Rina Katahira - Ichinenju

This January, pop-rock artist Rina Katahira released her fourth full-length studio album, Ichinenju. In the pop-rock-dominated world of Japanese music, acquiring your own individual musical voice might seem like a difficult task, but Katahira manages it in a fairly nostalgic way with this release.

With the exception of some of the shorter tracks and interludes on Ichinenju, the album is dominated by a sound that is modern, whilst also taking cues from the past. Katahira employs a lighter sound on this album, opening the sonic landscape up to more dynamic instruments by limiting the prominence of the electric guitar in the mix. The resulting sound is something more spacious, which paints the image of a sunny day in early spring and the sensations that imagery brings.

Raspberry Tart

What is impressive about the songwriting on Ichinenju is how the album's light sound can make the musical twists and turns some of the songs take sound so ordinary. The chord changes in most of the songs on this album, in most other contexts, wouldn't necessarily make for easy listening, and yet Katahira is able to pull it off. While it may seem effortless, making them sound as natural as they do on this album certainly isn't an easy task. And that's only addressing the “regular” songs on the album.

The release's stand-out songs are the ones that serve as interludes or intro and outro tracks. For example, the single most unique track on the album is Ichinichiju. While it is featured on what is, otherwise, a modern-sounding album — one that is professionally recorded, mixed, and mastered — Ichinichiju sounds like it was recorded on an iPhone. This might sound like a criticism but Ichinichiju's raw production quality helps give it an authenticity that complements the sentiment of the rest of the album. The track sounds like Katahira went outside at night and recorded herself playing guitar and singing a new song she wrote. It sounds so genuine that it wouldn't be difficult to imagine if, perhaps, this was the first recording of Ichinichiju and the producer decided to go with it. By far, it is the song that stands out the most in all the best ways.

Fuyu no mahou

Ichinenju is an album that is able to establish an individual voice for itself, and it accomplishes this by retaining its modern pop-rock sound while also mixing in some lo-fi elements as well as channeling the composition tendencies of past artists in the genre — particularly those from the late 90s and early 00s. The album calls to mind the early pop-rock style of MEG mixed with hints of the more lo-fi and heavy side of The Brilliant Green. These particular stylistic callbacks help give Ichinenju its subtle, yet distinct nostalgic edge.

Ichinenju can be purchased on CD, as well as downloaded or streamed via various digital music platforms, including Spotify.