Megamasso - Sweet Switch

Megamasso’s progress shows no signs of slowing down as the band releases its third full-length album in only three years. Can the band still bring new and innovative music to their listeners while moving at such a breakneck pace? Or will this album fall beneath their usual standards?

The first song, The World Is Mine, starts the album with a relatively simple melody, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem to find its footing through the song: is it pop or rock? Fast or slow? Relaxing or energetic? Occasionally, a heavy rock influence is added to the pop base of the music. It could have worked for the song, but instead it ends up sounding out of place; and although Inzargi has some good moments, he sounds slightly held back, giving the song a strained quality.

The second song, white, white, will surprise the listener with its brilliance. All three of the members are in top form; Inzargi’s singing is heard very clearly throughout the song, while the music really shines in the interludes. While white, white has a surprisingly fast beat, it manages to be extremely relaxing and soulful with a clean, crisp sound. It also subtly moves from being very understated to having an extremely powerful energy as the song progresses. All of these points contribute for a quality track that the listener will be captivated by. The members of Megamasso have definitely outdone themselves.

In the shadow of the lyrics, unlike white, white, will definitely not have the same affect on the listener. It starts off with some good guitar playing, but this is soon matched with some over-the-top and almost ballad-like vocals from Inzargi. Throughout the rest of the song, this mismatch continues, and after about 30 seconds it will seem very stale. Air Station Dance is a very different track from the previous ones. A more pop-sounding venture with a steady beat and a simple melody, it's unfortunately marred again by Inzargi’s vocals, which don’t fit in next to the electronic keyboard sounds.

Howling fragment starts with some pretty minimalist music and slowly builds towards a richer song, with mixed success. Inzargi’s vocals fit in extremely well for this slower paced song, but the sudden jump from verse to chorus and vice-versa leaves a very incomplete feeling. BLESS definitely caters to Inzargi’s vocals, and the results are a very different Megamasso song. The song starts with a very uncluttered feeling and focuses almost purely on the vocal aspect. However, it eventually picks up pace and loses its original direction, which is a shame - if it had evolved differently, BLESS could have been classic.

Songs that generally lean more toward Megamasso's older work follow. Both Seinaru kana seinaru kana seinaru kana, koori usagi tachi to. and Shakku could be likened to such songs as Imomushi no Nushi and Blanco. with the heavier drumming and overall tougher-sounding combination of instruments.

The eleventh song, however, takes the listener back to the oshare kei side of the band. Beautiful Girl begins with a nice piano intro and even a touch of violin work, and even though the guitar, bass and drums soon join in, there continues to be an overall fairytale quality in the music. Much in keeping with the ‘fairytale’ theme, the real magic doesn’t happen until the very end. With most of the song lacking in any kind of power, there is a fantastic burst of energy in the last 30 seconds with Ryohei’s final few notes. Along with white, white, this is definitely another high point of the album.

The following song, Kobune Obika no Ie, is similar to the The World Is Mine. However, it is slower and has a more relaxed melody, and it definitely feels designed to signal the end of the album. Ryohei keeps it simple with a few chords repeated throughout, while Inzargi keeps to a safe range of vocals and Gou’s bass work blends in perfectly.

Unlike Megamasso’s previous albums, Inzargi seems to be edging toward becoming the centre of the songs, and the music stands out less as the main focus. The band also seems to be trying songs that are more pop than oshare kei rock. However, what is amazing is that even though the majority of the songs are subtler, they manage to hold their ground and still seem powerful. So, the band does bring some new ideas to their music, but not enough to make this a breakthrough release for them; many of the songs will easily be forgotten and don’t have much character of their own. Megamasso has delivered a good collection of songs and some frankly amazing hits, so one can’t be too critical of the band. Let’s hope they will build on this new style and integrate it further into their future work.


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