beta music mode

I honestly had no idea what to expect from wyolica’s first proper release in 5 years, whether the duo would stick to their tried-and-tested acoustic soul formula or try something different - azumi’s three solo singles had a bit of a disco flavour to them, and she’s guested on tracks with rockers suneo hair, Flow and TAMA (ex Porno-Graffitti) after all. What I did know was that I was desperate to get my hands on any sort of new music from wyolica, there really hasn’t been any pop group that has been able to replace them during their hiatus, in my mind anyway.

And so, when Balcony arrived on my doorstep I immediately tore the package open and gave it a spin.

Opening track Hoshi saw a limited release as a digital single back in June 2007, and it’s a good representative of the album as a whole - starts off acoustic, then the slow beats kick in, accompanied by azumi’s smoky, whispery vocal. It’s Unchained Blues and Mercy Me all over again! Kaleidoscope is up next, and it’s a slightly more upbeat and uplifting number - would’ve made a great single, had they chosen to release one.

in the rain is the only song on Balcony that hints at the group’s tendencies in the past to dabble with urban music. It’s a lovely, mellow r’n'b tune that is anchored once again by azumi’s wonderful vocal. Koibumi and Saiai no Hito are all slow-burning ballads that don’t particularly impress on the first lesson. Maybe they’ll grown on me over time? Anata shika inai (which features YoYo from SOFFet) is much better; it’s slow but is helped by a soaring, heartfelt chorus. The remaining track SUN SUN EYES is another uptempo song, this time featuring a horn section(!) but it’s largely forgettable, nothing about it grabs me at all from the weak melody to the surprisingly lazy-sounding vocals.

Though I did enjoy getting back into wyolica again, I must say that I was expecting slightly more. There were one too many lamenting ballads, and not enough of those catchy, funky blues stuff like Saa ikou or Kazu o Atsumete that so enthralled me the first time round. Of course, there were only 7 tracks on Balcony so I suppose you can’t really expect much diversity here. I do hope that the group sticks around long enough to make a full-length album this time round and doesn’t disappear on another 4-year bender…

note: Balcony charted at No.85 in its first week on the Oricon.