Three for Three
by: gbanas92
現実の人間 (Real Human)
by 魔法の蓮の花 (Magic Lotus Flower)
A clever melding of genres, 現実の人間 starts with a brief hazy slushwave intro before transitioning into a more traditional, classic vapor sound. But the chameleon act of this album isn’t over quite yet. The third track, “遠い島” (“Far island”) is a nifty, broken transmission style piece, but one which retains that more classic sound. The album offers a fascinating and unflinching willingness to fling itself back and forth across all manner of genres, and perhaps the only thing more impressive than this fearlessness is how well it works.
The Way
by Lovers Entwined
The latest from the legendary telepath comes the newest release under the “Lovers Entwined” moniker. What follows is a lengthy, robust album that not only clocks in north of 90 minutes, but offers a staggering array of sounds. You get a lot of the lighter, brighter sound that Lovers Entwined’s prior releases have highlighted, but there’s an alarming dark side stirring underneath. A few of the songs, most notably “Searching for You in the Darkness”, have more in common with Angelo Badalamenti’s music for Twin Peaks than something cheery. The Way periodically shifts between happy, harmonious melodies but always has time for an unnerving respite from the joy. This duality of tones represents one success amongst many in this case.
私はあなたの絶望に溺れています(I'm drowning in your despair)
by 夜間視力NIGHT VISION.Corp
An instrument that doesn’t often merit discussion in vaporwave is the guitar. Synthesizers and pianos abound, and many classic tracks feature these heavily. But that’s not really the case here. 夜間視力NIGHT VISION.Corp answers the question of “what does guitar-centric vaporwave sound like?” and the results are pretty great. The second track on the album, “真夜中の漂流\” (“midnight drift”) is basically an 8-minute guitar solo, and it’s an absolute delight. The album plays around with a lot of sounds that may not normally be associated with vaporwave, and it does it well.