Some thoughts on “VISITOR”, the second single from PIGGS.
Release Date: July 21st
Serial Number: PIGGS-5
Format: CD
Tracklist
1. Piggy
2. VISITOR
3. LINK EMOTION
Buy: HMV (JP), Tower Records (JP), Disk Union (JP), Amazon (JP), CDJapan (EN)
Stream: Here
It wasn’t so long ago that the profession of being an Idol was something that came with an almost unspoken expiration date. You generally didn’t see a lot of idols around who were older than say early to mid 20s and 30 was an age that was all but unheard of compared to these days. Perhaps that is still the case in some circles today but I think generally speaking you’ll find a lot more girls in their mid to late 20s in the current scene than you would the scene of say 10 years ago or so.
Pour Lui is a tenured veteran of the Idol world at this point in her very long and in many ways infamous career. She practically lead the charge in shaping what the more Alternative end of the Idol spectrum is these days with her many escapades as the leader of BiS before joining back up with some old friends for a brief stint in BILLIE IDLE and then launching a group of her own in PIGGS to mark the 10th year of her being in the industry.
Over the years Pour Lui has surrounded herself with many talented people and despite her being the main focal point of this new group for a lot of people I really do think that this is also the case here. Chiyo, Ban-Ban and Shellme might not get as much of the praise or attention that they should but they definitely make PIGGS a lot of what it is too and the group looks to continue its antics with second single “VISITOR”.
There is a very diverse range of music on offer on “VISITOR”, though the area of overlap on the Venn diagram of enjoyment seems like it’s probably one of the smaller ones you’d ever be likely to see. Fans of the title track and its throwback to the theme songs of action television shows of the 80s and 90s are probably not going to be quite as appreciative of “Piggy” and its heavy Industrial slant for example but I feel like the track with the most broad appeal here is probably “LINK EMOTION” which is a pretty rocking Ballad-ish affair. A veritable smorgasbord of genres are going into this one, with more variety on display in one single than most groups manage over the course of an entire album.
That being said, if you take personal taste out of the equation there really isn’t a whole lot not to like here. Sure, “Piggy” is clearly being positioned as the edgy, “shock value” song but many of the lyrics and instrumental melodies are actually catchy if you can drill down into the song far enough to appreciate them and the same can be said of “VISITOR” but from an entirely different tone and direction and appealing to a completely different audience in the process. “LINK EMOTION” is probably the most “typical” out of the 3 and even it has catchy instrumentation and a strong chorus to the point it’s rather memorable. There are a lot of different ways to skin a cat and PIGGS have certainly collected a few pelts on this release and all in the space of about 11 minutes too.
While this single is a little all over the map I can kinda appreciate it in a weird as it does rather make it feel pretty dynamic and unpredictable in a way. I suppose that’s also what PIGGS are trying to be as a group too so that’s another thing to acknowledge I suppose. It’s unlikely that you’ll enjoy every track featured but the group has done a pretty decent job of playing to a lot of fan favorite styles so chances are at least one of them will be to your liking at least.
Pour Lui has always done a good job of surrounding herself with very talented individuals and I think at this point it’s fair to say that PIGGS are no exception. From the other members to their production team and everything else that goes into running an Idol group it’s clear to see that everyone means business and is looking to make a statement. It would be easy to rest on your laurels after a storied 10 year music career but it doesn’t seem like Pour Lui is ready to hang it up just yet and we should all appreciate her and any projects she lends her talents to while she is still with us. It really doesn’t feel like they still make them like they used to.
