Some thoughts on “LIBERATION”, the recent mini-album from RILISREVERSE.
Release Date: November 24th 2021
Serial Number: N/A
Format: Digital
Tracklist
1. Jibun Kaihou Sengen
2. Suisou no Hotaru
3. Kanshouteki Moratorium
4. Reversal (Re-Vocal Version)
Stream: Here
While RILISREVERSE might not be quite as flashy as some of their peers when it comes to visuals, gimmicks and what have you it’s still fair to say that the group puts out some pretty enjoyable music and have really found their own voice after being basically born out of the ashes of HAMIDASYSTEM in a lot of ways. They even have a decent foreign fanbase from what I’ve seen recently on social media, if only the reason I found this out was a more pleasant one than it ended up being.
The group has recently gone through a couple of line-up changes, the first of which saw the arrival of new member Natori back in May of 2021 and then the departure of founding member Mikoto in September. These things happen all the time in Idol and the group seemed to be getting on with things pretty well until the shock exit of another founding member in Moegi the day after Christmas for what has officially been explained as a “serious contract violation” or words to that effect. That’s Idol folks!
The fact I’m writing about the group’s latest mini-album “LIBERATION” against the backdrop of all of this is a little bit awkward I won’t lie. I’m going to do my best to just talk a bit about the songs included and not really dwell on the surrounding drama too much though. That’s what we like to do around here and I was actually interested to hear these tracks as it has been a while since I last gave RILISREVERSE a digital spin. With that all said, here’s what I thought about the release.
There’s an interesting contrast of musical styles going on here, with the mini-album’s middle two more synthesizer leaning tracks being bookended by ones that are definitely more skewed towards the emotive, Indie Rock sort of style. Both things that RILISREVERSE are pretty capable of pulling off and not anything you wouldn’t expect out of them but I just thought it might be a bit odd to anyone coming into this release truly blind or not really having quite so much of an idea as to what they should be expecting out of this group. Probably just me overthinking things like usual.
All that being said, all the tracks here have some pretty catchy melodies and vocal hooks in their own ways. I personally favor the first track “Jibun Kaihou Sengen” and the reworked version of prior offering “Reversal” myself but the energy of “Suisou no Hotaru” and “Kanshouteki Moratorium” is very enjoyable as well. I think the vocal work on all of the tracks has improved a bit too which is good to hear as it was one area where I thought that the group could benefit from focusing a bit more on as time goes by and it seems like they have here.
While this release might seem like a bit of a mixed bag as far as genres and what have you are concerned I think RILISREVERSE and their producers do a pretty good job of tying it all together even if it is in a somewhat subtle way. There’s definitely an overarching tone or “feel” to all of the songs presented here and despite them perhaps not being instantly recognizable as a cohesive package, if you give them a few more listens they do start to flow together pretty well I think.
Again, it’s hard not to comment on everything else going on with RILISREVERSE right now when talking about this release and well, on the bright side this mini-album shows quite a bit of growth for the group. How much that is going to be impacted by Moegi’s departure remains to be seen but I’m hopeful that they’ll be able to bolster their line-up with a new member or two in the new year and be back to firing on all cylinders once again with not too much issue. As ever though this is Idol and the future is…murky at best on a lot of these sorts of thing.
