Some thoughts on “NO NAME”, the latest digital single from nonamera.
Release Date: December 22nd 2021
Serial Number:N/A
Format: Digital
Tracklist
1. NO NAME
Stream: Here
To many different people and for a whole variety of reasons, nonamera is something of an icon of the current Japanese underground Idol scene (well, overseas at least). I do personally think that it gets a bit excessive at times but hey, she’s been around for quite some time now and she’s been involved with a variety of projects over the years both group and solo and barring a blip here and there has shown that she can stand both the test of time and the often rather fickle nature of some segments of the Idol fanbase.
Back with codomomental for much of the past year after a very well received collaboration with Usakara Beni as part of Frin Frun Friends, it does kinda feel like one of those coming full circle moments here which have a habit of cropping up in this space from time to time. While her exit from the agency was under a bit of a cloud for a host of reasons, nonamera’s return hasn’t been quite as dramatic as some might have expected or even hoped for. A collaboration with akugi here and there was about the extent of her involvement until just recently.
“NO NAME” is being billed as nonamera’s first single but most people probably know that she’s had a couple previously so I guess maybe they’re just talking about under codomomental here. In any case, it’s a one track deal that you can stream digitally to your heart’s content. It’s easy to have a bunch of preconceived notions as to what this might sound like but nonamera has proven to be pretty versatile in her performances so there was still plenty of intrigue as far as I was concerned as I sat down and hit play on this one.
“NO NAME” clearly plays to nonamera’s strengths and I think that’s pretty plain to hear over the course of the track. The instrumental is very Electronica forward with a bit of Glitch to add some texture to the composition and some of the better bass that I’ve heard on this style of song in a little while here. All of this coupled with nonamera’s very distinct and also very heavily modulated singing makes for a pretty catchy track with some nice melodies and slightly harder beats. It sort of has that Hip-Hop influence too which is pretty popular in this sub-section of Japanese Pop music over the past couple of years and while I wouldn’t say we’re breaking any new ground here the end result more than holds its own if you were to compare it to similar offerings in this sort of style.
I think it’s fair to say that this track is playing things fairly safe but I don’t think that’s a particularly bad thing honestly. It’s nonamera’s first solo single with codomomental and you want to have a strong start to this new direction in her career and I think they’ve done a good job of achieving just that. Anyone hoping for something more Idol-ish was likely always going to end up disappointed here but like I said it’s not like nonamera and codomomental can’t draw from that aspect of her vocal talents should they so choose in the future.
Not a whole lot else for me to say on this one folks. They’ve laid some good groundwork for this solo venture and we just sort of have to wait and see now where things go from here. I imagine we won’t need to hang around too long for some more songs but with codomomental you don’t ever really know what’s going to happen next, for better or worse. A very promising start here though and I look forward with great interest to hear how nonamera’s solo career grows and develops over the course of 2022.
