My thoughts on “EGO”, the first EP from BLUEGOATS.
Release Date: December 31st 2021
Serial Number:
Format: Digital
Tracklist
1. Ari no mama ikireba īnda
2. Kikoemasu ka
3. Blue star
4. Shinitai yoru
5. Yume ga kowareru oto ga shita
Stream: Here
Being a cult favorite in any field is a pretty cool thing for a lot of the people involved I would imagine. You’ve got a base of fans who are super supportive and dedicated to seeing you succeed, they’re always there and you can count on them…but a lot of time it sadly doesn’t mean quite enough to translate into something more. Some people get that and the others are left to wonder why the thing that they thought was the best ever flamed out and couldn’t sustain itself at the level it was operating at any longer.
That’s all a roundabout way of me introducing BLUEGOATS, a new group that I stumbled across a month or two back while looking for new stuff to check out. I didn’t know anything about them at the time but I’ve since learned that the group is something of a successor to THE BANANA MONKEYS, something that surprised me quite a bit when I found it out. 3 members of the former feature here but the image certainly isn’t anywhere close to what they had going on previously.
No weird gimmicks, fairly fashionable stage outfits and all just very…normal looking I suppose is how you’d describe BLUEGOATS. They’re trying to become national level idols though so it makes sense they’d be going for something a bit more mainstream, and their first EP “EGO” is them setting out on the path towards that goal. Again, I knew nothing about the group or their music coming in so it was one of those ones where I didn’t really have any great expectations or preconceptions. I just thought they seemed interesting for some reason and wanted to listen to and then subsequently write about them on the site here.
At its core, “EGO” is a very neat and tidy Pop EP with pretty much no gimmicks or crazy moments to speak of. Unlike their former group, it seems like BLUEGOATS are playing this one pretty straight up and the result is a very enjoyable collection of songs. The bulk of tracks are centered on guitar and piano with clean, very contemporary vocal performances from all of the members. It wouldn’t sound at all out of place coming from an Oricon charting act, which I guess is a good thing because that is kinda what the group is aiming to be ultimately. In that case, a very positive first step in that direction.
That being said, the first three tracks do somewhat suffer from having a very similar tone and emotion to them. It’s not a bad thing and they do all have their own unique moments but I did catch myself going “Oh, that sounds a bit familiar” a few times so there’s that I suppose. “Shinitai yoru” does hit a bit harder in the Rock direction if that’s more your style and I liked the piano focus of the last song “Yume ga kowareru oto ga shita” because it made for an emotionally charged end product and also sounded a bit more unique as a result.
Yeah, if you really liked THE BANANA MONKEYS for their music then I’m not really sure how you’d feel about this new group and direction if I’m being totally honest. They do still seem to do a stunt or two on their YouTube every so often, so there’s still that element at play I suppose. Outside of that though it definitely feels like this is a very different and hopefully in the end more successful venture because the talent is there for all to hear and just needs the right platform to showcase itself and find a wider audience.
Whether that ends up being the case is of course still much too early to tell. Like I said though, this is a very positive first step in the direction of becoming national idols for BLUEGOATS and if they keep at it I see no reason why they won’t be able to get there. Well, assuming this isn’t all just some elaborate meta trolling attempt anyway. Crazier things have happened in the Idol world in the past after all.
