Capeson ¡°Hiraeth¡± (Tokyo Recordings)
Fledging label Tokyo Recordings gained significant buzz after its founder, Nariaki Obukuro (N.O.R.K.), collaborated with Hikaru Utada on her comeback album, ¡°Fantome.¡±
Weeks later, the label released ¡°Hiraeth¡°, the debut album by singer-songwriter Capeson, who was born in Tokyo but spent his childhood in Boston. His upbringing is reflected on ¡°Hiraeth,¡± which blends R&B elements with U.K. alternative, as he sings in English.
The album¡¯s standout track, ¡°Leave You Alone,¡± recounts lost love. Capeson seems to only half accept the love is gone, a sentiment that is reflected in the range of his vocals. Sometimes he sings with a subdued quality, sometimes he shouts, and, as the song climaxes, he goes into falsetto and brings in strings to add to the drama.
¡°Believe My Eyes¡± is the closest ¡°Hiraeth¡± comes to an upbeat moment. It¡¯s a stirring pop-rock anthem with a backing chorus that adds an unexpected touch of grandeur. The sing-along aspect of it came as a pleasant surprise.
A lot of J-pop tracks sound like they¡¯re praying a TV show will pick them up for a theme tune. ¡°Hiraeth¡± has tracks that sound similar, but his sound like they could back American dramas as opposed to Japanese ones. ¡°Sunshine¡°, which features production and backing vocals by English musician Aqualung, is a bassier version of the type of song you might hear on the TV show ¡°Grey¡¯s Anatomy,¡± which is not farfetched seeing as how Aqualung¡¯s music has been featured on the show before.
Capeson¡¯s debut sees him taking a spot alongside the likes of Suchmos, cero and Cicada in taking R&B and giving it an indie slant. Let¡¯s hope Tokyo Recordings can keep up the good work.
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