{"id":35048,"date":"2020-07-07T15:00:46","date_gmt":"2020-07-07T15:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traklife.com\/featured\/sawayama-album-review\/"},"modified":"2020-07-07T15:00:46","modified_gmt":"2020-07-07T15:00:46","slug":"sawayama-album-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traklife.com\/culture\/sawayama-album-review\/","title":{"rendered":"SAWAYAMA – Album Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Earlier this year, up and coming pop artist Rina Sawayama<\/a> dropped her debut album SAWAYAMA<\/em>. The album is full of nods to 90s and early 2000s pop songs, which is a departure from the 80s nostalgia pop music seems to be reveling in right now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sawayama\u2019s music pivots from Britney Spears-esque pop songs to glam rock to synth-heavy ballads. Her music\u2019s appeal is her chameleon-like way of adapting and fitting into every genre she tries out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Songs like \u201cXS\u201d and \u201cParadisin\u2019\u2019’ sound straight out of the early aughts, but Sawayama puts her own twist on them, adding grungy guitar riffs and playful lyrics. \u201cThen you threaten to send me to \/\/ boarding school for the seventh time \/\/ I know we can\u2019t afford that, so I\u2019m fine,\u201d she sings in \u201cParadisin\u2019\u201d while retro video game sound effects blip in the background.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sawayama also tackles serious topics, most notably in fan-favorite track \u201cBad Friend.\u201d In an interview with Apple Music, Sawayama said, \u201c<\/span>I think everyone\u2019s been a bad friend at some point, and I wanted to write a very pure song about it. Before I went in to write that, I\u2019d just seen an old friend. She\u2019s had a baby. I\u2019d seen that on Facebook, and I hadn\u2019t been there for it at all, so I was like, \u201cWhat!\u201d We fell out, basically.\u201d The vocoder effect and lush production make the song stand out musically, but lyrics like \u201cGod it\u2019s insane how things can change like that \/\/ Don\u2019t even know where you are \/\/ what you do and who you do it with\u201d are what will stay with the listener.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The song topics turn to familial struggles; in \u201cDynasty,\u201d Sawayama explores intergenerational pain, while \u201cAkasaka Sad\u201d draws parallels between her loneliness in a new city to the experiences of her immigrant parents.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Every song on SAWAYAMA<\/em> sounds like the future of pop music, even while they also inspire feelings of deja vu. From cinematic music videos to endorsements from Elton John (\u201cThis is my favourite album of the year\u201d) to high-energy live performances, Rina Sawayama is definitely a pop star in the making.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Check out SAWAYAMA<\/em><\/strong> here!<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n