Style: Synthwave, chilllwave
Primary Emotions/Themes: City night life, embracing youth, life before it got complicated
Thoughts: I think this may set the record for the longest I have waited for a record to arrive. I ordered this record in November of 2021, and then waited... and waited... and continued waiting. A year passed and the record company mentioned that the plant that these were assigned to had problems and they would have to start over again.
Another year passed and finally it's here. Was this album worth a two year wait? I think that there are only a handful of albums that are worth that kind of waiting period, and this is not one of them. That said this is now in my collection and the past is the past.
VHS Tokyo unapologetically plays synthwave - the type that is content to chill out and take it easy on a warm summers night. Nothing here is harsh, nothing here is loud (except maybe the first audio sample)... nothing is offensive to the ears. It's a cool breeze in the middle of a blistering hot evening in June.
The tempo is right around 90-120 beats per minute. There is no urgency, and that is exactly what I want/need from music like this. The synths are unapologetically laid back and the melodies are equally appealing to the ear.
The instruments used sound like they are pulled straight from the 80's. The way they come together to form melodies are akin to different layers of a building being erected in the distance. It starts simple, but as the song progresses more detail is added and eventually the song is seen in it's fully glory... against the setting sun... on a beach in a pastel colored alternate universe.
While all of this is nothing new, there are some things that VHS Tokyo does to differentiate themselves from their contemporaries in the synthwave scene. Every so often there will be a far eastern instrument that is used alongside the synths. While not often, these moments are the ones that make me smile. It's so simple, but when a pan flute or Japanese guitar comes in for a couple of measures it's just cool... good vibes.
Re:Hello, Goodbye isn't an amazing album, but it certainly isn't a boring one either. This hits a very specific mood that I reserve a portion of my collection for. Those moods don't hit often, but when they do there are very few records that hit them. In this case, when I want to be reminded of chilled out landscapes with a retro Japanese tint to it I've got my album. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go finish my margarita while sitting on a digital beach in my dreams.
Written January 22nd 2024
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