Style: New age, ambient, electronic, vocal, pop
Primary Emotions/Themes: Ethereal soundscapes, self reflection, moments of awe
Thoughts: I'm not sure I'm going to be able to contain my inner fanboy from coming out on this one. Susumu Hirasawa is one of my favorite artists, especially his 90's and early 2000's output. Siren falls right in the middle of that time period, and it's one of his better releases.
I found out about his work from the Dreamcast game Sword of the Berserk. The theme song is performed by Mr. Hirasawa and I was instantly in love with his sound. His ethereal compositions, his forceful yet gentle melodies, and above all his incredible voice. I had never heard anything like it before, and I've never heard anything like it since.
Siren is one of the strongest representations of everything that I like about his sound. It contains the weird synth sounds that I've only ever heard in Susumu's music. It has a representation of how good of a vocalist he is on so many tracks. It has the quirky samples and instrument selections that can only be found here. It has everything that I need. If I never get another one of his records, this one has it all.
Let's take a look at the title track for a minute. This has everything that makes Susumu's music special. The song starts off with a bunch of kids singing and honestly it's a bit off putting. The song then goes into a slow, almost march styled composition. The first verse has Susumu's voice mimicking the lead synth melody. The two work well together, but don't really stand out one way or the other. In essence the song is "fine" for the first verse the the chorus comes in, and out of no where the song goes from "fine" to magical.
With the chorus, the children's choir comes back, Susumu's voice goes up almost an octave and he chants "Siren" in such a delicate yet forceful way. It takes the song from being grounded in the earth to being forced into the heavens. It transcends the mortal plane and channels something from beyond, something that only the very best music can do.
This is just one song... there are countless other examples of why Susumu Hirasawa's music is elite. Holy Delay channels the same feeling of being otherworldly, yet in a much calmer sense than the title track does. Nurse Cafe has a joy to it that is hard to replicate. Day Scanner is a driving track that is close to what he does with the Berserk track Forces. It's one of the most direct tracks on the album. Siam Lights is shrouded in mystery. Every track, each and every one of them... they are all magical.
Siren is an album that will never leave my collection. Hell I didn't think that I would ever own this thing. I hope that I can get some of his other records that have been pressed recently, but they are really expensive. If this is the only one I can get then it's an outstanding addition to the collection. One of those rare records that makes my collection one step closer to complete.
Written January 2nd 2024
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