Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA: Review
is a Japanese-Brithsh pop songstress who first made waves all the way back in 2017 with her RINA mini-album/EP. The record was a critically acclaimed progressive pop piece that got a lot of attention for its production from then up and coming Clarence Clarity. Over the past few years Rina has put out a number of successful singles in the wake of her breakout moment and developed a large devoted fanbase. After releasing some of her most acclaimed songs to date in the lead up to her debut record it was hard to identify a record that music fans were more excited for this year than SAWAYAMA.
Review By Lavender:
To this day I still really enjoy RINA, I got some flack from friends and early readers when I didn't name it my EP of the year back in 2017, although in my defense that Young Thug and Carnage EP went incredibly hard. But since then it has felt like Rina has hit on one single after another after another, and I've been right there with her. This was one of my most anticipated pop records of the year and after having enjoyed one of my most anticipated rock records of the year just last week with the new Strokes album, I'm happy to report that SAWAYAMA also lives up to the hype.
It is hard to imagine a record getting off to a better start than this one, with the 5 singles released in the lead up to this record being pretty much 5 for 5. The records biggest hit so far may be my least favorite of the singles but I still think it is a mostly fantastic song. Comme Des Garcon largely avoids the rock elements of many of these other tracks and replaces them with a straightforward slick electro pop tune. Rina delivers an impossibly cool lead vocal performance and while the track isn't groundbreaking it is a really solid tune. Bad Friend was released just before the album dropped and features one of the most reletable lines on the record when she mentions singing her heart out to Carly, something I've done my fair share of this quarantine, It's a great pseudo-ballad with some great vocal effects that avoid some of the pitfalls of other deep cuts on the record and the verses are intimate and touching while also managing to be driving and exciting.
STFU! was something really special that I think is as hilarious, confident and charming as pop music gets. It doesn't have the hookiest chorus in the world but it is soaked in swagger and has an incredibly slick transition from chugging guitar riffs to sugary sweet vocals and a breezy key refrain that makes for a real treat. Picking a favorite single is going to be difficult as the year goes by between XS and Chosen Family XS was a favorite of mine the moment I first heard it and is one of the most effective crossovers of boy/girl band era pop music with nu metal that I've ever heard. The song is a punchy and powerful combination of the two that is even better than the already great work Poppy and Grimes have done over the last few years, what a fucking brilliant song. Finally Chosen Family is the records most emotional point where Rina delivers a heart-felt message on family and finding friends you love so much they feel like they might as well be family, that nearly brings me to tears. The hook is not only wonderfully performed but also a perfect synopsis of the tracks ideology with the lyrics "We don't need to be related to relate, we don't need to share genes or a surname". The song is a powerful and beautiful statement that I absolutely adore.
The highlights however do not stop with the singles starting with the track Who's Gonna Save U Now? which is mixed to sound like a live performance and that effect makes Rina sound even more charismatic than before. The dynamic and confrontational hook are fiery and unstoppable and the track rocks just as hard as anything else here. Love Me 4 Me is a sweet and bouncy pop tune about self-confidence that features some glistening and immaculate production. The guitar solo on the song is absolutely gorgeous and somehow fits perfectly with the shimmering keys and punchy drum kick which makes for a great catchy pop tune. Akasaka Sad is a moment where Rina actually takes a backseat. The melody sounds lifted right out of the Justin Timberlake playbook from the early 2000's but I think she does enough with it to make it sound solid. The highlight of the song is Clarence Clarity's absolutely insane production. The instrumental for the track explodes out of the mix and steals the show with creative futuristic and zany sounds wrapped perfectly around each other to both match the mood of the song and heighten it as well.
Dynasty is a confrontational opening track that doesn't let you breathe between the hefty driving guitar riffs and soaring synths that highlight the tracks most passionate moments. I do think the song could have used a little bit of a better mix to make it hit even harder but whats here is still excellent. Tokyo Love Hotel is a love ballad with another good instrumental that mixes jittery percussion with a huge wall of keys. Rina's vocals still hang over the track front and center and while I like this song I do think it could have been spiced up a little bit. The second half of the hook is just a tad flat and compared to some of the more futuristic ballad of the bunch I have to wonder if this song could be just a little better. Snakeskin is a song that is very hard to pin down and is an absolute whirlwind of a final track. There are distant and confounding passages like the songs hook which features a dark breakdown into something that borders on straight up electronica, but there are also jittery fast paced verses with some hit of miss refrains and then a huge triumphant bridge that sounds like something from Beyonce's Homecoming. The track is certainly very interesting if not also a little bit all over the place, and a weird choice to close the record.
There were only two songs that held the tracklist back for me and even then they are pretty solid cuts. Paradisin is one of the only tracks here with a bit of a weak hook even though the singing is incredibly pretty. The instrumental and progression of the track is straightforward but a little bit simple compared to a lot of the other tracks here and sounds like a track from a less creative pop album. Fuck The World is technically an interlude but it lasts almost as long as the rest of the songs here which makes me think I have the right to critique it validly. My biggest problem with the track is that it is just really all over the place and it bounces back and forth between refrains and sounds with really no attempt to be a complete song. Even though it is labelled an interlude it does take up nearly 3 minutes in the tracklist and not all of it is even sonically interesting.
SAWAYAMA is about as good as you can hope or expect a debut record to be. While there are lulls in the tracklist and songs that don't quite hold up to the rest of the pack there is so much creativity on display on the record. The combination of Rina and Clarence Clarity if making some of the most instrumentally dense and personality soaked pop music you'll hear in 2020 and throughout this record they prove that they are both incredibly consistent and incredibly versatile. Way more songs on the record are hits than misses and when it hits the record comes with some of the best songs I've heard all year regardless of genre, making this one of the biggest triumphs of 2020 so far. 8.5/10
