Release Date: October 25, 2017
Track Listing
- My Revolution feat. Akina, Anna & Mikako from FAKY [Watanabe Misato]
- CANDY GIRL [hitomi]
- Samishii Nettaigyo [Wink]
- Donna to Kimo [Makihara Noriyuki]
- Sumire September Love [Ippudo]
- There will be love there – ai no aru basho – [the brilliant green]
- Dear Friends [Personz]
- Roman Hikou [Kome Kome Club]
- Sotsugyo [Yuki Saitou]
- BELIEVE IN LOVE [Lindberg]
- SEVEN DAYS WAR [TM Network]
- Konya wa Boogie Back (nice vocal) feat. Lil’ Fang from FAKY & Yup’in [Scha Dara Parr and Kenji Osawa]
Review
When it comes to music, there are various eras that people fondly remember for various reasons. Some look back at certain songs and the impression they left on them, whereas others recall the artists who became big influences in their lives. When it comes to J-Pop, the music created in the 1980s and 1990s can be considered one of those golden times where everything seemed just right for those of a certain older age demographic and/or fans of retro pop music.
With that in mind, FEMM’s second full-length release resurrects some of the major J-Pop hits from those particular periods and re-imagines them in an EDM pop sound. It features 12 covers of familiar songs that some may have belted out loud and out of tune at a few drunken karaoke sessions.
80s/90s J-POP REVIVAL starts strong with their previously released single My Revolution. The momentum continues to build through the covers of CANDY GIRL, Samishii Nettaigyo and Donna to Kimo. So far, so good for the first half of the album. When you hit the latter half, things get a little mired in similar-sounding songs that don’t necessarily endear themselves to the listener, nor do they do a lot of justice to the original versions of what FEMM is covering.
It is not until you get to the last song that you get something interesting to hear again. The version of Konya wa Boogie Back (nice vocal) here is different from the one on the single that came out in September. This has more of an EDM dancehall swing-type feel than the EDM/Hip-Hop blend offered by the single. It doesn’t necessarily redeem the entire second half of the album, but it does help end it on a good note.
Ultimately, this might have been better off as an EP rather than a full album. Sadly, except for the last song, the second half is a wash. If you are a fan of FEMM, you may even find 80s/90s J-POP REVIVAL somewhat weak when looking at their discography. You may want to pick and choose what songs interest you and download those or stick with the first 6 songs and the last one and skip the rest.
