Release Date: July 26, 2023
Track Listing
- Do Not Touch
- Behind The Curtain
- Marshmallow
- Funny Valentine
- It’s Not Easy For You
- Rewind you
- Bouquet
Review
MISAMO is TWICE’s first sub-unit consisting of the Japanese members of the group. For those who are new to TWICE or could not figure out what members I speak of, MISAMO are:
- MIna
- SAna
- MOmo
Masterpiece is the trio’s debut Japanese EP featuring the insert song for the Japanese drama Liaison -Children’s Heart Clinic – (Bouquet), the pre-release Marshmallow and the album’s title track Do Not Touch.
The latter two tracks would lead one to believe Masterpiece will be an Urban Pop joyride. That is somewhat deceptive as there are a variety of different styles that MISAMO works with.
The jazzy, burlesque-like Behind The Curtain stands out the most for being different from the standard pop music surrounding it. If you like the kind of pop-jazz fusion similar to what is on Christina Aguilera’s Back To Basics album (yes, old, I know), then this might catch your ear.
The tracks that will probably be of most interest will be the ones where the members wrote the lyrics, Funny Valentine (Momo), It’s Not Easy For You (Mina) and Rewind You (Sana). These don’t sound like typical TWICE songs and have a darker and rougher feeling. At least the first two songs are like that. Rewind You sounds more like a Heize type of track to me.
The lyrics written by the members also have a bit more depth than expected. It’s not like they’re writing anything world-changing about love. But the content is fitting to the music they are writing to.
It is difficult to say which of the three was the best since bias and taste come into play. I keep returning to the song Rewind You. I like the chill Hip-Pop vibe it gives off.
The album ends with Bouquet, a song that resembles a prototypical Japanese drama theme, which is why it is the insert song for one. I didn’t find it anything spectacular, but I’m sure some people think differently.
So is this worth investing 22 minutes of your life into? That depends. If you believe that MISAMO should be a clone of the bubbly J-Pop version of TWICE, then steer clear of Masterpiece. You won’t be happy with anything but Bouquet.
If you are willing to accept the outside-the-box concept MISAMO is running with, then yes, listen to Masterpiece.
