Having founded the band P-MODEL in 1979, Tokyo-born Susumu Hirasawa had become an icon of new wave and adventurous techno-pop in Japan when he set off on his solo career a decade later. It’s this material he’s best known for, specifically his unforgettable work scoring films by the late anime master Satoshi Kon, such as Paprika and the Paranoia Agent TV series. Blending monumental loftiness and poignant intimacy, anthemic earnestness and a streak of ironic, deadpan humour, Hirasawa’s sensibility has remained firmly intact over the decades, while so has his capacity to startle and intrigue with each new song. His 14th solo album indicates no diminishment in any of this. Hirasawa’s familiar melodic stylings, operatic grandeur and flights of falsetto are ever present, as his his strange yet alluring juxtaposition of martial force, playful absurdity, guileless emoting and disconcertingly unfamiliar electronic sounds. “Ghost Train”, a sort of dyslexic robot spaghetti-Western number, is a good example. The most vital factor is the sense of sympathy and optimism Hirasawa never fails to project, forever the light cutting through darkness that the album’s title suggests.
Latest 360 Content
Interview Rock
Alex Henry Foster Talks About Overcoming Death and his new album, Kimiyo
By Stephan Boissonneault
Interview Classical/classique
Information: Montreal Oct. 1970 by Tim Brady: a first opera about the October ’70 Crisis
By Frédéric Cardin
Album review Electronic/Hip Hop/hyperpop 2024
Single of the Day: Kaya Hoax ft. Magi Merlin “Hot Girls with ADD”
By Stephan Boissonneault
Album review Americana/Pop
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poet Department: The Anthology
By Alain Brunet
Album review classique/musique traditionnelle/Classical/trad québécois 2024
Karina Gauvin – Marie Hubert : Fille du Roy
By Frédéric Cardin
Interview Folk/Americana/Rock/hyperpop
P’tit Belliveau Talks About His New Album, Frogs, and Income Tax
By Stephan Boissonneault
Interview Rock/Electronic/Experimental / Contemporary/expérimental / contemporain/Pop
At Annie-Claude Deschênes’ table: between utensils & sound experimentation
By Louise Jaunet
Concert review
Université de Montréal | Jean-François Rivest’s Grandiose Farewell
By Elena Mandolini
Interview classique/Jazz/Classical
OSL | Naomi Woo | Musique du Nouveau Monde
By Alexandre Villemaire
Album review classique/Jazz 2024
Nadia Labrie – Flute Passion – Claude Bolling : Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio
By Frédéric Cardin
Album review Classical/classique 2024
David Jalbert – Prokofiev : Piano Sonatas vol. II
By Frédéric Cardin
Interview Rock/Electronic/Pop/Jazz