IOSYS « Vitamin Drop

Tracklisting
1. try again
2. Princess greedy, Princess versatile
3. 空を飛べなくてもいいから (Sora wo tobenakute mo ii kara)
4. まどろみのラビリンス (Madoromo no RABIRINSU)
5. 血染めのラブレター (Chizome no Love Letter)
6. 初雪 (Hatsuyuki)
7. それでも僕ら書いてしまうのさ (Sore demo bokura kaite shimau no sa)

We Are “IOSYS” is a mini-album by the band of the same name, and is possibly their debut mini-album. Details about them are somewhat scarce, so I can’t be certain. I’m working on getting a translation for the tracklisting, too~

The album opens with the song, try again, which is gonna catch you off guard in a totally different way. This is actually a calm pop-rock song with a focus on drums, an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar, with a few more instruments thrown in. The vocals play a large role in this slow song, which is somewhat odd for an IOSYS song (I mean, they always play a role, but usually not in this way), but it works well. This is a pretty good song, but it’s not what fans of IOSYS are going to expect. Not to say that makes it bad, but just brace yourself for the rest of the album, because…

Princess greedy, Princess versatile is where we start seeing more of what we know. It may start somewhat slowly, but already, the anime-like vocals come in with a much heavier, more pronounced rock arrangement. This is a faster song, but the vocals come off as a bit weaker this time around, due to the different vocalist. But the vocals tend to suit the song for the majority of it, even in some parts when it gets weaker. There are some choppy song transitions, too, but it’s not an overly large problem.

Sora wo tobenakute mo ii kara is the next song, and it continues the general hyper theme the last song had, but in a much more bubblegum, synthesised way. This is a much cuter song in comparison to the previous two, and has a much larger anime feel than either of them. I can’t help but giggle when I hear this song playing, because of said cuteness. As with most IOSYS songs, there’s no real distinguishable chorus or anything, but that’s to be expected, really.

Madoromo no RABIRINSU is next, and it carries an almost Arabian feel. It’s much slower than any of the previous songs, and has a whole mysterious, wonderful feeling to it. The stronger, stable vocals help to add to this feeling, as they come off with just the right infliction and tone when it’s needed, and the ethereal synth lines you hear throughout the song help to add to the mysterious and mystical tone of the song even more. It wins large points for originality.

Chizome no Love Letter opens again, and instantly overtakes any previous song in its cuteness factor. It opens with some positively adorable synth with an equally fitting giggle in the background. The song’s almost 8-bit in how it sounds, and follows the hyper, fast atmosphere we’ve come to expect from Sora wo tobenakute and Princess greedy, Princess versatile. It brings back the weaker vocals, but they only add further to the cuteness. IT’S JUST SO CUTE~

Hatsuyuki is next, and opens with a mystical tone to it, followed by a drawn out 8-bit beep and drums. The vocals have an echo effect placed over them, and they are once again sung by the stable vocalist. This is another mysterious song, but it’s sung in a much more ethereal manner compared to RABIRINSU. It’s also faster, thus keeping a hint of the hyper nature, while still coming off as sophisticated and solid. The vocals in this song are absolutely brilliant, and outshine anything I’ve heard thus far.

Sore demo bokura kaite shimau no sa closes this mini-album, and opens with nothing but a high-register vocal line and an acoustic guitar, followed by the drums and synth. It’s more along the lines of try again, and despite having a higher register vocalist, it’s not the same one we’ve heard on this album, and she has a stable voice, which always helps. It’s a great way to end the album, leaving it on a calm note. Because of her high voice, the vocalist can easily reach the high notes heard near the end, which is great.

Mini-Album Score
A+

Favorite Track
Madoromo no RABIRINSU, Chizome no Love Letter, Hatsuyuki, Sore demo bokura kaite shimau no sa

While this album is extremely different to anything I’ve reviewed thus far, due to its mix of overly cute anime-esque music and mature tracks, it’s one of the better executed releases I’ve featured. They used the right vocalists to help enhance the right songs, and the different mixture of tones and styles help keep every song fresh. It’s a real niche album, but it’s definitely going to have at least one song you’re going to like.

I know I’m changing this an awful lot, but I’ve settled. My special review will be the album “We Are “IOSYS”", from the band IOSYS.

Well, IOSYS isn’t a band, per se. They’re a dōjin circle/musical ensemble from Sapporo, Japan. They mainly work with remixes of music from Touhou games, as well as dōjin games. They only release their music through conventions and dōjin channels, so it’s a real trial to find their music. Some of their music is absolutely CRAZY, and is really popular in internet circles, so you can hear quite a bit of them on YouTube. If anyone can tell me where to find their music, I’d be really greatful, but as it stands, I only have one album, so that’s what I’ll be reviewing. However, this won’t be the usual kind of special review: They’ll be a bit more regular than a normal special review would be, so they won’t count as the special review of the month, and they won’t be appearing once a month either. However, I can’t review them regularly, so they’ll be randomly ordered and sporadic to make up for that. As such, Perfume’s Complete Best will most likely still be the “Special” Special review.

Side note, I’m looking for the album “Yggdrasil’s Toybox” or “Toybox of Yggdrasil”, I’m not sure which it is. But it’s an album with music based off of the game Etrian Odyssey, which I’m a huge fan of, so if anyone can tell me where I can get it, I’d be really greatful!

I have a review that I’ve already finished, but am waiting to post, so expect that today! This time it’s definite!