Asunojokei returns with a new album.
Following their tenth anniversary celebration with a live album, Kei Toriki (guitar), Daiki Nuno (vocals), Tayuka Seki (bass), and Seiya Saito (drums) unveil their sophomore album, Think of You, with the help of Vinyl Junkie Recordings for the CD version.
The album kicks off with the energetic Dawn, where Post-Hardcore influences are clearly evident, both in the motivating instrumental and the furious vocals that blend in naturally. The hypnotic leads bring a different dimension to the track, leading us to Stella and its relatively upbeat riffs, which are reinforced by dazzling saturation and high-energy drums. The vocals add an aggressive touch, reinforced by the frenzied blast before being nuanced again by the more ethereal guitar. We move on to Magic Hour, which immediately offers a catchy groove, but also a rather jerky, heady approach that makes the song fly by in an instant before Angel offers us its soothing complexity with hints of Screamo brought on by the dual vocals. The track eventually darkens, then offers a passage of clear sound, finally exploding again to join Dogma and its mysterious sounds, which steadily grow heavier and more intense, imposing a rather unusual but very captivating rhythm. In the City Where Cobalt Falls takes over and introduces hazy tones that blend perfectly with the ferocity of the rhythm to create a contrasting and refreshing sound, just like on The Farewell Frost, which follows with more cheerful tones. While the basis of the track could almost sound pop, Daiki‘s vocals definitively anchor the mid-tempo song in dark musical layers, while Zeppelin remains on a more haunting sound with various influences, notably from the very dissonant guitar that leads the dance, navigating between several different universes and taking advantage of its length. Tomorrow is Your Day marks the end of the album with its painful melancholy that progresses and captivates us, letting us drift along at its pace until the abrupt moment when silence reigns once again.
Asunojokei has always benefited from diverse influences, creating a web of unpredictable riffs, mixing all possible sensations, and Think of You remains in this vein, letting aggression meet melancholy or gentleness. Although a little short, the album remains very rich.
85/100
