[Album Review] Bronze - Aquarium

Cover art for Aquarium by Bronze

Bronze Aquarium Album Review

Continuing the trend of late bubble economy style Korean City Pop comes one of the biggest nods to the genre yet by Korean producer Bronze. The cover art is by the famed illustrator Hiroshi Nagai who has done album art for legendary City Pop artists like Tatsuro Yamashita and Eiichi Ohtaki to name a few. His iconic Americana style art makes this an instant visual cue for fans of the genre to immediately know that this going to be City Pop kind of music. While easy to find online for anyone in the know I can’t imagine anyone other than K-Pop Stans ever finding this album as searching for the title will surely bring up mostly fish tanks made out of the medieval material.

The album starts off with Melody featuring Luna and spares no time getting the mood set up as the familiar summer-y sounds that you will come to expect from the style begin to set the foundation of the record. The slap-bass work, tom fills, and synthy trumpets work perfectly to make you feel like you’re cruising with the top down on an infinite drive with the sunsetting beach to your left and a sparkling skyline ahead. The track is satisfying and while more pop-y than anything it emphasizes the point of this being nostalgic. Next is Submarine with Hoody. This track starts strong with Hoody’s sultry vocals calling through a mist of swirling retro synths and jazzy keys. The Seinfeld-esque basslines are a nice touch and overall the song works well in terms of lyrics and “retro-ness.”

The 3rd track is Haru with meenoi, and wow this is my favorite so far. It’s got a Mary Jane Girls feel with a hint of All Night Long basslines giving it that really glowy evening vibe. I sense a bit of Momoko Kikuchi’s album, Adventure, in the synths which tends to be soft and fragile sounding. Next is Ah-ha with Kim Bum Soo who is channeling Michael Jackson’s Rock With You to the most. It’s a really funky track with some BeeGee’s high notes making this a disco-pop banger. It’s an earnest attempt to re-envision the past and it’s well done in my opinion.

This track leads into Magnolia with Jason Lee & Hookou, giving you smooth muzak that whisks you far away to a sandy cafe alone while drinking an over-sized piña colada and watching the tide come in and out for hours. Point is that it sounds like a sonic vacation. The sax on this is perfect and really stands out to give it that perfect City Pop/AOR/Fusion feeling that many people look for in this style of music. Next is Mermaid with zin, and it’s a dream-funk epic that sounds amazingly fresh and even though distinctly City Pop it’s definitely bordering Nu-Disco as this new interpretation is blurring the lines between the two. Zin’s voice is perfect for this track with her slightly disaffected vocal style makes this a highlight of the album. The guitar solo at the end really puts the icing on this audio cake.

If you liked the last track you get another taste of Showa with Orange Road featuring Yukika. Clearly a reference Kimagure Orange Road; a cult classic slice of life anime from the 80s. Already having released a City Pop album of her own, Yukika is no stranger to the scene. This track hits all the right notes and is a perfect complement to the spirit of this album. It’s emotional, smooth, insanely groovy, and perfectly mixed. Solid work by Bronze and Yukika. That brings us to Pluto with SFC.JGR & Hoody. This one is bringing a more RnB vibe that reminds me of Mariya Takeuchi in her song ‘Oh No, Oh Yes’. Many aspiring K-City Pop singers have been looking to Takeuchi for inspiration enough so that Yubin was slapped with copyright infringement. The duet aspect of this song makes it different from the rest of the album but for me isn’t City Pop enough. I don’t mind the song but it’s just a bit of a departure even with the delayed stabby synths trying to tie it into the flow of the tracks. Bit of a miss for me.

This brings us to the end, Waterfall with hitomitoi, who some may recognize from her 2013 City Pop revival album Surf Bank Social Club. She’s been known to have an affinity for the style and has had quite a few great tracks in the past. All that said, this closing song doesn’t do it for me even though she breaks from the Korean lyrics of the rest of the album and sings in Japanese. I feel like it’s a sweet enough song but lacks the closure I was looking for since halfway through this album delivered some top boppage.

Overall I think this album is a 7.5 out of 10 for me. Definitely inspired by more of the commercial side of late 80s City Pop, but at its core, it still is K-Pop which favors that production quality. It’s a lovely assemblage of talent with a broad scope of vocal range and accessible funky instrumentation that gives some life to the Nu-Disco template but at times veers away from the genre it tries to embody. - Van

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AUTHOR

Van Paugam is an Internationally-Acclaimed DJ and leading figure specializing in 70s and 80s Japanese Music, dubbed City Pop. He has organized and hosted over 100 events dedicated to the style, and actively promotes Japanese culture while on the board of the Japanese Arts Foundation of Chicago. He has been featured on CNN, NHK, and many other publications for his dedication to City Pop. Van is credited with being the first person to begin popularizing City Pop online through his mixes on YouTube in 2016, and subsequently through live events. Learn More…

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