tsuyori’s Album Reviews: Ghost (DECO*27)

Don’t you have those moments when you like an album so much (even before its releases) that you just want to write and talk about it non-stop? Because that’s how exactly I feel right now. As I’m writing this part, the album is not even out yet, but I have bought Ghost Rule off iTunes and had it on replay for the past hour.

Who am I?

Hi, before I start talking about this new favorite album of mine (and possible for a lot of other people), I shall introduce myself a little. My name is tsuyori and some people on the Internet might have seen me somewhere before, which we shall not speak off. I’m part of the MikuDB’s team as someone who overlooks everyone (basically the ‘mom’), but that doesn’t stop me from writing how much I love music. I say music because I love more than just Vocaloids, I have a lot of favorite genres. You’ll see me here and there on MikuDB. I’m often active on Discord if any of you are interested in talking to me. You can join our public Discord server at the right panel.

Okay, now that introduction is out of the way, shall we get start on DECO*27 5th and latest album, Ghost?

Album Information

The album that was released on the 28th of September 2016 features 13 tracks, which I will personally break down over how I feel about all the tracks. This post is going to be a long one so go grab a cup of tea or some snacks and read my ramblings.

Disclaimer: All of the followings are my personal thoughts so please do not take any offense from it. Everyone can feel free to write how they feel about the album in the comments below.

P.S: The titles of the songs for the Japanese release and international release are slightly different for some songs.

Review

Track #1: Ghost Rule
MV: YouTube
Should I start by saying that this song is my absolutely favorite from the entire album? I know, I know, what are the odds that the title track (presumably) be my favorite right? To be honest with you, I did not hear of this song till a few weeks back, months after its releases. I have heard of DECO*27 works before, but at times I fall out of the loop and cut myself out of the Vocaloid world. Only recently after joining MikuDB and the community, I was able to slowly get back into the loop again. I was browsing YouTube and I came across this song. The moment I heard it, I fell in love with it. Like, it was an instant click. I have always favored DECO*27’s music style, there’s always something that I cannot explain in words that I love about his works. Ghost Rule being one of them. I especially adore the chorus and the second verse. The whole song is just beautifully put together and I cannot fathom how much love I have for this song.

Track #2: Reversible Campaign
MV: YouTube
This one came close to a favorite, but I love it nonetheless. Does anyone remember DECO*27’s previous works that is slightly different than this? But regardless, I want to applaud DECO*27 for the leap of style, but still managing to make it sound like his own music.  It sounded different from his previous works, but it still feels the same. Also, the only thing I’m slightly annoyed with is that this song is way too short, though I felt like he did that on purpose. I don’t really think I have anything else to say about this song, I mean, the song itself can pretty much speak for itself. The funky rhythm of the song does emit a powerful feel of its own.

Track #3: LOVE DOLL -miku ver.-
I’m pretty sure most of DECO*27’s fans have heard of this song already. This song was originally released 2 years ago with GUMI’s vocals. Despite only having 2 million views on YouTube, this song was loved enough by the community to be added. To be honest with you, I don’t really have much to say about this song, because I don’t dislike it, though I don’t particularly love it either. It’s DECO*27’s song, you can never go wrong with it. But if I have to describe this song, I guess I would say I enjoy the rhythm of the song, especially the chorus. Man, I do have soft spots for choruses.

Track #4: Bad Tone #33 or 散散駄目調子
Hmm, how should I describe this one? This song has a ‘fun’ feeling to it. It’s not too heavy on the rock side, so this is one of the songs that could very easily be loved by a lot of people who are not too keen on rock music. I personally like the chorus, it’s very fun and upbeat.

Track #5: Dscf or 妄想感傷代償連盟
Just like track #4, this song is also one of those fun songs that DECO*27 frequently arranges. This one is slightly more light-hearted than track #4, not too heavy on the music. I absolutely adored the ‘ai yi ya yi ya’ part. I would gladly say that this song earns a spot in my go-to Vocaloid playlist. I also just realized that it has the same feel as Heart a la mode, possibly my ultimate favorite song of DECO*27’s discography.

Track #6: 118 or いいや
MV: YouTube
This song is loved by a lot of people, I guess I can say I like it too. I mean I can’t possibly dislike any of DECO*27’s songs, but I do have to say I like the opening of the song. Those electro beats, yup love it. You also can’t go wrong with that chorus.

Track #7: Turret of Justice or 正義のタレット
Unfortunately, this song would have to be my least favorite song out of the entire album. Hey don’t get me wrong, I still like it, but it’s just not my cup of tea. Maybe it’s the rhythm, maybe it’s the whole feel fo the song, but I can’t really pinpoint what exactly I don’t really like about the song, but regardless it’s still a nice song.

Track #8: Liar Dance
MV: YouTube
This is my second favorite song of this entire album. Let me tell you how much I adore the start of the song, the part before Miku comes in. I have a thing when Miku sings ‘ai yi ya yi ya’. Or maybe is just DECO*27’s songs. Who knows? But seriously, I adore this song. The part where the saxophone solo comes in, I was like ‘gosh DECO*27, you have outdone yourself again.’

Track #9: Find the Light
MV: NicoNicoDouga
This song was released in 2015 for an RPG quiz game, so DECO*27’s fans are not foreign to this song either. But you want to know what I love about this song? The transition between the slow pace and the upbeat part. It’s so beautifully put together. When you start the song, the upbeat funky tune of it slowly transition into a slow beat that features Miku’s vocals beautifully, only to go back to the fast pace again, gosh, I love it. I love it lots, to the point I have to put this sentence in italics to emphasize my point.

Track #10: Life Sick or 生心病
To be honest, when I first heard this song, I almost felt like dancing to the opening beat. But unfortunately, I’m not really good at dancing, so I won’t even start on that. I love the drums part that kicked in afterward. I’m not going to lie, this song reminds me of like mainstream J-Pop quite a bit, but hey, I still like mainstream J-Pop so no hard feelings.

Track #11: Hedgehog or 針鼠
I’m not going to lie, when I saw the title of the song I expected it to be cute, and it is indeed a cute and fun song. The opening has a very similar feel to Heart a la mode, which you guys already know is my favorite song of all time. This song is slightly slow paced, which I think would be perfect for a road trip.

Track #12: Sprite Girl
I’ll be honest with you again, I wrote the review for at before I wrote the review for this song because I was slightly struggling with words on how to explain my feelings on this song. After writing for at, I finally knew what to say. This song feels like a ‘cooldown’ song to me. You know after going through such an amazing experience, right before the end there’s a cooldown session, where everyone just sits down and reviews what they have experienced? Yup, reminds me of those times.

Track #13: at
Ah, the last song of this fantastic album. This soothing tempo is such a perfect conclusion to this album. We started off with Ghost Rule which is fast paced with an amazing tempo and we conclude the album with at. I don’t have a lot to say about it, because this song is very self-explanatory, even if you don’t know the lyrics or their meaning because just the feel of the song gives you some kind of closure, or at least it does for me.

Conclusion

Now to conclude, this whole album has been a wild and fun ride from the start to the end. It’s like riding a roller coaster, we started off with Ghost Rule and conclude it with at. I am going to stop blabbering now, you guys are probably tired of my words already. If you have not listened to this album yet, like, what are you doing with your life mate, go and give it a chance! You don’t have to necessary like EVERY song, not a lot of people are like me anyway. But seriously, give this album a chance and you might able to score yourself a new favorite.

This has been tsuyori, and it has been my pleasure writing this for you guys. Feel free to comment below with any questions or simply share your thoughts on the album!

Where can you find the album? Here on MikuDB of course! >GHOST<