BananaLemon

Released: 22.08.24 / Label: Self-released

While I’m not as into J-Pop as I used to be, I occasionally see a group name that just calls to me. That’s exactly what happened with BananaLemon. And we’re in luck as the group just parted with their label and has released this newest single independently! The track-making certainly hasn’t suffered from the split, though. This is very well produced, and the number of sections they’ve fit into the sub-3-minute track is impressive. Escort starts off hard and quickly moves into rock/rap territory for the first verse. It sounds like we hear from two of the three members here before the obligatory clap-based pre-chorus. The chorus anti-drops with some really smooth vocals over a more relaxed guitar riff. I like how they’ve made the chorus pop by actually making it more subdued than the preceding build sections. It’s a great use of contrast. The second verse is a bit of unique songwriting: the music drops almost completely out and there’s just a short whispered vocal section before heading right back into the pre-chorus. It’s a smart choice that keeps things active and the song moving. Then the chorus again, followed by an R&B breakdown where they get in some diva singing. Then the last chorus does a great job of combining these different styles of singing, but for me it seemed to end a bit prematurely. I think an extra ad-lib section would have felt completely natural to end on, but I respect the ability to not needlessly prolong a track. The modern K-Pop influence is very apparent throughout the track, and while they’ve add a few new ideas here it’s definitely from the same mold. But sometimes just releasing a banger is enough.

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