Released: 22.06.15 / Label: Virgin Music Label And Artist Services
I love the impact this cover has, very mysterious and almost spiritual with the art style. It’s the jacket for the full EP “22SS” that just came out this past month, so while it doesn’t work very well with the title Sad Vacation, it doesn’t need to. It certainly got me interested in hearing the song.
naomi paris tokyo is the oddly international name for indie musician naomi. He’s better known as one half of the duo jan and naomi but began doing solo work back in 2020. I’ve heard a little bit of the duo’s work, but this will be the first time I’ve listened to his solo material. I’ve no idea what to expect, but I’m interested to see what he brings to the music. Let’s give it a listen.
Right off the bat I’m impressed with the use of space and atmosphere of this track. A lot of beauty in the intro with beautiful strings and effects creating a lush soundscape. However. the mix kind of falls apart as soon as the guitar comes in (you’ll know) and then it all seems a bit too big spacious. The melodic and chordal ideas are simple but beautifully done, and the care put into the dynamics and arrangement of each section is obvious. It does feel like he bit off a bit more than he could chew in terms of depth. It seems like he wanted to go both cinematic and pop, a real challenge because those two genres are at odds with each other. A good attempt though, and some really beautiful moments that I’ll definitely listen to again.
Sadly I wasn’t able to find the lyrics to this song anywhere, and they’re very hard to make out on the recording, so I’m not sure what he’s singing. If you know where to find them please do let me know.
stream or download the track
