Salyu – MAIDEN VOYAGE

April 1, 2010 at 11:20 PM | Posted in Salyu | 9 Comments
Tags: albums

The cover of the CD only edition

MAIDEN VOYAGE is Salyu’s 3rd studio album and it was released on March 24, 2010. The album reached #7 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and sold 20,744 copies.

Somebody fire the graphic designer! These covers are photoshop disasters. I like the idea behind them but this is what I like to call poor execution.

♦ ♦ ♦

It seems like ages since Salyu’s last studio album (TERMINAL was released in 2007) but MAIDEN VOYAGE is finally here. The wait was certainly worth it because I honestly think that this album contains her most balanced, yet ambitious work to date. Even with 5 singles, I’m glad that the album isn’t totally swamped with older material. We have 7 old tracks and 7 new ones so that’s pretty good.

The singles leading up to the album showcased different sounds from Salyu, drifting away from the alternative rock she normally did. I guess you could say the music was more “pop” but it still had a experimental vibe. The best examples would be the hard-hitting mix of strings and electric guitars in LIBERTY to the cosmic, synth-laden Corteo ~Gyouretsu~. The synthetic elements get further implemented in EXTENSION. There were some mellow songs like iris ~Shiawase no Hako~ and HALFWAY, too.

With the final single of the era, Atarashii YES, everything seems to come to full circle. While the new tracks of MAIDEN VOYAGE aren’t as astounding as the older material, there is still a great attention to detail in these songs. Starting with the opening track messenger, Salyu takes us on a journey. Inazuma and cruise represent the upbeat rockish tracks while emergency sign and L.A.F.S. are calmer, yet somewhat unsettling. Then she goes totally crazy in BIRTHDAY. Seriously, it’s INSANE! The various sound effects and her yelling will have you scratching your head in confusion.
Salyu said that she wanted portray herself as an artist with just her voice and she accomplishes that with the final track VOYAGE CALL. It’s an epic song with no lyrics (just layered vocalizations) and it brings this voyage to a close.

I gotta say that is now my favorite album from her. In terms of vocals, I think it’s her strongest as well. While being a little bumpy at times, the flow of the album remains steady and symmetrical for the most part. The new tracks are high quality but kind of pale in comparison to the A-sides. You really don’t get any other tracks that are on the same level, with the exception of VOYAGE CALL.

Pros: This album definitely trumps landmark and TERMINAL. I loved it!
Cons: Those new tracks will take longer to sink in, especially with all that chaos in BIRTHDAY.

BASICALLY…let Salyu take you on a trip! You won’t regret it.

Overall Rating

5 stars

Tracklisting

1. messenger
2. Inazuma (イナヅマ)
3. EXTENSION
4. Corteo ~Gyouretsu~ (コルテオ ～行列～)
5. Atarashii YES (新しいYES)
6. L.A.F.S.
7. emergency sign
8. iris ~Shiawase no Hako~ (iris ～しあわせの箱～)
9. HALFWAY
10. SWEET PAIN
11. cruise
12. BIRTHDAY
13. LIBERTY
14. VOYAGE CALL

Note: My favorite tracks are highlighted in blue!