milet
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While I am not the most optimistic person on earth, I am definitely optimistic about the “new era” of J-pop or the broader commercial music scene in Japan. I do like how it maintains a sense of self while allowing artists to be a breath of fresh air of sorts at the same time. Singer-songwriter Milet (pronounced as Mirei, ミレイ), while talented, leans towards the former, and in a not-so-good way. Her past works that I am familiar with are more or less hit or miss depending on the season. Yet, I understand why people around the world love her songs, with some of them topping the charts in Japan.
Made of Glass is her first studio album after her brief hiatus (fourth one overall). This album has some of the renowned people from the Japanese music industry involved in it. For instance, “Dr. R” Sakai has made songs for other J-pop artists such as Crystal Kay, girl groups Flower and Happiness, Mika Nakashima, Angela Aki, and others. Outside Japanese music, he is the exclusive producer for the YouTuber-turned-singer Poppy. Evan Call has composed music for multiple anime series, such as Violet Evergarden and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (a song of hers is the ending one for its current season, and yes, it’s a part of this album). He was previously a member of the musical group Elements Garden, which has worked on many of anisong singer/voice artist Nana Mizuki’s songs. Megmetal, aka Megumi Wada, is also a producer here who has worked for J-pop/rock artists such as Babymetal (duh), SixTONES, and One Ok Rock. Except for Call, all of them have made songs for Milet in the past (his songs for her are a part of her current “era”, or as the Gen Z/Alpha into K-pop might say, “comeback”).
Being a songwriter, Milet herself has written almost all of the songs for this album, either by herself or with another lyricist/songwriter. This shows her involvement in the creative process of her own work. I really appreciate artists who do this.
Starting with “Hurricane”, it is mostly sung in English with a few Japanese phrases/words. In her commentary video for the album (subtitled version on Sony Music Japan’s English-language Instagram account dedicated to promoting J-pop hits abroad), she talks about how she used a “counterpoint technique” to create a contrast between the upbeat rock melody and the more serious lyrics. While I barely know any Japanese, after reading the lyrics using Google Translate, it makes so much sense, and I feel it does work too. It is a decent start to the album.
For Milet, “Golden Ember” is an answer song to the previous one because her question (“Is this who I am?”) ends with the statement “It's who I am”, thus affirming herself. It is a much better song too.
She then shifts towards more classic, ballad-style J-pop music for a few songs. For me, the most memorable one among them would be “Wings”. This is because this song reminds me of Adele, and in a really good way. With her powerful vocals and the equally charged orchestral arrangements, this song is going to be one of my favourites on the entire album. “The Story of Us” is another song of this kind (classic J-pop) I like. Perfect for listening while on a long train ride. “Sunny” is a more upbeat song, which is a pleasant delight.
Her experimental side is revealed with these two songs, “Hanataba” and “Bluer”. The faint traces of vocoder/autotune used in these two tracks are so unexpected and can be a bit jarring initially, yet manage to sound decent. I like “Hanataba” more simply because it executes this better, along with some ambient-esque beats.
However, the biggest shift genre-wise is “Higher”. Being an electronic song, it is a very unique addition to her album and perhaps her entire discography. The song is good, and her voice goes well with the beats. It is definitely an odd delight since it visibly stands out on the whole album, but it isn’t a net negative or anything of that sort.
In the end, she goes back to her rock/J-pop roots. “Unabara” is a nice rock song in itself, and yet the “Hey, Hey, Hey!” ends the song like the cherry on top of an ice cream. “Happily” is an upbeat, acoustic-heavy song, but it gets a bit dull at times. “Masterpiece” is another ballad, but more pop-rock, and she is really singing her heart out here. “Perfect Blue” is the kind of acoustic song I would like to hear in a live show or even on The First Take YouTube channel. However, unlike in her other English-language songs here, I cannot understand a lot of the words she sings, even after multiple, sincere listens.
Truth be told, I like the album a bit more than I would have expected myself to. She is definitely a very talented singer-songwriter in the modern Japanese music scene. In fact, this album, especially her commentary video, has made me understand her creative process and appreciate it. However, I wish her songs didn’t sound alike at times or weren't a bit repetitive. For me, this is a great weakness in an artist and their A&R team, no matter what. Made of Glass might have revealed a bolder side of her as an artist, yet there are moments where the album can be lacklustre. I have said this before: since her songs are usually hit or miss for me, I would definitely listen to her future work, but not as much as I otherwise would.
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Highlights
Wings
hanataba
hanare banare
Higher
Perfect blue
Tracklist
Hurricane
Golden Ember
The Story of Us
Sunny
I still
Wings
hanataba
Bluer
Unabara 「海原」
Anytime Anywhere
hanare banare
Happily
Higher
Masterpiece
Christmas Eve
Perfect blue
