Sonicwonderland - Hiromi

Album Thoughts

This is another album I picked up off of one track.

The first track, “Wanted”, was the first track I heard from a KEXP performance of Hiromi, and less than a minute in I had to put aside everything I was doing and just listen because it fucking stupefied me.

Song Notes

Wanted

• I don’t know that a song has ever specifically ‘stupefied’ me, but I can say with confidence and surety that this song did.
• It’s so gorgeous. The climbing bass, that mellow-ass trumpet, the jazzy chords, then you hit a breakdown and the sound opens up with an organ.
• There’s moments where it seems precarious, like a note almost won’t make it to where it needs to be, then it all comes together and everything is just so perfectly timed.
• The end has what I’d call a “break-up”, and then… such a sweet ending that it literally brings tears to my eyes.

Sonicwonderland

• The title track starts with some funky synth and bass, and would absolutely lose track of the time signature if not for the drums.
• It plays nicely with some negative space, giving you a chance to kind of breathe and step back while the busy drums and some chords rush around you.
• Then… it gets lost with discordant trumpets.
• It goes and wanders and runs, and it’s neat when it gets your attention back by dropping things away.
• The way it all comes back around at the end is a delight!

Polaris

• Very subdued and melancholic. Wouldn’t feel out of place in Disco Elysium at the beginning. The way this swells and flows ike a tide is so relaxing.

Go Go

• This one is somewhat avant garde, with the bloopy synth, but its drunken, disoriented atmosphere is fun.

Up

• Caffeinated is how I’d describe this song.
• The riffs the trumpet plays are so interesting!
• The breakdown at about three and a half minutes in is so good and dramatic!
• Then the piano and bass duet at about four and a quarter minutes is a real ear tickler!

Reminiscence

• After a wonderful, upbeat resolution, we get something quiet and reserved in this track.
• I wasn’t expecting vocals!
• This has been entirely instrumental so far. There are touches of blues that haven’t been in previous songs, and I do love me a blues sting.
• This is a lot more subdued and has more of a softness than I typically seek out. It’s sweet, rather than sour.

Trial and Error

• Something about the start of this makes me think of like… an early game soundtrack, and then it gets into some sort of PS1 platformer groove.
• The slip into the darker tones and chromaticism that starts at around 2:00 is interesting…

Utopia

• Not so much to think about on this one so far.
• It’s relaxing, for sure, though.

Bonus Stage

• This is adorable!
• It definitely sounds like a bonus.
• The stride piano is so fun! Then the frantic blues arpeggiation is wild!!

General Thoughts

• Sonic Wonder Land is an understated way to describe this album. Good grief, what virtuosos!!
• I grabbed .ogg files from Bandcamp, but I might have to download another format. I think there’s .flacs available, and I’m getting a hiss in my current files.
• These are some long songs, and it feels easy to forget you’re listening to them (complimentary).
• It feels like you can really tell that the performers really enjoy playing with each other. There’s such good energy and interplay between them all.
• All of these songs have so many different grooves and moods to them.