#stuf!

Rina Sawayama is here to stay. After tempting us for three years, Japanese-British singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama has now released her debut album, titled “Sawayama”. This full circle moment completes a three year wait from her mini album, “Rina”. On this album, Rina unpacks a deeply project surrounding identify for oneself and family amidst opposing cultures; All while trying to coexist as between comfort and stereotypes when home is never the same.

Rina blends pop, electropop and nu metal genres together for a flavorful take of 2000’s pop. Across her debut album, Rina is able to look introspectively, culturally and spiritually about her current state of affairs, while making music for therapy and entertainment. Each track is carefully thought out and unabashedly creative. “Sawayama” shows a promising future for a chameleon-like pop artist. Rating: 8.5/10

1.       Dynasty: Horns and strings tip an avalanche of an opening track. Rina conveys a familiar and familial pain felt through generations. It all erupting into a wall stomping Nu Metal sound after the first chorus. Very reminiscent of Evanescence.  

2.       XS: Sawayama makes fun of consumption on this track. “XS” flows between nu metal crunches and 00’s acoustic guitar strums with ease. Rina’s passionate voice helps balance the two distinct sounds with ease.

3.       STFU!: “STFU!” is the first single off of “SAWAYAMA”. To ease her frustrations with the micro-aggressions and racial anti-Japanese comments, Rina adapted nu-metal and rock to vent her anger. This track is directed to anyone of color facing microaggressions.

4.       Comme des Garcons (Like the Boys): The second lead single from the album. Rina blends numerous different genres of music (disco, dance, funk and house) into one fierce track. While in a literal sense, the track is a huge confidence boost and fills the space with perfectly with enough groove to get you out of you seat and take a shot at voguing.

5.       Akasaka Sad: Hot off the previous track, Rina slows things down with an 00’s R&B type slink. Rina parallels her current state of feeling displaced from Japan to how her parents may have felt when they immigrated to London. Sawayama also sings in Japanese, which is distinctly set apart from the rest of the production of the track to add emphasis to the lyrics. Since the parallels she’s drawn feel strong enough to meditates on inhabiting sadness.

6.       Paradisin: Rina aims to create a theme song to her life. Sonically, it feels like a Japanese arcade game with a crowd cheering her and her saxophone solo on. Rina’s idea of paradise are the memories she’s made from her childhood. Sonically, this puts the theme songs to iCarly and Zoey 101 to shame.

7.       Love Me 4 Me: Over breezy mellotron, Rina wrestles with self-love. This track is an uptempo song with a shimmery guitar solo that precedes the interlude. On top of that, Rina has spliced Rupaul’s catchphrase (if you can’t love yourself, how are you going to love somebody else?) into the lyrics at the intro and interlude. It’s a sweet sentiment that doesn’t rely on a 2010’s anthemic chorus.

8.       Bad Friend: Taken from the song title, we can all name a few bad friends here and there. Maybe even ourselves and Rina isn’t afraid to admit it. On “Bad Friend” Rina parallels the mischief with her bestie and turns it onto herself for her absence. Rina sings over a slow building beat that sprouts from finger snaps to rousing percussion.

9.       Fuck This World (Interlude): Chime like beats below a heavy vocoder vocals. However, the subject is set to a grander scale. Rina wants to a change of pace, even if it means finding a new planet. This interlude is about the frustration with the current global climate crisis.

10.   Who’s Gonna Save U Now?: It opens with a crowd chanting Rina’s name. In the style of a live concert, Rina inhabit an arena rock production on this track. Sawayama passionately sings in the vein of Lady Gaga in “A Star is Born” and Freddie Mercury’s iconic stage presence. It’s her rock anthem moment and she gleefully lives for it.

11.   Tokyo Love Hotel: “Tokyo Love Hotel” explores Rina’s struggles with feeling like an outsider in Japan. She notices how tourists use Tokyo for its glamor and accessibility (such as love hotels). A tourist’s fascination is her world and Rina won’t accept her home as a commodity.

12.   Chosen Family: We can all relate to this song on some level. Our closest friends can be our chosen family at times. On this relaxed production, Rina celebrates the bond friends can have with one another despite the differences among one another. The production of the track is a mix of notable PC music electronics and acoustic instruments.