Single Review: Her Glow

Her Glow is the very first single on the very first EP from Konarucchi; whose moniker is a nickname given to him during his high school exchange in Japan. Though he has his hands in many different pots such as production, game music, and his band Pale Lady; the Stuck in Daydreams EP is a chance for him to explore his philosophy that the cohesion in a musical work comes from the artist and not from staying close to one musical genre. Here’s where I got with it:

The main melody almost hits like a Christmas song, but when you hear it come right around it becomes infectious. The whole song has a really strong sense of place and aesthetic. The bedroom pop space around the vocals at the start widen out into a fuller production as the song progresses and there is a real sense of development and momentum across the run time. Through moments in the choruses and lead breaks I’m reminded of American pop punk band Anberlin.

The gears really open up as the chorus gives way to that great solo. I’m not a huge fan of solos normally but the tone on the guitar is so good and the mixing dynamic is so on point it felt completely essential. Konarucchi has pinpoint accuracy with how much of an element is just the right amount.

Right as the song fades away I’m left feeling like this could go a bit longer – and then when it does come back in with a calmer bridge there’s a great sense of satisfaction. It’s a solid feat for a song to last as long you feel like it should, let alone be able to awaken you to the fact that you want it a little longer and then grant your wish. spot on. No space is too crowded or too under utilised and that feeling of zero fat in this single gives it the best chance of replay value regardless of what kind of genre the listener prefers. That achievement fits right in with Konarucchi’s assertion on artist vs genre as an anchor. There just are no boring parts. You’d be forced to play it multiple times to get over any pieces and that alone makes this single a huge success musically.

Side Note:
I have to give a shout out to the great art by Olivia McVey. When I hear this song the images in my head are so close to the colours and shapes she has used in her image. It’s a really rare thing to see a visual accompaniment that so neatly folds in with your subjective mind’s eye interpretation of what you hear. That conceptual cohesion between visual and auditory is another strong way to lean less on fixed genre.