UlasanAnime.com – With Natsuiro Kiseki concluded for the time being, Sphere’s summer of music continues this week with their third album, titled “Third Planet.” Unfortunately, the cheeky astronomical title didn’t quite help, as listening to “Red Planet” all day long created a strong urge to make a Cowboy Bebop joke. This resulted in a jarring dissonance, mashing the calming yet spine-tingling shrills from one of the best in the anime music scene against the popular yet generic idol pop that has become synonymous with Sphere’s music.
It’s safe to say that Sphere operates as a relatively inoffensive music entity, especially if one doesn’t inherently dislike idol music. Their primary function isn’t necessarily to push boundaries. If easy-to-sing-to and easy-to-dance-to tunes can effectively convey their image to their fans and support the characteristic wota calls and dances, then that’s precisely what Sphere’s music will sound like. This isn’t a testament to extreme savvy or hidden skills by the members of Sphere or their management, but rather a result of solid, wise choices. To put it in perspective, I’ve heard both better and worse.
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In my Mars-induced state of mind, however, I find it difficult to understand why anyone would take this particular, well, Earth-bound product so seriously. Ever since their “ATMOSPHERE” debut, Sphere has largely remained exactly what we expected them to be: seiyuu idols. Their gradual rise in popularity merely confirms their consistent strategy and diligent work ethic. It’s akin to opening a page in a particular monthly seiyuu magazine and seeing a headline like “MINAKO Good Job!” – and I had to agree.
The simple, almost artificial feeling I get from “Third Planet” is best exemplified when listening to tracks like “Feathering me, Y/N?”. Because they are a quartet, their music necessarily needs to reflect this, which often results in arrangements that feel somewhat constrained. Only a couple of the songs truly leverage the strength of the four-woman format. In fact, aside from “Hazy,” I don’t believe any other song effectively capitalized on this aspect. Musically, “Third Planet” shows only marginal and incremental improvement over “Spring Is Here,” released a year ago. Unfortunately, this distinction carries very little weight, perhaps none at all, if one cannot get past songs like “Now Loading… Sky!”, as many of us have found to be the case.
So, why do I continue to purchase their music? I’m not entirely sure. It’s comparable to my continued purchase of Coca-Cola. It’s a common man’s drink, not particularly special, but sufficiently pumped with sugar to be inoffensive. It’s a known quality and a known quantity, meaning you always know what you’re getting.
Well, that sentiment likely applies only to casual listeners like myself. The rest of you can either move on or simply watch the unboxing of the super-limited version of this album.
