Timely!!

City pop artists are really cooking when it comes to saying like 5 English words in each of their songs.

Over the years I spent on this site, city pop became one of my favourite genres, but I still haven’t heard that being executed this good. City pop is a genre what was Japan’s „answer to synthpop and disco”, mostly fusing elements of these two genres, making it an accessible listen to many. And while I highly praise the people who were behind the keys on this project – the ones who gave the most for the album to sound like a fusion of the previously mentioned genres –, the album’s main bass player, Tomohito Aoki stole the show for me (Shigeru Okazawa also, but he’s only credited on one song). The groovy, funky bass lines flawlessly contribute to Anri’s voice every single time. It’s basically a background vocal for the singer, and when your mainly focus is on this „background vocal” is when your appreciation towards Aoki just grows more and more. At least, that was the case with me. It’s like every single bass line is telling a different story by itself, and you really need to pay attention to those stories, too, not just the singer’s.
The album is a retrospective one in Anri’s narrative, where she tells about one of her past love interests from a summer, reminiscing about the things that happened, and the things she wished would’ve happened. The whole album is about her trying to let go, the memories she connects to this love interest, and a potential farewell she doesn’t want to face, but eventually, she does on the closing track, ’Remember Summer Days’, stating that during winter, there will be another love, and that next summer, she’ll come back to somewhere again. Potentially, that place is about her mental self and good mood coming back, where she experiences a love what is mutual between her and another person, therefore she can fully be herself again.
And the instrumentation of this album complements this story perfectly. The previously mentioned synths and bass lines, as well as the guitar and the saxophone plays and solos for example add up to a beautiful bittersweet listen. As other reviews about this album mention, this album feels and sounds like summer, and I agree with them, this is one of the most summer-sounding record I’ve ever heard. 46 blissful minutes where I’m fully captivated by the world Anri builds on this. This is my comfort album. No matter how difficult or victorious times seem, Timely!! by Anri can always offer a pleasant and uplifting listen. Through thick and thin with this record, I love it so much.