Nebula Romance: Part 1 Review
summary: I talk about a Perfume album for too long, again
words: ~2,000
Omg it's a new Perfume album
It’s hard to believe it’s really time for me to review another Perfume album! We only had to wait two years this time, compared to the four years between Future Pop and Plasma. Even with a fairly steady stream of new singles I still found myself shocked at the album announcement, especially that it would be in… two parts? This is something that Perfume has never done before. I also couldn’t help but feel wary, since many of the singles were taking a nostalgic, 80s-inspired route.
I discussed this at length in my review of Gesafflstein’s Gamma, but the 80s is far from my favourite era of music. However, I did concede in my review of Plasma that Perfume could lean more into a synthwave sound, since the intro to the album sounds very synthwave, despite this sound being quickly abandoned. I was curious as to what a whole album in this style could sound like.
Then Yasutaka Nakata (Perfume’s producer) made me regret thinking that, with the release of Capsule’s Metropulse which he also produced. That album takes cues from the 80s and is profoundly just ok. I don't hate it or anything. But it’s a very average album. So average that I didn't even publish a review of it here, even though I was planning to. I was also neutral on a few of the singles leading up to Nebula Romance, so I was kind of bracing myself for a bit of a mess. So, now the album is finally out, what is it actually like? Like in my Plasma review, I’m going through the songs one by one. Let’s get into it!
The SongsUnfortunately, we are off to a bad start with The Light. This was the single that impressed me the least, and I don’t love that it’s the very first track. I think it works ok thematically and I appreciate how the album begins with a fully fleshed out song. But Perfume’s voices sound strained and kind of unenthusiastic. Plus, something about the “woah-oh-oh” lyrics just sound really… silly to me I guess? Spoiler: this is the only song on the album I actively dislike and I know I’m not the only person who feels that way. So I’m surprised they stuck it right at the beginning like this. Like, at least bury it halfway down the tracklist so I don’t have to think about it. smh.
Luckily, things pick up quickly with Love Cloud (ラヴ・クラウド). Fun (?) fact: I was in the audience when this song first debuted at their concert “Code of Perfume” in London. Which was… a profoundly underwhelming experience! Sadly, I kind of associate the song with being stuck behind a tall man and not being able to see anything. Over time I’ve come to like this song a lot though, which is a testament to how good it is. A song has to be pretty good for me to overcome a bad association with it. In the tracklist overall it probably sticks out the most since to me it doesn’t sound that 80s. But the cheesy saxophone helps it fit in thematically with the rest of the songs.
We’re back to full 80s again with Cosmic Treat. Now in comparison to The Light, I much prefer how the vocals sound here. I like how the members get some solos, even though they’re short. I feel like their voices are utilised well, which is rare for Perfume songs, honestly. If this song had been one of the promotional singles, I would have been much more excited for the album. Interestingly, this song is a Beyblade tie-in and you would literally not be able to tell by listening to it. Nothing about this is evoking the idea of a Beyblade to me.
Starlight Dreams has a slower tempo and it actually reminds me of music from Sonic, or the Sega Megadrive era more broadly (I mean the Genesis, for all the Americans out there). Which is more 90s I guess. I don’t think Nakata has mentioned this as inspiration before. In fact, I think he prefers Nintendo, as evidenced in this interview. Specifically, he mentions that he likes the soundtrack from the pinball game for the Virtual Boy. I will say, you can definitely hear that inspiration across this album.
Then we have IMA IMA IMA. They actually say "ima" four times in the hook of this song. If you were wondering. There’s something kind of bittersweet about it that I enjoy. I also love the ending with the slight reverb. I think this could have worked as the opening song instead of The Light, since it sounds like a buildup to something exciting.
On paper, Sumikko disco (すみっコディスコ) should be a boring tie-in song for a kids movie sequel with nothing to write home about. In practice, this song is the earworm of the century. It’s probably the single that I’ve replayed the most. Although, something about the vocals in the pre-chorus sound out of tune which is bugging me more and more every time I listen to it. It's a great song despite this, though.
Morning Cruising also reminds me of Sonic! I think it's the bass and drums specifically that makes me think this, but I can’t be sure. It could also be that I’m just not that knowledgeable on video game music and Sonic is my only reference point for this era of video game music lmao. Then Time Capsule (タイムカプセル) sounds twinkling, like you’re flying through space. The horns are very cheesy and silly and the key change at the end is really fun. But I can’t help but be charmed by this song.
Strangely, Jikū hana (時空花, meaning "Space-time Flower") reminds me of Chrome Country by Oneohtrix Point Never. That song is probably slightly more interesting than Jikū hana but there’s definitely something vaporwave adjacent here that I really enjoy. I guess I was expecting every track to be an exciting nostalgia-fest, so hearing something that sounds borderline haunting is refreshing. I don’t think it sounds super out of place but admittedly, the transition from Jikū hana to Moebius (メビウス) is CRAZY. That synth is just going OFF and it’s very sudden. But I like how the album ends in this over the top, upbeat way. It leaves an impression for sure.
A brief album cover interludeI know this has nothing to do with the music but we have to talk about this. I can’t not talk about it, ok?? Sorry!! Please just look at the regular edition cover of Nebula Romance:
I have so many questions. Is this Nakata’s drag persona? Is that Daft Punk? Why does it look so bad? Can someone please help me??
I’m convinced at least part of this cover was conceived with AI. If I had to guess, I think the typography, the picture of Perfume themselves and the two people next to them are real, but the background with all the planets and the random woman is AI generated. Especially since it seems so random. Like seriously, who is that?
A recent performance of The Light had AI generated images in the background (another reason for me to have beef with that song), so their team isn’t opposed to using AI. I’m also suspicious that this teaser was conceived with AI too. I don’t hate the idea of the cover looking like a movie poster, or even a little tacky or silly, since that’s clearly the vibe the album is going for. But I don’t think AI should be the way forward for Perfume. They always place an emphasis on working with the latest technology to create their visuals, but my favourite moments from them are also the result of human ingenuity.
AI or not, that cover is not good lmao. I was wondering whether to include my opinions on it in the review at all but idk. if I’m staring at an ugly album cover on Spotify for the duration of an album, that’s part of the experience, ok? So the cover gets a no from me. Ok, back to actually talking about the music:
Thoughts on the album as a wholeWhile each Perfume era and album can be pinned down with a specific sound (a-chan famously said they approach each album as a concept album), this actually feels like the first Perfume album to have a Concept with a capital "C". I enjoy how cohesive it is because for a while, It didn't feel like there was much of a creative vision in regards to Perfume songs. When songs like Time Warp, Saisei and Challenger came out, I didn't hate them but there just didn't seem like much imagination went into making them. Like what genre would those songs even be considered, other than middle of the road electropop? It seemed like the output of someone who was really lacking in inspiration and drive to create, even though obviously I don't know what's going on in Yasutaka Nakata’s head.
Meanwhile, each song on Nebula Romance is a carefully crafted 80s pastiche with clear inspiration from space operas, anime and video game music. However, these songs feel unmistakably Perfume, with the classic Nakata maximalism. I think the idea is that it’s like a soundtrack to a non-existent space opera. To me it does feel like going on a journey through space. It is a very short album, but it does feel complete. More so than Plasma, since despite being shorter, it avoids the problem I described in my previous review, with it just feeling like a compilation of recent singles. In my review I say that despite being loose, Plasma does have a theme and I stand by this. But looking back, it does feel slapped together. Meanwhile, Nebula Romance really feels like a project that was conceptualised with the central theme in mind from the beginning. One of the main singles, Moon, was even left off completely, presumably since it doesn’t quite fit the vibe of this album. Personally, I think they could have stuck it on here and it wouldn’t have been completely out of place. However, being more choosy with the singles indicates to me that they were really trying to create an album with a specific atmosphere and vision.
Unfortunately, I still find myself struggling to get on board with the 80s synthpop fixation. Currently it seems like popular culture right now is reminiscing on the 2000s/2010s instead which I personally prefer. I guess there is something to be said for Nakata completely ignoring current trends and just doing what he wants. But I’m unsure if the songs on this album really have the staying power of the ones from earlier in their career. I think my lack of enthusiasm is that I don’t really come to Perfume songs for this kind of vibe. I prefer something danceable, like for the club (even though I don’t go to the club…), a little buzzy and chaotic. The songs on Nebula Romance are more bombastic and cheesy which is fun for a while but it doesn’t catch my attention in the same way. Ultimately, I really hope Nakata moves on from the 80s sound soon. This seems pretty likely actually, since he switches up his sound pretty often. In the early 2000s it was lounge pop, the late 2000s was electro house and in the 2010s it was dubstep adjacent EDM slowly morphing into future bass. I like to think this is just another chapter in his and Perfume’s ~musical journey~
Overall, I think I prefer the individual songs on their previous albums much more, but as an album experience, it’s probably Perfume’s most consistent ever. It feels exciting that this album was clearly a labour of love, rather than a contractual obligation (hello, Future Pop). The songs themselves are also undeniably well made and enjoyable, even if they're not always up my alley. While I have my reservations, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited for the next instalment of Nebula Romance.