Here or Hell

4s4ki

I caught wind of a little bit of buzz around this EP from Japanese experimental pop and electronic artist 4s4ki. I've been seeing the name along side other artists like 100gecs, yeule, and Jane Remover, all of whom released interesting projects that I have enjoyed to various degrees. My first few listens didn't quite match the excitement I felt for some of the artists mentioned, but over time, I did warm up quite nicely to this little project. I commend the diversity in sound across this EP as Here or Hell moves between cutesy hard techno (Hell phone and Punish), melodramatic emo cloud rap (KILL MY SELF, I tried), bubblegum J-Pop (0h G0D!), electro-grunge (house mouse), and even some fantastical hyperpop (go to glory). While the EP does have a decent bassline of execution across all these different styles, there were a few that stood out more than others to me.

0h G0D!, for instance, is an undeniable pop banger. The instrumental is laced with these auto-tuned vocal slides that are really catchy and it has a pretty grand key change towards the end. This song would be otherwise perfect if perhaps the vocal melody wasn't a tad stiff and performed a little tighter. Although for some reason, this doesn't really impact my enjoyment of the track all that negatively. I also really liked KILL MY SELF, I tried. It feels like something A.G. Cook might have produced with all the heavenly layers and a hint of glitchiness. To amp up that emo vibe, 4s4ki will throw on a little bit of vocal fry during one of the song's refrains, and it adds just the perfect amount of tension. go to glory begins with a cinematic electric piano part that reminds me of one of my favourite songs from Jane Remover's last record and as the song progresses, it transforms into some life affirming EDM that fans of Porter Robinson's Nurture would most definitely get into.

I didn't mind the first two tracks, which both have a similar hard techno flavour, but their issues are almost mirrors of each other. Hell phone has a wacky instrumental that I really like, but the harshly auto-tuned rambles are almost a little too much. Then Punish has a much more measured vocal delivery that is quite catchy, but the instrumental is not as adventurous. And then there's the matter of house mouse which is a peculiar track. I like the grunge elements included in the instrumental, and I understand the attempt to deliver a more weathered vocal, but when the two are together, there's something that is just not clicking with me. I guess while I'm complaining, even though I generally enjoyed a lot of the material on this EP, I could say that it is not the most original, given that I have already made numerous comparisons to other artists. However, if you are tuned in to this new wave of forward-thinking pop and bubbly electronic music, there is no reason why you shouldn't give this EP a spin.