While “virtual” artists are incredibly popular and common in Japanese music, PLAVE have carved out their own niche in Korea. I still don’t understand why or how they’re as successful as they are, but I’m certainly not going to begrudge fans for enjoying their content. As usual, my commentary focuses on the music itself and that’s probably a large part of what makes PLAVE such a mystery to me. Their work seems strangely reserved and straightforward for such an ambitious project.
Given the limitless nature of animation, you might expect the music to push similar boundaries. That’s something that definitely happens in Japan, but most of PLAVE’s work is rather subdued, focused on a soft rock sound that would likely garner no attention if performed by a rookie idol band. Dash amps things up a bit, contrasting its softer acoustic moments with explosions of shout-rock intensity. The members are clearly talented and handle this duality very well, moving from striking falsetto to much more aggressive turns.
My issue with Dash is that neither portion of this recipe completely works because they’re not given time to develop. The softer moments are more successful, presenting an engaging melody that clearly wants to spread its wings. Meanwhile, the chorus recalls popular Japanese acts like Man With A Mission and ONE OK ROCK without fully committing to the bit. I feel like each of these distinct segments should have been transformed into their own song because there’s plenty of potential here.
Hooks
8
Production
8
Longevity
8
Bias
8
RATING
8