After providing the chart-topping main theme songs alongside Japanese composer Yoko Shimomura for Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, Utada Hikaru returns for the video game series' latest instalment -- this time with EDM producer and self-confessed Kingdom Hearts fan Skrillex in the fold. Titled Face My Fears, the four-track EP marks the continual, almost two-decade-long collaboration between Hikaru and game director Tetsuya Nomura that first began prior to the release of the first game in the early 2000s.
Utada Hikaru: Face My Fears
Introduced by tender piano chords, the Skrillex-helmed title track/opening theme pays tribute to the series by using the same key as Passion, the theme song for Kingdom Hearts II. But while Passion is an eclectic, genre-hopping offering, Face My Fears and its Japanese-language counterpart don't waste too much time diving into the deep end of dubstep. "Breath, should I take a deep?/ Faith, should I take a leap?" sings the Japanese singer-songwriter during the intro that wouldn't sound out of place in a J-drama or an anime.
Then comes the obligatory drop complete with Skrillex-certified dancehall and moombahton elements. "Won't be long, won't be long/ I'm almost here/ Watch me cry all my tears," she continues as her voice get manipulated into a vocal hook in the same vein as Justin Bieber's smash hit Sorry, which is also co-produced by Skrillex.
On the other end of the spectrum we have the soaring piano ballad Don't Think Twice, an English-language version of Chikai (meaning "oath") which appeared on her seventh Japanese-language LP, Hatsukoi. Both English and Japanese versions are included on the EP, each serving as an ending theme for the game in respective languages. "I want you for a lifetime/ So if you're gonna think twice/ Baby I don't wanna know," she sings over soul-R & B undercurrents. "Everything is just right/ But if you're gonna think twice, baby I don't wanna know." Like the two versions of Face My Fears, Don't Think Twice and Chikai don't share the same lyrical message -- the latter being the more poetic of the pair with lines describing things like "eternal oath" and "light from the future".
The verdict: While Hikaru is a capable artist in her own right, the presence of a collaborator does help break up the monopoly she's had on the Kingdom Hearts franchise up until now. Skrillex indeed spices things up and propels the theme into an unexpected realm, much like the game itself.
THE PLAYLIST
Karen O & Danger Mouse / Woman
Since the release of her 2014 solo debut Crush Songs, Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O has been focusing her energy on collaborations and lending her hand to various projects including the Rise Of The Tomb Raider and Kenzo's campaign soundtracks. This year will welcome O's side project, Lux Prima, which takes the form of a collaborative album with producer Danger Mouse whom some of you might be familiar with as one half of indie-rock outfit Broken Bells. The LP was announced last year alongside its nine-minute title track and now we're treated to second cut, Woman. Like its title suggests, the song is a celebration of womanhood set to a stomping doo-wop production. "I'm a woman, what you see," she chants, not forgetting to put her signature hysteric shriek on the last syllable. Scheduled to drop next month, Lux Prima will hopefully tide us over until the next Yeah Yeah Yeahs effort.
Fat White Family / Feet
Following a brief hiatus since 2016's Songs For Our Mothers, Fat White Family return with Feet, the first taste of their forthcoming third record, Serfs Up!. Here, the overt scuzziness that has long defined their sound has faded and, in its place, sparkles a sense of sonic refinement that borrows from various aspects of rock and electronic. This is by far the most polished offering they've put out to date, but don't get to thinking that this is a complete 180 transformation for the band. The grit and the sleaze is still there, lurking with an ever-sinister intention.
Beirut / Landslide
On the latest cut from Beirut's fifth outing, Gallipolli, frontman Zach Condon laments in the opening verse: "There's a landslide back home/ Pity I can't hold on/ I should really behold/ My world washed clear by stone." Already, this is a glorious return to form after the relatively stripped back vibes of their last record, No No No. Together with previous single Corfu and the title track, it's apparent that Condon and co have returned to their roots and welcomed the soothing Balkan-influenced sonic trademark back into their embrace.
James Morrison (feat. Joss Stone) / My Love Goes On
UK singer-songwriter James Morrison and neo-soul crooner Joss Stone join forces on My Love Goes On, the lead cut/opener of the former's upcoming fifth LP You're Stronger Than You Know. Built on a surging mid-tempo production, the track serves as a comeback single for Morrison since his last output in 2015, Higher Than Here. "My love goes on/ But when everything has changed/ I'll be the one thing that remains," the pair sing in soulful tandem during the chorus. "But when your whole world has shattered/ I'll be the only one who matters." This is a collaboration we never knew we needed.
Gesaffelstein (feat. The Weeknd) / Lost In The Fire
This week's final collaboration goes to Lost In The Fire from French DJ/producer Gesaffelstein and R & B singer The Weeknd. Following their previous joint efforts on latter's 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy, the electro-R&B track finds him fantasising about all the hot sex he could have with his girlfriend ("Type of sex you could never put a price on") while alluding to their off-and-on-again relationship ("And we lost a lot of things in the fire/ So it took a year for me to find out"). Musically, the song comes off sounding like a lesser version of Starboy, which is a shame considering the fact that Gesaffelstein is one hell of a techno wizard.
