REOL - Kyoko Shu (2018)

The EP opens with "End" which is a pop rock band with a nice chorus, has some intensity in its production and knows how to play its part well. It is not a memorable track, since its production falls in common zone and countless similar tracks appear weekly in the Japanese market. In "Haimen Kyo" we have the electronic return in the artist's catalog, the track has urban elements so that her rap goes harmonically with synthesizers, the chorus is a little ambitious and even if her production flirts from now on with elements of music traditional Japanese and electronic, it is little noticeable.

"Missing" is another pop rock that is more aggressive and functional than it was presented at the opening, the music has moments that manage to potentiate it. The post-refrain verse that follows with a well marked battery, makes the track gain more vigor. The music in general works and is the first of the record to really make a good impression. "Cult" has a more bucolic and somber air, mixing electronic elements with the traditional Japanese, working better than "Heimen Kyo", but also not as promising as previous tracks. The album closes with the same initial proposal in "Akayoroshi", what sets it apart from the other pop-rock is that in some moments its singing in some verses are so fast that they resemble the rap that she does customarily, giving a charm the part for the track.

Kyoko-shu is a disc that shows a new direction in the career of REOL, considering that possibly its partnership with its producers must have come to an end, the EP is indeed something transitory, because it presents something that probably goes to follow without giving up two more electronic tracks. The record does not bring any memorable song, either from its more familiar side, or from its new side to be presented. The feeling is that there are good things, but no one can actually get you to stick to the new REOL, which is a problem, given that something is needed to create a bond so that a new path can be followed.