I don’t know if there’s precise correlation between the 2, however ever since Johnny’s Leisure rebranded into Starto Leisure, I’ve had a tough time falling in love with their music. Perhaps it’s an A&R factor, or possibly it’s merely a symptom of a altering business surroundings. No matter it’s, current songs by a few of my long-time favorites simply aren’t hitting the best way they used to. Now, we’ve the debut of a brand new group and a chance to actually flip the web page.

As with every Starto act, Ae! group have been kicking round as juniors for years earlier than making their official cd debut. This comes on the heals of Travis Japan in 2022 and Naniwa Danshi in 2021. Their distinctive rock-band-meets-dance-act configuration guarantees some fascinating sounds, and 《A》BEGINNING provides a glimpse at that potential. It’s a fiery observe, mixing a strong J-pop sound with band components that set it aside from others inside this realm. So far as Starto debuts go, Ae! group are similar to the harder-edged sounds of KAT-TUN and SixTONES, however they undoubtedly have their very own taste.

Above all, it’s good to listen to such a bombastic, throw-it-all-on-the-line refrain. There’s a definite lack of “singing as in case your life trusted it” in pop music nowadays, and I like listening to the blokes belt out the notes proper from the beginning. 《A》BEGINNING is finest when it’s largest, and luckily it hardly ever loses that edge. That is lots to suit right into a single track, and at instances the association feels a bit muffled. The opening “woah oh oh” vocal hook lacks the ability it ought to, however a part of me wonders if the blending is just a symptom of YouTube’s dreaded compression and the album model will sound extra sturdy. Both manner, this can be a strong debut for Ae! group and hopefully the primary in a protracted line of standout singles.

Grade: B+