Well, I liked it. I'm not going to talk about technical stuff.
I like what the songs transmit to me in one way or another, so the verdict is, that although there are songs that I like more than others, I like this album. 

LoveSurvivor305 wrote:Whoever was in charge of the mix on the faster tunes should probably not go anywhere near our girls ever again.  

Since the label change to Victor, the new crew doing the mix has gone down hill for sure.
Its not worth thinking too much, I was listening with the HiRes version with monitoring Speakers and CIEM and was well not surprised   

I'll look forward to hearing it live instead.

So... what can I say about Mirror? To be honest I'm even more disappointed than I thought. To be clear I completely respect the band and their need to evolve... but I've just realised that it's the end of my "relation" with Scandal. That's a sad day but that's just the way it is.
I didn't bought the last DVD (I watched the livestream), I didn't bought "One More Time" single, and now I won't be buying the new album. As the band says, it's important to be true to yourself and I really don't like this new sound from Scandal.
They made the music they really wanted to do and I deeply respect that but I won't follow them in this direction. It's the end of the adventure for me (I don't think they will go back to their "rock" sound) and I wish them the best for the future.
 
(Doesn't mean I will never listen to Scandal anymore! Honey is still my favorite album!!)

izzy wrote:So... what can I say about Mirror? To be honest I'm even more disappointed than I thought. To be clear I completely respect the band and their need to evolve... but I've just realised that it's the end of my "relation" with Scandal. That's a sad day but that's just the way it is.
I didn't bought the last DVD (I watched the livestream), I didn't bought "One More Time" single, and now I won't be buying the new album. As the band says, it's important to be true to yourself and I really don't like this new sound from Scandal.
They made the music they really wanted to do and I deeply respect that but I won't follow them in this direction. It's the end of the adventure for me (I don't think they will go back to their "rock" sound) and I wish them the best for the future.
 
(Doesn't mean I will never listen to Scandal anymore! Honey is still my favorite album!!)

What I miss about the pre-digital distribution days of records, tapes & CDs was how buying an album was a commitment. It wasn't cheap, and you couldn't get your money back. You pretty much took a punt and lived with the consequences. I couldn't tell you how many times I was initially disappointed with an album, only for it to become my favourite after forcing myself to given it multiple listens - purely because I was stuck with the damn thing. I'd give Mirror a few more goes before "trading it with one of your mates for a pack of smokes" because you just never know...

Speaking of records, I'd sure like to take a peek at what dog-eared album covers Tomomi has strewn all over her floor after hearing Ai no Shoutai!!

I like the album! Ai no Shoutai is unexpectedly good, and its (piccolo?) trumpet solo near the last chorus is very nice and Beatles-y. Yuugure, Tokeru is my favorite song here---its long, three note vocal melody over techno-ish brass synth and muddy guitars is super dreamy. The two Rina penned-song here are also stunners: Kanojo wa Wave sounds like a banger late nineties Buck-Tick ditty if they had gone to make nu-disco instead of industrial rock, and Ao no Naru Yoru no Sukima de is a beautiful pop song. Although not perfect across the board (Ai ni Naranakatta no sa and Prism are meh at best), I appreciate the economic songwriting employed in each track, how they tactfully not include endless choruses or making space for bridges that serve absolutely no purpose. A definite step up from KFTD.

A few people here seemed to express disappointment at how this record sounds. I mean, every single sensible band in the world would trigger/replace their drum sound and edit their audio tracks to perfection---from Taylor Swift to Meshuggah and Boris. And mixing-wise, I think it is adequate; it's not "tasteful" or as iconic as records produced by Steve Albini for example, but it hits (I think) all the marks for a proper modern-sounding album, and then some---One More Time sounds like the 1975 with extra 20 pounds, which is great, because not much happened musically in songs like these, so an added beefiness to the drums is a plus. May I ask why some of you consider this album to have a bad mix? As a "musician" (I barely sold records, and the only people who listened to my music are my friends and some random Twitter mutuals) who also mixes (amateurishly) their songs, I can not help to be curious. This could be a chance for me to improve my ear skills too        

Yes, it is a good advice to listen a few times to this album before jumping to conclusions. It is not my cup of tea either but somehow I like it. It depends on the mood. So even if you don't like it, listen to it at least one more time. Having said that, my favorite song would be Spice and if all the songs were like that, this would be my favorite album.

Gaki-san2001 wrote:  Having said that, my favorite song would be Spice and if all the songs were like that, this would be my favorite album.

If all the songs were like Spice then people would be complaining that there wasn't enough variety. 

@teamami
I think the mix is good too. In an interview Rina explained those "gadget" bits stuck onto the beginnings of songs as a way to attract people browsing songs on streaming services. I think the "wash" sound they're getting on some songs is being interpreted as accidental or carelessness. I'm definitely not a mind reader, so I don't know for sure what people are hearing. For myself I've got two sets of speakers, one bright sounding, and one flat and it's fine on both, but maybe if I turn them up to 11 I'll change my mind.
Try thinking of Ai ni Naranakatta no sa as a country song. Think Kenny Chesney or someone like that. Try to visualize the band in jeans and cowboy boots line dancing. There actually are clubs in Japan that do just that. And do a YouTube search for Bluegrass Police. It will blow your mind.
 At the start of Prism is the sound of a music box being wound up. Think of Haruna as a tiny clockwork dancer in the music box, slowly turning while light is reflected off the prism-cut glass on the edges of the box. The bells and chimes in the mix represent the sound of a music box. Does that imagery help?

After listening to MIRROR, it exceeded my expectations. It stood out compared to all of their previous albums because it is simply a complete package. Although, Yellow will always remain my favorite album until such time. MIRROR is a strong contender.

As you've noticed, Mami is using less and less distortion and power chords. Instead, she's playing lush funk chords with a touch of delay and modulation effects. Rina's lower drum tuning suits the overall sound of the album as well. Tomomi's Motown-influenced bass tone is more prominent than before.

I'll consider this as a concept album because of the lyrical content and its overall sound. I also noticed that the transition from one to another is so smooth. As much as I like "Spice", I'm happy that they didn't include it on the album. Otherwise, it will appear as an oddball in the kitty litter.

teamami wrote:May I ask why some of you consider this album to have a bad mix?

It's pretty hard to explain. Let's say: Go listen to the chorus of Yuugure, Tokeru and try to identify how many instruments you're hearing and which. How many layers are there? There's no way you could ever figure it out. And that is the problem. Normally, you SHOULD be able to identify separate layers and what exactly they're playing. I'm not well versed in the technical stuff, but I guess someone else could explain why exactly can this happen. I think it has to do with EQ.

Like I said, the ballads generally sound great, but the faster songs can get messy in spots (another fitting example is that chaotic bridge in Kanojo wa Wave). Most of the album sounds just fine, it's very inconsistent. I'm a bit offended, that these problems only appear on songs that turned out to be my favorites.  

LoveSurvivor305 wrote:It's pretty hard to explain. Let's say: Go listen to the chorus of Yuugure, Tokeru and try to identify how many instruments you're hearing and which. How many layers are there? There's no way you could ever figure it out. And that is the problem. Normally, you SHOULD be able to identify separate layers and what exactly they're playing. I'm not well versed in the technical stuff, but I guess someone else could explain why exactly can this happen. I think it has to do with EQ.

Like I said, the ballads generally sound great, but the faster songs can get messy in spots (another fitting example is that chaotic bridge in Kanojo wa Wave). Most of the album sounds just fine, it's very inconsistent. I'm a bit offended, that these problems only appear on songs that turned out to be my favorites.  

The multitude of instruments that are present in the chorus of Yuugure may sound "mushy" but they still can be identified. Firstly, there are your bass and drums. Then there are three guitars: the most audible one is the two-note riff on the right channel; the electric rhythm guitar on the left channel, placed very low in the mix because I assume it only plays bog-standard chords or power chords; a scratchy-sounding acoustic guitar to accentuate the drum beats. Obviously, there is the lead synth, and then there's the insistent, 16th-note gated synth pad underneath it. My two cent is it was intentionally made to sound that way; there's almost a shoegaze-y quality to it. And it sounds cool to me   

The bridge on Kanojo wa Wave is not all that chaotic: you can still hear the main chords, drums, etc. And the cool thing is that the noisy guitar part is actually an ingenious piece of musical storytelling: it sounds like a wave, one that is very passionate and conflicted, juxtaposed on top of a cool, funky and almost impersonal rhythm section, emphasizing the fleetingness of passion painted in Rina's lyrics.

---

hogradish wrote:Try thinking of Ai ni Naranakatta no sa as a country song. Think Kenny Chesney or someone like that. Try to visualize the band in jeans and cowboy boots line dancing. There actually are clubs in Japan that do just that. And do a YouTube search for Bluegrass Police. It will blow your mind.
 At the start of Prism is the sound of a music box being wound up. Think of Haruna as a tiny clockwork dancer in the music box, slowly turning while light is reflected off the prism-cut glass on the edges of the box. The bells and chimes in the mix represent the sound of a music box. Does that imagery help?

That's an... interesting perspective. Just seen Bluegrass Police btw. Mind blown      in a good way of course

@teamami

OK, guess I'm deaf, cause I got maybe half of what you've mentioned during my few listens. Then I don't know what other people's issues with the mix are. They might have the same hearing problem like me.   Good ear!

(Anyway, I still think the shoegaze-y quality is the exact opposite of quality, whether it was intentional or not.)

It took 2 long days for CdJapan to update the shipping cost (cmon), only to be blocked by the credit card company (oh pls), and another 2 long days to finally ship the album (JESUS). Because of that, it won't arrive in time for the application.

Now I'm feeling dead inside.

Going to listen to the album to cheer myself up a little.

harurob wrote:Because of that, it won't arrive in time for the application.

I've been thinking about this for a bit, and I think I've just decided:


If you (and anyone else who will not get the album in time) can send me proof that you've ordered the album, I can send you guys the link to watch the studio live!


Please PM me:

-A screenshot of your order confirmation email showing the store you purchased it from, order date, and album edition(s) purchased. Make sure to block out any sensitive info such as your address.

-Your favorite song off of MIRROR!

If everything looks to be in order, I will PM you the link on Sunday, Jan. 30th @ 6 pm JST, which is one hour before the live starts at 7 pm JST.

izzy wrote:So... what can I say about Mirror? To be honest I'm even more disappointed than I thought. To be clear I completely respect the band and their need to evolve... but I've just realised that it's the end of my "relation" with Scandal. That's a sad day but that's just the way it is.
I didn't bought the last DVD (I watched the livestream), I didn't bought "One More Time" single, and now I won't be buying the new album. As the band says, it's important to be true to yourself and I really don't like this new sound from Scandal.
They made the music they really wanted to do and I deeply respect that but I won't follow them in this direction. It's the end of the adventure for me (I don't think they will go back to their "rock" sound) and I wish them the best for the future.
 
(Doesn't mean I will never listen to Scandal anymore! Honey is still my favorite album!!)

 

I mean there's plenty of bands throughout history that add to their library as opposed to changing their sound. There were plenty of Scandal tracks from yellow,  Hello World and Queens are Trumps that i didn't like but I think it's more that they are brancing out as opposed to they are moving in this direction. I've grown to like many tracks on those aforementioned albums and though i wasn't the biggest fan on my first listen through on Mirrors, it has grown on me. Yes my favorite scandal tracks tend to be a little faster and rock but i think it's a little harsh or dramatic to say your relationship is over with the band. It's perfectly alright to not like the sound of this album.

After listening to the album a bunch of times, I'll write my thoughts of the album:

This Album shows diversity by the members composing different songs, compared to HELLO WORLD where each member composed songs as well, on Mirror you can see how time has passed for them and us. They’re now writing songs very freely, putting sounds of music they like. I really like this SCANDAL, doing music that a lot of people can enjoy and not putting themselves in one single genre. If all the songs would sound like Shunkan Sentimental, Awanai Tsumori no Genki de ne or AMDKJ I’d get bored already and not be as supportive as I’m right now. 


Compared to KFTD, this time it was harder to rank the songs, overall I loved most of them and many of the new songs will be top SCANDAL songs for me for now. Another solid and mature album from SCANDAL.

My review of the songs ranked (included spice and Living in the city)

Spoiler:

After three days of listening to the album, I must say that I realy love it! I think it's even one of my favourites from the band! I like albums that have good progression from track to track, and I do believe MIRROR delivers this quite well!

The title track MIRROR is really easy to get into, and also has a good beat to it. 

eternal has a bit of an awkward start but by the end, is quite moving especially with the "Kono shunkan, eien ni shite" line! 

Ai ni Naranakatta no sa is just beautiful! It has amaaaazing music and Haruna's voice really shines! 

Then, just as I'm just beginning to get lost in the flow, the powerful Kanojo wa Wave makes itself known with a bang! This is my favourite track, it's just so much fun. It makes me dance and jump around the room like crazy! I've heard it on loop like a hundred times already, and I'm not done with it still.

Ai no Shoutai is also a surprise! Not many Tomomi led songs make it to my favourites but this one is something else! Her voice goes really really well with the jazzy, chorus-y vibe. I think this one's my second favourite of the album!

Ivory was my favourite from the singles released last year, and I find myself wishing that I hadn't heard it before so that it would give me the same level of surprise that the other middle-four tracks do. I love the messaging and the emotions that this song captures.

Yuugure, Tokeru is another song that's taking the band to new directions and it took me a few listens to get into this zone, but I am growing pretty fond of it right now. 

Out of all the songs I'd heard before album release, Ao no Naru Yoru no Sukima de surprised me the most. It was nice during the livestream, but didn't really make that much of an impression. On the album, though, that same song somehow is surprisingly excellent! I love it!

Prism is for me a little bit of a weak song, perhaps because I'm usually distracted in anticipation of the next track.

I absolutely heart one more time. I really needed this peppy song last year, and I sure am glad the band decided to release something so far removed from their signature style. I loved it so much that I've begun to explore more party songs recently. In the past I would have stayed away from something like this, but post-pandemic me definitely loves it.

What I admire most about new SCANDAL is that there is quite a bit of variety to their songs, which is something I happen to enjoy these days. Although I would have absolutely loved an album full of only rock songs until about 5 years ago, my taste in music is evolving and I like that this band is able to keep me guessing about what they're gonna come up with next! 

After listening to the Album on Spotify while waiting for the CD to come, I have being listening to track 4 to 8 non stop, just loving it.

I agree with other post that Scandal enter the alternative genre area with this Album. It was going to be a risk going down this route but many bands has done this, how it work out we just have to wait. For me I think what happen last couple year has give the Band time be more creative in their song  writing.

CDJapan is reporting Mirror as the #2 album in export sales this week. "Invitation" BR is holding strong as well.
https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/feature/export_chart_220128?utm_source=SNS&utm_medium=Twitter&utm_campaign=top40_Tp220128

Weirdly enough, I really enjoyed the record. Usually I dislike more poppy style with electronic sound, but I guess the tasteful arrangement with distinctive melodic patterns won me over. "Mirror" is a bloody masterpiece, such smooth melodies changing one another and artsy arrangement may be their songwriting peak. Kanojo wa wave is a pleasant surprise, I really good energetic song. One more time has such a fun citypop vibe, and again is so beautifully done despite being so simple. Eternal is another masterpiece, but the familiar one, I loved it since the release. Ai no Shoutai is like a NEON TOWN ESPACE sequel for me by Tomomi and I love this style. Ivory and Yuugure, Tokeru are also great songs. Others I found a bit less interesting TBH, maybe they will grow up on me later.

Nevertheless, I can really feel that it is the beautiful album that I didn't expect but really enjoyed in the end.

There may be some disagreements with its direction, but there's no denying that this is quality work.

Everything is in its place, like the bass lines, guitar notes on Ai ni Naranakatta no sa, drums on MIRROR and throughout the record. I've always loved Haruna singing the final mantra "Kono shunkan eien ni shite" on eternal, and the song fits the tracklist perfectly, as does Ivory.

Then Kanojo wa Wave started I was like "What's happening here??" and started to smile. The smile got wider with Ai no Shoutai, my favorite at the moment. This song is so huge that it should get its own MV, with all the crew, backup vocals, brass and everything else. My fear is it won't sound that good live with those elements being turned into backing tracks.

I got curious about Yuugure, Tokeru after Haru's interview and she didn't disappoint. So good! It's curious that she sings her own songs in a more natural range. The girls should realize this, they've pushed her so hard the last few years with all those high notes. They should be more cautious with the band's biggest asset. Haruna does a good job especially in the ballads. By the way the piano at the end of Prism is lovely and sublime.

The feeling of loss surrounding Ao no Naru Yoru no Sukima de hit me hard when I discovered that the song is about Maisa Tsuno from Akai Ko-en. I was tearing up reading the lyrics. Having Akai Ko-en as my favorite group next to SCANDAL I don't even know what to say. A beautiful gesture from the heart of Rina and the band.

And so one more time was accurately placed at the end, in hopes of happy times and better days ahead.

I need to hear more but I don't see anything that compromises the mix. They have worked with the same arrangers in the past and Victor Studio is well recognized. I can say the sound is more dry, a little different from the bright loudness of the Sony days.

TOMOmeow wrote:I'll consider this as a concept album because of the lyrical content and its overall sound. I also noticed that the transition from one to another is so smooth. As much as I like "Spice", I'm happy that they didn't include it on the album. Otherwise, it will appear as an oddball in the kitty litter.

As much as I love SPICE, this particular song fits better with "Kiss from the darkness", right after "YOU GO GIRL!". I've been hearing it that way since it was released. But it's okay, it deserved to be on an album.

teamami wrote:Firstly, there are your bass and drums. Then there are three guitars: the most audible one is the two-note riff on the right channel; the electric rhythm guitar on the left channel, placed very low in the mix because I assume it only plays bog-standard chords or power chords; a scratchy-sounding acoustic guitar to accentuate the drum beats. Obviously, there is the lead synth, and then there's the insistent, 16th-note gated synth pad underneath it. My two cent is it was intentionally made to sound that way; there's almost a shoegaze-y quality to it. And it sounds cool to me   

I think you're right. Rina mentioned the intention to create a shoegaze sound for this album (She grew up listening to British rock).

hogradish wrote:At the start of Prism is the sound of a music box being wound up. Think of Haruna as a tiny clockwork dancer in the music box, slowly turning while light is reflected off the prism-cut glass on the edges of the box. The bells and chimes in the mix represent the sound of a music box. Does that imagery help?

dchan419 wrote:I mean there's plenty of bands throughout history that add to their library as opposed to changing their sound. There were plenty of Scandal tracks from yellow, Hello World and Queens are Trumps that i didn't like but I think it's more that they are brancing out as opposed to they are moving in this direction.

That's it. They're expanding but it's not like they've turned their backs on their heavier sound. It just didn't happen this time. I bet the tours will be fire!

harurob wrote:They're expanding but it's not like they've turned their backs on their heavier sound. It just didn't happen this time. 

Great point! I also wouldn't totally give up hope for other heavier rocking stuff in the future. I kinda got from what the girls have been saying in recent interviews, that they were clearly a bit worried what their fans would think about the album, because it's so different. Of course, since A.M.D.K.J. was like their most successful song in years, they are aware that (I dare to say) most people would probably rather hear something closer to that than contemporary pop. 

Let's not act like they haven't delivered a completely different album from the previous one every single time (especially since they took the songwriting into their own hands). I really like this one, but yeah, it's not really what I want to hear from them and I probably don't need more of this. But the thing is, MIRROR doesn't necessarily set a trend for their future output. "This is who we are now," says Rina. And they were someone else just two years ago. And two years before that. They'll be different next time too. If you don't like this, don't give up on them just yet.  

Did anyone had issues when registering the serial code? I followed TGE tutorial (tysm!), but had a whole bunch of errors. Didn't know why, I thought it was the phone number (it was the tower records phone initially), so I changed it to disneyland tokyo phone number   , but still had the issue. I found out that the problem was the optional message for the band, I wrote it in english and it was less than 100 characters, so perhaps it's only allowing japanese messages?