itself on label NUMU. The striking aspects of its preemptive single Evangelion were its intermingling of instrumentation and fractured vocals. The track seemed to herald a new beginning for the artist as a vulnerable and emotive voice started to breathe through the music.

This is also how Nannoparce starts. The beginning track Boyfriend finds tinkling, arcade-like chords suddenly transformed by pure and fragile vocal melodies. The line ‘you ask me what I’m thinking, every time I answer its you’ is almost whispered into the microphone. A refreshing, confident precedent is set. The vocals give way to a distorted solo hemmed by heavy, laboured breathing. The notes twinkle, Kogarashi’s vocal performance has seemed to breathe life into them. They bring the song to a close, possessing a little more humanity than when they started out.

The first track is contrasted immediately by Things I Tell Myself Often. The juddering instrumental gives way to an unrelenting drum sequence full of imaginative percussive sound. Kogarashi bounces on top of the beat, combining syncopated timing with emotive melody. The bass drum that the song employs, near the end is a master stroke. It’s power blasts the song into deep space, with only a faint pad and Kogorashi’s vocals disappearing into the darkness.

Strange brings the heartfelt aspects of the artist to the fore once again. A slow-moving track with a semi-triumphant melody. The vocals shiver at the end of every line, it’s clear the thought and pain that has been imbued on each line. As a simple bass note melds with a tumbling group of descending keys, Kogarashi sings ‘I don’t know where I stand right now’ and the ache in his voice is visceral even through the fragmented auto tune. The hook is reprised, but as this happens, the voice sheds what clarity it had. Disappearing in distortion and modulation. The melody reappears momentarily, galvanised by a lone snare drum. All falls silent, as a heavenly pad creeps in shifting the melodic pattern, giving the song an unfinished and cryptic hue.

Simple Tomita-esque tones begin History Will Be Kind To You. An inspired and juxtaposing 808 drumbeat kicks off counterpointing what sounded to be another deep introspected ballad. Kogorashi’s vocals appear clearer than they have so far. A unique and frankly ingenious vocal performance ensues. Halfway between 80s dance hit and droning, auto tuned beauty, Kogorashi sits effortlessly launching into the song’s hook.

Automata follows very much the same formula. A song driven by a solid, rolling drum line and a simplistic catchy melody. More imaginative melody-building.

Heaven is broken, muffled piano chords. A disjointed break from the structured approach taken so far. Beautiful images conveyed by shaking, porcelain vocals. A duality occurs, the brevity of the track gives it a mysterious, enticing quality but it leaves the listener begging for more from the artist and that particular sound.

I May Have Loved You Too Late brings damning piano keys of cosmological stature. Kogorashi pours more touching sentiment into fragmented snippets of singing. Before he disappears suddenly into a wormhole of screaming sound. He appears one more time on the brink of the event horizon, gives one last performance and then can be heard no more through the well of echoes.

Evangelion 2020 fits into the context of the album perfectly. Carrying on the theme of marching synth chords and broken vocals. Kogorashi toys with listener expectation, muffling his voice extracting any audible sound from it. Only to return fuller and more emotive than before. A synthetic wind blows overhead as the last of the low bassy notes falls away. A fitting sound, as the pain in the vocal performance almost feels as if the singer is on the brink of blowing away with the wind. At any point one almost expect Kogorashi’s vocals to turn from beautiful, auto-tuned majesty to no more than dust.

Evanhigginsok joins in on the track Differently. The keys reverberate with a noticeably poppy sensibility. And the vocals delivered by the only guest on the album compliment it perfectly with a strong structure and infectious delivery. His lyrics hammer home those themes omnipresent on the album. Feelings of heartbreak and reminiscence, of affection on a grand and epic scale. Through a distorted filter, Evanhigginsok is the last voice we hear on the album. It disappears into the fuzzy noise.

Nannoparce ends with a short and unique track. Taking the name of the album as it’s title, the minute long epilogue presents to us a heartfelt piano sequence. Having shed its synthetic qualities, Kogorashi’s instrumentation sounds more simple, more positive. The album ends on an ambivalent note that fades out quickly.

Kogorashi pushes himself to realise his most creative and heartfelt self in the album. Brimming with imaginative songwriting and solid narrative structures, Nannoparce was a predictably enjoyable listen from a consistently interesting producer.

Preorder here: https://kogarashi.bandcamp.com/releases