Misato Ono - sway
BRIDEAR's Misa as you've never heard her before.
It’s rare to find a musician with an established musical identity who’ll stray too far from it when embarking on a solo career. Misato Ono, better known as ex-BRIDEAR guitarist Misa, has well and truly bucked that trend. Although the five records she made with BRIDEAR aren’t the only work on her resumé, neither her six compositions for that band nor the ballads she co-wrote for Miyu Maeshima would merit inclusion on a chill-out playlist.
In contrast, sway would be more at home on the sound system of a swanky wine bar than a dingy nightclub. Evoking the ambient charm of Fleetwood Mac’s Albatross, it’s the kind of track a producer in the early ‘90s would’ve tried to slap a Kenny G soprano sax solo onto. Mercifully, the instrumental breaks are devoid of cheesy woodwind interludes. Ono keeps her voice and Fender guitar front and centre, with some unobtrusive percussion and synths in the background.
Her decision to sing in English, though unexpected, won’t come as a massive surprise to fans. Beyond her bilingual social media channels, Ono’s been moonlighting as translator for various artists for a while now, and it looks like it’ll be the norm for her solo output, judging by her recent follow-up single, the bluesy bluebird. While not quite as drastic a departure from her metal roots as sway, it would be hard to imagine a greater musical about-face unless Ono swapped her guitar for some castanets.
