It doesn’t have to be hard rock all the time.
m:a.ture is pretty unknown by overseas, most probably because of the fact that they have concentrated their activities mostly in northern Japan. There, they were invited as opening acts for several well known bands, and because of this, they’re sort of a sleeper hit.
Soleil starts in a quite interesting fashion. The guitar prepares the audience for the ballad-esque verse, which is easy to like and calm, and it ends up in a more energetic refrain. The part that follows after that has its own charm: an electric organ strengthens the dreamy, somewhat melancholic atmosphere. Subsequent to the second refrain, an acoustic guitar solo follows. This is soon replaced by an electric guitar, which brings the song's tempo up. The melodies make it feel like the sun is coming out - which, given the song’s title, perfectly suits the song. All in all, Soleil is about six minutes of perfect, calm entertainment.
may starts more energetically than the first song of the single. A keyboard with synthesizer sounds sets the ball rolling. The vocalist proves that he’s also able to sing faster pop-rock tunes. The verse sounds promising, but the refrain is far too straight; it feels like something’s missing. It’s hard to say what it is, but the song seems to lack edge. It gets better a little bit later, where an edgier refrain gives the song a bit more individuality and makes it more recognizable. The guitar solo that follows is again a very well composed piece of music. The flow of the verse is definitely nice, but some points are deducted for the refrain.
The third track, slow motion, has deceptive title. The song starts quite fast, at least compared to the first two songs. The verse is very entertaining and has some nice ideas in it. The refrain was composed to be a little bit epic, and this is still not the last twist of the song. The refrain is probably the part that gave the song its name; a small tempo change is made, though the guitar solo lends some speed to the melody. At one point, a popular maneuver is made: the song slows down more and more and then bursts out with energetic vocals and music. All these tempo changes fit perfectly into the flow of the song, since the band writes their songs as melodically as possible. In the end, you have a nice pop-rock song.
The band is definitely a sleeper hit. This single has its highlights in the first and third song, and even the second one is not bad at all. This is quite a must for all fans of melodic pop-rock, and maybe also for those who don’t have a narrow view on music. As said in the description: it doesn’t have to be hard rock all the time.
