The Daily Spin, August 31
2 Mello | Memories of Tokyo-To
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite song from each album right here.
Album: Memories of Tokyo-To (2018)
Artist: 2 Mello
Link:
Homage to the Jet Set Radio game series, a beloved franchise from the early 2000s designed around revolutionary animation, an intriguing style, and most importantly, a kickass soundtrack, Memories of Tokyo-to does everything right as far as homage, ensuring that the love for this old title is felt through consistently emulating the styles seen within.
As you might expect from a video game from the early 2000s, there’s a lot of butt rock and a healthy dose of vaguely punk undertones, but where Jet Set and this album deviated was the liberal application of funk and jazz, even dipping toes into J-pop in a wildly passionate flurry of sound.
Sometimes, I sit back, and I listen, and I think music like this is quite a bit too much, cacophony with no real point to it, but in other moments, I’m reminded of the beauty of sound so versatile. This album solidly falls into the latter camp, in part because it handles the variance in sound so effortlessly and all without ever pushing into too much of an unpleasant thing.
Much like an album for a game or an album honoring a game should be, this is a piece of art that is, at heart, fun.
Rating: 8.1/10
Best Tracks: Big Beast; Jet Set Classic
Worst Tracks: You Like That