lecca - Mado no Mukou (a J!-Ent World Groove Album Review)

“Reggae artist lecca returns with her second mini-album which focuses more on the dance hall reggae style and upbeat pop groove just in time for her lecca CLUB TOUR.”

ARTIST: lecca

ALBUM: Mado no Mukou

LABEL: Cutting Edge

CATALOG #: CTCR-14553

DURATION: 23:26

RELEASE DATE: February 13, 2008

1. Kita no Sakaba
2. UN-SOLO feat. SEEDA
3. Namida no Hi
4. Little ms sunshine
5. Watashi no Rirekisho

Reggae artist lecca released her second mini-album back in Feb. 2008 titled “Mado no Mukou” which features not so much “reggae” in the sense that many people are familiar with.

In fact, this album is much more pop-influenced as the tracks are very dance hall reggae or probably leaning towards more towards the pop end than reggae, especially if comparing this album with recent albums from fellow label artists such as MEGARYU and PANG.

But this style for lecca probably does work well as the music is just right for her CLUB TOUR 2K8 which took
place a month after this mini-album’s release.

The album as a pop album is not bad. The first track “Kita no Sakaba” is an actually awesome dance track and very catchy. lecca demonstrates her ability to sing pop songs but also fuse her reggae style into a pop beat.

But then the next three tracks “UN-SOLO”, “Namida no Hi” and “Little ms sunshine” become more pop-influenced and I suppose that for her club tour, it works out just right. I felt that these tracks were not as strong compared to her last album “Otaku Girls no Utage” which I enjoyed a lot. The first track was great but the next three tracks were average at best.

The final track “Watashi no Rirekisho” is probably the only track on the album that deviates from the pop sound and focuses more on acoustic guitar and percussion and a style that really works well with lecca’s reggae style of vocals.

The CD insert is a quad fold insert with lyrics and production credits on one side and the featuring an image of a clay creation of reggae artists with the speakers and animals.

All in all “Mado no Mukou” was an average album at best. With lecca’s 2007 album “Otaku Girls no Utage” really showing her strengths as an artist, I just wished that “Mado no Mukou” would have shown that similar strenth.

You do have that awesome dance track “Kita no Sakaba” and the acoustic guitar and percussion driven track “Watashi no Rirekisho” that stand out on this min-album but the other three tracks for me, they were just ok.

But nevertheless, I can see these tracks being performed in a club setting and afterall, her 2008 tour is titled “lecca CLUB TOUR 2K8″ but I would like to see more diversity in experimentation with musical styles, more collaborations and an album that really showcases her talent.

“Mado no Mukou” by all means is not a bad album, it’s actually good. Not great…but to me, just average.

BUY THIS MINI-ALBUM

Mado no Mukou

lecca