Lucky Kilimanjaro - !magination
!magination is electropop band Lucky Kilimanjaro's first major label album, and delivers on the band's directive to "make every day dance" with a dizzying rush of upbeat grooves and positive feels that will help you escape from reality into blue skies, stars, rainbows and beyond.
This being Lucky Kilimanjaro's major label debut, its built on a solid body of work experience dating back to 2014 when the 6-piece band was formed by vocalist/songwriter Yukimaru Kumaki from their university days in the light music circle. So this is not only a great place to start, its also an interesting concept album in itself.
These days it's quite normal for people to find themselves faced with an unsatisfying or oppressive reality. Especially with all this geopolitical instability, pandemics and inequality, its pretty easy to get stuck in a rut, feeling trapped or frustrated and angry with the situation. As a kind of response, !magination is a celebration of creativity and taking action. Whether its to pick up a pen and draw, to run as fast as you can or blast off in a rocket, the important thing is to just do it, because we'll never have all the answers. We can't let ourselves be paralyzed by boredom, wasting away our time.
If this kind of advice were delivered as a lecture or part of a self-help guide, it might induce eye-rolling or indifference, but Lucky Kilimanjaro back it up with honest vocals, interesting percussion and colorful synth lines, avoiding the usual tricks people use to try add importance to messages like melodramatic strings or choirs. So not only does it sound more genuine, the music itself creates scenes and settings that make it easy to get the idea. The bubbly energy of "Drawing!" represents the passion and colors of creativity, the up and down synth cycles and drum n bass vibes on "Run" will make you run faster (or at least get you moving), and in general the spacey sounds are perfect for soaring through the skies ("Glider") and stars ("Rocket").
As a card-carrying Japanese salaryman, my personal favorite would be "350 Galaxy", which is an ode to after work drinks on the way home - 350ml being the standard can size for drinks including alcohol. The pulsating synths and uptempo pace capture the rush of working life in Tokyo, you always have to stay up even though you feel like falling down. Fortunately, drinking on the street in Japan is legal, and a can of chuu-hi or beer is the easiest way to get some respite before you crash and do it all over again the next day. It's not about getting wasted - we are adults after all - its just nice to feel good (and dance) a little every day.
With an emphasis on digital sounds and futuristic beats combined with plenty of pop magic, Lucky Kilimanjaro firmly have their head in the stars on !magination, but you have to have the right stuff to keep up - the key to enjoying this album properly of course, is your own imagination. Without it, you might dismiss this music as mostly harmless electropop. Open your mind, and Lucky Kilimanjaro can lift you up and send you out on a fantastic voyage across the galaxy and beyond. After all, when it comes to imagination, the possibilities are infinite.