SIRUP - OWARI DIARY
OWARI DIARY is the long-awaited 3rd album from R&B singer-songwriter SIRUP and might be his most personal yet, covering his experiences falling in and out of love amongst the chaos of the world today.
It’s been almost 4 years since his previous album Cure, and as we all know, much has changed in the world around us. Back then, and even in his EP CIY (an acronym for Choice Is Yours), SIRUP was something of an idealist, seeking to connect people and open their eyes to new perspectives. But in a reflection of the changing times, where conflict rages and hope for humanity is in short supply, he has scaled back his ambition somewhat and focused more on his daily life, chronicling his recent breakups and experiences navigating the new normal. Hence the concept of writing a diary and opening it for us to read.
Featuring rising star Ayumu Imazu, the album’s opener “UNDERCOVER” neatly sums up the situation, where we kind of keep to ourselves now, keep our feelings undercover as we go about our missions in life. The ascending melody of the chorus creates a feeling of urgency and a sense of drama, putting you in the position of main character (or at least, stepping into his shoes). It’s also a neat play on opening the cover of a book (or diary, in this case) that reveals the true story.
Arguably the songs that drive the album emotionally serve as its tent poles, namely “GAME OVER” and “RENDEZVOUS”. As it turns out, during this period of time, SIRUP experienced the ending of a serious relationship, and while I feel bad for him, it’s certainly been fruitful in terms of creativity. SIRUP has never been one for ballads, and although “GAME OVER” is a breakup song, it’s actually danceable and one you can put on repeat despite its emotional weight. There’s this inevitability that hangs over the song, in both the production and lyrics, feeling like a steady march to an end. While SIRUP has always been known for his gospel influence and ability to run up into higher registers, on “GAME OVER” you hear the emotion come through, the way he keeps repeating and emphasizing the ‘oh’ sound as he trudges to the tragic conclusion. Producer Taka Perry nailed the balance, keeping it fun without veering into a funeral procession or parody. The cherry on top is the promotional video, and massive props for selecting N64 controllers over anything else. As the other key breakup song, “RENDEZVOUS” might sound like it's about meeting again someday, but in reality it reflects a desire to move on and never see that person again. The aforementioned rendezvous takes place perhaps on another planet, after the world ends. This time the trick is in how the sounds kind of blur, echo, and overlap to create that sense of inevitability and progress to the end, particularly in the chorus how the Japanese lyrics melt into the English sung by Murray Matravers of UK band hard life. As part of a diary, one can imagine there’s also a feeling of catharsis in expressing these feelings, and the lifting of an emotional burden.
Of course there wouldn’t be an ending without a beginning, and quite a few songs on OWARI DIARY are about encounters and falling in love. “LOCATION” and “KIRA KIRA” are about trying urgently to get to someone’s side, and the latter is notable for its cyberpunk imagery riffing on anime classic AKIRA. Meanwhile “INTO YOU” describes the intensity of being locked in on someone, backed by the moody cutting-edge production by me-mai (the artist formerly known as Chocoholic).
Another characteristic of this album is how real it is. Where Cure was more broad and somewhat lacking in details, part of OWARI DIARY is revealing some of the things in SIRUP’s life. You see slices of life, literally in the form of “CHEESE CAKE” (featuring Zion.T), which is about eating cheese cake after a night of drinking in the U.S., but also on “OUR HEAVEN”, on which he and Daichi Yamamoto talk about their times drinking and dancing until 6am in Mishuku, where they meet at the Route 246 crossing, and little things like the wasabi on their food and the change jangling in their pockets. (Low key you might be getting concerned about his heavy alcohol consumption.) This grounds the album in reality instead of ideals, and makes it relatable. He’s not just some pop idol in a tower, he’s on the streets getting drunk, eating late night food, and staying up all night like the rest of us.
But although there’s a lot of fun and games, the chaos outside still hangs over like a shadow. On the penultimate song of the album, “TOMORROW”, SIRUP expresses a desire to live everyday “like the world is gonna break tomorrow”. He’s aware of the fragility of life and relationships, the hardships we face, and we don’t even know if we’ll get tomorrow. You’ve got to enjoy it while it lasts. And finally, the album closes with a cinematic Yaffle production just like on Cure, but this time there might be more despair than hope. “今夜” (“tonight” in Japanese) is gritty, the scene is the lonely city, and there’s a homage to Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”. SIRUP describes life in the present, skipping and swiping repeatedly on our phones, unable to mute reality. He longs to go where the news can’t reach, a place without beginning or end. Obviously this isn’t possible, but it’s a feeling that a significant number of people can relate to. Perhaps as a reflection of the album as a whole, “今夜” might not be as beautiful or inspiring as “Thinkin About Us” (the final track of Cure), but it packs an equal or greater emotional punch because it’s more realistic.
In Japanese, there’s a saying that “会うは別れの始め”, that is, meeting is the beginning of the end. Nothing in life is permanent, and any relationship that you start will end, whether through death or otherwise. OWARI DIARY is literally about that, a diary about endings and beginnings. Experiencing it is fun, intense, tough, draining, scary, tragic, and exciting all at different times. There’s layers and shades to OWARI DIARY, and each song is unique in its own flavor and meaning. It was probably a difficult period for SIRUP, but hopefully by writing this diary he has become able to move forward. This isn’t the end, it’s a new beginning.
Tokyo ON also recommends: ZIN - CURVE, Nao Yoshioka - Flow