Perfume - ⊿ (トライアングル / "Triangle")

Dear readers, before getting started, I should apologise for taking so long to post my review of this great music since I feel it deserves more recognition that this!

On 07-Aug-09 Perfume released their latest full-length CD called ⊿ (トライアングル / "Triangle"). What we have here is another collection of skillfully-produced dance-trance-talkbox-pop tracks that is sure to please fans and new-comers alike. Perfume has already made a huge impact on the music scene has once again has proven their ability to keep it going with their latest offering.

Listening to this CD straight through, from start to finish, I wouldn't necessarily claim that this is their best full-length, but it certainly does NOT disappoint. ⊿ has some absolute gems on it that provide evidence of Perfume's ability to grow and evolve despite their dedication to a music genre that's become over-saturated and watered-down over most of the past 2 decades. While I have been a fan of the group for several years now, I am still impressed by their ability to maintain a consistent and comfortingly-reliable sound while still managing to incorporate freshness into their productions. のっち (Nocchi), かしゆか (Kashiyuka) and あ〜ちゃん (A~chan) have continued to mature as singers and artists, and it shows!

⊿ contains a dozen tracks including the title track from Perfume's recent hit single, "Love the World," and a "⊿-mix" of the track "edge" from the same single. The mega-hit single, 「ワンルーム・ディスコ」 ("One-room Disco") is also on this release. Some of the new songs on the disc such as "NIGHT FLIGHT" and "I still love U" have a distinctly retro sound which definitely adds some charm to this release. Others are more akin to Perfume's classic style and they just make you feel good! The CD comes to a close with an "Album Mix" of the lovely ballad, 「願い」 (Negai / "Wish").

If you're skilled music hunter, there may still be a few of the limited edition CD+DVD sets available somewhere. The DVD contains some great material including Live performances of tracks from ⊿ and some of their musical appearances on TV. Great stuff! The headline photo of this post shows the cover art from the limited edition, while the other pic is the cover of the CD-only release. The limited edition contains both versions of the cover art, so if you prefer looking at the cute group-members, you can always flip it over.

All in all, ⊿ is another great success for this Jpop trio from Hiroshima. It's hard to go wrong with Perfume, and if you like this kind of music and enjoy their sound, you will be very happy with it! If you haven't yet discovered Perfume, however, I think I would honestly recommend "Game" as an ideal introduction to their sound. Please don't interpret this to mean that I dislike ⊿ in any way because that certainly would not be the case, but I do feel that overall, "Game" is better as a complete package. Enjoy!