The ambitious project represents the collective’s most creative culmination to-date

Many artists often set out on an adventurous new path in which their project primarily centers around a sole concept. While some are too ambitious for their scale, others simply miss the mark, resulting in a quite disappointing final product.

However, few music collectives can form a conceptual magnum opus, as well as millennium parade has on their self-titled debut, THE MILLENNIUM PARADE. The album, led by Daiki Tsuneta, consists of a brisk 14 songs that span a wide musical range.

As the album reaches deep into arenas of hip-hop, light jazz, rock and electronic music, the project still calls back to its original concept quite frequently, not allowing listeners to wander far from the musical journey millennium parade has set them on.

Interestingly enough, the concept can be followed quite easily if the music is given the much-deserved attention it’s asking for. The album was inspired by the Japanese folklore ‘Hyakki Yagyo’ – ‘The Night of One Hundred Demons’, allowing the album to ride a beautiful line between culture and boundary-pushing music.

The album’s lead single, “Fly With Me,” was featured as the official theme song to a recent Netflix adaptation of “Ghost in the Shell,” leading the group to critical acclaim, collaborations with Billboard and Hypebeast, as well as a new level of anticipation for the debut album. 

For those that prefer to let music pass over them rather than meticulously pay attention to a concept, the production is an aspect that must not go unnoticed. Each track brings new instruments to the table, building upon the track before. As the album is listened to in order, each transition smoothly fades into the next track, almost as if the album is one spectacular song.

As the album extends its range of genres throughout the album, listeners may tend to veer towards a few specific songs, rather than appreciate the album as a whole. While it’s expected for listeners to have a preference in genre, such as jazz over hip-hop, many won’t find interest in areas of the album. That being said, there is most certainly still something for everyone to love through the project.

While the project may overextend its reach into genres, the project is able to stick a solid landing regarding what they set out to accomplish. millennium parade may just be offering their debut album, but many will be asking for much more in the future from the collective.

Review: 4/5