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Nostal Lab
review by Shades Children

With the release of Nostal Lab, Klaha has clearly stepped away from the monumental shadow of Malice Mizer and even distanced himself from his work as the vocalist of Pride of Mind. His first album is unlike anything else he has created before.

I would define Nostal Lab as pop, but it's not super-pika-pika-bubbly run-of-the-mill. Klaha definitely put some serious thought into his songwriting, and it shows through the unique collection of songs that comprise this work. The album itself consists of three instrumental tracks, all titled something Prism, and nine vocal ones, all of which are driven by his strong voice.

Standout songs include tracks four, seven, and nine. The Spanish-flavored romance Red Room ~garasu no hana~ begins with Klaha accompanied by an acoustic guitar, and they are joined by the percussion and an electric guitar. In contrast, the first 44 seconds of Kiseki no koe are sung quietly, a cappella, slowly increasing in volume and intensity, highlighting Klaha's passionate style. The title of Most Entertaining Song may very well belong to the zoot-suit riot Chameleon no seppun, with its saxophone, trumpets, clear drumline, and sassy attitude. Another notable is Scape ~with transparent wings~.My personal favorites are Penguin and Green ~tsutaetai omoi~.

I will agree with others on the Malice Aftermath ML and say that I think the album's production detracts from the overall quality. I don't know which instruments are real and which are not, but in my opinion, the relatively little background music sometimes sounds thin and cheaply synthesized. Maybe it's intentional.

On the whole, I think this is a very solid first album, so i'll give it a B grade. The more I listen to it, the more it grows on me, and I will be certainly watching Klaha to see what he creates next.