Album Review: Sawayama

Rina Sawayama released her first studio album titled ‘Sawayama’ in 2020, following up her EP ´RINA´  released in 2017. Through this album we see Rina show us what she’s capable of through the pop/rock and retro sound in the album’s tracks as well as showing a soft side with a handful of the songs. 

The first song on the album titled “Dynasty” starts as a soft acoustic song and goes on to be a rock/band song. This song talks about her hardships with mental health as well as acting as a song for healing and rethinking her decisions in life. Unlike the first song, the next song of the album “XS” is a pop/rock song where she talks about loving herself and wanting ‘more’. The tone and direction of the song are really good, and it’s probably my favorite radio play song of this year. The song “STFU” talks about her experience being a Japanese/British singer in the American industry and people mistreating her because of her race. This song is one of my favorites as she’s playful with this song, to me it’s like a rollercoaster and I can feel the emotion through the song. The next song “Akasaka Sad” is more of a trap/pop song, it’s a song about heartbreak, which fits the genre of the song. She also adds Japanese lyrics to the song which is something she often does. The track “Paradisin”  is a more fun track. This track talks about her having fun and living her life. This track is more of a disco-pop song which sets the mood for the lyrics. “Love Me 4 Me” is similar, it has more of a 90s song sound, and it’s more of a love song. The next track “Bad Friend” sounds different from most of the songs on the album, it’s more of a slow song talking about past friendships, phishing on the title of the song. “Whos Gonna Save You Now” is a song about closure and past relationships, this song is one of my favorites as it has a nice pop/rock sound to it as well as a nice tune to it. The next track “Tokyo Love Hotel” is a similar song to ‘Paradisin’ as it has a lovely and catchy disco/retro sound. This song is slower than a lot of the songs on this album; it goes with the lyrics, hence the song is a love song. The next track “Chosen Family” is the only ballad on the album. This song talks about close friendships and considering them as family. The final song on the album titled “Snakeskin” is more of a trap song. It starts slow and it also uses EDM as it talks about heartbreak and not being comfortable in her skin. I think this song was perfect for the final song on the album as it’s a very different song from what she usually does. 

This album was great to sit through. I didn’t skip any song at all and for her debut album, it was amazing, definitely one of my favorite albums released this year. I was surprised by the direction she took for this album, but she did an amazing job with it. If you enjoy rock and city pop you will enjoy this album, I recommend you to listen to this album, I’m certain anyone can enjoy it. I feel like it can reach any audience. I’m very excited to see what she does in future albums, I hope she keeps a similar sound and keeps experimenting.