Given the long amount of time between
Mellow Waves and
Cornelius' other albums -- it arrived a decade after
Sensuous, and two decades after his breakthrough
Fantasma -- it would be unrealistic to expect giddy shibuya-kei, or even a direct continuation of his 2000s output. However, listening to the album makes it clear that the same musical mind is at work. The visual quality of
Keigo Oyamada's music that was reflected in
Fantasma's technicolor collages,
Point's pixilated pointillism, and
Sensuous' sonic streaks and smears remains, but this time, he didn't edit his music into rigid precision. By setting
Mellow Waves free from the grid, its gently undulating songs soothe instead of dazzle, and focus on feelings instead of technique. The results are freer and more open-ended, and more informed by collaborators, than any of
Cornelius' earlier music. Two of
Mellow Waves' finest songs feature lyrics by former Yura Yura Teikoku leader
Shintaro Sakamoto: The pretty, poignant "Dear Future Person" and the trembling opening track "If You're Here," on which
Cornelius echoes
Sakamoto's tender words about an almost painful attraction with an unsteady beat and an intentionally imperfect guitar solo that captures being overcome by emotion. Later,
Lush's
Miki Berenyi -- a distant relative of
Oyamada's -- gives "The Spell of a Vanishing Loveliness" the kind of sidewinding melody and incisive lyrics she mastered with that band as she tells the story of a woman who escapes her seemingly perfect life. Even on
Mellow Waves' less narrative songs, the rejection of perfection leads
Cornelius to make fascinating choices, whether it's the loopy guitars on "Mellow Yellow Feel," the lapping harmonies on "The Rain Song," or the way "Crépuscule"'s acoustic guitar resonates and undulates as a callback to
Sensuous' title track.
Oyamada also filters some his best-loved sounds through
Mellow Waves' looser aesthetic on highlights like "In a Dream," a cloudy pop song that riffs on the funky '80s electro-pop he explored on
Sensuous; "Helix/Spiral," an asymmetrical, Speak & Spell-driven workout that could be a
Point song tilted on its axis; and "Sometime/Someplace," a juxtaposition of Brazilian pop and wildly processed guitars that feels like a fond remembrance of
Fantasma. Despite its calm demeanor,
Mellow Waves is nearly as intricate as
Cornelius' previous albums, and its masterful ebb and flow just gets richer with each listen. ~ Heather Phares