>>24305141I've seen you write this before. Never mind the context of these two songs being carried on the anime that repeatedly hammers bias into the viewer's head that you're supposed to see the character of Eiko as an unparalleled talent, both of the pieces you linked are primarily dance/trance pieces that sideline the vocals - she could be singing complete gibberish and no one would care. IryS's songs are a different issue because the lyrics are integral to the work. Which makes its lapses in lyrical meter especially egregious and grating to the listener. Ironically, this effect is enhanced by how good her voice is. It's like being drawn in by the smell of an amazing steak only to see that the chef decided to cut it into kiddie shapes. It's unappetizing.
The most obvious example of unfixable meter in my very strong opinion, is in the first and second line of See the World. I actually closed the track the instant I heard this the first time.
In D major I believe this follows what is commonly known as the Andalusian cadence, VI -V-IV-III.
"Let's see the world, sear ching for, the rea son why I am my self"
The chords change, in order, on: world(VI), for(V), why(IV), self (III).
"Searching" and "reason", in terms of syllables, are typically pronounced stressed-unstressed - in poetry, this would be called a trochee. This contributes to rhythm in itself. That means if you draw attention to the second syllable instead of the first, they sound strange and unnatural. And boy does the line make an effort to. Tension is created precisely where it shouldn't belong, on the syllable just before the chord is to resolve. 'Searching' is forgivable because you can argue that 'searching' is the topic and the tension creates the appropriate feeling of not quite finding what you're looking for; 'reason', no matter how I look at it, is a gross mistake. And then 'myself' - this seems to be correct, at first glance. You would expect an unstressed-stressed - but this is a III chord! It's (deliberately) begging for resolution. It's a question-answer setup. Not only that, she holds it, putting emphasis on it. So I'm listening to the word nudge me towards the idea that it should be a resolution, but everything else about the song tells me it isn't - and then when the answer comes, it is arguably long-winded and disappointing. Never mind the clumsiness of "with fear, and with joy", "I'll sing out towards the SKY" feels like it is reaching out for greatness but decides to lapse into cowardice and go for stability at the last moment with the final chord resolution. It's such a mood whiplash and frankly, a disappointing answer for the buildup. Which coming back to that line, was only so overhyped all just because of the decision to use 'myself'.
Every time it comes back to English lyrics more mistakes pop up. Amazingly one thing that I wouldnt' be surprised if Irys herself salvaged - because the screen lyrics and subtitling still show it - was the "I'm more than just an angel or a demon" line. If she had left in the 'a' that line would have been scuffed just like so many others.
I really don't see how she can improve to 'fix' something like this. She has no room. This is not a piece with long notes where you have space for personal expression; for so many lines the syllables are already struggling to fit in the verse. The emphasis and meaning of every line is completely dictated and strangled by the melody and chord progressions.
The instrumental to this is amazing. The singer is amazing. The lyrics are complete shit and fight against the music.
