This extended play was released on July 26th this year. Shigeto is a producer who I became familiar with after checking out the first and only album from ZGTO, which is a duo consisting of Shigeto & ZelooperZ. I thought the production on that album was really fucking cool, so I was curious about the rest of Shigeto’s work. This EP in particular is the first solo project I’ve ever checked out from him, but since it’s self-titled I assumed it’d be a good representation of his music.

After listening to this, I have to admit that I’m a little disappointed. This just isn’t really the kind of music I was expecting. A Piece of the Geto—the ZGTO album—had some really wild, chaotic, unorthodox beats, so I was hoping for that kind of production here. That’s not what this is though. This is just Deep House music. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of House music, so I was very underwhelmed by this project. I wouldn’t call it bad, but it’s definitely a bit of a letdown. There’s only one song on this project that I like, which is the first track, Jetsettin’. I think the percussion is really nice, and the light, floaty melody is cool too. It kinda sounds like something I’d hear in the Bomberman Hero soundtrack. That’s a good thing by the way. I think the song lasts a little too long, but it’s not too bad. It’s actually the shortest song on the project, which is one of the issues I had with this EP. These songs are way too long in my opinion. However, I guess long-windedness is kind of the norm with House music. I don’t know. I’m not familiar enough with the genre to confirm whether or not that’s true, but that’s what I’m assuming. Anyway, I knew I wasn’t gonna be crazy about this project as soon as I got to the following track, Pusher. I don’t think it’s a bad song at all. It’s an okay track. It’s just not my cup of tea at all. There is no context in which I can see myself willingly listening to this again. It’s a really relaxing, chill instrumental; it just sounds like something you’d have on in the background in a really fancy, expensive, chic, hipsterish condo. Again, I think it’s a decent song, but it has zero replay value for me. The only thing that really stands out in a bad way to me is the length. It’s nearly 6 minutes long, and it gets old after about 45 seconds. Unfortunately, the following track is much worse. It’s slightly shorter, but the actual instrumental is far less entertaining to me. It has a colder, more robotic sound than the preceding couple of tracks, but it still has a very chill atmosphere. I thought it was kind of interesting at first, but it just doesn’t really go anywhere. You know what the entire song sounds like after the first minute. It’s honestly really goddamn boring. I still wouldn’t call it a bad song though because it’s not unlistenable. It just does absolutely nothing for me. I think it’s mediocre. I feel the same way about the final track, New Course. It’s just as, if not more boring than the preceding song. It certainly doesn’t help that it’s the longest track on the project. Again, I’m not really familiar with Deep House music, but this still somehow sounds really generic to me. It’s another mediocre track in my opinion, and probably my least favorite on the whole EP.

This project is okay I guess. I don’t regret listening to it since it’s only 23 minutes, and it’s cool to step out of my comfort zone every now and then. I’ve never been into House music though, and this wasn’t an exception. Well, I guess it kind of is. If you’d told me a couple months ago that there’d be at least one Deep House song that I actually like at some point, I wouldn’t believe you at all. That’s kinda cool I suppose. If this is any indication of Shigeto’s output as a whole, I think it’d be best for me to steer clear of his work. I’d definitely be interested in another ZGTO album though. Honestly, I didn’t even really think A Piece of the Geto was that good. I just thought the beats were really fucking cool. The production was the one aspect of that project that really impressed me, so I’m honestly disappointed by this one. It’s a little unfortunate, but I’m not super devastated. It’s not like there’s been a shortage of great music this year. They can’t all be winners I guess lol.

Favorite Song: Jetsettin’
Least Favorite Song: New Course

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