On this first major-label album, Japanese hip-hop duo
Hilcrhyme open with a brash orchestral sweep, suggesting that they are a group not lacking in confidence. The near-title track, in true hip-hop style, is basically just
Hilcrhyme banging on about themselves, replete with the requisite gangsta-esque insolently trilled "r"s; however, it also demonstrates that they have a bit more to offer than a lot of mainstream Japanese hip-hop, with the '80s-influenced sequencer that runs in the background interplaying well with the sampled remnants of the first track's orchestra. "Shunkashuto" demonstrates that
Hilcrhyme can do sentimental melodies with lighters-aloft sweeping strings as well as any of their J-Pop contemporaries, although the more minimal "Uten" perhaps packs a more effective emotional punch. In fact, it's on these more stripped-down tracks, like "Riders High," where the duo appears at its best, with the sequencers and beats demonstrating an endearing arrogance and showing that
Hilcrhyme haven't yet felt the need to resort to desperate pandering to their audience's lowest common denominator with overbearing pop balladry and cheap, simplistic rhythms. There's no doubt that
Hilcrhyme are first and foremost out to make pop music, but they nevertheless manage to maintain a balance between inventiveness and the demands laid at their door by convention, with the result that
Recital is a a cocksure, swaggering leap into the mainstream for the duo. ~ Ian Martin