7HEAVEN (festa); purple kiss

sept 5 2023

I really enjoyed Purple Kiss' last release, "Sweet Juice," so I was mildly intrigued when I saw they were coming back. Unlike "Sweet Juice," their comeback Festa wasn't a dark horror themed concept– it was a bright, summer concept... in September. I wonder if this was meant to come out earlier, and they didn't expect Yuki to hang on in Queendom Puzzle until the very end? Either way, all three songs on Festa are delightful summery tracks!

When I heard the teaser for "7HEAVEN," I have to admit I was a little skeptical. I liked the melody, but the instrumental had this incredibly strong zippery-sounding bass that overpowered every other instrument. I was like, "If this is the chorus, this bass is going to be very grating and hard to listen to." Luckily, the teaser was actually showcasing the bridge, which is where that zipper sound is confined to, and I think it works perfectly fine as just an accent there. It breaks up the easy listening vibe and keeps you engaged in the song. The hook for this song is very strong, and not in an annoying way where it feels like you're being brainwashed into finding it catchy. This song is just very fun and easy to listen to.

Single albums tend to phone it in on the bsides, so I didn't have high hopes for "Biscuit" and "Mistake." But I was surprised at how much I liked these songs! They keep the summery vibe while bringing the tempo down a little. "Biscuit" is midtempo and a little bit drum & bass/UK garage inspired. The chorus to this one is really catchy as well. "Mistake" takes it back even more, being a d&b inspired slower song lamenting lost love. Purple Kiss show off their vocals here, as the chorus is pretty high pitched. They're not belting for their lives on this song— they instead flip to their head voices, which I always love to hear.

Overall, I think this is a really great summer comeback, something a little fresh and different for Purple Kiss. I hope they don't completely drop their darker, horror inspired concept, but as a special post-Queendom Puzzle comeback, I think Festa works out really well.