Album arts, tracklisting & tour info: Perfume - Cosmic explorer

Perfume have finally announced their 5th studio album, which will be titled Cosmic explorer. A complete buck of trends in comparison to their previous 1 word album titles. Dare I say it, the album title feels Pamyu Pamyu-ish. This is no surprise as Perfume's producer Yasutaka Nakata had been re-hashing Pussy Pamyu songs for Perfume for most of 2015.

The art direction for the Cosmic explorer album covers were handled by Yoshida Yuni and the girls are sporting Issey Miyake dresses on the limited edition version of the album cover. Perfume's style game is like a black hole of doo-doo. Shit so strong that even a creative director who has helmed campaigns for Louis Vuitton and a designer as iconic as Issey can't save them from looking dead ass.

Whilst it is not always necessary for an album to feature an artwork which visualises the title, I do feel that something more could have been done here. Whilst Perfume's stage style game has been a mess for years, they are always well styled for their album covers and inlays. But just like the album tracklist (we'll get to that) this is a type of mess. The album art for the limited edition is rancid. Why is Kashiyuka shooting toast and tea saucers out of her vagina?

When I posted a mock-up of the album track list for this album a month ago, I was joking, but not joking about it. And well, the final track list isn't all that different.

As many fans had speculated long before the album was announced, the track list is full of pre-released singles, with there being only 4 new songs that we have not heard in any form at time of writing, and "Navigate" is just short album intro.

1. Navigate
2. Cosmic explorer
3. Miracle worker
4. Next stage with you
5. Story
6. Flash (Album mix)
7. Sweet Refrain (Album mix)
8. Baby face
9. Tokimeki lights (Album mix)
10. Star train (Album mix)
11. Relax in the city
12. Pick me up
13. Cling Cling (Album mix)
14. Hold your hand

I was hoping a line would be drawn under the 2015 single releases and that only "Pick me up" would make the cut, with "Next stage with you" and "Flash" making the chop and there being at least 10 new album tracks, but no.

The track order also seems odd. All of the singles are shunted to the end of the album. "Star train" would have been the best choice to close the album, but that honour is given to "Hold your hand". "Story" would have made a great intro, but instead it's pushed down into the 5th track. "Cling Cling" and "Pick me up" are too uptempo to be pushed so far towards the end of the album after the likes of "Relax in the city" and "Star train".

I really am wondering if anybody actually had a f**k to give this album.

Cosmic explorer also features album mixes of 5 tracks. The album mixes often serve no purpose other than to give Perfume a tweaked version of the song to perform to on tour, so I can't imagine any of these album mixes will sound as brand new as we're hoping. Yasutaka Nakata doesn't have a great track record when it comes to his album mixes. He either ruins what was a good song or just elongates sections for no reason. I need new vocals, new song structures, new everything. I will give "Sweet refrain" a pass, because if there's one song on Cosmic explorer that doesn't any form of revising, its "Sweet refrain". But "Star train", "Tokimeki lights" and "Cling cling" all need to sound brand new. But they probably won't.

To support the album Perfume will embark on a tour of the same name which will run from May until July. Their Cosmic explorer tour will also include a North American leg which will feature 5 shows over the course of August and September in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York. Meanwhile us European fans are waiting on Perfume to hit us with good news.



If I do not get a World tour 4th this year which stops in London, I will go mad and Perfume can f**k their album. I am already gearing myself up for disappointment as far as the album is concerned, so I am hanging my hopes on their tour being the factor of redemption.

"Cosmic explorer", "Miracle worker" and "Baby face" are going to have to be pure fire bops and sell me the same 2 for 1 realness that Justin Timberlake served with songs on The 20 / 20 experience. Because the only 2 songs on the album at present that I will have time for are "Story" and "Pick me up" and I'm actually kind of pressed that "Pick me up" didn't get an album mix, because that song needed a middle 8.