Album Review: Chris Hart - Complex

Chris Hart manages to feel both like he’s been around for a while, and not that long at all. What started off in 2013 as a gimmick for Japanese record labels and the national audience, ‘Oh look, the Black gaijin who can sing in Japanese’, actually blossomed into a legitimate music career which has spanned albums and tours. But most of those albums were cover albums, which despite how pleasant they were, all sounded the same. And Chris Hart pretty much stuck with the same image throughout. He never really got to evolve as an artist in his own right; which is why it’s crazy that his 2021 album Complex is only his third studio album of original material, which manages to feel like it’s his first.


The Chris Hart we get on Complex is not the same Chris as the one we had gotten on Song for You. This biggest shift, aside from life (the mother of all shifters) is that Chris Hart takes the reins on Complex, writing 13 out of the 15 songs and co-producing 12 of them. After an 8 year career in Japan, Chris finally gets to create an album in his own image - with only traces of who we’d gotten across the 6 albums which came before. There’s a new energy and sense of self which runs through this album as a result of Chris having greater control over it, which is why it feels like it’s Chris’ first album. Because whoever that guy was before may as well had been a variant.

Part of that control is releasing an album which also features songs sung entirely in English. Chris’ whole ‘gimmick’ was that he was a Black guy singing in Japanese. So of course, everything he sang and put out was…in Japanese. But with that no longer being his selling point, we now get him singing a few songs in English. As has sometimes been the case with bilingual artists and songwriters such as Hikaru Utada, some songs just come to an artist in English and work rhythmically and melodically in a way that it just wouldn’t in Japanese. And trying to keep the meaning and the heart of the song intact whilst trying to rewrite it to fit the same melody can sometimes be so much of an undertaking, that it’s just easier to sing the damn thing in English - something that even Namie Amuro started doing with her last couple of albums, for which many songs were submitted in English. There’s a definite sense on Complex that some songs just wouldn’t have quite hit the same in Japanese, and “Monochromatic” feels like one of those songs to me. But it also speaks to the time at which an album like Complex had released. In an age of streaming and J-pop still managing to attract English speaking fans from around the world, it just makes sense for artists who can sing in English, to put out albums with an English song here or there. Not to mention that creatively, English lyrics probably come as naturally to Chris as Japanese ones do. If not, more so.

True to his name, Chris’ heart is laid pretty bare on this album, and it becomes evident now and again that this is very much an album from somebody living through the world of today; free from the stigma of laying their feelings of uncertainty out for all to see. The final third of the album in particular feels wholly like it was written in response to just navigating life in the midst of this journey which began in 2020 for many of us. But one of the most telling and beautiful songs on this album is “Chanto ~Mother’s Blues~”, which is written about Chris Hart’s wife, with whom he has three children. The song seems to deal with her coping with depression, or specifically postnatal depression. It’s an interesting topic to hear sung from the perspective of a man, but not unusual, especially given the way in which the song is framed. “Chanto ~Mother’s Blues~” is like a reassurance that it’s okay and normal to be depressed, even if you are a mother. And that Chris doesn’t think any less of her or her ability to be a mother as a result. It’s a really beautiful sentiment and subject matter for a song, and not something I ever expected. “Maigo no Sunrise” also touches on depression, but from the perspective of Chris experiencing it first-hand; questioning life and feeling empty. The clever thing with both songs, is that even if you don’t understand a lick of Japanese or search the lyrics; between the song titles, the vibes of the songs, and the elements which make them up (“Chanto ~Mother’s Blues~” includes the sound of children playing and “Maigo no Sunrise” includes voice notes of Chris speaking in English) the context and points of view of both songs is clear. Songs such as these are very much songs that we only would have gotten from Chris at this point in his career, where he’s able to exercise creative freedoms in a bid to really show himself.

Chris Hart | Complex

The sound of Complex is an interesting one, because it manages to sound both old, of the time and timeless. The 80s is a very prominent sound on this album. The 80s have been pretty present in music for years now and it's not going anywhere. But in the context of Japan, and the popularity spikes we’ve seen globally in city pop over the past few years, Complex manages to feel not just current, but very present and of the moment. But the production style on some of these songs (not specifically the 80s joints) cause the songs to sound a little dated, which isn’t something I could say about an album such as Dawn FM by The Weeknd.

The production on Complex is pleasant. There’s some nice instrumentation, some great melodies and a lot of musicality. At a time in popular music in Japan where so many artists seem to be trying to avoid the clichés of Japanese music, it’s nice to have an album that doesn’t feel like it is too cool to settle into them now and again. There’s a familiarity that this album will have to those who are J-pop fans; especially if you’ve been a fan of it for a while or are knowledgeable of J-pop catalogs from the 80s and 90s, including city pop. However. As nice as Complex sounds, it doesn’t sound rich nor big enough. Every song has the potential to sound big, but not a single one of them actually does. It gives this album an almost tinny like sound quality which offsets the vibe you can hear a song is going for. “All I Want Is You” should have been far punchier and been almost obnoxious in its desire to want to own radio. The song reminds me a fair bit of Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling”, but it lacks the largeness of it. “Seishun Prism” is a by-the-book J-pop / J-rock hybrid that's featured countless times as a J-drama or anime theme song. But the mix is so flat, and the sounds don’t hit hard enough to match the energy of the song. And “Otonani Natteiku” should have been overproduced to hell and back. But instead of being this big j-pop jaunt which shoves itself down your throat, the whole thing just sounds a little too tepid.

A lick of additional production across this album would have really helped it bring the richness out of each and every song. Everything is here. It’s just unfortunately sat under a layer of flatness. Complex sounds like Wii Sports music. Now let us all be clear. Wii Sports music is fire. But the music has chilling in my living room’ vibes, and understandably so. It’s a video game. Complex is an album which will play on radio, on TV, on tours. It should sound bigger.

Chris Hart’s vocals are going to be an acquired taste. Chris has a good voice. But because of J-pop’s penchant for high set vocals, some songs on Complex sound like they’re a key higher than they should be, and Chris sounds nasal, like the whole song is falling out of his nose. Chris doesn’t sound terrible on any of the songs. But some of the songs just aren’t in the best key for him. It also causes me to think of how much better a female voice would be on some of these songs. I can’t listen to “Flashback” and not hear Ayumi Hamasaki, especially with the way Chris sings the chorus.

An influence I hear in a couple of the songs on Complex is Tatsuro Yamashita. Especially on the album title track. Tatsuro was known for his vocal arrangements, and it’s something Chris should have applied across this albums. On some songs, Chris’ presence doesn’t feel like it’s enough, and it’s something that the use of vocal stacking and harmonies could have really helped with. It’s what makes Janet Jackson pop on songs. She always feels like the most present and important thing on every song.

The admirable thing about Complex is how Chris managed to be so diplomatic in his approach to it. There’s clearly a sense that Chris has wanted to do an album like this for a long time, and yet he doesn’t just swing left for the whole thing in the way many artists would do and have done. There’s a delicate balance between Chris exercising his new ideas and vision for himself, whilst still honouring the sound that most of his audience is familiar with.

Complex packages Chris nicely, but it’s a package which loses a lot, and I mean A LOT of steam in its latter half. It’s unfortunate, because the last few songs on this album are good. But by the time they roll around, the album has long outstayed its welcome. And it doesn’t help that each of the songs from track 11 onward all sound like they could have closed the album. It’s like listening to the encore for the encore to the final encore, which is then followed by a bonus track…which is also an encore. This album just refuses to end when it should, and it’s exhausting as a listener. The album also could have done without the song “Nami”, which is a 5 minute instrumental which drags. Chris played himself by not being more ruthless with the tracklist. This album coulda lost 3 to 4 songs easily, and been better off for it.

I went into Complex with no expectations and was surprised by what it offered. Chris has a clear idea of his sound and his vibe, and is serious about his craft as a songwriter and producer. With some tightening up, this album could have been much better, and more sonically interesting. But there’s enough here to work with, and there’s definitely more than enough there to be built upon, providing Chris isn’t made to pivot because of its sales performance. Although he is signed to Universal; and the whole issue with songs not being tight enough, the production not being big enough, and pivoting a sound based on sales are things which have been plaguing label mate Crystal Kay for a while now. But that’s a whole other conversation.

Complex highlights that Chris is a talented songwriter and producer. Chris also shows that he has far more charms and quirks than any of his previous albums or even Complex really showcases. We get a taste of it on the song “Monochromatic”, which features very real lyrics about staying home, binging Netflix and ordering take-out. But then that’s kind of it. Writing for other artists would allow Chris to tap into that side of himself for those who are perhaps known for being quite free and quirky by default. He’s written and produced for other artists and projects before, but it’d be great to see him go full throttle with his songwriting career, because I think it’s a space in which he could really shine, as it’d work wonders on his musical confidence which will feed his own material.

Complex is an easy album to pass on, and it probably won’t stick with you long after you listen to it. But it’s a nice album which doesn’t try too hard one way or the other to be anything in particular, all the while casually intersecting with popular sounds and trends. And oddly enough, if the more down-tempo moments on Abel’s Dawn FM were your bag, then you’ll probably like a chunk of what Chris offers up here.

Verdict: All of Chris’ albums had the word ‘Heart’ in the title, but it was never spelled ‘Hart’. Why?

Highlights:
▪ Monochromatic 🔥
▪ Flashback
▪ Chanto ~Mother’s Blues~
▪ Seishun Prism 🔥
▪ Complex 🏆
▪ Otonani Natteiku