Single Review: Perfume - Flow

Perfume have been on a not-terrible run of singles since “Time Warp”.

Yes. “Time Warp”.

I know that nobody was in love with the song when it was released, and Perfume were over it just as quickly as we all were. BUT. When you line it up with the singles that Perfume had released from 2014 onward, it was not bad. Far from it. But “Polygon Wave” is probably where fans will plant a flag to mark when Perfume’s singles and sound as a whole got better. And get better they did. And to show us that “Polygon Wave” wasn’t a fluke, we also get “Flow”.

“Flow” is as much of a welcomed surprise as “Polygon Wave” was; heralding a return to a sound that I think many fans had given up on Perfume’s music producer Nakata Yasutaka ever having Perfume return to. But here we are, with a throwback to JPN’s “575”, following a throwback to “Polyrhythm”; a theme which carries through to Flow’s B-side “Mawaru Kagami”, the song known amongst fans as “Mirror Ball”. But we’ll get to that song.

“Flow” is a really nice change of pace for Perfume. A change of pace so different, that prior to the news that “Flow” was going to become a single, I swore blind that it would never be one. Perfume did shift gears and go wholly mid-tempo for “Star Train”, but that seems to be a song that is collectively swept under the rug, and was not the mid-tempo vibe anybody wanted from Perfume. Although I do really like the music on “Star Train”. I find myself listening to the instrumental of it semi frequently.

HENNYWAY.

“Flow” is generally a really nice song. The vibe is nice. The production is really nice. But the arrangements and structure? Not so nice.

“Flow” falls victim to something that all of Perfume’s songs as of late have fallen prey to, which is song structures which make them feel incomplete. It’s a damn shame. Because had “Flow” been re-jigged and re-worked, it could have been a really good song. It could even have been one of Perfume’s best singles in a while. But Nakata had to go and fuck it up a little bit.

Perfume | Flow

“Flow” and “Mawaru Kagami” both suffer in the same way that “Polygon Wave” did, which is that whilst they are good songs which see Perfume and Nakata returning to somewhat of a form, they still feel unfulfilling. Each of these songs just coast for 3 minutes. There’s nothing in any of these songs that really propels them and creates this enthralling listening experience. And each of these songs also feature structural and arrangement choices which are baffling to me, especially from somebody like Nakata who was once known for being so meticulous when it came to this shit. But I guess that’s the old Nakata and that he can’t come to the phone right now, ‘cos he dead.

The second run of the chorus on “Flow” introduces new melodic elements and flourishes which really brighten up what is already a pretty bright chorus. It makes the song feel like it’s blossoming, and it sounds beautiful. But all of this good stuff comes in far too early. When I first heard this chorus, my initial reaction was ‘Oh, this sounds like the end of the song is imminent’ because the flourishes feel very final and almost like a ‘goodbye’. But then the final run of the chorus hits, and it’s exactly the same. There’s nothing extra on top of it. It takes away the sense of progression that the song should have continued to have throughout. Hopefully Nakata will revise this for the album mix - something which is not completely out of the realm of possibility, given that Nakata did fix a similar issue for the Cosmic Explorer mix of “Sweet Refrain”. The vocal work on this song is also pretty boring, as it tends to be these days on Perfume songs. I miss when each member of Perfume got a verse to themselves, or when we used to get more in the way of how vocals were arranged and produced on songs. Granted. Perfume were hardly ever giving us great harmonies or ad-libs. But the vocals on Perfume’s songs at least used to be interestingly mixed and placed through songs (i.e “Love the World”, “Night Flight”, “The Best Thing”) so that they had more of a presence on songs. Perfume are kind of a non-factor on “Flow”.

“Mawaru Kagami” has a second verse which sounds like a middle 8, and effectively acts as one, given that it hits 2 minutes into the song and is then followed by the final run of the chorus. Structurally to me, the song just feels cobbled together, because Nakata couldn’t think of what to write or do for an actual second verse, similar to “Polygon Wave”. I have no issue with songs that have different structures from the usual verse > chorus > verse > middle 8 > chorus setup. But the song should still feel complete when all is said and done. Nakata has given Perfume songs before which feature little in the way of lyrics, yet still have structures and arrangements which make them feel whole, and as though they have a beginning, a middle and an end. “Spending All My Time” and “Miracle Worker” to name a couple.

Perfume | Flow

“Flow” is a good song, and I hope Nakata starts to build out more of a repertoire of slow to mid-tempo songs for Perfume which feels as right for them as “Flow” does. Slow to mid-tempo songs aren’t what Perfume are known for, and the few we’ve gotten from Perfume over the past few years (yes “Baby Face” and “Tiny Baby”, I’m looking at y’all) have been trash. So it’s nice to hear Perfume give us something good and in the vein of where I think their sound should be. But Perfume are still in this place musically where their singles just aren’t sticking how they used to. Perfume’s singles these days come and they go. And “Flow” is no different. And it also doesn’t help that “Flow” and “Mawaru Kagami” both sound like variants of songs that Perfume has given us in the past, only not quite as impactful, nor as good. “Polygon Wave” is at least able to skate on the fact that despite sharing a lot with “Polyrhythm”, it has a funk and a bounce that is its own, which not a lot of Perfume songs (if any) tend to have. But as nice as “Flow” is, “575” is still better. And as fire as the intro on “Mawaru Kagami” is, “Game” or “Edge” still wipe the floor with it. This is why Nakata should have spent more time trying to create a sound for Perfume that looked forward instead of back. Especially when within the fandom, Perfume’s earlier material is held in much higher regard. But I don’t think Nakata truly knows what Perfume’s sound should be, and him deciding to go back to what Perfume had already done, but without that boldness and freshness that Nakata’s sound had before, partly shows that.

“Flow” and “Mawaru Kagami” are not Perfume songs which are going to be a go-to for Perfume’s tour setlists, and the only memorable aspect of “Flow” is concerning Nocchi’s look in the music video. But I do appreciate the shift from what we usually get from Perfume. I just wish Nakata was more thoughtful in his approach and execution. Because “Flow” really could have been something great if Nakata had made a few different choices.

VERDICT: LAKITU