Dance For Philosophy — Excelsior: a showcase of a perfectioned sound
Recognized for their fun, retro concepts, their penchant for including philosophy-related terms in their song titles, and their impeccable vocal performances, Dance for Philosophy’s run as an idol group can be described as nothing but absolutely great. Their third album — aptly titled Excelsior— is the full-length follow-up to 2017’s The Founder, and it takes everything that makes the group stand out and ups the quality in every possible aspect. Opening with the explosive It’s Your Turn (which got one of the funniest music videos of last year), the record sets its tone right from very the first track.
From this point onwards, every track on Excelsior will offer something unique to its listeners. Be it the stylish synths on Free Your Festa, the combination of keys and bass in Pharresia or the fanfare-like brass sections that drive the main melody in Happy Ending, each one the songs included on this release have been carefully crafted in order to showcase different aspects of the different genres DFP built their musical identity from. This, tied with both the group’s penchant to explore subjects like nostalgic love through philosophical allegories and a vocal performance that sees them relying on harmonies more than they ever have, results in a record that balances fun stylish tracks with more emotional (but never dull) numbers. All also while creating a cohesive sound that heavily calls back to 90’s funk/RnB girl groups.
In addition to its own musical merits (which this album should absolutely be recognized for), Excelsior also stands out for the way its release seems to have been planned. Out of its twelve songs, only three are actually brand-new, with most of the album being previously released in the form of either physical or digital singles. Even if this fails to sound exciting when put to words (and even if one could argue the group is not trying anything particularly new with this release), this series of single releases converging in a finalized album serves as a testament to the preparation that goes into this group's music, and it really allows the listener to notice how much the group has improved during this past two years.
Undoubtedly their best album to date, Excelsior succeeds both at taking DFP’s sound to new levels of sophistication (seriously, everything on this record sounds like it was meant to be part of it, but it also sounds impeccably produced), and at challenging the notion that Japanese idol albums have to be packed with mostly new tracks in order for them to be exciting. A capturing listen from the very first track, Excelsior absolutely succeeds at cementing Dance for Philosophy’s place as the “go-to” retro girl group.
