Memories Erased From My Mind

Cornelius “Sparks”

Cornelius is known for his early music as a crucial part of the colorful Shibuya-kei scene in the 1990s – colorful, kitschy, artfully composed music that was basically a direct result of a vibrant crate-digging subculture. He hasn’t been tremendously prolific through his career but he has changed a lot of over time, to the point that his new single “Sparks” sounds like the kind of indie rock that his own music had served as an alternative to in the late 90s and early 00s. Well, at least on a surface level. “Sparks” is a rock song, but one arranged with Cornelius’ taste for precision and audio novelty. Chords and notes seem to ping-pong diagonally across the mix, or blink out momentarily like a string of lights. There’s a strong melancholy permeating the track, particularly noticeable in the vocal harmonies, but every surface seems like it’s been sterilized as it to keep the sadness from infecting anyone else.

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