01. DAWN
02. ステラ (Stella)
03. マジックアワー (Magic Hour)
04. 天使 (Angel)
05. ドグマ (Dogma)
06. コバルトの降る街で (In The City Where Cobalt Falls)
07. 別れ霜 (The Farewell Frost)
08. ツェッペリン (Zeppelin)
09. 明日は君の風が吹く (Tomorrow Is Your Day)

It’s already been three years since Asunojokei’s アイランド (Island) blew up in the underground blackgaze scene for its unique sound, and many were eager to hear what the band had in store for their next release. So, how does Think Of You evolve Asunojokei’s sound, and- wait a minute, where’s the blackgaze???

I’ve never seen a band ditch their trademark sound so quickly before. アイランド (Island)’s blend of post-hardcore and shimokita-kei with blackgaze was what made it so interesting and special in a sea of Deafheaven copycats, but this time around, the blackgaze is pretty much nowhere to be found. Sure, the raspy black metal vocals and lo-fi production are still here, but in the songwriting department, we’re closer to any other shimokita-kei / Japanese post-hardcore band. It’s like if Mass Of The Fermenting Dregs or Shinsei Kamattechan got harsh vocals and heavier drumming.

This all adds up to making the last remaining metal elements feel completely out of place, to the point where they distract from the album’s actual qualities. The songwriting, although not the most original, is very solid, with the likes of “マジックアワー (Magic Hour)”, “天使 (Angel)”, and “コバルトの降る街で (In The City Where Cobalt Falls)” being really great shimokita-kei tracks, while the more metal “ドグマ (Dogma)” and “ツェッペリン (Zeppelin)” are a lot weaker. This change in songwriting also leads to some really tasty bass lines, except they’re often buried in the mix, which is still trying to be dense and shoegazy.

I also already wasn’t too fond of 布 (Nuno)’s vocals on アイランド (Island), but this time they sound so strangely out of place that it just makes the whole experience a lot worse. The occasional clean vocals sounded pretty good, however, and I wish they were more prevalent throughout the record. Finally, the drumming is what really saves Think Of You from feeling completely schizophrenic, as it manages to tie the softer songwriting with the intense harsh vocals really well.

Asunojokei are obviously very good at writing shimokita-kei, to the point that I wish they would just ditch the last remaining metal elements from their sound, or at least find a more interesting way to merge them with their other musical sensibilities like they did on アイランド (Island), because right now, Think Of You just sounds like a Shinsei Kamattechan album with worse vocals. They still have a lot of potential for growth, and I hope they manage to make a more cohesive record next time around.

Performance:	8
Songwriting:	8
Originality:	7
Production:	6