Triangle (Perfume album)

Perfume saw breakthrough success with their 2007 single "Polyrhythm", which led to its parent album Game (2008) becoming the group's first chart-topper. Work on their second studio album had already begun by July 2008, as they released their ninth major label single "Love the World". Perfume announced an upcoming, untitled album at the group's Disco! Disco! Disco! concert on May 10, 2009. They notably performed "Night Flight", then unreleased, which was being aired in Morinaga ice cream commercials starring the group. As executive producer, Yasutaka Nakata returned as the album's sole composer, arranger and lyricist. Member Kashiyuka commented that she was delighted with the recording process as it featured material differing from their previous output, in particular the largely instrumental and plainly-spoken songs of "Take Off" and "Speed of Sound": "I could never have imagined [that] from Perfume before. [...] But I was really happy and thought, 'Oh, I can do something new like that with Perfume.'" In an interview with ''Rockin'On Japan'', Kashiyuka was happy at the idea that Nakata no longer felt compelled to create conventional idol music for Perfume and could now experiment with their sound, closer in vein to his work with Capsule. A-chan expressed ambivalence at the notion of Perfume's music putting production over performance, but ultimately decided that it wasn't the case as long as Perfume continued to combine their three voices. A-chan's comments attracted controversy as some perceived it to be critical of Nakata, leading their agency Amuse to release a statement saying they were taken out of context. In sessions for prior albums, Nakata asked the members to sing "coldly" or with "less emotion", however, Nocchi noted a slight kayōkyoku influence to Perfume's vocals on Triangle as Nakata sang with a "unique quirk" on the demos. An interviewer for Barks asked if A-chan gained more confidence in her singing, to which she replied, "[In the past] I didn't enjoy recording at all. It sometimes made me feel sad when I felt like I had to "sing exactly how I was told," [...] or that I was only seen as an instrument. But this time I thought I'd have fun [...] I thought I'd sing it the way I like." She recorded her parts for "Zero Gravity" and "Kiss and Music" with her natural inflections. == Composition ==

Triangle is a continued exploration into Perfume's electropop sound. It is a relative departure from Game, moving from the latter's club-heavy direction and instead showcasing various electronic styles—disco, blog house and Japanese technopop among them. Many writers considered the sonic palette of Triangle to be more eclectic and varied, with All About distinguishing it as "herbivorous" compared to its predecessor. Some considered it to have a loose aviation theme, which member Nocchi noted as a recurring motif. Ian Martin of The Japan Times described the album as having an "air of glacial cool". The album opener, "Take Off", is a breakbeat intro featuring the members counting down from eight to zero in English. Its overlapping synth arpeggios are reminiscent of Yoshinori Sunahara's album The Sound of ’70s (1998), with other comparisons to Nakata's work for the Liar Game film. It invokes "Absolute Ego Dance" and "Rydeen" from the band's album Solid State Survivor (1979). and electroclash, Triangle's midsection is described as being "a little darker" in "[exuding] a chic mood". and downtempo. All About compared it to English band New Order and their 1987 songs "True Faith" and "Touched by the Hand of God". The latter takes influence from Latin house and disco as the members recite "inorganic" English words over a percussive groove. before reaching its conclusion with the ballad "Negai (Album Mix)". It features a new orchestral arrangement with lyrics about an unrequited love. A-chan found the album version to be "a little bit lonely" compared to its single release. == Title and artwork ==

In June 2009, Perfume's official website revealed the album title as the symbol ⊿, accompanied by a simple graphic of an isosceles right triangle. Through the group's Tokyo FM radio show Perfume Locks, the members clarified that it is read as or "triangle" in English. In an interview with Yahoo! Music, Perfume explained that the title evolved from flying and vehicular-related ideas, until they settled on shapes, from which triangles were decided as Yasutaka Nakata thought it was fashionable. The members were left "perplexed", but found it to be a perfect fit as they had three members and it was their third album. Uchizawa dressed them in all white in the image of "a young girl changing into an grown woman", symbolizing Perfume's evolution and maturity. For its limited edition release, the artwork was further simplified to a metal plate debossed with a triangle and the group's name. As a part of the album's promotional campaign, both physical props were put on display in records stores around Shinjuku and Shibuya the weekend of its release. == Critical reception ==

Triangle received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Many praised Yasutaka Nakata for his club-friendly approach to pop music. Yuki Sugioka of Hotexpress opined, "Nakata's paradox is that the music is [not intended for karaoke], yet it still makes you want to hum along [...] With Perfume, he is presenting a future that is half a step ahead of the scene". Takaji Deshima of Bounce magazine called Triangle a "stunning result proving straight away that [Perfume] still has an edgy presence". Perfume's "maturity" was a focal point in Musico's review of Triangle, who characterized the album as "fresh" and "moody". CD Journal opined that listeners would get further enjoyment out of the album once its nuances are understood. Other reviewers echoed this atmospheric departure from Game, with Excite Music finding its predecessor's high energy to have cooled-down and become "dancier". For All About, writer Hiroaki Shikata and his panel of commentators distinguished Triangle as more "refined" than the "stimulating" nature of Game. Fumizuki Watanabe of Musicnet thought that the album transcends its "futuristic" label in becoming "otherdimensional". == Track listing ==

From All Music.com. • Iku Aoki - Director • Kohei Furumai - Executive Producer • Tatsuro Hatanaka - Supervisor • Nomura Hiroshi - Photography • Sumio Matsuzaki - Supervisor • Kiyoe Mizusawa - Design Coordinator • Masahiro Nakawaki - Director • Ayaka "A-Chan" Nishiwaki - Group Member • Yuka "Kashiyuka" Kashino - Group Member • Ayano "Nocchi" Omoto - Group Member • Yokichi Osato - Supervisor • Masako Osuga - Make-Up • Kazuaki Seki - Art Direction • Yuki Shimajiri - Hair Stylist • Masahiro Shinoki - Executive Producer • Hirose Shiraishi - Executive Producer • Ken Uchizawa - Stylist • Yasutaka Nakata - Arranger, Composer, Engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Producer • Mayuko Yuki - Design ==Charts==