Well, I never thought it'd happen but we got our first album drop in eight years, along with a cover art that collectively scared the fandom into thinking Renko and Maribel would split. Yeah, like ZUN would actually change the status quo that severely. But while we didn't get a massive Wham Episode, we did get another great batch of songs along with a new potential favorite. So without further adieu, let's go through the tracks:
Morning Comes On Tanabata Hill
Morning Comes On Tanabata Hill is by no means one of the better original tracks, but it is a good mood-setter. Taboo Japanese Disentanglement is the most somber Touhou album we've gotten since Changeability and I'm here for it, so Morning Comes On Tanabata Hill is quite ambient and muted, with solemn flutes and haunting pianos. It can feel lacking in terms of a defined melody to grasp onto, but it more than makes up for that through its strong atmosphere.
4/5 Stars
Tinkerbell Of Inequality
Out of all the tracks, this is the one that has the most potential to grow on me because it is very unconventional. It's the first song since Phantom Factory to go for a purely mechanical feel, and it starts strong with a clinky opening that sounds like the Kirby 64 factory theme. However, once the melody comes in, it kinda loses it for me, it's just too loose and all over the place. I feel like ZUN has had a bit of a tough making especially catchy hooks lately, and it's really preventing me from loving this track.
3/5 Stars
Does The Forbidden Door Lead To This World Or The World Beyond?
This was a track I always liked but often forgot about. It was fun, energetic, and well-crafted enough to earn a 5/5, but it didn't really have the sauce that could make it one of the all-time great stage themes for me. But this remix, it has the sauce. Punchier instruments, crisper percussion, an echoey piano, a more dramatic tempo shift in the chorus, louder ZUNpets, everything just hits so much harder in this version. This is easily the biggest glowup in the roster for me, bringing Forbidden Door from a mid-tier HSiFS track to a surprise album highlight.
5/5 Stars
Smoking Dragon
Oh my god, he did it. ZUN remixed Smoking Dragon and removed the Elementic drums! In my original review, I said I loved the track's intensity but the spammed drums hurt my ears, and this version sounds so much crisper and cleaner. It does have a bit more of a build-up, it's not as gate-burstingly heavy as the original, but once the ZUNpets start to blare, we get a remix that fully realizes Smoking Dragon's potential as a track and I couldn't be happier.
5/5 Stars
Dream Noh - Taboo Marionette
Taboo Marionette is a big improvement on the previous two original tracks, and seems to be quickly becoming the album fan favorite. It sounds like ZUN's attempt at folk music, and he really nails it. The melody is both wistful and catchy, the instruments are pleasant to the instruments, and there's a compelling blend of peacefulness and melancholy.
5/5 Stars
Crazy Backup Dancers
Crazy Backup Dancers gets a remix that essentially remakes the track using instruments from LoLK and 100th Black Market, giving it a unique feel that separates it from the original. I will say that I do prefer how relentlessly chaotic HSiFS's version of the track sounds, but the dancier vibe of the remix's synths and bassline hit almost equally hard. Another strong remix.
5/5 Stars
Yorimashi Between Dreams And Reality - Necrofantasia
I never reviewed the 15.5 remix of Necrofantasia, but I always thought it was good, but my least favorite of the versions. The build-up just wasn't quite as strong as in Ran's or Yukari's themes, but thankfully, this remix improves on that substantially. I always felt that the longer the build-up, the more powerful Necrofantasia's chorus is, and with two minutes straight of tension building before the climax hits, this version absolutely understands that. The improved instrumentation is also a plus, once again.
5/5 Stars
A Lonely Route To Hitachi
A Lonely Route To Hitachi is a nice and calming swing track with a bouncy main melody and a particularly fantastic sax chorus, it's just a shame that the piano and drums keep sounding like they're tripping over themselves. I still enjoy this track well enough, but I think literally smoothing out the notes could've made for a real gem.
4/5 Stars
The Lamentations Known Only By Jizo
The Lamentations Known Only By Jizo is a track I singled out for being one of the few tracks to use the Elementic drums well. So while I'm generally glad ZUN is remixing old tracks with newer drumkits, I really wish this wasn't one of the tracks he revisited because this version is kind of a downgrade. Like, it's still a good track in that the melody is pleasant, the spacey synths sound great, and the choir sounds punchier than ever, but using a standard rock drumset for the trap beat instead of Elementic ruins so much of the appeal. Sadly, this is the one remix in the album that doesn't fully work for me.
3/5 Stars
The Concealed Four Seasons
The Concealed Four Seasons has been reused quite a bit in other games, but this is the first time ZUN has properly remixed the track, and it once again sounds really good. It starts a bit slower and dour sounding, with a haunting chorus in the background and a more toned-down piano, but then it just keeps escalating and escalating, with the tempo and volume rising until reaching an incredibly intense final chorus that caps off the track. This remix of The Concealed Four Seasons really ratchets up the drama, and I think that improves the track for the better.
5/5 Stars
Even Though It's Not Night, There Are Ghosts
Umm... holy shit? I'm genuinely floored. I know I keep saying this but, wow, this is easily the best song ZUN has made in years. It might even be my new favorite original album track. It's an incredibly somber ending track dripping with melancholy, from the echoey piano plucks to the powerful synth chorus to those eerie squeaks in the background to that phenomenal ZUNpet chorus. It's actually quite sparse in terms of instrumentation, but what is there sounds super rich and intense on its own. Everything just clicks perfectly with this track, it's a emotional punch to the gut that I just can't stop listening to, and it takes me back to when I first listened to Changeability. What a high note to end on...
5/5 Stars
Overall, Taboo Japanese Disentanglement is yet another showcase of ZUN's steady streak of improvements over the last few projects, with richer instrumentation than ever before and a return of the atmospheric darkness that defined many of his earlier works. While I think some of the original tracks need a bit of work still, I can definitely see this album grow on me more over time.
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