GALAPAGOS

“GALAPAGOS”

Cover art by Hansi

Album by Utsu-P

Released

August 11, 2017

Length

32:12

Catalog number

MSIS-015

Utsu-P chronology

“Ramen Shop "GROTESQUE"”

“GALAPAGOS”

“Is It Bad To Have GALAPAGOS Syndrome?”

Singles from GALAPAGOS

2023/04/06 19:26 · kisu_odd

GALAPAGOS is the fifth vocaloid album by Utsu-P, released on August 11, 2017, at comiket 87. It is tied with ALGORITHM for having the most amount of voicebanks used, Featuring Hatsune Miku, flower, Kagamine Rin, and GUMI. The album features some of Utsu-P's best known songs such as “EAT”, “Living Ghost Is Alive”, and “Ramen Shop "GROTESQUE"”, which helped to inspire and define Utsu-P's pop sound.

GALAPAGOS received generally positive reaction from fans, who noted its evolved pop sound in comparison to ALGORITHM.

Production and musical style

The album features 4 previously released songs. The songs “EAT”, “Living Ghost Is Alive”, and “HIKIZURI” were released as standalone singles, and the song “CANDiES” was originally written for the utaite Wolpis Cater. All 4 songs were remade on this album.

Following ALGORITHM's mostly metalcore sound, GALAPAGOS features a more refined and electronic focused sound compared with his previous releases. Musically, GALAPAGOS saw Utsu-P beginning to incorporate more pop melody and groovy choruses into his traditional sound. With this album, Utsu-P's vocaloid output further became more virtuosic than noisy and took the next step toward widespread appeal.

Lyrical themes

Like many of Utsu-P's releases, many of the songs on the album have undertones of social critique. The opening, and effective title track “Is It Bad To Have GALAPAGOS Syndrome?” critique Japan's cultural isolation and xenophobia. “Living Ghost Is Alive” is about wasting one's potential. “Sugarcoat Of Love” explores themes of hiding true emotions and the confusion and friction that could arise from said behavior. “Ramen Shop “GROTESQUE”” is both a critique of social status as well as a song about enjoying the simple pleasures out of life.

The fifth track, “EAT”, uses metaphor of food to celebrate the joy of freedom of choice, and the importance of being true to oneself. It promotes the idea of embracing individuality and diversity in beliefs, and enjoying the simple pleasures of life without interference from others. “HIKIZURI” is about trauma, as well as being trapped in cycles of bad behavior. “Summer Vacation In The Future” focuses on nostalgia. “CANDiES” is a song about the loss of innocence and potentially sexual assault.