m.o.v.e. – Fate Seeker (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review)

May 31, 2010 by Dennis Amith 

The 30th CD Single “Fate Seeker” features a tie-in with the online video game “TARTAROS” and also features a more return to basics ala post-Boulder for the group.

ARTIST: m.o.v.e

CD SINGLE: Fate Seeker

LABEL: avex tune

CATALOG #: AVCT-30130

DURATION: 27:48

RELEASE DATE: January 13, 2010

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For over a decade, the synth pop group m.o.v.e has been entertaining fans with their style of pop music.  Known for their tracks for the anime and video game series “Initial D”, the group is back once again with a new single, their first since “Dive Into Stream” (July 2008).

In many ways, “Fate Seeker” feels as if T-Kimura was making a return to the early 2000 style (ala years of Decadence) with “Fate Seeker”.  We see both T-Kimura and motsu returning with remix versions of the main title track and a more experimental approach by T-Kimura when it comes to the musical arrangement.

“Fate Seeker” is a track that features Yuri’s vocals, motsu’s rap and T-Kimura’s synth strings and metronomic-like beats.  While “Blue Trail” is reminiscent to the group’s upbeat synth style and to be truthful, “Blue Trail” was a track that I enjoyed more than “Fate Seeker”.  I like beat arrangement and how the song complimented Yuri’s vocals and motsu’s rap.  And definitely enjoyed the musical and beat arrangement from T-Kimura for this track.  In a way, without sounding too Eurobeat, it had that “Initial D” style of flair.

The 3rd and 4th tracks feature Motsu and T-Kimura’s remix versions of “Fate Seeker”.  With Motsu’s more house-driven but also using the vocalyzer a bit more on Yuri’s vocals, while T-Kimura gives a more electronic remix for the track.

The final two tracks are the instrumental versions of both vocal tracks.

As for the CD insert, included are the lyrics for the single while the back cover (the wordtype is in blue foil) of the CD case is used for the front cover.  Included is a mini-insert promting Yukari Tamura’s “My Wish My Love”, m.o.v.e’s upcoming album and a dual campaign for “Fate Seeker” and “TARTAROS” online video game.

If anything, “Fate Seeker” is a pretty good m.o.v.e. single but it all depends if you are still open to their style of music which they have been doing since the ’90s.  Although, not Eurobeat-driven like the group was known for back then, for those m.o.v.e fans who like the more synth pop driven style from the group (post-”Boulder”) will find their 30th single to be another enjoyable release, while others may have grown tired by it.  Although, “Fate Seeker” is nothing groundbreaking, it’s a music style that the group is known for and that fans appreciate.

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