GENKI ROCKETS Release ‘make.believe / Flow (Child of Eden Mix) EP’

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I’m a huge fan of the GENKI ROCKETS. You may know them for their track, “Heavenly Stars,” which was featured in LUMINES II and No More Heroes. While much of the talent behind the group remains a mystery, Tetsuya Mizuguchi at Q Entertainment and Kenji Tamai of Agehasprings Corporation are known to be involved.

When we first saw Child of Eden at Ubisoft’s press conference at E3 2010 ^[2], I thought I was hearing the distinctive voice of Lumi, the group’s fictional vocalist. I was right, and here’s an EP that celebrates GENKI ROCKETS’s contributions to the game as well as an additional track that was used as a promotion for Sony’s “make.believe” brand slogan campaign.

Find out if the EP is worth your time in our brief review after the jump.

The EP launched on June 6, 2011, just ahead of Child of Eden’s June 14, 2011 release date. As mentioned, the EP features two tracks, one of which is from Child of Eden, with the other being used in Sony’s promotional campaign.

“make.believe” opens with glitchy guitar work and upbeat synths before Lumi’s beautiful voice comes in. The vocals are meant to be inspiring, and are therefore a tad cheesy, but the delivery and backing music make it an amazing and enjoyable track nonetheless. The incredibly catchy chorus section will surely win you over, and may even contend for GENKI ROCKETS’s best track in my opinion (“Heavenly Star” was my previous favorite). And it’s just over five minutes long, giving you some bang for your buck.

“Flow (Child of Eden Mix)” is much more mellow, coming as a sweet ballad, complete with a contemplative piano backing, sweeping emotional strings, and of course, Lumi’s seemingly defiant voice. The track is certainly a departure for the GENKI ROCKETS, but it’s equally powerful and memorable. It’s a little shorter at just about 3:30, and you’ll be left wanting more.

Still, it’s great to see Sony Music promoting the GENKI ROCKETS on an international stage. The popularity of Child of Eden will likely contribute to the group’s success, and this EP offers two more tracks that are worthy of the group’s quality body of work. You can pick up the EP on iTunes.

What do you think of the GENKI ROCKETS and Child of Eden? Are you with me in thinking “make.believe.” is one of the group’s best tracks?