Song Review:: Plave: Caligo Pt. 1- Dash

• Release date: 2025 February 03

• Album tracklist: Chroma Drift, Dash, RIZZ, Island, 12:32 (A to T)

• Album runtime: 17 minutes

 I wasn't originally going to do a review for this group because I don't know where to put them in my mental classifications (I had to work really hard as a kid to learn that animation = not real because I believed literally everything was real until I was about seven, which also coincided with my realization that I couldn't actually visit Jurassic Park, so I struggle with the idea of a virtual group in general), but because this song got a win on a music show, I kind of have to for the pattern I've established. So, here we are, although I honestly don't mind being forced to do a review because of my pattern. PLAVE is a virtual group using motion capture that debuted in 2023. And that's all I've got for you on that end. I apologize for the rambling thus far. I'm assuming the real people are all adults for my own sanity, but I also have to assume that all information "about the members" is also false. And all of this is very much a delay tactic for me, because if I recognize a voice, that feels like it is a breach of privacy when they've worked hard to maintain that.

Stringed instruments will forever be my Achilles heel, so opening up a song with strings? That's a yes. It definitely gives the opening of the song a different feel to the rest of it, a little more ballad than the rock that we get later on. The latter parts of the song are also very much not ballad rock either. There's a certain sensual roll we get from stripping out most of the other instruments to just have the percussion and audience participation snapping, and then the slam of energy. The way that the separate parts of the instrumentals interact remind me a lot of I'm Only Happy When It Rains by Garbage. That is that actual name of that band. The threads are similar enough that I think I'm required to love this song.

I'm pretty sure I recognize two of those voices. So I'm going to actively not learn who any of the avatars are to keep a barrier in place for them. Not that I'm going to do anything, but they want their privacy so I'm not going to try to confirm anything, even for my own satisfaction. We've got a great vocal range here, from the soft and sultry to the growly and punchy. It's really quite impressive from the group. The snarl from the rapper gives an incredible texture to the group that helps with the well-roundedness of the vocals across the group.

 Storyline! Storyline! Full anime storyline. I'm here for this. Because I know literally nothing, it felt like I was dropped in medias res, which is not a problem as some of my favorite animes have actually started in the middle of the story. We have magic! We have robot invasion! We have all sorts of delicious, amazing things going on that just make my little heart happy.