Luminescent Creatures is a 2025 album by Japanese singer-songwriter Ichiko Aoba. Released on Aoba's label, Hermine, on February 28, 2025, the album's name is derived from the last track on Aoba's previous album, Windswept Adan, from 2020.[1]
Intended as an extension of her previous album and a continuation of Aoba's interest in the natural world, Luminescent Creatures was a collaboration between Aoba and Windswept Adan's key members, namely composer Taro Umebayashi, sound engineer Toshihiko Kasai, and photographer Kodai Kobayashi.[2]
Like its predecessor, Windswept Adan, the album received widespread critical acclaim.
Background
On October 19 and 26 of 2024, Aoba performed the "Luminescent Creatures World Premiere," a live performance of her upcoming studio album, in Sankei Hall Breeze in Osaka and Showa Women's University in Tokyo, respectively.[3] One month later, on November 13, Aoba announced that Luminescent Creatures was due for release on February 28, 2025.[4][5] She also released "Luciférine" as a lead single and announced a world tour taking place from February to May of 2025, specifically spanning countries in Asia, Europe, and North America.[6]
On December 12, 2024, Aoba released the song "Flag" as well as a live performance video which had been recorded at the Into the Great Wide Open festival in The Netherlands. The latter includes renditions of songs from her previous albums, Mahoroboshiya and q p.[7] On February 6, 2025, Aoba released the song "Sonar," with a music video, in anticipation of the album's release at the end of the month.[8]
Luminescent Creatures was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 86, based on 10 reviews.[17]
Critics found that Aoba's production in Luminescent Creatures encapsulated the entire thrust of her discography, namely the more minimalist, acoustic sounds of her earlier albums juxtaposed against the grander, more orchestral soundscapes of her later ones.[18][14]
Comparing the album's sonic experience to Wim Wenders' Perfect Days, Everything is Noise stated: "Indeed, it's the overall feel of this record that makes it so wholly engrossing in my eyes. At its heart sits Aoba herself, an acoustic guitar in her hands, softly playing the songs she dreamed up; around her, further sounds materialize—lush strings, keyboard instruments, the occasional flute or auxiliary woodwind."[19]
Seeing a through line from Windswept Adan to this album, Flaunt noted: "Luminescent Creatures delves into minutiae of her densely lush meanderings, where the littlest of hum can carry the heaviest of weight. We hear gentle flutes and fluttering keys traverse in and through as if they’ve traveled far to whisper in your ear."[20]
Narc Magazine rated the album four and a half out of five, calling it "akin to a painting" with "haunting melodies" and "delicate instrumentation."[21]The Skinny rated the album four out of five, lauding the songs' minimalistic yet still detailed and meaningful nature as a contrast to her more "cinematic" and "grandiose" efforts on Windswept Adan.[16]Financial Times gave the album four out of five stars, writing: "The music drifts and sways. Taro Umebayashi's piano rises like a pearl diver heading for the surface, then darts away like a shoal of tiny fish."[22]
Cult Following lauded the album's "lush tone" and its realization of beauty within the natural world: "Expect the warm tones, the natural charms of an album connected with nature and all its wisdom. Prepare for more than that. Aoba discovers the joy of being present and evolves the listening experience Luminescent Creatures offers so wonderfully."[23]
Track listing
All lyrics by Aoba except "24° 3' 27.0" N 123° 47' 07.5" E" (traditional). All songs produced by Aoba and Taro Umebayashi.
Luminescent Creatures track listing
No.
Title
Music
Length
1.
"Coloratura"
Umebayashi
4:07
2.
"24° 3' 27.0" N 123° 47' 07.5" E"
Traditional
1:07
3.
"Mazamun"
Aoba
3:27
4.
"Tower"
Aoba, Umebayashi
4:03
5.
"Aurora"
Aoba
2:03
6.
"Flag"
Aoba
4:36
7.
"Cochlea"
Aoba, Umebayashi
0:54
8.
"Luciférine"
Umebayashi
5:01
9.
"Pirsomnia"
Umebayashi
3:39
10.
"Sonar"
Aoba
3:17
11.
"Wakusei no Namida" (惑星の泪)
Umebayashi
3:25
Total length:
35:46
Personnel
Credits adapted from the Bandcamp release of Luminescent Creatures.[24]
Musicians
Ichiko Aoba: all vocals, classical guitar, Steiner chime, shell, field recordings, electric piano, additional vocal arrangements (tracks 1 & 9)
Taro Umebayashi: acoustic piano, celesta, synthesizer, electric guitar, orchestration
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