This mix of strong songwriting and meticulous sound-crafting only strengthens the comparisons between Tokumaru and his fellow countryman Cornelius, and tracks like "Katachi," with its loopy acoustic guitars and sparkling keyboards, sound a little like the veteran producer on a particularly folky day. Elsewhere, there's a grown-up ease to the way "Ord Gate"'s guitars and percussion fall into place without any obvious effort (in fact, Tokumaru spent painstaking months layering the sounds on In Focus? until they were just so), and even more ornate songs such as "Helicite (LeSeMoDe)" reveal their good bones in the artful chord sequences. There's no denying that many of these tracks are among his most sophisticated - or as sophisticated as songs like "Poker," which combines breezy, Brazilian-tinged pop with slide flutes and backing vocals that sound like they were chirped by cartoon birds, could possibly be. These could be signs of a dull "maturity" in some artists, but In Focus? is so irrepressible that Tokumaru's small steps toward the mainstream only serve to give these delightful songs the clearest, cleanest setting possible. With each of his albums, Shugo Tokumaru slowly developed an ever more polished and detailed style, as well as a bigger following: his third album, Port Entropy, made the Top 40 of Japan's Oricon album chart, and this album was mastered at Abbey Road.
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