Charting the path the members of Especia went on after the group finally called it a day reveals that many…kind of kept on sounding like Especia. Well, except ripped from the idol context and playful vaporwave imagery that added an extra wink to music that was pretty faithful to city pop and the various styles inspiring that one. Haruka Tominaga’s latest song as HALLCA only reinforces this trajectory, as it is a smoky jazz-pop number featuring bass notes that have had one too many and Tominaga’s vocal sashaying, featuring some nifty multitracking to add force to her chorus. This isn’t far from Especia territory — a touch more post-midnight, a little more melancholy and sparse — and still gets those old vibes across. Listen above.
