New Izumi Makura: “Eien No Shojo”

Izumi Makura has had a pretty quick rise up in 2017. Sure, the whisper-rapper from Fukuoka isn’t pulling any Daoko-level ascension, but she’s gone from a pretty secretive artist to one with music gracing fashion shows and commercials. Now, she’s providing theme songs to movies. This is a nice update on her status, but “Eien No Shojo” would just be a bit of reporting it also wasn’t a solid number highlighting her style. The main draw, as ever, is her voice —- she delivers words in a quiet style that often teeters on sounding defeated, but with moments of optimism breaking through (when she shoots for a higher register). She sounds best over relatively sparse music, and “Eien’s” simple piano melodies and beat push the focus entirely on her. Listen above.