From the first listen, WE ARE HERE / GAME feels like a project that really took its time to grow into what it is. It doesn’t come across as two random albums put together, but more like two moods I kept switching between depending on how I felt. There’s a clear mix of hard rock energy and progressive layering, but what stood out to me most was how natural it all sounded despite how ambitious the idea is.
I found myself going back a lot to the GAME side when I wanted something more unpredictable. “Challenger” kicks things off with confidence, it captures that spirit perfectly with the line: “Because frustration makes me love tomorrow, we can be challengers’ a moment that really defines the emotional drive behind the track. ‘Wild Dance’ captures that moment where everything feels alive at once, especially in the line: “When the heart starts dancing, I want you there. We were meant to burst into life together. One of my personal favourite tracks is “blame”, the band sings “Who’s to hold the guilt? It’s never a simple call to make’ a line that echoes like a quiet admission of blame and moral uncertainty, lingering long after the song fades. “Fifth Dimension’ really captures the album’s experimental edge, especially with the line, “I’m free to come and go, Fifth Dimension,” which ties into its sense of boundless movement and shifting reality. “Departures” carries one of the most quietly powerful moments on the GAME side, especially in the line: “I don’t hate anyone, we’ll just go our own ways. Just and wholeheartedly.” Honestly though, the other tracks are solid too.
On WE ARE HERE, the tone shifts into something more reflective. In “Mirror Neuron,” the line “mirror neuron, I’m aware of it. I don’t dislike it, I rather like it” really stood out to me. It feels like a quiet moment of self-awareness, accepting how we reflect others instead of resisting it, which adds a subtle emotional depth to the song. One line in “Atmosphere” that really stayed with me is: “Atmos, I don’t need extra decorations, the distance between the two is very quiet. That’s fine, atmos.” It perfectly captures the song’s stripped-back emotion and the calm acceptance that runs through it. In “Sequoia” the line, “looking up at the tallest tree in the world, all I could think was, God, it’s high,”perfectly captures that quiet, almost overwhelming sense of scale and reflection the track builds. Is one of my personal favorites on this side, whiles In “You,” the line “once you realized that your thoughts are you, things began to change you” hit me harder than I expected, and it sums up the album’s introspective direction perfectly. “Horizon’ closes the album on a reflective note, echoing the question: ‘Horizon, is there a way to return everything to a blank sheet of paper?’ These were my standout tracks, but again, the rest of the songs are just as worth listening to.
Overall, what I liked most is how the albums balance each other. One side feels like exploration, the other feels grounded. You can tell there’s a different kind of thinking behind the songwriting, probably influenced by that game design background, but it never feels forced. It just ends up being a really interesting listen the whole way through.
These are the links to the album. LINKCORE/GAME LINKCORE/WE ARE HERE
English