Seiko Matsuda – “North Wind” review

Final verdict: 8/10 ★★★★☆

It is that time of year again, folks – December, final round! There’s a lot of things to reminisce upon, many a blessing and equally many a lovely memory, but there are also quite a few regrets I exit the year bearing; I suppose everyone feels that way to some extent, way to sour the cheerful holiday climate. But I digress; one of my (slightly nit-picky, plentifully self-righteous) regrets this year is not having taken the time to write about some of my favorite artists and records, which makes it so that my head is constantly on the verge of exploding with musical commentary – a predicament that could lead to either excellence or utter destruction. It has been a busy year, definitely the busiest in my 19 years of livin’; and so I now get what the millennials meant by “adulting is hard”… Adulting is hard after all, and recreationally writing about music naturally became a non-priority among all the business that’s been both delighting and burdening me this 2025. My way of making it up to myself? This. I decided that just before the year comes to a close, I want to tackle some albums that are either personally or seasonally significant; and today we have Seiko Matsuda’s 1980 album “North Wind,” which is a little bit of both all wrapped up in a nice, warm bundle.

If you’ve chanced upon my review of Seiko’s debut LP “Squall” (1980), you’ll know that I’m a first-three-albums type of guy when it comes to Seiko – that is to say, Ms. Matsuda’s first three albums are my holy grails, they tickle my fancy, they whet my appetite, while the rest of her discography is… eh, just sort of there. There are multiple bangers to be discovered on her later records, but you really have to keep a keen ear out for them – so when I said that Seiko’s first three albums are her only truly worthwhile ones, I meant it, and that is a position I still hold 2 years later. It’s been a while since my review of “Squall,” so it’s about time I firmly step foot into Seiko territory by resuming the business that is writing about her three magna opera – the holy trinity of “Squall,” “North Wind” and “Silhouette”. This is a move largely accidental – I mostly wanted to shed some light on “North Wind” (the second part of the hot shit-trilogy) because something about its winter theme tugs at my frozen heartstrings an uncomfortable amount during this time of year. It is the winter album of the idol kayō canon, the best I’ve had the luxury of hearing, anyway. And you know, it is a good record! It does feel very winter-y without leaning into the whole Christmas thing too much, and that, in my totally humble-yet-utmost-important opinion, is its greatest virtue. If I wanted Christmas, I’d listen to that one Mariah Carey album. Sometimes all I want is gloomy weather winter music with no seasonal festivities, damnit! And sometimes I’m picky enough to demand that my festivity-less gloomy weather winter album be cute and sung by a cute idol girl with a cute voice. That is not a want – rather a need.

If you’re in any degree familiar with Japanese idol music, you’ll know that idol albums are generally a huge mixed bag, with some serious choons leading the way and some of the most obnoxious stinkers you’ve ever heard pitifully occupying the rest of the LP’s runtime. It truly is a shame, but fear not – “North Wind” is mostly good on that front. While I don’t frequently find myself reaching for some songs as standalones (see; track B1, “Only My Love”), I would say that there’s no offensive fluff on this record. The highs are more-than-merely-satisfactorily high, and the lows are just alright, run-of-the-mill – there’s nothing much to be said about them, so I’d rather that we just focus on the highs instead.

So, the highs; well, the obvious highs have to be the two singles this record yielded: “風は秋色” and “Eighteen,” the latter of which sounded throughout my entire apartment on the day I turned 18, because I am one obnoxious fuck. Both are fundamentally cute, girly pieces, and the songwriting is very good – way better than what you’d expect from such a hit-or-miss scene. The hooks stick with you for longer than you’d like and the arrangements are lush, employing a satisfying mix of traditional instrumentation and yummy synthesizers. Nutritionists say “yummy synthesizers” are the backbone of any balanced diet… have you had your dose today?

“花時計咲いた,” title track “North Wind” and “スプーン一杯の朝” are the three essential non-single tracks off this record. The first is a mid-tempo ballad with a sweet piano intro and everything else an A-class mid-tempo ballad could possibly need; the second is an upbeat pop-rocker with big guitars and a bouncy melody; the third is a mid-tempo tune in which Seiko laughs at you (“[…] Ha ha ha ha… It’s a morning trip”) and coffee is mentioned – instant certified hood classic, anything that mentions coffee. I also love the stupid brass it has going on. It’s so stupid yet so… endearing ‪‪❤︎

Seiko’s voice is at the precise sweet spot between “raspy, powerful delivery” and “painfully saccharine” – she sounds great and clearly knows how to sell these songs with the necessary soul and demeanor. Yet obviously, she’s no miracle worker – the songs also have to be good in their own right, which in this case, they are. The winter vibes are felt through every fiber of my body, Seiko looks like a porcelain doll on the cover, it is December, I cannot escape my fate of freezing to death in my non-climate controlled apartment, Christmas break is coming soon, exam season is also coming soon, shit, fuck, yet another year is upon us, oh God, we’re all going to die one day, fuck fuck shit fuck. But at least there’s a sliver of a chance that I’ll go on vacation in the wilderness for 3 days in January, so cheers to that.

8/10. Happy December, gang. ‘Tis the season.

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