By Phillipe Roberts
Back under his longtime alias Grimm Grimm, Koichi Yamanoha gets a little sappy on his new single, “Ginormous,” the title track from his third solo album dropping on February 28. The song blends a glimmering organ riff with harmonized vocals from guest singer Paz Maddio for a soothing midnight waltz, accompanied by a video that brings out its dime-store kitsch elements in a lo-fi green screen romp through long-distance love.
Much like her work in the criminally underrated London trio Value Void, Paz Maddio’s hushed vocals strike a haunting presence in the mix. Kept at a chilly dry tone devoid of reverb to emphasize the gradually building intimacy at the heart of this long-distance confession, her voice creaks and trembles through every syllable as she outlines her own nervous truth–“I want to get in trouble with you.” When this climatic line hits, it’s delivered with all the strength of a bashful whisper, steeped in the tension of admitting that the uncertainty–the unforeseen danger ahead–is part of what she’s fallen in love with.
Maddio’s voice works incredibly well in this universe of fragile nostalgia, and Yamanoha, working with Italian producer Marta Salogni, brings a lovingly-crafted batch of retro sonics to sweeten the deal. The aforementioned organ does most of the heavy lifting with its slightly muffled, gloomy tone. But the delicate strums of guitar, the shuffling drums and–as any good doo-wop revival song should include–the weeping string arrangement in the coda, suggest an intentionally rough-cut DIY innocence that perfectly compliments its dreamy, bleeding heart adolescent romanticism.
Directors Seth Pimlott and Pearl Doughty-White construct the video’s loose narrative from the fragmented lyrics of “Ginormous,” sending a woman off into the wilderness in search of her lost love, played by Yamanoha. Gliding through a series of black and white backdrops, she gazes lovingly at his picture and dodges shimmering spirits in a forest past a singing mountain. But when the time comes for their long-awaited reunion, and her cautious wave in his direction fails to catch his eye, she returns to the ghosts and dances instead. It’s a remarkably effective video–just one look, and you won’t be able to listen to “Ginormous” again without summoning up your own ghost choir to dance along with.