The Wonder Years – Trilogy

September 26, 2008 at 6:58 pm | In Wonder Girls | Leave a Comment
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  1. Intro
  2. Nobody
  3. I Tried
  4. Saying I Love You
  5. Nobody (Rainstone Remix)
  6. Nobody (Instrumental)
  7. I Tried (Instrumental)
  8. Saying I Love You (Instrumental)
  9. Nobody (Rainstone Remix) (Instrumental)

It’s such a shame that this is only the Introduction. For all of 36 seconds Nobody has been reworked into epic, orchestral ballad form and it’s pretty incredible. This was used in the teaser for the MV of the actual track and it really stuck out even then. As much as I want this to be a full track, it isn’t and that means that I’m rather disappointed with the set-up of this single even just at the beginning. So should have been a full track.

Track Rating; -Sadly, far too short-

Luckily, the original Nobody is so catchy and strong that I can almost forget the previous track. It’s a cross between Tell Me, what with the ever present synth, and something else. I can’t think what it is. Nobody, like most of WGs’, is catchy to the point of being annoying, but never quite gets annoying. SoHee has definitely improved as a singer in my opinion, which shows in the fact that I love her lines particularly. I have one gripe about this song. YooBin does not get enough rap lines – I’d say she only gets around about three lines at the end, which are awesome, don’t get me wrong, but I would really like a bit more of that awesome please.

Track Rating; A

I Tried is a ballad-type track, unsurprisingly. It’s sort of comparable to This Time from the So Hot single, but it has a different flavour to it. It’s an incredibly bare arrangement for the most part, though the chorus is a bit faster and has a fuller sound. The vocals don’t sound that good really, a little too breathy and kind of blah. When the Wonder Girls do ballad-y songs, they usually end up something like this. Pleasant enough but with no real attack or force, a ballad version of Nobody would have kicked this song out of the water… but we can’t always get what we want.

Track Rating; B-

Saying I Love You has a lovely introduction and much better sounding vocals. The melody is rather conventional but that means that it has that classic quality to it. A lovely orchestral sound along with the other instruments and it sounds nothing like they’ve done before. No fake “R’n'B” click-claps, it feels like there was actual thought in this rather than being a quick knock off the recording booth, with little to no care. Better than I Tried, not quite as good as Nobody.

Track Rating; A-

Nobody (Rainstone Remix) is disappointingly disappointing. It’s slow and rather boring and melancholy. The spanish-y guitars are okay but the beat is too loud and the overall arrangement drains the energy out of the vocals by a lot. It’s not a really painful remix, but I get bored too easily. The best thing about this version is the rap-that-could-have-been from YooBin… Why they didn’t include this one in the full song in some way shape or form I don’t know.

Track Rating; C+

Single Rating; B

My Style

September 18, 2008 at 7:19 pm | In Brown Eyed Girls | Leave a Comment
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  1. You
  2. Eojjeoda
  3. Gyeou
  4. Dashineun Sarang Anhallae
  5. Eojjeoda (Instrumental)
  6. Dashineun Sarang Anhallae (Instrumental)

I don’t know any names so this is going to be very non-specific.

The introduction of You is highly misleading. The guitars tell you nothing of what is instore when the song really starts to kick. You is a strong dance-track that is rather backwards. The guitar is actually used throughout but there’s also catchy synth and backbeats. There’s also a lot of rapping, so if that isn’t your thing, this isn’t your song. The chorus sticks in your head really easily with the Feeling me now/Are you feeling me now? lines. A great song but not my favourite.

Track Rating; B+

This is my favourite song. Eojjeoda is techno-y and synth-y and all around addictive. The chorus is simple but with the repetitions and the effects applied to the vocals it really sticks out. I really love the rap section towards the end as I love the voice rapping it and it just exudes attitude. It’s a track that screams ‘Dance to me!’ at you.

Track Rating; A*

The first thing I have to say about Gyeou is that I love the opening vocals. Overall it’s definitely not as catchy because it rather lacks that dance element which was so prevalent in the last two tracks. It feels slightly more jazz/lounge and while it’s good, it’s not stand-out.

Track Rating; B

And now for the required ballad. Dashineun Sarang Anhallae sounds like it should be a Christmas song and I may rewrite it so – not that I pretend to know any Korean. It’s definitely pretty and enjoyable… but I don’t really care that much.

Track Rating; B-

Mini-Album Rating; B

Virgin Cat

September 18, 2008 at 6:25 pm | In Anna Tsuchiya | 2 Comments
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  1. Virgin Cat
  2. Imitation Night
  3. Virgin Cat (LAVA Remix)

I’m a complete sucker for songs like Virgin Cat. The ones that have that 50’s-ish sound, that almost need some sort of jive choreographed to them. Okay, so the title is rather WTF!? but that’s the kind of thing we expect from Anna now isn’t it? The actual song is scarily simple now that I thing about it – Just vocals, brass and the clap/heys in the background. I love this song and really had a good laugh when I first heard the ‘Let’s get the rat!’ lines. Plus, the video’s great fun and she looks brilliant in it.

Track Rating; A

Imitation Night is completely different. A rock song by anyone’s definition, Anna just sounds awesome and the whole thing can only be described as dramatic. This came as a real shock after Virgin Cat just because of the contrast between the two tracks. I was expecting something a little more pop-ish and instead I got an incredibly powerful rock track – as if that would be a bad thing.

Track Rating; A

I’m not sure what to think about the remix other than the fact it’s Bossa Nova-y and the vocal doesn’t really fit. It confuses me.

Track Rating; O-O

Overall Rating; A+

Kaze no Tegami

September 18, 2008 at 6:09 pm | In alan | 1 Comment
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  1. Kaze no Tegami
  2. Kagome
  3. Kaze no Tegami (Instrumental)
  4. Kagome (Instrumental)

This is my first time listening to alan, which automatically means that I’m rather behind. Kaze no Tegami definitely shows that she has a very nice voice but, on first impressions, I’m just a little underwhelmed. This is certainly going to grow on me – it has all the right ingredients; a good vocal, a well structured and thought through composition, but one thing that it evidently lacks is something to make it catchy. Yes, even a ballad can be catchy, but I feel that Kaze no Tegami is missing that hook. It all feels a bit similar. I still like it though.

Track Rating; B-ish

I love the introduction to Kagome. I love that kind of traditional sound, be it Chinese or Japanese inspired. I really like the building feel during the verse and I absolutely adore the chorus. It’s not complicated or overly stylish but it sounds rich and beautiful (and the slightest bit Eurovision). Probably my favourite out of the two tracks simply because it caught my interest so immediately and definitely.

Track Rating; A-

Tracl Rating; B+

Miss you

September 13, 2008 at 5:05 pm | In Yuna Ito | Leave a Comment
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  1. Miss you
  2. BREEEEEZIN!!!
  3. Urban Mermaid -Bittersweet Movement Blood-I Riddimix-
  4. Miss you (Instrumental)

If it starts off with wave sounds you know what to expect. Miss you is Yuna back into her element. Although I confess to not being a ballad fan Miss Ito usually entertains with her singles (though not her albums). Miss you is a pretty song, more acoustic than orchestral which is rather nice and combines well with the melody of the song. Yuna varies her tone quite nicely, although occasionally it sounds a little bit shrill, and truthfully her voice was made for this kind of song. I really like the repetition of the lyrics in the chorus and the use of English, which we’ve seen Yuna Ito songs fail at before. I wasn’t sure if I’d actually like this song because I’ve been listening to ballady songs even less than usual lately but I do indeed like it.

Track Rating; A

The title is intimidating and doesn’t make any sense really. BREEEEEZIN!!! begins with a little of Yuna speaking in English before rolling into an energetic verse about going to the beach… It’s unusual and I don’t think I’ve heard anything like this from Yuna before. While I really like the verses I’m borderline hate with the chorus – I really hate the fact they ’smoothed’ the catchy beat over with way too much synth. It ruins the rest of the song for me, which is a shame because the verses didn’t deserve to be mismatched with an unfortunate chorus.

Track Rating; C+

I had very little feeling towards the original Urban Mermaid but I’m definitely feeling this one more. The orchestra-isation feels a lot less generic pop and the inclusion of reggae sounds is interesting. I honestly can’t remember most of the original song, but I get the feeling that this version is going to stick with me. Despite my reservations on the whole ‘remix’ issue I really like this.

Track Rating; A

Overall Rating; B

Tsuzuku Sekai

September 13, 2008 at 4:14 pm | In Nakagawa Shoko | Leave a Comment
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  1. Tsuzuku Sekai
  2. through the looking glass
  3. Tsuzuku Sekai
  4. Sorairo Days feat.8bit Project -spiral chiptune mix-

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first listened to Tsuzuku Sekai. But I think I officially love this song now. It’s a dark rock song where Shoko uses her second voice – her rock voice. Altogether this song is really strong and powerful with the awesome drums and electric guitar to provide the musical backbone. Shoko sounds brilliant because, in comparison to her pop songs, her tone is much deeper and sturdier. Though the song is quite fast, she never sounds rushed or off. Everything seems to come together perfectly in this song.

Track Rating; A+

through the looking glass is a song of the aforementioned pop genre. This is a brilliant single to listen to if you want to feel the full effect of that contrast – Shoko’s voice is now light and cutesy to go with the song. Because you can’t get any cutesier than lyrics like Look inside, look in your heart. Though I vastly prefer the a-side I thoroughly enjoy this song. The song suffers from being a titchy bit too long but this is the kind of song I’ll learn the words and sing along to.

Track Rating; A

And after the instrumental we have a remix of Sorairo Days. I have a problem with remixes but this one is funny and entertaining in it’s own weird way. Remade to sound like a track from those old 8bit games Sorairo Days has never been so weird. I’m surprised I like this so much as Sorairo Days is one of my favourite Shoko songs, but I think it may be because it reminds me of playing Mario and Sonic…

Track Rating; A-

Overall Rating; A

Shiny GATE

September 13, 2008 at 3:54 pm | In Nakagawa Shoko | 1 Comment
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  1. Shiny GATE
  2. To Be Free
  3. Sekidou Komachi DOKII
  4. Shiny GATE (Instrumental)

Shiny GATE doesn’t really impress me a whole lot. Shoko sounds a bit strained during the chorus, I find the whole arrangement of the song a little too generic and I’m the kind of person that can only handle so much anime-styled music. Not to say that this is bad, just not quite my style. It’s certainly catchy enough to get stuck in your head, after a good two listens I could hum the chorus, but I just don’t find myself motivated to press play all too often. It also feels a shade too long – the chorus is repeated a heck of a lot and when you think it’ll never end, it ends. Which could be a good thing, but I think you should never get to the stage of wondering if it’ll ever end in the first place.

Track Rating; B-

To Be Free has a pretty simple, cute feeling. The instrumentation is music-boxy and has a good bounce to it, Shokotan’s voice sounds really, very good here. I like the verses a lot – they’re simple and I really like the melody because it doesn’t bore me – but the best thing here is the chorus which is, again, relatively simple but so cutesy and snappy that I can’t help but love it. Unfortunately, this one is also a bit too long at five minutes and in the end it (borderline) drags and despite liking it, I know I’m not going to listen to it a whole lot because of that fact.

Track Rating; B+

Sekidou Komachi DOKII goes back into the anime vein that Shiny GATE was a part of. I really like the opening Doki, Doki ’s and the slightly darker-pop feeling of the track. A lot of synth and interesting programming is used to give that slightly darker, more dynamic effect but unfortunately I find that it fails to exploit the one hook that it really has. The Doki, Doki ’s just aren’t used enough and the chorus falls a little flat for me. It has personality just not quite enough of it to entertain me.

Track Rating; B-

Overall Rating; B-/B

Gachinko de Ikou!

September 11, 2008 at 4:29 pm | In Buono! | Leave a Comment
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  1. Gachinko de Ikou!
  2. Lady Panther
  3. Gachinko de Ikou! (Insrtrumental)
  4. Lady Panther (Instrumental)

Gachinko de Ikou! is pretty much more of the same from Buono! The similarities between this and their other singles are quite striking and maybe that ’lack of diversity’ was why I didn’t give this a decent listen before. Now that I’ve gone back to it I realise that while it’s certainly not a breakthrough it has quite a strong appeal – it’s fun and catchy and certainly entertaining. While I don’t rate it as much as Renai Rider or Honto no Jibun, it’s good and I have been listening to it a lot recently.

Track Rating; A-

Lady Panther is quite an unusual track but it continues Buono!’s tradition of particularly strong B-side’s. This song has a casino, jazz, 20s feel thanks to the organ and while it’s rather chaotic it’s pretty addictive. I love the melody during the verse and the change in pace during the chorus but it’s still not quite as good as the A-side.

Track Rating; B+

Overall Rating; A-

Kurage, Nagareboshi

September 10, 2008 at 9:48 pm | In Ai Otsuka | Leave a Comment
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  1. Kurage, Nagareboshi
  2. H2O
  3. Ame no Tsubu, Waltz ~LOVE MUSiC~
  4. Kurage, Nagareboshi (Instrumental)
  5. H2O (Instrumental)

Happy Fifth Anniversary Ai!

Please note that I am tired and this may not be a very good post at all.

Now the first thing you might notice is that this opening is different to the PV version. In the PV for Kurage, Nagareboshi it goes straight into the first verse, here we’re treated to a short piano introduction. Otsuka Ai truly does some of the best ballads this side of forever. A common attribute in her songs is the simple verses and here it’s set off incredibly well by how powerful the chorus is when the song really gets going. The repetition of the title at the beginning of each chorus sounds divine and thoroughout the song Ai only sounds stronger. Simply put, I adored this song from the first listen and even if you’re not a ballad person (like me) it more than deserves your time.

Track Rating; A*

H20 has a tall order. Trying to be in the same league as the a-side is a monstrous task and, well, it doesn’t manage it. But they are totally different songs, so maybe it’s not fair to heap that comparison on. H2O is a cute-borderline-hyper-Ai song. Kind of 60s-ish and energetic without being too genki so it doesn’t topple the emotion of Kurage, Nagareboshi. It’s mostly a great song, but it is a little chaotic and the sound crashes about a bit but I love the way it ends.

Track Rating; B+

Ame no Tsubu, Waltz ~LOVE MUSIC~. If you didn’t know LOVE MUSIC is the final song on Ai’s Love Cook album, but I don’t really listen to that song enough to remember what it sounds like. This track is unusual but it’s sweet and feels like a lullaby or children’s song. It’s got a definite charm and it’s beautifully relaxing. Songs like this make you think that Ai could easily sing you to sleep… in a good way – in an excellent way. I was not expecting to like this so much, not when it has Kurage, Nagareboshi to contend with because of the ballad genre, so ultimately I got quite a lot from it anyway.

Track Rating; A+

Overall Rating; A+

5 (FIVE)

September 8, 2008 at 11:40 am | In Berryz Koubou | 2 Comments
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  1. HAPPY! Stand Up
  2. Kono Yubi Tomare!
  3. Baka ni Shinaide
  4. Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance
  5. Ah Merry-go-round
  6. CLAP!
  7. REAL LOVE
  8. Yume wa Hitsobu ~Berryz Kamen Ending Theme~
  9. Dschinghis Khan
  10. Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi
  11. BE
  12. Special Generation (Eccentric Remix)

I’m not sure how much I was anticipating this album… or if I was anticipating it at all. Berryz were a favourite group of mine for a while, but then C-ute took over, maybe this’ll change my mind.

HAPPY! Stand Up is a lot less hyper-genki-sunshiny than the title implies. There’s a distinct disco sound, but it’s rich and complimented by an interesting melody. The chorus, which kicks the song off, is brilliant and I’m actually glad that it’s repeated so much because I do thoroughly enjoy it. The vocals have obviously been run through a computer but it adds to the effect of the song and doesn’t detract from the fact that none of the lines are painful to listen to. An incredibly early favourite if nothing else, but maybe just a little too repetative.

Track Rating; A-

Kono Yubi Tomare! is Momoko, Maasa and Chinami’s showcase. Again, H!P’s affinity for funk style guitars is prominent. This isn’t a particularly impressive song – It’s just sort of there. A lot more could have been done with the combination of girls here and while they all sound pretty good, the song is just a teensy bit too generic and does nothing to stop me from skipping backwards a track.

Track Rating; B

Baka ni Shinaide was the only song I listened to a preview of. I was curious as to what type of song would be assigned to Saki, Miyabi, Risako and Yurina. It’s a bit para-para, a bit club and the opening reminds me too much of David Bowie. Risako is Risako, Yurina is Yurina, Miyabi annoys me slightly in the pre-chorus and Saki sounds weird but it just keeps rolling on and the chorus is very catchy. Catchy enough to make it memorable. Truthfully, I’ve listened to previews before and been so unimpressed I’ve forgotten I even listened to a preview in the first place.

Track Rating; B+/A-

Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance…… LOVE IT! I truly have fallen in love with this song. The lyrics are so easy to pick up and so addictive that it’s almost impossible not to sing along. Single review here

Track Rating; A/A+

Ah Merry-go-round is Saki and Momoko!? The opening monologue is cute and I like the style of the song but I listen to this with severe caution. Hearing that this would be a duet between the two my immediate thought was ‘Don’t they have, like, completely different voices?’… Turns out I was wrong. Oddly enough they complement each other quite nicely, added to the fact that the song doesn’t call for any vocal gymnastics that they’re not capable of. I think it’s maybe just a little too long though.

Track Rating; B+

CLAP! is the first happy-sunny-genki song. Miyabi, Chinami and Yurina cute this one up and do a pretty good job of it. The melody does a couple of interesting shifts that I wasn’t expecting, especially at the chorus, which I’ll admit I don’t really like much. But I love the ‘cha-cha-cha!’ lines and I think those should have been featured in the chorus because they’re much catchier.

Track Rating; C+/B-

And now, the one we’ve all been waiting for, Risako’s solo! REAL LOVE is an R’n'B track. And that I was not expecting. I thought they’d give her something mid-tempo and more like Ah Merry-go-round. Risako gets a lot of stick for her voice, but she sounds pretty good here – When she’s singing the lower parts, if she goes any higher she gets a little too close to the fail mark but the ending note is really good. The chorus is pretty short and follows a lot of verse and lead-ups but I really like it and get a real dance feeling from it. Could have done without the monologue… makes it a little cheesy. This is probably the real surprise of the album.

Track Rating; A

Yume wo Hitotsubu ~Berryz Kamen Ending Theme~ umm… tango. Okay, I can live with that, I’m just waiting for an ‘Olé’. This is bizarre… very bizarre and in comparison to the Berryz Kamen theme, very different. The non-flamenco-tango-WTH moments are some simple pop choruses and that should have been the order of the day from the beginning really. Weird.

Track Rating; C?

Dschinghis Khan was a slow-growing song. I felt very little for it but after a while I began to really enjoy it. I picked up the dance by watching a couple of times and thus the song got stuck in my head. One very notable thing about Dschinghis Khan is that always feels short, no matter what you’re doing, in reality the chorus is just longer than you think it is. This was my first actual introduction to Berryz and as such will be special for a long time, but it’s also a great song.

Track Rating; A

Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi is one of my favourite Berryz tracks. It’s a fast-paced, fun and pretty random track when you think about it. The usual suspects head this one and vocally, who really cares with this one? I think I know this song too well by know, I have practically nothing to say about it…

Track Rating; A

Now for the simply titled BE. I definitely thought this would be genki and how wrong was I? Try earth-is-flat wrong. BE is a simple pretty ballad and is very nice until Tsunku decided to mess around on back-up. Without that everything else is pretty damn gorgeous – Vocally strong and musically is plays around with the uplifting orchestra gig. Get rid of the random attacks of Tsunku and we’d be all good.

Track Rating; A-

Special Generation (Eccentric Remix). A remix of Special Generation was begging to happen I just wish that it hadn’t ended up like this. Bits of it sounds like THE Manpower and other bit like elevator music and overall this is just painful. Even for me and I don’t really like the original much.

Track Rating; F/C-

Overall… 5(FIVE) was a surprise. Expecting nothing yielded quite a lot of goodies in this case. I’m definitely impressed by the fact that I couldn’t find any bad vocals and I’m very glad that I’ve found a couple more H!P songs to love. In terms of members, well, Risako got her spotlight as usual, but I’m glad to see Saki actually in the mix with one of the more popular members.

Overall Rating; B+

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