Saturday, December 27, 2008

»» Ikimonogakari - My song Your Song

Tracklist:
01. PLANETARIUM (プラネタリウム)
02. Kimagure ROMANTIC (気まぐれロマンティック)
03. BLUE BIRD (ブルーバード)
04. SPICE MAGIC (スパイス・マジック)
05. Kage Boshi (かげぼうし)
06. Kaeritaku Natta Yo (帰りたくなったよ)
07. message
08. Happy Smile Again
09. Kuchizuke (くちづけ)
10. Boku wa Koko ni Iru (僕はここにいる)
11. Pugi Ugi (プギウギ)
12. Maboroshi (幻)
13. Kokoro no Hana wo Sakaseyou (心の花を咲かせよう)
14. Kaeritaku Natta Yo (帰りたくなったよ) -acoustic version- [bonus track]

This album was released on December 24th, 2008.

3rd major album release from Ikimonogakari. I actually didn't know this was coming out at all, so when I saw it on Jpopsuki, I was really surprised. The album, as all things Ikimonogakari, is very very good. It starts off with the three latest singles, Planetarium, Kimagure Romantic, which is still hot from the oven, and Blue Bird. All awesome, I'm sure you've all heard it. Then there's SPICE MAGIC, which could have been a single, 'cause it's totally amazing, a new song, and then the first single Kaeritakunatta yo, and two previously released songs from their singles. Kuchizuke was released in their third indies album, and is pretty amazing. Sounds very mysterious and all, and a lot like the original indies version. Pugi Ugi is a fun, playful song, but the actual hidden gems are Maboroshi and Kokoro no Hana wo Sakaseyou. Those two songs have been heavily played here. Totally love them. Maboroshi is an amazing heart-felt ballad. It's also this album's 6-minute song. There's always a 6-minute song in all Ikimonogakari albums, and they're always awesome. The first one was Tayumu Koto na Kinagare no Naka de, which I still play every now and then, it's totally amazing. But anyway, it's awesome and that's it. Kokoro no Hana wo Sakaseyou is a real album closure song. It is not very fast, and not too slow either, and that's the kind of song Ikimonogakari does best. The melody is well-thought, and it manages to close the album very well. There's still the acoustic version of Kaeritakunatta yo, but it's a bonus track, so I guess it doesn't count as part of the album. As all other acoustic Ikimono songs, it's very good. Well, it's an amazing album, but they have not outdone their 1st yet.

Should listen:
01. Planetarium
02. Kimagure Romantic
03. Blue Bird
04. SPICE MAGIC
05. Kage Boshi
06. Kaeritakunatta yo (ALWAYS!!)
09. Kuchizuke
12. Maboroshi
13. Kokoro no Hana wo Sakaseyou

Overall score: 10/10

This didn't feel like a review at all, did it? I really need to get better at this thing xD

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by Sairo!


»» GIRL NEXT DOOR - GIRL NEXT DOOR

Tracklist:
01. Winter Game
02. Drive away
03. Power of love
04. Shiawase no Jouken (幸福の条件)
05. WINTER MIRAGE
06. Jounetsu no Daishou (情熱の代償)
07. Fine after rain
08. Breath
09. Day's...
10. ESCAPE (Album Edit)
11. Winter Garden
12. Climber's high
13. NEXT DOOR
14. Guuzen no Kakuritsu (偶然の確率) (Album Edit)

This album was released on December 24th, 2008.
I've been trying to review albums for some time now. For some reason, I haven't been able to finish reviewing any album. I just get really tired by the middle of it. So this is how it's going to work: I won't review every song on the album individually, I'll review the whole thing, and point out a few songs.

Anyway... these last months, GIRL NEXT DOOR has been everywhere. Every blog, every forum, lots of people just love this band. I had never tried any of their singles, but when the album came out, I thought 'Why not?'. Let's see...

Their debut self-titled album is solid. It's a good album. Winter Game is very catchy, very good song, and a PV was made for it in order to promote the album. However, the whole thing sounds very manufactured. Some of the songs are really generic, and I include the single Drive away in that group. Most of the songs are really, really enjoyable, but the whole thing kind of falls flat.

Shoul listen:
01. Winter Game
05. WINTER MIRAGE
07. Fine after rain
14. Guuzen no Kakuritsu

Overall score: 8/10

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by Sairo!


»» Response to Merry Go Round's Poll

Bests
Best Group Single -> Buono! - Rottara Rottara
Best Soloist Single -> I don't really listen to H!P soloists
Best Group Album -> Buono! - Café Buono!
Best Soloist Album -> Once again...
Best PV -> High-King - C\C (Cinderella Complex)
Group With Best Overall Releases -> Berryz Koubou
Best New Group -> MilkyWay
Best New Soloist -> ...
Best Established Group -> Berryz Koubou
Best Established Soloist -> ...
Best Photobook -> 6gatsu no Kajitsu, I guess xD
Hottest Idol of 2008 -> Maasa Sudou

Worsts
Worst Group Single -> Buono! - Gachinko de Ikou!
Worst Soloist Single -> Koharu Kusumi - Papancake
Worst PV -> Morning Musume - Pepper Keibu
Worst Vocalist of 2008 -> Koharu Kusumi
Least Attactive Girl of 2008 -> Erika Umeda

There you go :)

by Sairo!


Friday, December 19, 2008

»» HANGRY & ANGRY - Kill me Kiss me

Tracklist:
01. Kill me Kiss me
02. Angelia
03. GIZA GIZA
04. Romantic ni Violence
05. WALL FLOWER

This mini-album was released on November 19th, 2008.

HANGRY & ANGRY are actually Hitomi Yoshizawa and Rika Ishikawa from Hello!Project. I was quite shocked when the first pictures of this unit came out. Even more shocking is how good their mini-album is.

Kill me Kiss me is very rockish. The line 'Can you hear me now, can you see the bottom of hell?' is very cool. They both sound good in the song, but I guess that's probably because Yossie sings most of it, since Rika isn't the best singer in Hello!Project. While the verses are too catchy, the bridge and the chorus are very good and they really get stuck in your head for some time. The music video for this song was a bit funny, with Rika trying to look like she was playing a guitar, and Yossie trying to look really angry.

Angelia is still rock, but a bit more upbeat than Kill me Kiss me. It reminds me a looooot of t.A.T.u. songs. They could totally sing this. Rika opens the song with ok vocals, then Yossie kicks in with great vocals. The chorus isn't as ground-breaking as you'd expect it to be, but it's good. The rest of the song is kind of predictable, since it doesn't have a bridge or different verses, just the same melody and same chorus. There is a sound of bells and a instrumental bridge that sounds quite cool and fierce. It's amazing how they almost sound like actual rockers.

GIZA GIZA also sounds like t.A.T.u. with those synths and all, but it's not as memorable as Angelia. The melody is very interesting, and the vocals are very good, even Rika sounds good in it. The chorus is very good, but it could be better if they sang it with some more strength. This one does have a bridge, but it's not a good one. The bridge kills the song, actually. Really bad bridge. Oh my god, what a terrible bridge. I'm glad the chorus kicked in again.

Romantic ni Violence starts off a bit slower than all other songs, but when it picks up the pace, it's the fastest one of the bunch. The verses are cool, but the bridge and the chorus are the best. I can feel some H!P influence in the chorus. It sounds awesome :)

WALL FLOWER is the least rock sounding song of the album. It's actually pop, just not H!P pop. It's not very memorable, but it's good. It sounds a bit like Avril Lavigne. It's not memorable at all, not much to say about it...

Overall score: 8/10

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by Sairo!


»» Ayumi Hamasaki - GREEN / Days / GREEN

Tracklist:
01. GREEN
02. Days
03. TO BE (10th Anniversary Version)
04. LOVE ~Destiny~ (10th Anniversary Version)
The instrumentals :)

I'm back, and so is Ayu. 8 months after the release of Mirrorcle World, Ayumi is back with one of her most impressive singles to date.

GREEN is an odd odd song. It reminds me of her Duty and I am... eras, so it's kind of nostalgic. Since it's Ayu, it's needless to say that the vocals are awesome. The music video has a chinese feel to it (probably 'cause that's the concept) and that gives me a chinese feeling about the song too. And the chorus simply yells 'Duty!!!'. I wasn't too fond of the song at first, but now it's grown on me a lot.

Days, on the other hand, didn't take me more than a spin to fall in love with. It's simply amazing. This is probably this year's Ayumi ballad. There was CAROLS in 2004, then HEAVEN in 2005, JEWEL in 2006, Together When... in 2007, and Days is 2008. I was starting to think we wouldn't get a beautiful ballad from Ayu this year. The melody is endearing, and probably one of the sweetest ones I've ever heard. The vocals are top notch and the instrumental is also very sweet. I can't wait to see her perform this one on the Countdown Live.

TO BE (10th Anniversary Version) was a very nice surprice. While it stays true to the original song, it's also a bit different and absolutely awesome. The vocals are much smoother, and she sounds very emotional. TO BE is probably one of the best melodies Ayu has ever sung and that really shows in this new version of the song. The part of the song where she sings kinda fast makes this song one of my favorite Ayu songs ever.

I'm not sure, but I think LOVE ~Destiny~ was Ayu's first #1 single. The 10th Anniversary Version stays true to the original song a bit too much, and that makes it a bit boring. But it's still an amazing song, and you can totally tell why it went #1 on Oricon: the melody is beautiful, the instrumental is amazing, and the bridge is ground-breaking. It's an amazing song :)

Overall score: 9/10

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by Sairo!


Sunday, December 14, 2008

»» Hiatus

I haven't been around, but I'll be back shortly. University is a bitch, isn't it? So much to do, so little time do it in...

by Sairo!