Tuesday, February 24, 2009

»» BoA - Eien

Tracklist:
01. Eien
02. UNIVERSE feat. Crystal Kay & VERBAL (m-flo)
03. Believe in LOVE (Acoustic Version)
04. BEST HIT MEGA BLEND
05. Eien (Instrumental)
06. UNIVERSE feat. Crystal Kay & VERBAL (m-flo) (Instrumental)

Eien was released in order to promote BoA's new BEST album, BEST&USA, which is going to be released on March 18th. BoA is by far the most important J-Pop artist in my book. She's the one who got me into japanese music in the first place, pulling me up from the dark hole of terrible meaningless ocidental music. Along with her, came some of my best friends ever, and a lot of stories to tell. A lot of stuff has happened in my life because of this talented lady ever since I first saw her perform Rock With You back in 2003.

Eien is a great pop song that reminds me of her first 3 albums. As my friend Shiman cleverly pointed out, it's a very commercial song, made to promote her new BEST album. It's very fun and catchy, and BoA sings it in a way that makes you unable to imagine the song being sung by anyone else. The chorus is also one of her best choruses in a long, long time. I can safely say that, IMO, this is her best single since Winter Love (which was reaaally epic).

UNIVERSE feat. Crystal Kay & VERBAL (m-flo) is also a great pop song. These three could definitely start a new Suite Chic kind of thing, 'cause BoA's voice matches Crystal's voice very well, and VERBAL is also great with both of them. The chorus is very catchy, and the beat is quite infectious.

Believe in LOVE (Acoustic Version) is very peaceful and pretty. I have no idea if this is what actually happens, but it sounds like a real studio live performance. But I guess they would point that out in the title if it was. Man, you gotta love this girl's voice...

BEST HIT MEGA BLEND is a huge fun mess xD It starts off with a remixed version of Sweet Impact, and I wish I could have a full version of this. Sweet Impact doesn't last long, it quickly becomes some kind of jazz remix of Dakishimeru, though it only features the chorus. Winter Love kicks in right away with lots of beats and background sounds, and turns into a nearly acapella version of Eien. LOVE LETTER is next with fast beats and high-pitch sounds. Then there's Nanairo no Ashita's chorus. And DO THE MOTION, her first and only single to hit #1 on the Weekly Charts. Eien makes a fast second appearance, and the remix ends. I'm sure everyone who knows BoA's recent works will enjoy this remix of remixes xD.

This was a great single from BoA, a huge step up from her last single Vivid, which sounded a bit rushed. Unfortunately, it didn't sell a lot, so I'm worried about BEST&USA. BoA's albums have always debuted at #1, and if this one doesn't, it's going to be a real shame.

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by Sairo!


»» Ayumi Hamasaki - Rule / Sparkle

Tracklist:
01. Rule (Original mix)
02. Sparkle (Original mix)
03. Days (8-bits of tears YMCK remix) (Versão A)
03. GREEN (CMJK Spring Storm mix) (Versão B)
04. Days (Acoustic Orchestra version) (Versão A)
04. GREEN (Acoustic Orchestra version) (Versão B)
05. Rule (80kidz's "No More Rule" mix)
06. Rule (Remo-con "tech dance" remix)
07. Rule (Original mix -Instrumental-)
08. Sparkle (Original mix -Instrumental-)

Ayumi's new single is out! Yay! I've been a fan of Ayu for quite a long time now, but I've loved her a lot more in the past. Now she's more like... another artist I follow. She's the artist whose releases I own the most hard copies of, though. Or is it BoA? I should recount.

This new single had previews and PVs out a long time ago, but I didn't care to check them out. I guess I preferred to wait 'til HQ versions were out, so I could have create an opinion based on fine quality work.

Rule is a rock song. However, it's different from almost all other rock songs Ayumi has put out. It sounds like it has cushions all over it. Older songs like talkin' 2 myself and About You were heavy and fierce, and not afraid of being a rock song. This one sounds like she's still deciding whether she wants it to be a rock song or a pop song, and that can't be good.

Sparkle, on the other hand, is kind of an electropop song. It's not J-Tek, but it's a bit far from J-Pop, and that was a smart choice. The song sounds different from everything else we've been hearing these days, staying strong as an electronic song, but also getting a bit rockish on the chorus. Very good, Ayu, very good...

Ever since Free & Easy, Ayu had never put this many remixes in a single. Before that, they used to be packed with lots of remixes. I own a copy of vogue, and it has like 7 remixes and an unreleased track. It's quite nice to have so many tracks on a single, though many of the remixes are crap. Days (8-bits of tears YMCK remix) sounds like an 8-bit video game song. As the title suggested. Days is a great song, and this remix does it justice. It's quite good and sounds very cute. I love the 8-bits version of the main riff.

Days (Acoustic Orchestra version), as anyone would've guessed, it an orchestral version os Days. Now, the original Days was absolutely awesome, can you imagine how awesome would an orchestral version of that be? Wait, you don't have to! It's right here! It's beautiful, you gotta love the violins...

GREEN (CMJK Spring Storm mix) deserves to be called a remix. GREEN sounds as different from the original song as it can possibly get, and still manages to be very enjoyable. I'm not very good at describing remixes, but this one is electronic, with lot of... electronic noises, and gets a bit faster on the chorus.

GREEN (Acoustic Orchestra version) is a beautiful orchestral version of GREEN. It doesn't go very far from the original, but is much more mellow and sounds a lot more epic. I think I'd have liked GREEN better if I had listened to this version before I listened to the original song. You gotta love the violins.

Rule (80kidz's "No More Rule" mix) is a great electronic remix. Her vocals are a very drowned by the crazy electronic instrumental through the whole song, but I think that's what they were going for anyway.

Rule (Remo-con "tech dance" remix) takes forever to really begin. Almost 2 minutes into the song, the vocals kick in, she sings 2 lines and it starts repeating the same sound over and over again for a long time. I think they call this kind of remix a 'Dub' remix. Those totally suck. Oh, a change of pace, and clean vocals. This is unexpected. New instrumental pattern... interesting. Ok, it's enjoyable, but the other 80kids remix is much better.

Ok, it's a great single. However, it's been a while since Ayu released a truly ground-breaking single. She hasn't lost any of her consistency, and this is probably going to sell a lot, and extend her #1 strike a bit further, but has she lost her hability to really make us wow? She has just announced a new album a few days ago, it's called NEXT LEVEL, and it's going to be released on March 25th. Let's wait and see how that goes.

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by Sairo!


Monday, February 23, 2009

»» Platinum 9 Disc Covers

On March 18th, Morning Musume is finally releasing their 9th album, Platinum 9 Disc. It's going to be the first album to feature JunJun and LinLin (the compilation doesn't count, and COVER YOU... well...), and SEXY 8 BEAT was released quite some time ago, so it's kind of a big deal. Here's the tracklisting:

1.SONGS
2.Resonant Blue
3.Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai Darou
4.Take off is Now
5.NaiChau Kamo
6.Watashi no Miryoku ni Kizukanai Donkan na Hito
7.Guru Guru JUMP
8.Mikan
9.Jounetsu no Kiss o Hitotsu
10.It's you!
11.Onna Ni Sachi Are
12.Kataomoi no Owari ni
13.Kanashimi Twilight

Some of the songs were already performed on their latest DVD released, and they're pretty great. Watashi no Miryoku ni Kizukanai Donkan na Hito is a solo Aika song, It's you! is a solo Sayumi song, and Kataomoi no Owari ni is a Eri song, so I'm hoping for something big. I was also hoping for a JunJun + LinLin song, but instead we get a JunJun+LinLin+Koharu song (Guru Guru JUMP). It was performed on the DVD, and it's pretty good. I just wish the Pandas could have the spotlight on them for a whole song. Maybe next time. I was also not too happy to see Onna ni Sachi Are and Kanashimi Twilight in there, since they were on the compilation, but... those are good songs, and it's not like I can do anything about it anyway.

Now, on to the main point of this post: the covers. When they came out last week, I wasn't sure whether I liked them. They were such LQ versions, so I couldn't really tell. Today, however, I finally got to see HQ versions of them, and unfortunately what I was afraid of seeing is exactly what I'm staring at right now: the covers suck.



First or all, the background. Anyone who doesn't think this is cheap, needs professional help. I'm pretty sure I have seen a similar background in sweet 16 pictures somewhere, and that's really not a good thing.

Those bright spots and those strings all over them are definitely not helping, and definitely make the whole thing look exceptionally tacky, though they probably wouldn't if it wasn't for the amazingly tacky outfits they put the girls in. I mean, I can take some awful outfits in concerts, 'cause that's standard procedure in H!P, but on album covers, it's just a bit too much. They're too bright, too short, and those things on their heads are not helping at all.

While we're at it, let's talk about the most important thing about their heads here: the hair. Who the hell came up with the idea of getting everyone these curls? That person seriously needs to get a seat or something. Koharu, Reina and Eri had already successfully worn curly hair before, so it was a safe choice for them, but JunJun, Risa and Sayumi paid high, very high prices. JunJun is seriously pretty, but curly hair just doesn't suit her at all. She looks absolutely awkward in both covers, like she was like stuck in traffic, came in terribly late, got her hair and make-up done in a tremendous rush and went on to take the pictures.

Sayumi, one of the cutest members of Morning Musume, looks like she's 15 years older than she really is. That might be caused by poor make-up, though. Risa usually looks great with curls, but this time someone screwed her up by dying her hair in such a light shade of blonde. She looks like a hooker.

Ai's case is quite different. She doesn't look bad with curls, and the dress isn't too bad for her, but she looks absolutely out of her element. I don't know if it's just me, but I kind of feel like she's getting a bit too old to pull this off with everyone else. She looks really mature, and that's probably part of the concept, but when she looks this mature while standing next to the other girls, and most of them are a few years younger than her, she stands out. Maybe her image no longer fits Morning Musume?

On the bright side (no pun intended), Aika and LinLin look pretty good with their new hairdos. Aika's smirk looks cute on the regular edition's cover, and her hair really goes well with her face. LinLin doesn't look that different on the regular edition, but looks super sexy on the limited one.

I just hope it looks better when you're holding a hard copy of it (as I've seen happen millions of times before), 'cause otherwise, these covers are going to help them sell this album at all.

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by Sairo!


Sunday, February 22, 2009

»» New domain, new layout

Yay! I just bought a .com domain for Kimono Edge Boy, so now you should all (who?) type www.kimonoedgeboy.com instead of kimonoedgeboy.blogspot.com when you want to come read my latest bad post.

I also made a new layout, and the top picture no longer changes. I know it looks tacky, but I think I'm getting bettet at this, and some day I'll make a decent layout. I promise.

by Sairo!


Sunday, February 15, 2009

»» Resonant LIVE

I just finished watching Morning Musume's new tour yesterday, and decided that it's time to let my love for Mittsi and JunJun show. They were the best ones in this concert, and everyone probably agrees with me. Or not. For one thing, Aika's dancing has improved a lot. Everytime she danced, her moves were absolutely sharp and she looked like she was having a great time doing them. Her smile is still the brightest, and she looks absolutely unpretensious and innocent, making her by far the cutest member of Morning Musume. I just want to hug her and smell her hair. I mean, seriously. I know a lot of people who hate her, and think she shouldn't be in Morning Musume, but I can see great things in her future if she keeps getting better like this. She is getting a solo song on the new album, and it was performed in the concert. I can't say it's the catchiest song I've ever heard, but it's still a solo song, which probably means UFA wants to boost her popularity, or maybe even prepare her for a solo career when she graduates from Morning Musume.

Another thing that surprised me in this concert, was Koharu. As everyone knows, I dislike her a lot. However, I can really see her making some improvement here. She actually sounded good singing her line in Mikan, and was really funny to watch during the MC in which she talked with Aika, JunJun and LinLin.

In fact, that MC was one of the highlights of the whole concert. JunJun's japanese speaking skills blew me away. I thought she still didn't know much japanese, but she totally took control of the whole conversation, and it was soooooooooooooo much fun. I wish I knew what the hell they were talking about. All I know is that at one point JunJun lists the singles they released ever since she joined the group, and I also think she talked about seeing themselves in posters or something like that. Another thing that struck me was how her and LinLin are becoming important in the group. They keep getting lines in concerts, and getting to show off their personalities a lot more than they usually do. That's a very good thing, 'cause JunJun's voice is only topped by Ai's and Risa's in Morning Musume, and she should get to use it more in songs. LinLin, on the other hand, isn't all that awesome as a singer, but is still pretty good, and is probably the most fun Morning Musume member right now. I loved the way she pointed at herself while singing 'RinRinRinRin...' in Koi no Dial 6700.

They're putting a new single out on wednesday, and it's called Naichau Kamo. The video has been out for a few weeks, and it's awesome. It has a really cool choreography, and the girls are all wet, crying in the rain. Koharu and JunJun look absolutely amazing in it. The song is also great, but the only members with solo lines are Ai, Risa, Eri and Sayumi. I hope it sells well :)

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by Sairo!


Wednesday, February 11, 2009

»» Please don't leave

AAA's new album depArture is out! Yay!

The album starts off with a little silly introduction that works quite well.

Next is single track MUSIC!!!, which is very fun, had a awesome PV, and Chiaki has solo lines in it. She's really becoming a lead!

New track SAVE YOUR SOUL is awesome. Chiaki has solo lines. She's really becoming a lead! The only thing that bugged me about it was the extremely low ad-libbing by Naoya and Nissy towards the end. I would have missed them if I wasn't paying such focused attention.

Promotional track Jamboree!! is very happy-go-lucky, very fun, Chiaki also gets solo lines. She's really becoming a lead! I loved the song from the minute I saw the PV, it's just so much fun and innocent sounding... I miss old eurobeat AAA tracks, but this is also a great one!

Wonderful Girls is the boys-only song. It sounds a lot like Hello! Project stuff. For the first time in a boys-only song, Shinjiro and Shuta have a significant amount of lines. They each had 1 in Saikyou Babe (ATTACK), none in Soul Edge Boy (ALL) and 1 each in No end summer (AROUND). They both get plenty of lines in this, which is really great. Hidaka's rap is pretty great as usual. Gosh, this album really feels like an album by a 7 people group, and not a 3 people group who ocasionally features a rapper, like all others sounded like.

I wasn't too happy when I heard there was going to be a Deai no Chikara III in this album. I love the first Deai no Chikara, it's one of my favourite AAA songs, but the second one wasn't so good. This one, though, is reaaaaaally great. Nissy and Misako are great, but they're even better when they're together. The chorus is heart-melting and Misako's vocals are at its best. The song starts as a piano-ballad, but other instruments join as it progresses, which was kind of a disappointment for me, I'm a huge fan of piano ballads, and this sounded perfect so far. Now it feels a bit R'nB-ish... Still epic, though. Probably the best new track so far.

I have already reviewed piece of my word, so...

ZERØ is next, and though I didn't like it very much when it was released, it has grown to become one of my favourite songs by them. It's almost all Nissy/Naoya, with a Misako bridge, which is a bummer, 'cause Shinjiro's voice would have worked very well with the whole dark concept.

HORIZON sounds very peaceful and features a very pretty melody, though the bridge kind of swings away from the whole cuteness. The chorus is cool, but a bit generic. This one goes old-school and is a Nissy/Naoya/Misako-only track with a Hidaka rap. Wow, did it just end? I guess it's a great track, 'cause I really didn't feel time passing xD

BEYOND~Karada no Kanata was the first single for this album, and it features vocals from all 7 members of AAA, first single ever to do so. It's quite a different track, which mixes pop with a bit of rock and creates something really fresh for AAA. I liked it when it was released, but not too much. Its b-side track, One Night Animal is one of my favorite AAA tracks, and I think it should've been the a-side, but I guess it's good that they're taking risks and releasing different stuff from what they usually do.

Mosaic was in their latest single, which I already reviewed :)

Hajimaru no KISEKI is very very happy. Oddly enough, Shuta and Shinjiro are lead vocals for this song. Hell has frozen over! They both sound great, and they definitely deserve this! The chorus is very fun, and the whole "dandadeeya" thing they all keep singing throughout the song is quite catchy. I have to be honest, Shuta and Shinjiro are great singers and performers and all, but it's clear that they don't quite compare to Nissy and Naoya. But then again, most JE singers and even some solo singers (did someone say Tamaki Hiroshi?) wouldn't sound this good if their lives depended on it. Nissy and Naoya are simply amazingly talented, and tend to overshadow others. That never stopped Shinjiro from being my favourite male member of AAA or sounding awesome every time he got a line or a song (yes, I love Crying Freeman).

Album ends with Tabidachi no Uta, which means Song of Departure.

This album was a total WIN. I wasn't expecting much, since I read some reviews saying it wasn't so good, but I was blown away. First of all, it finally feels like all 7 members are equally as important to the group, which is something I always craved for. Chiaki getting extensive lines in so many songs was a pleasant surprise, and she's really getting close to Misako's level of singing awesomeness. Shinjiro and Shuta had their own song, which is something I never saw coming, even after Shinjiro got a solo song and Shuta got a semi-solo song in CHOICE IS YOURS. I can't wait to see them perform this at the 'A depArture tour 2009'.

I have not bought a copy of this album yet, but I'll do everything I can to buy one ASAP. I have only listened to it once (as I wrote the review), so I'm probably just impressed or something, but right now I feel like this is their best album so far. I don't know how I'll feel about it later, but that's how I feel right now. I just hope this isn't their last album, 'cause it would really be a shame to stop now. Let's just wait and see :)

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by Sairo!


Monday, February 9, 2009

»» Buono! 2

Everyone loves Buono!. Their first album, Café Buono! was a masterpiece, it achieved a level of greatness we hadn't seen in H!P for years, and made Buono! one of the most important recent H!P groups. Their next 4 singles were all great, so their 2nd album was highly anticipated. And the day before yesterday, Buono! 2 leaked. Everyone went nuts over it. For me, though, and I say this based solely on first impressions, since I've only listened to it twice, it didn't top Café Buono! My favourite tracks from Café Buono! are Café Buono!, Baketsu no Mizu and Kimi ga Ireba and unfortunately, I don't think any of them were topped by the new tracks on Buono! 2.

However, I absolutely love Buono! 2. It's a very consistent album, and their vocals have improved a lot, especially Momoko's. They really take risks with songs like I NEED YOU, which is as un-Buono! as it gets, and the amazing Goal, that sounds a lot like... Coldplay! When I first listened to it, I was so speechless I had no idea what hit me. I've been listening to it like crazy ever since. Another new track worth of notice is Shoushitsuten -Vanishing Point-, which is like a soft almost-a-ballad that reminds me a little bit of Baketsu no Mizu.

Early Bird and You're My Friend are probably the least inspired new tracks off the album. Early Bird is a bit like Café Buono!, with background cute shouting, but isn't quite as good as Café Buono!. You're My Friend is simply forgettable.

But Goal, as I've mentioned before, makes it up for all the boring songs. The instrumental totally blew my mind, and the girls sound quite serious about it. The chorus reminds me a lot of Viva la Vida by Coldplay, and the melody is sweet. This tops many Café Buono! songs, but not Kimi ga Ireba as an album closure song. Kimi ga Ireba is golden. Still, Goal has now entered the Hall of the Best Buono! songs.

Another thing I think could be better, was the b-side the album included. Instead of My Love or Muteki no ∞ Power, Minna Daisuki was the only b-side included. It's not bad, but there are better b-sides. However, we kind of had it coming, since Minna Daisuki was an anime opening song.

If they hadn't released Café Buono! before this album, I'd probably give it a 10/10, but since they didn't raise the bar very much, I think it's a 9/10. I'd definitely buy it. But first, I'll buy Café Buono!

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by Sairo!