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!