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!