alan – Swear Review

November 21, 2009 at 6:34 pm · Filed under alan ·Tagged , , ,

Swear by alan

1.) Swear
2.) Beauty
3.) Swear (Instrumental)
4.) Beauty (Instrumental)

Released: November 4th, 2005 ~ Highest Chart Position: 35 ~ Total Sales< 2,910

Swear is alan’s 11th single and the final single in the my life era. Swear and Beauty were both used in TV CMs’.

I’m gonna say it now, Swear flat-out fucking sucks. Where is the energy? The fun? This is pure J-Pop crap, just not as exciting. Because even though other J-Pop artists are squeaky, they sound fun and have energy. Unlike alan in this track. She sounds bored, and she sounds like she doesn’t want to sing this song. The instrumentation is the only redeemable thing in this song. The choir has more fun with the song than alan does. alan, please learn how to sing with energy. It’d do the planet earth some good.

Beauty is better than Swear, but only by a margin. The instrumentation is very pretty, minus the stupid bassline >( Arghh I hate those things in ballads. The chorus is exciting and alan sounds like she’s ready to sing with force =DD I love it.

Swear (Instrumental) is cute, and the instrumentation totally saves the actual song for me.

Beauty (Instrumental) is also very pretty. I love the piano playing and the twinkles and stuff xD

Dear god, alan you’re just failing now aren’t you? What happened to you? I would take those shitty vocals in 群青の谷 over this crap any day </3 Please try better next time.

C

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Ai Otsuka – LOVE LETTER Review

November 21, 2009 at 6:21 pm · Filed under Ai Otsuka ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

41xSA6MHR8L._SS500_LOVE LETTER by Ai Otsuka

1.) LOVE LETTER
2.) ロケットスニーカー
3.) バイバイ
4.) クラゲ、流れ星
5.) 人形
6.) 君フェチ
7.) Creamy & Spicy
8.) ド☆ポシティヴ
9.) 360°
10.) シヤチハタ
11.) One×Time
12.) ポケット
13.) 愛

Released: December 17th, 2008 ~ Highest Chart Position: #3 ~ First Week Sales: 104,232 ~ Total Sales: 179,670

LOVE LETTER is Ai’s 5th album. The singles released beforehand were ポケット, ロケットスニーカー / One×Time, and クラゲ、流れ星. With バイバイ being a re-cut. ド☆ポシティヴ, 360° and 愛 were used as promotional tracks, therefore they all got their own PV’s. This album would show a more mature side from Ai, as most people have said anyway.

LOVE LETTER is Ai’s first song to be a title track o: The beginning grates my ears, it sounds like Ai’s not even trying to sing those notes. The song is a very simple piano song, and Ai sounds better after that disastrous beginning. Not too bad of a song though, love Ai’s piano playing in this song.

I still love the beginning of ロケットスニーカー due to how Ai sounds. So energetic and fun! This song has funky instrumentation that matches Ai’s playful lyrics. Although the song doesn’t keep my interest for the rest of it.

バイバイ is still kinda there. The Bye Bye~’s she sings with each end of the chorus is catchy. But eh, just a song that’s kinda there.

クラゲ、流れ星 is still very pretty. Ai’s vocals in the verse are so pure. But then we get to the chorus and she’s shouting and trying too hard to sound emotional, which is strange to say because Ai us great at these ballads. But the instrumentation saves the song for me.

人形 is gorgeous. The piano is excellent and Ai sounds pretty nice (She’s a bit off in the beginning though). After a bit of the piano playing some strings suddenly enter and Ai is belting it out (and sounds fucking excellent if I do add). The lyrics are depressing, and tell a great story about friendship, loss, and how we can’t find ourselves. A gorgeous ballad that I’m happy Ai made <3 Also, when the whole album leaked, this song wasn’t in the leak. For some reason.

君フェチ has cute instrumentation and nice vocal delivery from Ai. But this track comes off a bit weak due to the fact there isn’t anything that catchy about this track. But it’s worth a listen. The instrumentation saves it <3

Creamy & Spicy is a strange track, but at the same time I really like it. Ai’s notes when she sings “CLEAMY AND SPICHYYY” are kinda nice sounding XD The instrumentation isn’t groundbreaking, but very fun and match Ai’s vocals. Very nice song =DD

ド☆ポジティヴ has an amazing beginning *-* I’m mesmerized by it. The instrumentation is so fun and psychedelic sounding. But Ai’s vocals are really squeaky in this song for some reason. The song dose have a few moments of catchiness. But other than that the instrumentation was the only thing to stand out.

360° is in short, amazing. It’s fabulous. There is piano playing, soft dance beats, and Ai’s voice that echos’ throughout the whole song. She repeats some lyrics over and over which WILL get stuck in your head. They symbolize the troubles with love perfectly though. Pretty soon into the song it starts to pick up a more dance vibe. There is a section where Ai screeches a REALLY high scream or something. But other than that, amazing song.

シヤチハタ isn’t exactly a bat-shit crazy track, it still stands out. シヤチハタ takes the Big Band genre, with Ai taking the scat style of singing. Ai’s vocals are LOW in this song, and she sounds great. It’s amazing to hear her sing really low. Maybe it’s how her voice originally is, and she forces herself to sing higher? There is a long instrumental break that I don’t really like though. Other than that, amazing song.

One×Time is still boring. Instrumentation is really pretty though, so that’s a plus at least. In other news the song is quite sexual for sounding laid-back and relaxing XD

I HATE the bass in ポケット X.X Why does it have to be so strong? It messes up the gorgeous piano playing >( At least there’s nothing present for a lot of the song at the beginning, so it’s just Ai and piano =D Not a terrible song, just kinda boring.

愛 is Ai’s longest song in her discography, and probably the most natural or something I dunno XD The song is cute, and had me interested all the way through. The chorus here is catchy as Ai goes “Aaaaaiiiiiiii” xD Near the end a kids choir joins Ai, and it’s just amazing. This is a nice way to end the album.

Favorite Tracks:
1.) 人形
2.) 360°
3.) 愛

LOVE LETTER was weak, really weak compared to LOVE PiECE. LOVE PiECE was strong throughout, while LOVE LETTER had its moments. Although the songs chosen in my favorites really shined.

B

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Ai Otsuka – バイバイ Review

November 10, 2009 at 10:01 am · Filed under Ai Otsuka ·Tagged , , ,

coverバイバイ by Ai Otsuka

1.) バイバイ
2.) バイバイ (Instrumental)

Released: February 25th, 2009 ~ Highest Chart Position: #8 ~ First Week Sales: 17,485 ~ Total Sales: 20,536

バイバイ is Ai’s 19th Single and 2nd re-cut single. The title track was used in a beer commercial. This release was also limited.

バイバイ has a very energetic and fun start. Ai’s vocals sound a lot better than her other upbeat songs in this song, and she sounds energized and ready (: Something I look for in Upbeat songs. If the singer is bored, so am I (*cough*alan*cough*). The chorus is catchy to some extent, only because of how Ai ends it off with Bye Byeeee~ It’s cute. Not a terrible song, but not like, super super awesome. It’s worth a listen though (:

バイバイ (Instrumental) is fast-paced and a nice listen. Gives you a feeling of driving down a long road (as seen in the cover of course).

バイバイ was such a step-down for being a re-cut.黒毛和牛上塩タン焼680円 had a rearranged song with two B-sides. Now that’s how re-cut singles should work. This just had the A-side and an instrumental. But the A-side was a good listen.

B

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JASMINE – No More Review

November 1, 2009 at 9:30 am · Filed under JASMINE ·Tagged , , ,

JASMINENo_MoreNo More by JASMINE

1.) No More
2.) CLUBBIN’
3.) what you want?

Released: October 28th, 2009 ~ No Chart Data Yet

No More is JASMINE’s 2nd single released.

No More starts with JASMINE’s vocals sounding quiet, which I thought the mp3 that I downloaded was bad or something xD After that section JASMINE shouts “NO MOAR CRY” and the volume is Looooud. JASMINE’s vocals are really nice in this song, and I don’t hear any similarities to sad to say that people are getting. The ending has this music box sound that gives you a feeling of eternal loneliness. It’s just gives me goosebumps. Really nice song, I think I enjoy this and sad to say both equally.

And the lowest point of this single are the B-sides. Judging from the title CLUBBIN’ you think you’d be getting a hot club song. But nope, we get this rock track with JASMINE rapping to it. This is a really boring track though. JASMINE sounds really monotone and doesn’t really bring anything interesting.

what you want? is more of a smooth R&B song. JASMINE sounds different in this track o_0 Anyway, she sounds great. But it gets boring after a while…maybe I’m not used to these types of tracks lol.

No More is great, The B-sides just kinda ruined the single altogether though. I hope the next single has better B-sides >( AND NO MORE BAD COVERS JASMINE, GET RID OF THOSE UGLY WIGS EW.

C

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Mika Nakashima – 朧月夜～祈り Review

October 25, 2009 at 9:35 am · Filed under Mika Nakashima ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

Oborozukiyo~inori朧月夜～祈り by Mika Nakashima

1.) 朧月夜～祈り
2.) 沙羅
3.) 月の砂漠
4.) 雪の華 (Silent version)
5.) 朧月夜～祈り (Acoustic mix)
6.) 沙羅 (Jazztronik remix)
7.) 朧月夜～祈り (Instrumental)

Released: September 15th, 2004 ~ Highest Chart Position: #3 ~ Total Sales: 110,892

朧月夜～祈り is Mika’s 2nd Mini-Album. The title A-side was put onto the MUSIC album. The title track was recorded with a famous violin player.

朧月夜～祈り in short, is a masterpiece. The song starts out with that string strumming thing you’d hear that stereotypes “Traditional Japanese” stuff. After that a nice bassline kicks in with a violin. Then this water droplet sound (I don’t know how to describe it, all I know is that it is fucking pretty). Mika ad-libs and then BAM. Violin solo. This violinist knows how to fucking play, because it’s a gorgeous song. Mika’s voice is fragile, and rings throughout the whole song. The acoustic guitar is nicely played, and the synth-like instrument in the background is nice support. Mika hits the notes with NO trouble at all, she just hits them like that XD The chorus is soooo pretty, but I wished that Mika’s voice just sounded a lot louder or something. The instrumentation is sooo pretty that I don’t even really notice anyway XD The song does get kinda hetic near the end with the addition of this electric guitar and stuff. But this track is amazing, and any Japanese Music fan CANNOT miss out on this.

While 朧月夜～祈り was more melancholy, 沙羅 takes an Arabian influence. Most notable with those jingles and the strings playing. Mika’s voice has a playful tone in them, and she’s singing out with full energy. The chorus is so catchy, even if there isn’t any English present xD The Japanese will get stuck in your head. The instrumentation is awesome in this song, it’s really awesome and gives you a vibe of hot Arabian days.

Mika comes in with a nice, jazzy, and lounge-ish song. 月の砂漠 is so relaxing to listen to. Mika does sound a bit bored at times, but still provides nice vocals. I LOVE the saxophone solo, it was pretty damn awesome <3

Take 雪の華, give it only a piano and a violin, and you get 雪の華 (Silent version). This is a gorgeous rearrangement of the original. Her belting section is soooo nice to hear. Great rearrangement. LOVE the piano work.

朧月夜～祈り (Acoustic mix) is a more simpler version. At first I thought this was going to be just all acoustic guitar. But I was surprised that it just removes all that synth stuff. I wish the bassline wasn’t there, but it compliments Mika’s voice nicely. The violin is still really pretty.

The lowest point of this single, sadly is 沙羅 (Jazztronik remix). This remix turns it into a long, and dragged out remix that I just can’t get into. I don’t really like it when Mika’s voice is filtered. Overall an annoying remix. I would have liked an Acoustic version rather than this crap.

朧月夜～祈り (Instrumental) is honestly a really nice listen. I love everything about it. No vocals are present AT ALL. So you get to hear everything in its beautiful glory. The acoustic guitar playing is perfect, the violin is perfect, everything is perfect.

Favorite Tracks:
1.) 朧月夜～祈り
2.) 雪の華 (Silent version)
3.) 沙羅

Why 朧月夜～祈り did not reach #1 I will never know, but this mini-album is a HUGE step-up from RESISTANCE. This was a pretty mini-album (minus that remix ew). If you’re gonna start listening to Mika, I suggest you give her a try with this mini-album, you might just become addicted.

A

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Mika Nakashima – 火の鳥 Review

October 25, 2009 at 9:00 am · Filed under Mika Nakashima ·Tagged , , ,

Hi no tori火の鳥 by Mika Nakashima

1.) 火の鳥
2.) Missing
3.) 火の鳥 (Instrumental)

Released: June 2nd, 2006 ~ Highest Chart Position: #9 ~ Total Sales: 40,155

火の鳥 is Mika’s 12th single and the 2nd single in the MUSIC era. The title track was used in an anime also titled 火の鳥.

hinotoribonusWhen 火の鳥 first starts you’d think it’d be some fast-paced track. After that strange introduction it turns into a ballad. The instrumentation reminds me of STARS, but Mika doesn’t sound bored :D Mika has no trouble with the chorus, and it is catchy to some extent. She hits those notes with no trouble ;D Although I do get tired of the song after a while since it kinda stays the same throughout the whole thing.

Missing on the other hand is a peaceful and very lovely ballad. Mika’s voice is very nice sounding, although at times she sounds like she’s just mumbling everything. I love it when Mika goes “I miss you…” because her voice is fragile sounding and breaks my heart </3 Pretty song anyway.

The 火の鳥 (Instrumental) is sooo nice sounding. Gives you a feeling of loneliness and strength.

火の鳥 was an alright single. I can’t say anything bad about any of the songs, very nice single ;D

B

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Chihiro Onitsuka – Sugar High Review

October 25, 2009 at 8:46 am · Filed under Chihiro Onitsuka ·Tagged , ,

CDSugar High by Chihiro Onitsuka

1.) NOT YOUR GOD
2.) 声
3.) Rebel Luck
4.) Tiger in my Love
5.) Castle・imitation (album version)
6.) 漂流の羽根
7.) 砂の盾
8.) King of Solitude
9.) BORDERLINE
-8cm Tracklisting (First Press Disk)-
1.) Castle・imitation
2.) Castle・imitation (Instrumental)

Released: December 11th, 2002 ~ Highest Chart Position: #2 ~ Total Sales: 294,952

Sugar High is Chihiro’s 3rd album. No singles were released beforehand, but that didn’t stop this album from having tie-ins. 声, Tiger in my Love, 漂流の羽根, and Castle・imitation were all used in some sort of video game, movie, TV show, or CM. If a listener were to buy the album in first press, you’d get an 8cm disk with the original version of Castle・imitation and it’s instrumental.

NOT YOUR GOD is strangely in all English, yet I really love this song. It’s a really short and simple song, clocking in at 2:57 and having only a piano playing over and over. But after a minute some other instruments join it. Anyway I find this song to be really catchy though D: I dunno why either XD It’s just so nice and relaxing. It’s not the strongest opener for an album, but I think that it is very pretty. Chihiro’s English is actually pretty good, but she obviously does have a thick accent xP

The piano that starts in 声 reminds me of other songs here in the states for some reason. Chihiro’s voice is so soothing in this song. She doesn’t try too hard to sound powerful because it just comes out naturally. I like the climax because of the added jingles and strings. Not a bad song, although it might bore a few people.

Rebel Luck starts out nicely, love the up-beat-ish piano playing. This song didn’t really bring anything interesting though. Very unmemorable next to these other tracks.

Tiger in my Love starts with such an awesome introduction! I love the piano playing with that bass in the background. Chihiro’s voice is energetic and I like it <3 The song does feel like it goes on forever though D: I do love how Chihiro sings out the title though. Alright song.

Castle・imitation (album version) has a VERY pretty introduction that I like. Pianos and bells are nice together. Chihiro’s voice rings in this song and sounds lovely. Although there isn’t anything interesting happening in it.

漂流の羽根 flew by me, but at the same time kinda stuck out. Chihior’s vocals are a lot more powerful in this song and she sounds like she’s ready to shed a few tears. The instrumentation is dramatic and pretty.

砂の盾 does sound a bit different from everything else that has been present on this album at least. The drums are so haunting being in the background. Chihiro’s voice sounds a bit quieter in this song, or maybe that’s just the instrumentation drowning her out XD Very pretty song once again.

I love this title, King of Solitude. Sooooo pretty. The beginning of the song reminds me of a simple waltz. But yeah, nothing else after that.

BORDERLINE is fucking amazing. At first it’s all boring and stuff. But then you get near the end and HOLY SHIT you go insane. There is a choir singing, Chihiro singing (and she goes off-pitch for a few seconds XDDD) and then violins playing crazily. I LOVE the ending, wish it was like that the whole song (minus the fact Chihiro goes off-pitch).

While the beginning of the album version of Castle・imitation was more peaceful, Castle・imitation is a bit more energetic sounding. But yeah, flew by me.

Castle・imitation (Instrumental) is so pretty o3O that’s about it XD

Favorite Tracks:
1.) NOT YOUR GOD
2.) BORDERLINE
3.) 砂の盾

Sugar High kinda bombed. All the songs just weren’t interesting enough (save for my favorite tracks) IMO. I can’t say much about the album other than the fact this album just didn’t live up to my exceptions after インソムニア and This Armor. Maybe next time Chihiro, Maybe next time.

C

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Mika Nakashima – SEVEN Review

October 16, 2009 at 6:51 am · Filed under Mika Nakashima ·Tagged , , ,

coverSEVEN by Mika Nakashima

1.) SEVEN
2.) SEVEN (COLDFEET Remix)
3.) Venus in The Dark (COLDFEET Remix)
4.) SEVEN (Instrumental)

Released: April 7th, 2004 ~ Highest Chart Position: #3 ~ Total Sales: 53,207

SEVEN is Mika’s 11th single and the first single in her new era, the MUSIC era. SEVEN was used in the KATE make-up products advertisements (which Mika is a spokesperson for. She has like, so many songs in those ads XD).

SEVEN starts unexpectedly. I love the little “Dum, Dum, DUMDUDUDMDUM” XD they are so cute. The instrumentation is jazzy and fast-paced. But I thought it was gonna be something electronic influenced due to the cover. But this track ain’t bad. I love the “I Shout, I Shout, I Shout, I Shout for You!”. Her background vocalists are so nice in their little scat-singing sections. Overall a very nice song.

I find it funny the same person who arranged this song (Lori Fine, a.k.a COLDFEET) also remixed it XD The arrangement has a funky thing going on here. This remix is a bit slower than the original now that I think about it. No background vocalists are apparent here from what I hear. Although the remix does drag on after a while.

Why if it isn’t Venus in The Dark again ;D This remix is funkier than the original, and I love the background vocalists with their ad-libbing sections. Mika sounds nice against this new beat o: It’s alright.

The SEVEN (Instrumental) was nice to listen to ;D Fun and energetic sounding. Lori Fine did a nice job on arranging the song.

SEVEN was a really nice way to start this era. I have nothing bad to say about anything on this single to be honest. I do with the SEVEN remix was a bit shorter though xD other than that a nice single!

B+

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Chihiro Onitsuka – This Armor Review

October 4, 2009 at 6:42 am · Filed under Chihiro Onitsuka ·Tagged , , , , , ,

This_ArmorThis Armor by Chihiro Onitsuka

1.) ROLLIN’
2.) 茨の海
3.) シャドウ
4.) everything, in my hands
5.) Our song
6.) 流星群
7.) LITTLE BEAT RIFLE (album ver.)
8.) Arrow of Pain
9.) infection
10.) CROW

Released: March 6th, 2002 ~ Highest Chart Position: #3 ~ Total Sales: 510,000

This Armor is Chihiro’s 2nd album. Only two singles were released beforehand, infection / LITTLE BEAT RIFLE and 流星群. A song named A Horse and Queen was originally gonna be on this album, but Chihiro felt it didn’t match the theme so it was shelved until her 2007 album LAS VEGAS came out. Arrow of Pain took it’s place (the B-side from 月光). Three songs were used to promote their respective movie/CM/whatever. ROLLIN’, 茨の海, and Our Song.

ROLLIN’ starts off with some nice acoustic guitar playing. This track did fly by me the first time I listened because it was a bit unmemorable. But I think that this track is alright. Not as good as an opener as 月光 was, and I honestly wished that infection was used as the opening for this album. But ROLLIN’ ain’t bad.

茨の海 is a very peaceful ballad. Chihiro sadly sounds kinda bored in this song, which is strange because she usually has a lot of emotion and life in her ballads :/ The title of the song is at least interesting? It’s called “Thorn Sea”. I do like that woodwind instrument that plays in the song, it’s soooo pretty.

シャドウ finally has me interested in this album again. The chorus in this song is so pretty, and Chihiro sounds wonderful. I love how the piano is being played in this song, very heartfelt sounding. This song is really nice, I’m happy this started to pick up things. From what I’ve heard so far.

everything, in my hands flew by me again. The song has some nice electric guitars and strings. Chihiro sounds alright, but the song came out as unmemorable in the final run. I do think this track is alright, just unmemorable.

Is Our Song in full English? I think it is. The instrumentation is simple and very pretty. Nothing too interesting to note, but nice and relaxing song.

流星群 is another ballad. Chihiro sounds nice in it though at least.

I’m astonished. LITTLE BEAT RIFLE turned into a pure piano song. LITTLE BEAT RIFLE (album ver.) starts out the same as LITTLE BEAT RIFLE would, but with only piano. It’s really strange, since the original was all happy and stuff xD I guess this happened to fit with the album. I do say this version is really good.

Is it sad I don’t remember Arrow of Pain? Even though I just listened to it like, one hour ago? This track is ambient and very nice, Chihiro sounds great as ever =3

Yes, finally. infection is next. The powerful, emotional, groundbreaking, sad, and gorgeous ballad. Nothing will ever beat this song, THIS is the best J-Music ballad out there. IMO anyway.

CROW is really nice. It ends the album off on a nice note. Although it felt like the song went on forever, even though it’s only 5:15 long. The bells are really nice sounding, and the choir that sings at the end is great. Nice way to end the album.

Favorite Tracks:
1.) infection
2.) LITTLE BEAT RIFLE (album ver.)
3.) シャドウ

This Armor is sadly a step-down from インソムニア. Chihiro was a little off at the beginning of the album, but regained her strength near the end. Some of the songs on here actually had me bored rather than interested. At least infection is on this album xD It proved to be the best song like, ever. Not a terrible album, just it wasn’t as good as her debut.

B

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Chihiro Onitsuka – 流星群 Review

October 4, 2009 at 6:13 am · Filed under Chihiro Onitsuka ·Tagged , , ,

CD流星群 by Chihiro Onitsuka

1.) 流星群
2.) Fly to me
3.) 流星群 (Instrumental)

Released: February 6th, 2002 ~ Highest Chart Position: #7 ~ Total Sales: 100,000

100,000 is Chihiro’s 5th single and final single in the This Armor era. 流星群 was used as TRICK 2’s theme song.

流星群 is like all her other ballads. Although there seems to be a tint of up-beat sounds in it. Chihiro’s vocals are full of life in this song, and really make this song sound great. But the instrumentation didn’t really bring anything new (unlike infection, with all those gorgeous piano and strings <3 hehehe). But this song ain’t terrible. I still liked it.

Fly to me takes that acoustic country sound it seems. Chihiro’s vocals are relaxed and around in her comfort zone. I like the chorus when Chihiro and some back-up vocalists go “Fly to me…”. It sounds so nice~ Near the 3 minute mark this strange sound starts to come out of nowhere. It’s really strange and was kinda cool to hear it in this song. Not a bad B-side at all.

oooo 流星群 (Instrumental) is nice. Maybe I only like it because I can actually truly hear the piano in this song more xD

流星群 was another tiny step-down from the epic infection / LITTLE BEAT RIFLE. The B-side was honestly more interesting than 流星群. But these songs aren’t bad.

B+

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