:+: No Music No Life :+:

Sunday, October 12, 2008

CD Review :: L'Arc~en~Ciel - KISS

Tracklist :

1) SEVENTH HEAVEN
2) Pretty girl
3) MY HEART DRAWS A DREAM
4) Sunadokei (Hourglass)
5) spiral
6) ALONE EN LA VIDA
7) DAYBREAK'S BELL
8) Umibe (Beach)
9) THE BLACK ROSE
10) Link -KISS Mix-
11) Yuki no Ashiato (Footprints In Snow)
12) Hurry Xmas

KISS is L'Arc~en~Ciel's 11th album . This was released on Nov 21st last year in Japan & 5 singles are included in the album .

Recently I decided to give 1 of JRock's most respected bands's material a listen after I was won over by their latest singles the creepy but the gorgeous opera tinged like no. DRINK IT DOWN & NEXUS 4 / SHINE & as such here I'm to review their latest studio offering .

& what a better way to start things off with their 30th single SEVENTH HEAVEN which's a great infectious upbeat rock no. . I love the way there're many guitar riffs being layered over the song & this's 1 seriously catchy song that gets better as each listen goes by although the video's erm very random & strange .

Track 2's another catchy rock song & the 1st non single on KISS . Pretty girl gets its start by the beating of drums with the whip lash of the guitar & bass . Lead vocalist Hyde's vocals are in fine tune with the melody of Pretty girl although he sounded a bit more rough than usual at the end but still this's 1 neat non single .

From 1 non single to a single , in comes their 31st single MY HEART DRAWS A DREAM which's 1 of my fave singles coming from L'Arc . I just love how catchy & uplifting this song sounds . If you have seen the video , it will blow you away on how simplistic yet powerful the message it tries to deliver with regards to the song . Great stuff .

The next 3 songs are non singles on KISS . I start 1st with Sunadokei (Hourglass) . I like how the song started off in a really mellow manner & then slowly but surely , it lashes out in full swing . The way the song built up in due time , it's just great .

Up next's spiral . I only find this a-ok as it almost borderlines on the filler factor . It took me a while to actually remember on how this no. actually sounds like but right now more or less I'm alright with it .

Track 6's an extremely gorgeous mid tempo rock no. & it's 1 of my fave non singles on KISS . Titled ALONE EN LA VIDA , I like how unusually creepy it sounds . It's kinda like a more mellow version of DRINK IT DOWN except it's not as dark & depressing as the latter .

DAYBREAK'S BELL's the band's 32nd single & yet this's another fantastic L'Arc song & just like ALONE EN LA VIDA , the music arrangement of DAYBREAK'S BELL is just stunning & I was so taken aback with the song when I 1st heard this . The video's quite interesting too although frankly I don't really see the connection between the plot of the video with the song .

The next 2 songs are non singles in which Umibe (Beach) is a piano driven ballad . I really like the beginning of the song & then it slowly transforms to an angsty guitar driven piece of no.

THE BLACK ROSE is up next & this's yet another good non single on KISS . The beginning of the song's haunting with the tinkling of the piano & then sooner or later , it just lashes out in full swing with the combination of guitar & bass riffs & the thumping of the drums .

Link's the band's 29th single & in KISS , it's titled Link -KISS Mix- & er honestly both the album & single versions of Link sound the same . It's just being retitled as Link -KISS Mix- on the album to make it look more cooler I guess .

Anyway Link is 1 catchy & somewhat peppy song . Hyde sounds unusually a bit happier than usual in this no. which's great I suppose & just like SEVENTH HEAVEN , DAYBREAK'S BELL , I don't understand the meaning of the video for Link too .

The last 2 songs on the album are Christmas inspired tinged songs which's quite fitting in a way since KISS was released last Nov , a month prior to Christmas . Yuki no Ashiato (Footprints In Snow) is 1 beautiful Christmas tinged song & it's a ballad just like Umibe (Beach) but to me I somehow find Yuki no Ashiato more stronger & memorable unlike Umibe .

The final song to close KISS is the band's 33rd single Hurry Xmas . I really like how the song kicks in at the beginning & surprisingly I take this song rather well after a few listens as for me I seldom come across jrock Christmas inspired tinged songs & Hurry Xmas's a pretty good Christmas song & the video's quite interesting for that matter .

I didn't really know what to expect before I decided to give L'Arc's latest studio offering KISS a listen as this's the 1st time I have listened to an album of theirs but I must say I love this album .

The 5 singles included in KISS are extremely solid & well defined in their own right & the non singles aren't 1/2 bad themselves & were able to hold a candle or 2 against the singles .

I might have been a bit too late to jump aboard the L'Arc's music bandwagon seeing that they have been around for 17 years & counting but it's never too late for me to enjoy their own unique brand of rock music & here's to more great material from the guys .