CD Review :: ai otsuka - LOVE PUNCH

CD Only Cover :



CD + DVD Cover :



Tracklist :

1) pretty voice
2) Momo no Hanabira (Peach Petal)
3) Sakuranbo (Cherries)
4) GIRLY
5) Ame no Naka no Melody (A Melody In The Rain)
6) Shabondama (Bubbles)
7) Ishikawa Osaka Yuukou Jouken (Ishikawa Osaka Friendship Treaty)
8) Kataomoi Dial (Unrequitted Love Dial)
9) Honey
10) Amaenbo (Spoiled Child)
11) Always Together

LOVE PUNCH is ai otsuka's debut album . This was released on 31st April '04 in Japan in 2 different formats & it contains 3 singles that're highlighted in bold letterings .

The album start things off with pretty voice which's quite a fast paced upbeat pop/rock no. . This's 1 well pretty good song & it flows quite well with the next 2 songs which're incidentally her 1st 2 singles .

Track 2's otsuka's debut single Momo no Hanabira (Peach Petal) & I really adore this no. simply because of the beautiful music arrangement that's attached to the song & besides the video's cute as well .

The next track's Sakuranbo (Cherries) which's credited as otsuka's breakthrough hit & this's her 2nd & highest selling single to date . This's the song that I 1st came into contact with her music & when I 1st heard it as I find it quite annoying but as time goes by , I grew to appreciate otsuka's somewhat over the top songs .

Track 4's titled GIRLY & it follows in the same music style as pretty voice & Sakuranbo in that all 3 are generally pop/rock no.s . At least GIRLY managed to sound a bit different from its other 2 counterparts or else I will have problems distinguishing all of them .

The next 2 songs are considered the ballads in LOVE PUNCH . Ame no Naka no Melody (A Melody In The Rain) & Shabondama (Bubbles) are really nice soothing no.s & I like how dreamy & carefree both Ame no Naka no Melody & Shabondama sounds .

I slightly prefer Ame no Naka no Melody as 1/2 way though the song , it began to transit to a slight mid tempo pop/rock no. whereas for Shabondama , it's a pretty steady song which otsuka shot a video for it .

After in which 2 songs are followed which contains strange titles . I find Ishikawa Osaka Yuukou Jouken (Ishikawa Osaka Friendship Treaty) amusing but cute . At least it's not over the top & silly like her other non singles works while for Kataomoi Dial (Unrequitted Love Dial) , I find it really catchy & the fact that there's a LOVE-chan video version of this song in the DVD tracklist of the album , makes it even more fun to listen to .

Track 9's the shortest song on LOVE PUNCH at 2:13 mins but I really like Honey as it's short , simple & sweet to the point . It's not as cheesy as I thought it will be . I like how otsuka sings & kinda coos in this no. .

The next track's her 3rd single titled Amaenbo (Spoiled Child) & I like the way Honey flows in smoothly to Amaenbo because both of them are almost in the same melody train & I like Amaenbo the 1st time I heard it & the fact that before the song was about to end , there's an electric guitar to close things off & it adds a nice touch to Amaenbo .

Last but definitely not least , the final track on LOVE PUNCH titled Always Together in which I think it's a great way to close off the album with this catchy & piano driven no. . Always Together places a more heavy emphasis on the piano but still I don't mind this & the backing vocals of people at the end of Always Together just takes things to a whole new level .

otsuka's debut album LOVE PUNCH is a solid effort but I find the music journey a bit too short for my liking with regards to the non singles but considering the fact that this was her 1st album , it was a good stepping stone for her which transit to her future albums like LOVE JAM , LOVE COOK & LOVE PiECE .

An album worth checking out on if you want to experience a dose of piano driven/pop rock Japanese music .

Karen Pang

# 10th Jan

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# My music blog consists of JPop/Rock singles & albums reviews that I put my heart , efforts & soul into writing them as I'm disgusted with the way that JPop/Rock music is being treated/written/reviewed in Singapore so to the local media (yes you TEENS , Teenage Magazine & The Strait Times) , screw you all . I basically can write better JPop/Rock reviews , period

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