CD Review :: ON / OFF - Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu-
CD Only Cover :
CD + DVD Type B Cover :
Tracklist for both editions :
1) Aoi Hikari no Genseki (The Gemstone Of Light)
2) Eien no Setsuna (Eternal Moment)
3) Sen no Nemuri no Hate (End Of Many Thousand Sleep)
4) Hana Kagari (Bamboo Flower) -Hana Kagari- (-Bamboo Flower-)
5) Signal
6) LOST
7) Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi (Two Beats And A Red Sin)
8) twinkle
9) Rainy Lady
10) Sagashimono (A Thing Someone Is Looking For)
11) Rinne (Cycle) -Rondo-
12) Kokuhaku (Confession)
13) Yakusoku no Hane (Wings Of Promise) White Feathers
CD + DVD Type A Cover :
Tracklist :
1) Aoi Hikari no Genseki (The Gemstone Of Light)
2) Eien no Setsuna (Eternal Moment)
3) Sen no Nemuri no Hate (End Of Many Thousand Sleep)
4) Hana Kagari (Bamboo Flower) -Hana Kagari- (-Bamboo Flower-)
5) Asayake (Sunglow) *
6) Signal
7) LOST
8) Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi (Two Beats And A Red Sin)
9) GO∞2 *
10) Wasurarenu Hitomi (Forgetting And Others) *
11) Sagashimono (A Thing Someone Is Looking For)
12) Rainy Lady
13) Rinne (Cycle) -Rondo-
14) twinkle
15) Hane Kaesu Yuuki (Courage Driven Back) *
16) Kokuhaku (Confession)
17) Yakusoku no Hane (Wings Of Promise) White Feathers
* CD + DVD Type A Version Only
Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu- is twin brothers ON / OFF debut album . It was released on 22nd April this year .
The twin brothers's 1st 4 singles are included in Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu- & it was released in 3 different editions .
I will review the album based on the CD + DVD Type A tracklist because you're able to find all their 4 singles & 8 B-sides in here as compared to the CD only & CD + DVD Type B editions of the album .
Regardless of which edition of the album you have , you only get 5 new songs from the twins at the end of the day .
Aoi Hikari no Genseki (The Gemstone Of Light) is the 1st album track you're able to find & this's a great way to start things off if you ask me !
I like that song's so upbeat & peppy & no surprises it immediately put me in a really good mood & this should roughly give you some idea on what to expect in due time when you listen to other tracks found in Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu- .
Eien no Setsuna (Eternal Moment) is the guys's debut single which was used as the ending theme song for the manga turned drama adaption Fuuma no Kojirou in which both Naoya Sakamoto & Kazuya Sakamoto starred in the drama themselves .
This's still a great debut song . No matter how many times I played it , I never get sick of this really catchy pop influenced no. .
Sen no Nemuri no Hate (End Of Many Thousand Sleep) is the 3rd B-side you can find in ON / OFF's 3rd single Rinne (Cycle) -Rondo- .
I love Sen no Nemuri no Hate on 1st listen . If you were to compare it against the rather complex sounding A-side , this's a really solid mid tempo ballad that Naoya & Kazuya delivered & it didn't take me that long to get hooked onto Sen no Nemuri no Hate that's for sure .
Hana Kagari (Bamboo Flower) -Hana Kagari- (-Bamboo Flower-) is the duo's 4th single & this's their most recent single release before they dropped Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu- .
Even though Hana Kagari -Hana Kagari- did not performed/sold as well as their 2nd & 3rd singles , this's still an A-side song that I enjoyed .
The melody , lyrics & the calmness that this mid tempo piano driven ballad brought to the music table , it's a win win situation at the end of the day .
Asayake (Sunglow) is the 2nd B-side you can find in the duo's 2nd single Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi (Two Beats And A Red Sin) .
This's also the 1st track you're only able to find in the CD + DVD Type A of the album .
Compared to the angsty driven A-side , Asayake is such a sweet & tender ballad . I love the way Naoya & Kazuya sing in synch in here which goes to show that they really do know how to deliver the goods when they have to & this's evident in Asayake .
From the 2nd B-side in Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi , in comes the 1st B-side in the form of Signal .
Even up to now , I will not consider Signal as my fave B-side of ON / OFF but I must admit that after being drilled many times , I finally can remember how Signal sounds like .
It was initally very un-memorable for me as I found it to be such a boring mid tempo pop song but not anymore .
LOST is the 2nd new album track & it's acoustic guitar driven & coupled with shades of percussions , you get this pretty hot & sexy no. .
The only thing that creeps me about LOST is in the latter 1/2 of the song , you're able to hear laughter going on in the background which's a bit freaky but other than that , LOST is a really ace no. that I enjoyed .
Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi is the brothers's 2nd single & it was used as the opening theme song for the anime Vampire Knight . This's their 1st single to debut in the top20 of the Oricon singles chart when it was released .
Compared to the Vampire Ver. which you can find in the single , the version you can find in Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu- follows exactly the same as the music video in the sense that both Naoya & Kazuya immediately start the song without a 20 seconds + extended introduction .
Well regardless of which , I love both the album & the Vampire Ver. of Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi as it really was able to capture the essence of Vampire Knight & this's 1 awesome angsty tune that the duo has brought to the music table .
It's also 1 of the more darker songs you can find in Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu- which's great .
The next 2 songs are tunes that you're only able to to find in the CD + DVD Type A of the album .
GO∞2 is the 2nd B-side you can find in their 3rd single Rinne -Rondo- .
This's frankly still a really unique song , be it from the song title to the music structure , GO∞2 has both aspects nailed downpat & I never get bored listening to GO∞2 at all , no matter how many times I listened to it .
Wasurarenu Hitomi (Forgetting And Others) is the B-side you're able to find in the brothers's debut single Eien no Setsuna .
If you were to compare it against the upbeat/soaring A-side , Wasurarenu Hitomi is a pretty sad & strong ballad which's a perfect contrast to Eien no Setsuna I would say .
Sagashimono (A Thing Someone Is Looking For) is the 3rd B-side you can find in the duo's 2nd single Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi .
I wouldn't deny that I like Sagashimono a lot as it's such a carefree & summer inspired song & what better way to crank this song up a notch or 2 during this period of time , especially since the season in Japan currently's summer .
Rainy Lady is the 1st B-side of their 3rd single Rinne -Rondo- .
Just like Sagashimono , Rainy Lady is a very upbeat & peppy song which balances off really nicely in Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu- .
I like that you're able to find both songs back to back together & somemore they give the same vibes but yet they sound different from each other which's great .
Rinne -Rondo- is ON / OFF's 3rd single & it was used as the opening theme for the anime Vampire Knight Guilty .
This's the twins's 2nd single to debut in the top20 in the Oricon singles chart . Not to mention , it's their most successful single in terms of chart & sales & it's easy to see why as so .
Even up to now , it's still a tough choice for me to decide whether I like Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi or Rinne -Rondo- more seeing that both were used to promote Vampre Knight & Vampire Knight Guilty respectively but nevertheless , I adore the manner that Rinne -Rondo- presents itself .
From the lyrics to the melody , Rinne -Rondo- got both aspects downpat & I like it that 1 moment it's fast & the next , it's slow with shades of classical influences which's just plain lovely .
twinkle is the 3rd new album track & hmmm on 1st listen , I found it very Christmas/wedding inspired for some reasons .
Not that it's a bad thing but at least Naoya & Kazuya sounded very much at ease singing this really cool song .
Hane Kaesu Yuuki (Courage Driven Back) is the B-side you can find in their 4th single Hana Kagari -Hana Kagari- & this's also incidentally the last B-side you can find in the album & also the final track you're only able to find in the CD + DVD Type A of Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu- .
Just like Sagashimono , Hane Kaesu Yuuki is also yet another summer inspired song & both songs are perfect to be played during a beach party .
The last 2 songs are brand new tunes you can find in Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu- .
Kokuhaku (Confession) is a gorgeous guitar driven no. . It's frankly no surprises that I immediately was drawn into this song as really , there's no way you will dislike guitar pop songs at all & this's evident for Kokuhaku .
Yakusoku no Hane (Wings Of Promise) White Feathers is the final track of the album & to me this's the only weak link in the guys's debut album (aside from Signal still) .
It took me quite a lot of listens as to remember how Yakusoku no Hane White Feathers sounds like as it wasn't as memorable as what I was hoping for & it didn't helped matters that it's a lot more slower & mellower than other songs you can find in Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu- .
But after that's outta the way , it's a pretty decent no. to close things off & the echoes you can hear prior to the end of Yakusoku no Hane White Feathers somehow adds a nice touch/edge to prevent itself from becoming a filler tune you can find in the record .
ON / OFF's debut album Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu- is certainly a really solid pop offering album which the guys offer a mixture of straight up pop songs & ballads thrown in for good measures .
The biggest gripe that I had with Naoya & Kazuya's 1st record offering is that they have included all of the B-sides you can find in their 1st 4 singles (assuming if you have bought the CD + DVD Type A edition0 which only leaves 5 new songs you can find in here at the end of the day .
But thankfully , the majority of the B-sides are already really solid in their own respective right & the 5 albums tracks are ain't too shabby , especially when you compare the B-sides & album tracks against the 4 singles which're already awesome .
I do hope that the duo will not stop releasing new material as this's 1 duo that has been growing on me pretty nicely since I decided to give their music a try & I say it's never too late to try ON / OFF's music , especially if you're looking for some back to basics & good 'ol pop tunes .
