CD Review :: Domoto Koichi - mirror
CD Only Regular Edition Cover :
CD Only Limited Edition Cover :
Tracklist :
1) Ai no Jujika (Cross Of Love) ~Promise 2U~
2) Deep in your heart
3) One more XXX ...
4) SNAKE
5) Kagen no Tsuki (Month Of Last Quarter)
6) Take me to ...
7) Spica
8) Shadows On The Floor
9) Velvet Rain
10) Addicted
11) Tsuioku no Ame (Rain Of Recollection)
12) + MILLION but - LOVE
13) -so young blues- 2006 (Regular Edition Track)
mirror is Domoto Koichi's debut solo album . It was released 3 years ago on 13th Sept .
Just 1 single is included in mirror & 1 album track received a music video of its own . While Koichi did not provide any lyrics to the 12 (13) songs you can find in mirror , he composed the whole record by himself .
Ai no Jujika (Cross Of Love) ~Promise 2U~ is such a great song to kick things off as it has a really nice futuristic vibe that the song presented in here .
Aside from that , you also can find shades of rock going on in Ai no Jujika ~Promise 2U~ which I have to say that I like it a lot & it gives you the starting platform on what to expect in mirror as you listen to the next few tracks down the line .
Deep in your heart is the 1st A-side of Koichi's debut solo single Deep in your heart / + MILLION but - LOVE which was released 3 years ago on 12th July .
The 1st A-side was used as the theme song to the anime Jyu-Oh-Sei in which Koichi voiced the main character in the anime ie. the adult Thor .
Unlike his 2nd single Ayakashi (Something Strange/Suspicious) , Deep in your heart is kinda Bollywood/Tribal inspired (just watch the video & you know what I mean) & in the beginning of the song , you can hear the sounds of big band marching beats .
This tune which combines Bollywood/Tribal inspired & big band marching beats together with a foreign guy rapping in the background might sound like an odd mixture but it strangely works in Koichi's favour & the 1st A-side of his debut solo single does get infectious as each listen goes by .
One more XXX ... is the 1st ballad you can find in mirror . It's not a standard ballad that you might have came across .
Koichi incorporated electro beats , Latin Spanish influenced rhthyms & guitar riffs in One more XXX ... which gives you a really smooth & somewhat mid tempo tune which I adore .
SNAKE is track #4 & despite the strange title for a song , I actually like it as it's a kick ass no nonsense strong rock meets pop tune .
The guitar riffs going in SNAKE is more prominent in here unlike One more XXX ... & kudos to Koichi for composing such a top dog melody .
Kagen no Tsuki (Month Of Last Quarter) is the 2nd ballad you can find in mirror & it's also the only album track to get a video of its own aside from Koichi's debut solo single .
It's also the longest track on the album , clocking in at 5:40 mins .
I was surprised when I found out Kagen no Tsuki for some reasons received its own video as I feel it deserves it as this's 1 superb , powerful & sweeping ballad .
On 1st listen , Kagen no Tsuki really took my breath away as it's a pretty & gorgeous no. & I thought Perfect World -2009- is ace but Kagen no Tsuki is on par if not more superior than Perfect World -2009- .
Take me to ... is a hot song ! When I say hot , I mean that it's a perfect tune to crank up a notch or 2 if you're planning to dance the night away .
I just love the whole feeling that Take me to ... gives in here as Koichi thrown in a lot of salsa inspired & also jazz somewhat beats into the song .
I noticed that Take me to ... reminded me of KinKi Kids's 21st single Velvet no Yami , style wise since both songs are kinda on the same wavelength .
Not that I'm complaining seeing that I like both songs but man , Take me to ... is just made of pure win !
Spica is track #7 & after Kagen no Tsuki , this's the 3rd ballad you can find in mirror .
However , unlike One more XXX ... & Kagen no Tsuki , Spica is less complicated in the music department .
Basically what you're getting in Spica is more or less a stripped down tune which's backed up by piano & some percussions which gives you this really heartwarming no. & I feel there's no way you will dislike Spica in this context .
Shadows On The Floor is track #9 & it's an interesting song . I don't know why but I have odd vibes of Destiny's Child's Survivor when I 1st heard it , especially as evident in the beginning of the song .
But after that's outta the way , I have to say that Shadows On The Floor is yet another hot dance track that's perfect to spin in a club & a disco .
Velvet Rain follows after Shadows On The Floor . Just like SNAKE , it follows the same music vein ie. a strong pop meets rock tune .
Except in this case , Velvet Rain takes on a much more aggressive music approach in the later part of the song which I think that gives the edge Velvet Rain needs in order to stand out from the other songs in mirror .
Addicted is track #10 & man , this's such a sexy no. . Just like Deep in your heart , Koichi incorporated a lot of exotic beats going on in Addicted & this time round , you have a song that's very heavily influenced by exotic Egyptian rhythms & beats .
Throwing in guitar riffs for good measures , you have this slamming no. which I love it immediately on 1st listen .
Tsuioku no Ame (Rain Of Recollection) is the last ballad you can find in mirror . The introduction of the song is really lovely as it has a nice & grand piano/orchestra feeling .
The mood of Tsuioku no Ame started to change slowly in the midst of the song & you can ever hear in the backgrounds echoes of a choir which adds a nice touch to Tsuioku no Ame .
+ MILLION but - LOVE is the 2nd A-side of Koichi's debut solo single Deep in your heart / + MILLION but - LOVE .
The 2nd A-side was used as the opening theme song to the TV show Ongaku Senshi MUSIC FIGHTER .
Compared against Deep in your heart , + MILLION but - LOVE is a very catchy big bang swinging jazz tune with strong trumpet beats which I was hooked onto on 1st listen .
Both A-sides are basically upbeat no.s at the end of the day but they both carry different styles/influences in each tune which's great .
Only found in the regular edition of mirror , it's -so young blues- 2006 .
Now I don't know if it's just me but I have odd vibes of KinKi Kids's 27th single Secret Code when I 1st gave -so young blues- 2006 a listen .
I'm not sure why so . Maybe because both songs have almost the same music structure . Also , I feel that -so young blues- 2006 is probably the most random song in mirror as it's just slotted in mirror for the sake of doing so .
Not to mention , it's quite rojak sounding to a certain extent & it sounds to me like a really messed up song in the good kinda way .
Man , I have to say that I was so & very blown away & impressed with Domoto Koichi's debut solo album offering mirror .
I enjoyed his 2nd single Ayakashi & that gave me the push to try out mirror in which it's a decision that I did not regret doing so because it's such a top notch album & when you have Koichi composing the whole album & making each song sounds great , you know that you're in good hands when you listen to mirror .
I love the various styles that're found in mirror & the whole record just flows really well from the start to the end .
It might have been 3 years since mirror was released but I'm glad that I have caught onto listening to his solo material & let alone mirror now as it's definitely never too late to catch onto 1 1/2 of KinKi Kids's solo works .
