CD Review :: Kanon Wakeshima - Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~
CD Only
CD + DVD
1) Shakespeare no Wasuremono (Forgotten Things) ~Prologue~
2) Kajitsu no Keikoku (Fruit Valley)
3) Heroine Syndrome
4) twinkle star !
5) Toumei no Kagi (The Invisible Key)
6) Marmalade Sky
7) Kuroneko to Pianist no Tango (Tango Of The Black Cat & The Pianist)
8) Princess Charleston
9) Tree of Sorrow
10) celmisia
11) Otome no March (March Of The Sound Maiden)
12) Shakespeare no Wasuremono (Forgotten Things) ~Epilogue~
13) Shoujo Shikake no Libretto (Lolitawork Libretto) ~Storytelling by solita~
Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ is Kanon Wakeshima's 2nd album . It will be released this coming Wed on 28th July .
Even though it's not officially released in Japan yet but Europe sees an early release date for Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ some 3 weeks back on 7th July .
No physical singles are included in Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ . Instead you get 2 digital singles in the album prior to the announcement of Kanon's 2nd album .
Kanon's debut album Shinshoku Dolce was released last year on 18th Feb & in her 2nd album , all lyrics , cello & vocals were written/provided by her personally .
Just like in the opening track of Shinshoku Dolce ie. sweet ticket , Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ kicks off the album with Shakespeare no Wasuremono (Forgotten Things) ~Prologue~ which's a very nice instrumental piece that's quite heavily cello driven .
Shakespeare no Wasuremono ~Prologue~ sets the mood for the 2nd album before diving right into track #2 Kajitsu no Keikoku (Fruit Valley) .
I really like Kajitsu no Keikoku on 1st listen because it's very angsty driven which's pretty much a mirror image of the material you can find in Kanon's debut album except it's more polished & sleek .
Also , I like the fast paced violin strings which're accompanied by Kanon's signature cello sounds .
Heroine Syndrome is another really solid album track & in here , you can hear a lot more cello influences from Kanon .
Also unlike Shinshoku Dolce which was solely produced/composed by Malice Mizer/Moi dix Mois guitarist Mana , for Heroine Syndrome , it's composed by Kanon herself which's really cool .
In fact , some of the album tracks are composed by Kanon , like for Shakespeare no Wasuremono ~Prologue~ & subsequent tracks which I will point out in due course .
twinkle star ! is very somewhat futuristic sounding while keeping a modern touch on things .
I feel that Kanon sound very somewhat dainty like in twinkle star ! in the song .
I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing but seeing that I like twinkle star ! for it slowing down the pace in Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ after 2 angsty driven tracks , I guess it's not such a bad thing .
Toumei no Kagi (The Invisible Key) is the 1st digital single found in the 2nd album . The song was released last year on 16th Sept & it was used as the theme song for the online game Avalon no Kagi .
I reviewed Toumei no Kagi a while back ago on my blog & I suppose I can consider this as the most prominent track in Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ even though it did not get a music video .
But prior to the announcement of Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ , I have put Toumei no Kagi on encore mode quite a lot of times so it's nice to hear the song again & I still find the melody of Toumei no Kagi extremely cool , with the violin strings , cello & even marching band like drum beats thrown in for good measures .
Marmalade Sky is a somewhat lighthearted cheery song . I was surprised when I 1st heard Marmalade Sky as it presents a different side of Kanon which I was not able to detect in Shinshoku Dolce .
As such , I find this really refreshing which she included in her 2nd album . Kanon's vocals in Marmalade Sky takes on a more child like innocence approach .
Kuroneko to Pianist no Tango (Tango Of The Black Cat & The Pianist) is Kanon's 2nd composition & I find this song very charming .
If you know how the melody goes when comes to Tango dances , well it's more or less what to expect when you listen to Kuroneko to Pianist no Tango .
Also , it's 1 of the more piano driven tracks in Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ too & it has a lighthearted approach just like Marmalade Sky .
Princess Charleston follows almost in the same music vein as Marmalade Sky & Kuroneko to Pianist no Tango .
Except for Princess Charleston's case , it's more cello driven & Mana thrown in subtle church bells in the melody for good measures too which I adore .
Princess Charleston is co-composed by Kanon & microman .
After 3 cheery classical like inspired songs , Tree of Sorrow takes centrestage in bringing back the angst factor in Kanon .
Tree of Sorrow is not as moody as compared to some album tracks in Shinshoku Dolce but you still can hear a lot of emotions that Kanon drawn from when you listen to Tree of Sorrow .
Also , I like the somewhat dramatic approach that Mana takes into consideration when he composed Tree of Sorrow too .
The last 4 tracks on Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ are solely composed by Kanon .
celmisia is quite an unusual no. . The melody for celmisia takes on a more darker route & it's probably 1 of the more darker angsty driven tracks in Kanon's 2nd album too .
That & combined with Kanon's signature cello sounds , celmisia sounds as though it could be used in a dark inspired like anime .
Otome no March (Woman Of Sound March) is the 2nd digital single & it was released this year on 16th Jan .
The beginning of Otome no March was a bit sombre but the song subequently began to carve itself into a song that's somewhat positive in sounding which I think it's cool .
Shakespeare no Wasuremono ~Epilogue~ is the 2nd last album track & just like Shinshoku Dolce's sweet dreams , Shakespeare no Wasuremono ~Epilogue~ is basically a musical box version of Shakespeare no Wasuremono ~Prologue~ .
Sharing the same title as the album , it's Shoujo Shikake no Libretto (Lolitawork Libretto) ~Storytelling by solita~ & it's also the only album track which receives a video .
I can see (hear) why a video was made for Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~Storytelling by solita~ as it's a really solid track & you can hear French words in the backdrop of the song being throw in for good measures & for that , I feel it's a good no. to conclude things .
As the saying goes , good things are worth waiting for & I think this statement can applied towards Kanon Wakeshima's 2nd/comeback album Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ .
I got worried after she went completely MIA after she released Shinshoku Dolce last Feb but it's really heartening to know that she is finally back with this solid/follow up from her debut album .
I suppose the reason as to why she took quite long to return back to the scene is because this time round in Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ , she has a much more hands on approach & she's involved more in composing her material as compared to in Shinshoku Dolce where all the compositions were done by her mentor Mana .
So for her to compose almost 1/2 of the songs in Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ alongside with writing the lyrics for the whole record , it's worth commending for .
Also , I feel that Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ is more mature/well put together & I realised that mood wise , it's a lot more positive/lighthearted/cheery unlike Shinshoku Dolce which some of the album tracks were really dark & somewhat sombre .
Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ is a really solid follow up record from Kanon & it's nice to know that she has escaped the dreaded 2nd album music syndrome .
Hopefully I wouldn't have to wait that long for her to come up with something new once again but for now , I will be plugging Shoujo Shikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ on repeat mode .
