CD Review :: Kis-My-Ft2 - Kis-My-1st
CD
2CDs
CD + DVD
Disc 1
1) "1st" Overture
2) Girl is mine
3) SHE ! HER ! HER !
4) Tabidachi no Uta (Song Of A Journey)
5) Love meee (FUJIGAYA TAISUKE)
6) 『Sanagi』 (Pupa) (KITAYAMA HIROMITSU)
7) Catch & Go !! (YOKOO WATARU / MIYATA TOSHIYA / NIKAIDO TAKASHI / SENGA KENTO)
8) Everybody Go
9) Take Over
10) Kickin' it (KITAYAMA HIROMITSU / FUJIGAYA TAISUKE / TAMAMORI YUTA)
11) Sing for you (TAMAMORI YUTA / MIYATA TOSHIYA / SENGA KENTO)
12) We never give up !
13) Good night
14) Dancing Star (CD Only Track)
15) Tell me why (CD Only Track)
Disc 2 (Only included in the 2CDs edition titled Kis-My-Zero)
1) Endless Road
2) Inori (Prayer)
3) Kis-My-Me-Mine
4) Good-bye , Thank you
5) FIRE BEAT
6) Smile
7) Eien no Chiketto (Eternal Ticket)
8) 3D Girl
Kis-My-1st is Kis-My-Ft2's long awaited debut album & it was released last month on 28th March .
The guys's 1st 3 singles are included in Kis-My-1st . Released in 3 editions , the CD only edition contains 14 tracks in which 2 are bonus songs available only in this edition .
For the 2CDs edition , the 2nd disc is titled Kis-My-Zero which includes 8 tracks that the group have been performing in concerts before their official debut .
In Kis-My-Zero , 2 of the songs Inori & FIRE BEAT received music videos .
Because of the way Kis-My-1st is structured , I will be reviewing each disc separately on its own .
Disc 1 (Kis-My-1st)After the introduction "1st" Overture , Kis-My-1st dives straight into the 1st album track which's titled Girl is mine .
Girl is mine is a mean spirited in your face no. which sets the tone on what to expect in due time as the album progresses .
SHE ! HER ! HER ! is Kis-My-Ft2's 3rd single & this's the most recent release included prior to the release of the group's debut album .
In the case of SHE ! HER ! HER ! , it has been described as a pulsating dance track that shows off the guys's bright & cheerful personalities .
With a song title like Tabidachi no Uta (Song Of A Journey) , I really thought it would be a ballad but I was proven wrong when I gave it a listen as Tabidachi no Uta is almost similar sounding to Girl is mine with both songs being upbeat & quite autotune driven .
The next track Love meee is sung by the rapper of the group ie. Fujigaya Taisuke .
Just like the 1st 2 album tracks , Love meee is also another heavily autotune driven & upbeat track . I was frankly hoping to hear Fujigaya rap in Love meee but unfortunately no such luck but this's something I enjoy .
『Sanagi』 (Pupa) is sung by the leader/main lead singer Kitayama Hiromitsu & 『Sanagi』 is not bad . I like it as it reminds me of FIRE BEAT to a certain extent & Kitayama has no problems nailing this track .
Catch & Go !! is sung by 4 members Yokō Wataru , Miyata Toshiya , Nikaidō Takahashi & Senga Kento .
This's such a fun cheery no. that has plenty of positive affirmation & I thought it's a great opportunity for the 4 of them to flash out their vocals here , considering that it's mostly Kitayama & Fujigaya that takes lead vocals in the group's songs .
Hence , Catch & Go !! is something that's worth checking out big time .
Everybody Go is Kis-My-Ft2's debut single . Even though they've released FIRE BEAT & Inori (Prayer) as digital singles , Everybody Go is the group's 1st official proper single to get released physically .
The guys's debut single was used as the theme song for the drama Ikemen desu ne .
Take Over is 1 of my fave album tracks simply because it's a really mean in your face no. that showcased plenty of attitude & let alone pack a lot of punch in this gritty song that the guys delivered .
In the case of the next track Kickin' it , it's sung by Kitayama , Fujigaya & Tamamori Yūta .
Once again , Kickin' it is a very autotune driven no. & if you don't like their previous album tracks , then this's a song you might want to sit out hearing . If not , this's another enjoyable no. that's perfect in kicking it in the dancefloor .
Sing for you is sung by Tamamori , Miyata & Senga . Oddly , I get vibes of KAT-TUN's Smile For You when I 1st heard Sing for you . I don't know if it's the same group of people that worked on both tracks but that's exactly what I felt on 1st listen with regards to Sing for you .
We never give up ! is Kis-My-Ft2's 2nd single & it's the last single included in Kis-My-1st .
For this track , We never give up ! was used as the theme song for Lawson Hot Station's ad campaign & it has been described as a spirited encouragement no. about standing up & beating challenges that keep people down .
Good night is the only album track that's a ballad & what a song that the guys have nailed it .
What I like about Good night is that I really like the harmonisation of vocals going on & after a series of heart thumping rock meets autotune album tracks , hearing Good night is such a breath of fresh air .
The next 2 songs are only available in the CD only pressing of Kis-My-1st .
With a title like Dancing Star , I naturally will expect another uptempo track & sure enough I wasn't wrong .
Dancing Star is not bad but it oddly reminds me of NEWS's Dancin' in the Secret to a certain extent . It's probably due to nostalgia reasons especially since NEWS has not been active in releases for the past 2 years .
In the case of Tell me why , it's a slower driven no. . Not as ballad sounding as Good night but Tell me why is not bad overall even though I will not consider this as a fave album track of mine .
Disc 2 (Kis-My-Zero) Only available in the 2CDs edition , Kis-My-Zero includes 8 songs that Kis-My-Ft2 have been performing in concerts before their official debut .
In Kis-My-Zero , 2 tracks receive music videos of their own .
Something to start is Kis-My-Zero is Endless Road which's quite a typically sounding Johnny's anthemn ish track .
Frankly Endless Road is pleasant sounding . A little bit forgettable but this's something I don't mind listening on a regular basis .
Inori (Prayer) is the 1st song that received a music video . I actually have heard the live version of Inori way before this gets the studio treatment & I must say this's a song worth getting a video .
It's not as emotionally driven as Good night but what makes Inori a class of its own is the subtle rapping that can be heard in the background , something that I thought it brings the song to a whole new level .
With a title like Kis-My-Me-Mine , I was expecting something pretty cheesy but for this track , it's quite poppy driven & not as hard sounding as the group's other tracks .
Still I wouldn't deny I was skeptical before hearing Kis-My-Me-Mine but luckily it's not as corny sounding as what I thought it might be .
Good-bye , Thank you is another song that I like . It does sound like something I've heard before in other Johnny's groups but I warmed up easily to Good-bye , Thank you on 1st listen without any problems .
FIRE BEAT is the 2nd song that gets a video & this can be considered as the track I got my 1st Kis-My-Ft2 music exposure as this's the song that I remembered seeing them performed in MUSIC STATION some 3 years ago before their official debut .
For this track , be it song or video wise , FIRE BEAT is almost like an identical cousin to their seniors KAT-TUN's Keep the faith , when comes to the comparison of the song & video but still what FIRE BEAT lacks is that it's not as punchy/edgy as Keep the faith .
Despite this , I still have special regards towards FIRE BEAT as if not for it , I wouldn't get to experience a taste of what Kis-My-Ft2 has to offer .
Smile is such a sweet endearing track . 1 of the rare songs that utilised acoustic guitar as the melody in both discs , I couldn't help but have a smile on my face upon hearing it .
It's songs like Smile that really showcase a different music side of Kis-My-Ft2 , something that I personally approve .
Eien no Chiketto (Eternal Ticket) is another song that I like . It's yet another standard Johnny's sounding no. but once this type of music style is done right , it will not go wrong .
3D Girl is the final track available in Kis-My-Zero & this's actually the only song in the 2nd disc that's extremely autotune driven & hard sounding .
Perhaps the guys have been saving the best for last but considering the other songs in Kis-My-Zero don't have autotune , I most certainly welcome & enjoy 3D Girl by all means .
After close to 7 years of performing & releasing 3 physical #1 singles , Kis-My-Ft2 has finally released their long awaited anticipated debut album Kis-My-1st !
Before I proceed any further , I have to admit , I was really skeptical in trying out their music as I had the perception they're like a mini version of KAT-TUN due to from bits & pieces that I've heard of Kis-My-Ft2 .
But after giving Kis-My-1st a listen , I was definitely proven wrong as I overall find the guys's debut album pretty solid & enjoyable .
That's not to say Kis-My-1st is perfect . A couple of flaws surrounds the album which I feel that a lot of the album tracks are extremely autotune driven & that applies to the singles's B-sides too .
As someone that generally don't mind the somewhat overusage of autotune in an artiste's discography , I'm ok with it but for a person that thinks otherwise , Kis-My-1st is definitely not the album to listen .
I definitely see potential brewing in Kis-My-Ft2 & in their next music release , I would like to see them experimenting & getting out of their music comfort zone . I thought they did a pretty good job nailing the slower paced no.s with no problems in Kis-My-1st but they could consider mixing things up in future .
All in all , it took Kis-My-Ft2 close to 7 years to release Kis-My-1st & I'm sure for longtime fans of the group that've been with them from their pre debut until now , this's 1 album they've waited for a long time to see in bearing fruit & now it has finally see the light in getting released .
