The duo's new song was picked to be used as the theme song for TV Tokyo's Keishichou Zero-gakari .
Kobukuro is known for their melodic folk songs but you get none of that in SNIFF OUT ! with it being a full out heavily Jazz upbeat number which has plenty of grooves & feel good vibes .
It's a welcome change for Kobukuro to switch things up musically and put out something that they don't usually do and SNIFF OUT ! is really entertaining .
In addition , Kobukuro surprisingly sound at ease in belting out SNIFF OUT ! as well .
SNIFF OUT ! is something that's outside of Kobukuro's music comfort zone but hearing this song , you wouldn't have guessed Jazz is not their forte but they nailed it rather effortlessly which I enjoy tremendously .
The duo's next release is a re-release of their 27th single Mirai in which Mirai Spring Package will get released next month on 23rd March .
For now , SNIFF OUT ! is worth checking out especially if you want to listen to something to break out of the boring music cycle .
CD
CD + DVD
1) Love your enemies
2) killy killy JOKER (re-mix ver.)
3) world's end, girl's rondo (re-mix ver.)
4) Love your enemies (instrumental)
This's Kanon's 1st single release of 2016 & Love your enemies was picked to be used to promote the selector destructed WIXOSS anime movie .
The 2 B-sides found in Love your enemies are remixes of Kanon's 5th single killy killy JOKER & 6th single world's end, girl's rondo .
Before hearing Love your enemies , I was wondering why instead of new original B-side material , Kanon chose to re-record 2 of her past singles in remix mode .
Upon listening to the A-side , I understood why so because Love your enemies essentially sounds like when you combine the different traits of both killy killy JOKER & world's end, girl's rondo have .
It's an interesting music direction that Kanon undertook this time round for Love your enemies because I never thought her past material could be combined to form a new single song that have traits found in singles she already released .
At the same time , I wished that in her next single release , she will go back to release new original material for her B-sides seeing that she didn't do so for her previous single Kimi wa Soreiyu & now Love your enemies .
Cover for both CD & CD + DVD editions
1) Damage
2) sonomama
3) Hanataba no Kawari ni Melody wo ~Piano Version~
4) Damage -Instrumental-
This's Shota's 1st single release of 2016 & the A-side is described as a mid-tempo ballad that expresses painful emotions .
I was expecting another single song that sounds like BYExBYE but turns out it's not the case as Damage is surprisingly auto tune driven .
To me what actually stood out from Damage is the video that accompanied the song as it features artistes such as Miliyah Kato , Aoyama Thelma , Dohzi-T & many others making their presence felt and even Shota's dog Emma made an appearance too .
There're 2 B-sides available in the single . The 1st B-side sonomama sounds like an extension from Damage as it's also another auto tune driven song .
Hanataba no Kawari ni Melody wo was released as Shota's previous single & in Damage , it has been given a piano version which's really nice as the original take was already good .
The Hanataba no Kawari ni Melody wo ~Piano Version~ is just Shota singing alongside with a piano which's simplicity at its best .
Shota Shimizu's 1st single of 2016 , Damage is a touching mid-tempo ballad that focuses on the pain of loss .
And finally after 2 years , Shota is set to release his 6th album PROUD next month on 30th March and Damage is included as track #3 . I'm definitely looking forward to it as it's about time for Shota to release a new album after 2014's ENCORE so hopefully PROUD will be worth the wait .
CD
CD + DVD
1) Yoru wa Nemureru kai ?
2) Kimi ga Waraeba ~Just like happiness~
3) MOMENT
4) Yoru wa Nemureru kai ? (Instrumental) {CD Only Track}
5) Kimi ga Waraeba ~Just like happiness~ (Instrumental) {CD Only Track}
The group's 1st single release of 2016 , Yoru wa Nemureru kai ? was originally scheduled to get released on 3rd Feb but subsequently its release date was pushed back 1 week later .
Prior to the physical CD single release , Yoru wa Nemureru kai ? was released digitally last month on 10th Jan .
The CD only edition of the single includes instrumentals of the A-side & the 1st B-side Kimi ga Waraeba ~Just like happiness~ .
Yoru wa Nemureru kai ? is described as an edgy rock tune & it was picked to be used as the theme song for the anime film Ajin Part 1: Shoudou as well as the Ajin TV anime series .
Ajin is based on a survival suspense manga by Sakurai Gamon & the movie will be released in 3 parts . flumpool have always been fans of the original manga series . Vocalist/guitarist Yamamura Ryuuta revealed the difficult songwriting process , "It was a series of trial-and-error in front of a wall that had no answers ."
There're 2 B-sides that're available in the single . Kimi ga Waraeba ~Just like happiness~ was picked to be used in the ads of Bourbon's Al Fort mini chocolate while MOMENT was 1st performed at their 5th anniversary tour in 2014 .
Both B-sides have a good contrast against the A-side . Kimi ga Waraeba ~Just like happiness~ is a nice sweet mellow no. while MOMENT has a memorable Orchestra sound that backed it up , melody wise .
flumpool is off to a solid start with the release of their latest single offering Yoru wa Nemureru kai ? & this hands down has to be 1 of my favourite single songs they've released in recent times .
Compared with their usual material that tends to be jovial sounding , Yoru wa Nemureru kai ? is an outright aggressive dark song , something that works extremely well in their favour & I thought their other serious sounding tracks MW ~Dear Mr. & Ms. Picaresque~ & Believers・High were great but Yoru wa Nemureru kai ? is on a whole different league of its own .
flumpool's 4th album EGG will be released next month on 16th March & Yoru wa Nemureru kai ? will be included in the album as track #2 .
CD
CD + DVD A
CD + DVD B
The group's 1st single release of 2016 , their last single release was last March's KISS KISS KISS .
TRAGEDY was picked to be used as the opening no. for the anime Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo R . It's described as an urban Rock tune with a profound heavy beat & melancholy melody tinged with sorrow . Furthermore , it captures the anime's mysterious outlook on the world , showcasing KAT-TUN’s unwavering world .
There're a total of 4 B-sides available in the single .
The 1st B-side Atsukunare was picked to be used as the theme song for NTV's Going ! Sports & News & a video was also made for the song .
Compared with the A-side , Atsukunare is a more cheery sounding no. & the video plays up the comical amusing aspects of the song .
FEATHERS & TWILIGHT are exclusively available in the CD only edition of TRAGEDY . FEATHERS is my favourite B-side out of the 4 as this song has a great edgy side .
As for TWILIGHT , it's not bad and with it being a slow mid tempo no. , sometimes it's nice to slow things down a bit .
TOKYO STARRY is the last B-side & this's only available in the CD + DVD A edition of the single . This's also upbeat just like Atsukunare .
KAT-TUN kicks off their 10th year anniversary with new single TRAGEDY ! The title track is an urban Rock tune that's both emotional and cathartic .
After KAT-TUN released KISS KISS KISS last March , they were inactive musically until now and it's worth the wait as TRAGEDY is a solid single although at 1st I didn't quite like the A-side as it was quite anime sounding for my liking but I suppose since it's used to promote Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo R , it makes sense to make TRAGEDY sounded as so .
And 2016 being KAT-TUN's 10th anniversary , there's no stopping them as they will release their 26th single UNLOCK next month on 2nd March which I'm definitely looking forward to .
Cover for both CD & CD + DVD
1) Kanojo wa Zombie
2) Scoop
3) Supernova Express 2016
4) Sora ga Aozora de Aru Tame ni
This's the group's 1st release of 2016 & all 4 songs in G4・IV have music videos made .
The 1st song Kanojo wa Zombie was written & composed by guitarist HISASHI . Promo wise , it was picked to be used as the ending theme song for TBS's Ousama no Brunch for this & next month .
Scoop is the 2nd song & credits wise , it was written by guitarist TAKURO + composed by bassist JIRO . The track was picked to be used as the ending theme no. for TV Asahi's Onegai! Ranking last month .
The 3rd song Supernova Express 2016 was selected to be used as the theme song for Hokkaido Shinkansen that's scheduled to start its operation in March .
Written & composed by TAKURO , Supernova Express 2016 was created after GLAY received an offer from the Hokkaido Government Office and Hakodate City .
Supernova Express 2016 was released digitally last year on 9th Dec & this pop-rock tune describes the band's feelings toward their hometown Hokkaido .
Sora ga Aozora de Aru Tame ni is the last song in G4・IV & this was released digitally last year on 2nd Nov .
Written & composed by vocalist TERU , Sora ga Aozora de Aru Tame ni was used as the opening theme no. for the anime Daiya no A -SECOND SEASON- , making this the 3rd time for GLAY to provide the opening theme for the Daiya no A anime series after Hashire! Mirai & HEROES .
Sora ga Aozora de Aru Tame ni is described as a refreshing Rock tune that "expresses the agonising feelings of the high-school baseball players , who get back up with hope after being beaten ."
Eight months after their last single , GLAY returns with a new entry in its G4 series in G4・IV . As is standard in the series , the title track is a collaborative songwriting effort by all the members & Kameda Seiji has also returned to produce the group's latest single offering .
I've already reviewed Supernova Express 2016 & Sora ga Aozora de Aru Tame ni as both tracks were released digitally last year . Both are good songs but as for the other 2 new tracks available in G4・IV , I'm not so keen on them .
For starters I thought Kanojo wa Zombie might sound like I am xxx but it turns out to be a rather odd upbeat tune & I only find Scoop so so for my liking as I don't think it's a stand out song in the single .
But I do give GLAY credit in creating G4・IV as each of the 4 songs see the members having personal input into the tracks . In addition , it's hard to believe that G4・IV is the group's 1st single to get #1 on Oricon as the last single that obtained the top spot was 2008's VERB (which up to now it's still a great single song) .
All in all , it's still heartening to know GLAY is still going on strong as it's . Hopefully their next single offering wouldn't be saturated with digital released songs as that's 1 flaw that G4・IV suffered .
CD Regular
CD Limited
CD + DVD
YAMA-P was released last month on 27th Jan & it includes solo material that Yamapi releases in the Warner Music era . Yamapi's solo material that he released when he was under Johnny's Entertainment is excluded .
Dreamer which's a fan favourite song was previously been performed at Yamapi's concerts , but it has not been released on any of Yamashita's physical material until now .
Promo wise , Dreamer -New Recording Version- was picked to be used as the ending theme song for the anime Itoshi no Muco .
The lyrics of Dreamer was written by Yamapi himself & it was arranged by Kameda Seiji . The music video was shot in an unexplored region in Arizona , USA in order to express the worldview of the song & to represent the positive lyrics of – believing in tomorrow to advance for the future .
The CD Limited edition of YAMA-P exclusively includes Dreamer -banvox Remix- .
It's a sigh of relief for Yamapi to finally release something new especially since he was musically inactive for 2015 . For Dreamer to finally see the light in getting the studio treatment , this probably made a lot of Yamapi's longtime fans nostalgic as the song itself is good .
On the other hand , I'm not so keen on Dreamer -banvox Remix- as not only it's longer , but it sounds like a weird tropical meets dance remix which doesn't do justice to the original take of the song .
And as for the release of YAMA-P , initially I was quite excited & considered buying it . But once I saw just how laughable & terrible the tracklist is , I decided not to .
Considering I've bought all of Yamapi's studio & mini albums that he released under Warner Music , buying YAMA-P is not worth it in any single bit . Likewise to exclude the solo material Yamapi released when he was under Johnny's Entertainment is quite insulting as it feels as though his team only concentrated on his Warner Music material .
I do hope Yamapi will consider to go back Johnny's Entertainment or switch to another record label because even though he released some of his best solo music material under Warner Music , Warner Music doesn't seem to know/care on how to market him properly .
Ironically when ex KAT-TUN's Akanishi Jin was signed to Warner Music before he left the agency & setting up his own indie record label , the same thing happened as well .
The release of YAMA-P was probably to fulfil a term/condition in Yamapi's contract & I do hope Yamapi has no plans to renew it . It somewhat saddens me that Yamapi's solo music career is now basically non existent and/or stagnant & I don't want to wait really long for new Yamapi music to surface again .