CD
CD + DVD
1) WARAE ~In The Mood~
2) Sonomama
3) WARAE ~In The Mood~ (Instrumental)
4) Sonomama (Instrumental)
The duo's latest single was released 5 months + since their previous single Parallel・World .
WARAE ~In The Mood~ is Hilcrhyme's 2nd single release in celebrating their 10th anniversary . The A-side is described as a Jazz song & was 1st released digitally on 19th Oct prior to its physical CD release .
Made with the theme "to laugh" , you can see the members laughing in the accompanied music video .
Sonomama serves as the B-side in the single & it's quite a chilled out song that contrasts the peppy upbeat A-side rather well .
Reaching the 20th single landmark with WARAE ~In The Mood~ , Hilcrhyme showcases a very different music side with their latest single release .
I was surprised when I 1st heard WARAE ~In The Mood~ as it sounds like nothing like their usual releases . Seeing the members in a less serious & yet jovial tone is refreshing as in recent times , their material can tend to get quite serious if not moody sounding .
As such , WARAE ~In The Mood~ is a welcome change even though it didn't performed that well on Oricon . But aside from that , I applaud Hilcrhyme for taking this music risk .
The duo's 7th album SIDE BY SIDE will be released next week on 7th Dec & WARAE ~In The Mood~ will be included in the new album as track #6 while Sonomama will be included in SIDE BY SIDE as track #10 .
Cover for both CD Regular & 2 CDs Limited
CD Limited Anime Version
CD Regular Tracklist
1) RAGE OF DUST
2) My World (Live at SAITAMA SUPER ARENA 2015.12.22)
3) RAGE OF DUST [TV size]
4) RAGE OF DUST (inst.)
2 CDs Limited Tracklist
Disc 1
1) RAGE OF DUST
2) C!RCUS
3) RAGE OF DUST (inst.)
4) C!RCUS (inst.)
Disc 2 - consist of live audio tracks
「JUST LIKE THIS 2016」Live at FUJI-Q HIGHLAND 2016.7.30
1) THIS IS HOW WE ROCK
2) Rock'n Roll
3) JUST ONE LIFE
4) Are you Champion ? Yeah !! I'm a Champion !!
5) STAR
6) YOU 2
7) Ano Koro , Bokura wa Onaji Mirai wo
8) Little Summer
9) JUST LIKE THIS
10) SINGING
SPYAIR's latest single was released 4 months + since their previous single THIS IS HOW WE ROCK .
The A-side was used as the opening theme no. for the 2nd season of the Mobile Suit Gundam : Iron-Blooded Orphans anime . The song is described as a positive & powerful message song that portrays the theme of 'battle' .
Prior to the physical release of RAGE OF DUST , the A-side was released digitally on 16th Oct .
Exclusively available in the 2 CDs Limited edition of RAGE OF DUST , C!RCUS serves as the B-side in the single .
C!RCUS was chosen to be used as the theme song for their upcoming SPYAIR ARENA TOUR 2016-2017 『Mafuyu no Dai Circus 』 .
From time to time SPYAIR has cute adorable B-side songs & C!RCUS is no exception as it has a fun carnival like atmosphere vibe which fits in promoting SPYAIR ARENA TOUR 2016-2017 『Mafuyu no Dai Circus 』 extremely well .
Let alone throwing in guitarist UZ's rapping for good measure makes things even more fun .
Before SPYAIR ARENA TOUR 2016-2017 『Mafuyu no Dai Circus』 commences , SPYAIR TOUR 2016 RAGE OF DUST kicked off last Sat / 19th Nov in promotion of their latest single RAGE OF DUST .
As per norm , SPYAIR doesn't disappoint & as the title suggests , RAGE OF DUST is full of outright angst , attitude & spunk .
SPYAIR will wrap up 2016 with the release of their new DVD JUST LIKE THIS 2016 that will be out next month on 28th Dec .
CD
CD + DVD A
CD + DVD B
The duo's 15th album N album was released on 21st Sept . Michi wa Tezukara Yume no Hana is the duo's 4th release in celebrating their upcoming 20th anniversary in 2017 .
The A-side was written by Ando Yuko & it's a medium tempo song . The lyrics express going down life's path as though it were a dream of flowers . Musically , it has an ethnic feel .
3 B-sides are available in Michi wa Tezukara Yume no Hana . Pure Soul & Puzzle are only found in the CD only edition of the single .
Pure Soul is a mid tempo song while Puzzle is a fantastic ballad that has a really nice melody . I wished Puzzle was longer as on 1st listen , it sounded as though it ended quite abruptly .
Muffler is the last B-side track & this's only found in the CD + DVD B edition of Michi wa Tezukara Yume no Hana .
Just like Puzzle , Muffler is another song that I enjoy a lot . It's mid tempo like Pure Soul but something about the melody of Muffler captivates me .
Following N Album , KinKi Kids releases their next release of their 20th anniversary year , Michi wa Tezukara Yume no Hana . Written by singer-songwriter Ando Yuko , KinKi Kids' 37th single is a medium-tempo ballad that highlights the duo's characteristic harmonisation style . The lyrics compare life's road to a dream flower & express the message of enjoying one's life .
KinKi Kids set a pretty high music bar with their previous single Bara to Taiyou as it's hands down still a great single song from them & let alone 1 of the best songs I've heard in 2016 .
Naturally expectations are quite high with regards to Michi wa Tezukara Yume no Hana & luckily they didn't disappoint .
When I 1st listened to Michi wa Tezukara Yume no Hana , it reminds me of their 7th single Flower to a certain extent & it's also a coincidence that both song titles have the same word association which's flower .
What sets Michi wa Tezukara Yume no Hana apart from their other single songs that're ballads is the melody & the way the duo harmonise together which work in their favour extremely well . There's no way not to be drawn onto their latest single in a good way & the B-sides are also able to stand up / be on par with the A-side .
2017 is KinKi Kids' 20th anniversary & I'm sure they will spare no expenses in celebrating this momentum milestone . And I'm real pleased with both singles they released this year & it's further proof on why they're still 1 of the most respected Johnnys in the industry .
CD
CD + DVD
1) Forget Me Not
2) Bill Kaze Swimming School Feat SALU
3) Boku ga Shinou to Omotta no Wa (Live at NHK Hall 2016.07.22) {CD Only Track}
4) Hanataba (Live at NHK Hall 2016.07.22) {CD + DVD Track}
5) Forget Me Not (instrumental)
Mika's last single release was last Oct's Hanataba .
The A-side was chosen to be used in the movie Boku no Tsuma to Kekkon Shite Kudasai. which opened in Japan cinemas on 5th Nov .
Forget Me Not was written & composed by Momota Rui . The ballad is described by Mika as warm yet sad .
3 B-sides are available in the single . The 1st 1 Bill Kaze Swimming School was used as an image song for the mobile game Tsuioku no Ao & CM song for LINE MUSIC .
Bill Kaze Swimming School features rapper SALU & Mika comments that this song will show listeners a new side of herself .
The other 2 B-sides are live recordings of Mika's past singles . The live take of Mika's 38th single Boku ga Shinou to Omotta no Wa is only available in the CD only pressing of Forget Me Not while the live rendition of Hanataba is exclusively found in the CD + DVD edition of the single .
Mika Nakashima released her debut single STARS 15 years ago on 7th Nov & it's heartening to know she's still thriving in the business after such a long time in the industry .
Forget Me Not showcases Mika's charm & grace and she looks regal & sophisticated in the accompanying video .
And Mika's vocals is displayed in a different manner in Bill Kaze Swimming School , something that's rarely heard of in her music .
Mika should release a new album next as it's high time for her to put out 1 now seeing that her last studio album was 2013's REAL . Here's hoping that will be the case .
CD
CD + DVD
1) FREE YOUR MIND
2) Moonlight・ Trip
3) labo (live at FM802 MEET THE WORLD BEAT 2016)
4) Blue Apple & Red Banana (live at SWEET LOVE SHOWER 2016)
flumpool released their 4th album EGG in March .
The A-side was made with the theme "Humans will connect with the world by transcending everything" . FREE YOUR MIND is described as a digital rock tune & was used as the CM song for Skyperfec On-Demand last month .
3 songs serve as B-sides in the single . The 1st 1 Moonlight・ Trip was chosen to be used as the theme song for flumpool's upcoming COUNTDOWN LIVE 2016→2017「FOR ROOTS」 while the other 2 are live tracks recorded from 2 different events .
EGG is hands down my favourite album of 2016 so naturally expectations are pretty high when comes to flumpool's new single & luckily they didn't disappoint .
From the 1st sound of things FREE YOUR MIND sounds like something it could have been included in EGG , seeing that it sounds very similar to World beats as both are auto tune driven .
Considering flumpool doesn't have that many of such songs , I'm ok with it & I also enjoy Moonlight・ Trip tremendously too .
I hope I wouldn't need to wait this long for another new single from the guys as I'm glad their music has been more open & experimental as there was a period of time where their music was dreadfully boring .
And on a side note , I'm glad to have seen them perform here again for the 4th time in July & I hope they will return back to perform once more in the near future .
CD Regular
CD Limited
CD + DVD
The group's 5th album DEAR. was released in July .
The A-side was used as the opening theme no. for the anime Time Bokan 24 . Fantastic Time is described as a number that conveys the message , "Vigorously move forward while being excited about the 'present' that connects the past and the future."
There're 4 B-sides made available in Fantastic Time . Never Let You Go is available in both the CD Regular & Limited editions of the single .
Never Let You Go is an edgy grown up track that compliments the A-side quite well .
The next 2 songs Wonder Load & What A Feeling are only available in the CD Regular edition of Fantastic Time .
Out of the 4 B-sides , Wonder Load is my least favourite as it borderlines on being rather childish sounding . On the other hand , I enjoy What A Feeling considerably as it's a cool aggressive driven song .
Seijaku no Asa , Kimi to Iru Sekai. is the last B-side track & this's only found in the CD Limited edition of the single .
Prior to hearing the song I already had a feeling Seijaku no Asa , Kimi to Iru Sekai. was going to be a ballad which I'm 1/2 right as it's a mid tempo ballad . As the other B-sides are quite upbeat , this stands out from the rest in a good way .
Have a Fantastic Time with Hey ! Say ! JUMP & their new neo-retro techno pop single Fantastic Time . The group continues to bring on their A game after the release of their latest album DEAR. .
I was impressed with what DEAR. had to offer so I had rather high expectations that this will spill over onto their single releases as I didn't like their last few singles as they were rather age inappropriate .
Luckily I don't have that same feeling with Fantastic Time as it's a mature sounding song with plenty of auto tune thrown in for good measures that's accompanied by a futuristic looking video that elevates the status of their latest single .
Considering they don't have that much auto tune driven single songs in their discography , I'm fine with this & the B-sides are generally good .
And there's no stopping Hey ! Say ! JUMP as prior to the end of 2016t , they will release their 18th single Give Me Love next month on 14th Dec & I'm already looking forward to it as the preview snippet for their upcoming new single sounds promising so hopefully it will add another feather to their cap .