CD
CD + DVD
1) I Wanna Be...
2) Wadachi
3) PRIDE OF LIONS
4) INSIDE OF ME
5) iris
6) B-THE ONE
7) We'll Never Die
8) Get over it
9) One Day
10) STORY
11) What is Love
12) La la la...
The last studio album SPYAIR released was 2017's KINGDOM .
UNITE has 12 songs , including physical singles I Wanna Be... and One Day & 3 digital prior released no.s .
New content wise , 5 new album tracks are included in the new album .
Kicking things off in UNITE is SPYAIR's 22nd single I Wanna Be... which was used as the opening theme song for the Gintama.: Shirogane no Tamashii-hen 2 anime .
The 2nd track Wadachi was the only new song included in SPYAIR's 1st mini album of the same name that was released back in Jan . Promo wise , Wadachi was chosen to use to promote the new Gintama THE FINAL movie .
The next 2 songs in UNITE are digital prior released songs .
PRIDE OF LIONS was originally released digitally in April 2019 & it was used as the support song for Nippon Sport Science University .
INSIDE OF ME was originally released digitally last July & it was used as JUST LIKE THIS 2020 theme song prior to cancellation of the outdoor concert due to COVID-19 .
After 4 prior released songs , iris is the 1st album track & it's also the only new song released digitally last month on 17th March prior to the physical release of UNITE .
The last digital prior released song B-THE ONE was originally released digitally on Jan 2019 & it was used as the theme song to promote B.LEAGUE 2018-19 SEASON .
Track 7 We'll Never Die was used as JUST LIKE THIS 2018 outdoor concert theme song & at that time , this special CD single could only could be purchased at JUST LIKE THIS 2018 concert venue .
On 1st listen We'll Never Die does not stand out as compared to the other songs that were used to promote SPYAIR's JUST LIKE THIS outdoor concerts but what I find it quite cool about the song is the usage of Taiko drums in the melody .
Get over it is UNITE's 2nd album track & out of the 5 new songs , I feel this's the weak link in the album as I don't find it as memorable as compared to the other new material .
One Day is SPYAIR's 23rd single & it was used as the ending theme song for the Haikyuu!! TO THE TOP anime .
The last 3 songs in UNITE are incidentally the last 3 album tracks . STORY is a great empowering no. & vocalist IKE took his vocals to another level in What is Love .
Concluding UNITE is La la la... . While there're no full out ballads in the album , La la la... is the closest I associate it as a ballad alongside with iris .
This's the longest time that SPYAIR did not release an album but UNITE is defintely worth the wait .
SPYAIR's last album KINGDOM was and is still fantastic & already in the beginning , I decided not to compare it against UNITE because KINGDOM had 1 edge over their new album which was the inclusion of acoustic songs in the 2 CDs version , something that UNITE did not had .
SPYAIR's bassist MOMIKEN is usually the 1 that does most of the writing & composing for their discography but this time round , this did not happen for UNITE & that's evident regarding the new material .
I enjoy listening to UNITE & if there's 1 thing I'm not so keen is that I rather see the prior released songs being arranged much better alongside with the new songs .
Other than that , UNITE is a really worthy follow up to KINGDOM & I hope for SPYAIR's next album , they will not take this long to put out another new 1 .
This year is ayaka's 15th anniversary in the business & Motto Ii Hi ni is the 1st new song she has put out this year .
I wasn't sure how to react towards Motto Ii Hi ni at 1st but the song has grown on me over time & in a way it sounds like Nijiiro to some extent .
Also even though this's not obvious but in the beginning of Motto Ii Hi ni , ayaka is the 1 that does the whistling herself .
ayaka's 2nd new song of the year ie. Tender Love was released digitally last Sun on 18th April & this will be reviewed soon .
A rock song , ayumi sings about how 1's path must be chosen on their own in 23rd Monster .
It was a surprise when this was released as there was no prior upfront announcement before this happened .
The release of 23rd Monster reminds me of what happened years ago when comes to Tell All which that song was released to celebrate ayumi's then 15th anniversary .
After the release of 2 new songs digitally last year , ayumi more or less is back to do what she does best ie. Rock music & that's where 23rd Monster comes in .
In recent years ayumi has not been as musically active as before & even though it has been a long time since she last put out a proper studio album maybe this year that will change for once ?
This is JASMINE's 2nd digital release after she digitally released BADASS featuring KIRA last month .
What I find interesting both songs is that not only they're both under 3 mins , but they're also both mid tempo which surprised me a bit .
That is not surprising as JAZEE MINOR created both songs back to back but hopefully for a change , JASMINE's next release would be something different in switching things up .
CD Regular
CD Limited A
CD Limited B
CD Limited C
CD + DVD & CD + Blu-ray
This is KAT-TUN's 1st single release of 2021 & their last single release since 2018's Ask Yourself .
The A-side was chosen to promote the drama Red Eyes : Kanshi Sousa-han starring member Kamenashi Kazuya .
Roar is described as a song focusing on 1's determination to keep walking towards the future even though the present is ambiguous & has no correct answer .
KAT-TUN's latest single offering involved a number of 1st for the group :
- 1st KAT-TUN single to get a Blu-ray release
- The A-side & an exclusive song Flashback were released digitally for both online purchase & streaming on the same day as the physical single release's date
Flashback is not included in any of the physical versions of Roar
- A fanclub CD + DVD and/or CD + Blu-ray edition were made which included these 3 old KAT-TUN songs that were created during their Johnny Junior days pre 2006 music debut :
- Seiten no Hekireki
- Tsuki no Michi
- Le ciel ~Kimi no Shiawase Inoru Kotoba~
A total of 9 B-sides are made available in all 5 versions of Roar excluding the fanclub version(s) :
CD Regular Edition Tracks :
- Kouseki
- Light and Blue ; used to promote this year's NTV coverage of DRAMATIC BASEBALL 2021 + Going! Sports & News
- to the NEXT ; used to promote last year's NTV coverage of DRAMATIC BASEBALL 2020
CD Limited Edition A Tracks :
- Loner
- Pure Ice (Kamenashi Kazuya's solo)
CD Limited Edition B Tracks :
- Desire
- Yankee Kataomoi Chuu (Ueda Tatsuya's solo)
Yankee Kataomoi Chuu was written by Ueda
CD Limited Edition C Tracks :
- FALL INTO U
- change your mind (Nakamaru Yuichi's solo)
change your mind was written by Nakamaru
Videos were also made for each of the 3 solo songs which can only be watched online until 30th June .
KAT-TUN makes a roaring return with their 1st single in 3 years ! Roar is the theme song of Kamenashi Kazuya's new investigative crime drama Red Eyes : Kanshi Sousa-han .
2021 is KAT-TUN's 15th anniversary since their 2006 music debut & what better way to usher in this momentum milestone with the release of their latest single Roar .
This's the longest time that KAT-TUN has not released a single but it's overall worth the wait even though it's quite obvious this release could have been marketed as a full length album , much like how their 1st mini album / 2013 release Kusabi was as so .
With a title like Roar , I was frankly expecting it to be an in your face type of song but I was surprised it's not the case as it sounded quite mellow in the beginning before the song gradually build up momentum .
Group B-sides wise , I actually like most of them as they're all musically very diverse & in this case , it's easy to single out which's the weakest link which's to the NEXT .
It's also a bit unfortunate that Kouseki is the only ballad group song wise as I feel KAT-TUN also shines when comes to ballads & not just edgy songs .
Solo songs wise , just like the group B-sides , they're all very different & I haven't like an Ueda solo song in a very long time and unfortunately the same thing applies to Yankee Kataomoi Chuu even though the video surprisingly has comedy elements thrown in which was something I did not expect .
As for the other 2 solo songs , Nakamaru's solos all the while tend to be on the safe side which can be a good or bad thing but I like change your mind on 1st listen .
Kamenashi's solos on the other hand can be hit or miss & this time round , it's completely different from Ask Yourself's Wonderful World with AK-69 + RIMAKI created Pure Ice which resulted in an R&B autotune driven song .
Some days I really like Pure Ice but other days I feel a bit turn off regarding the parts that Kamenashi raps in the song & even though it's a really short track , he didn't hold back when comes to the video which I think it's to make up for some of his past raunchy solo songs that weren't able to have videos made like 1582 , ~Follow me~ & Plastic Tears .
Except with some minor misgivings , I really enjoy Roar overall as a release & it's quite surreal to know that 1st week sales wise , this's KAT-TUN's most successful since their 13th single / 2010 release CHANGE UR WORLD .
With 15TH ANNIVERSARY LIVE KAT-TUN still ongoing , I sure hope Roar will not be the only new release KAT-TUN put out for the year & already on so many levels , their 15th anniversary is so much better & positive as compared to their 10th anniversary which I would gladly forget all about it .
KAT-TUN already went through a lot of up's & down's over the past 2 decades since they were formed in 2001 and for them to still going on strong , I'm real proud of them & here's hoping for even more better things for them as they deserve so .
