CD
CD + DVD A
CD
This's V6's 1st release of 2021 & it's their overall 7 back to back double A-side single release since 2017's Can't Get Enough / Hanahirake .
Also unlike V6's past double A-side single releases , they did not made any video made for the 2nd A-side MAGIC CARPET RIDE .
Promo wise , Bokura wa Mada was chosen to use as the theme song for TV Asahi's drama Tokusou9 season 4 starring member Inohara Yoshihiko .
Bokura wa Mada is described as a medium-tempo song with a positive message that says to keep moving forward with a smile despite the responsibility & pressure of becoming an adult .
2 B-sides were made available in the CD Only version of the release - 95 Groove & Heart Beat Groovin' .
V6 announced that they would be disbanding this year on 1st Nov , the date when they debuted in 1995 . Before that , the group brings the double A-side single of Bokura wa Mada / MAGIC CARPET RIDE .
Both A-sides contrast each other quite well & considering that the same people worked on PINEAPPLE also did so for MAGIC CARPET RIDE , it's not surprising both songs sound a bit similiar to each other .
That said , I have mixed feelings over Bokura wa Mada / MAGIC CARPET RIDE & V6's impending disbandment also plays a part in it too . Knowing that this could possibly be their final single release , it's quite bittersweet .
There's still a bit of time left before V6 disbands & it will be nice if they can put out 1 more final single release if not the next alternative will be an all time best in celebrating their remarkable long journey as a group .
CD
CD + DVD
Tracklist for both
1) NAMELY
2) LIVIN' IT UP
3) NAMELY (instrumental)
CD Anime Version
1) NAMELY
2) LIVIN' IT UP
3) NAMELY (short ver.)
4) NAMELY (instrumental)
UVERworld's latest release comes in 3 months+ since their previous single HOURGLASS .
Promo wise , NAMELY was chosen as the 2nd ending theme no. for the Nanatsu no Taizai : Fundo no Shinpan anime .
This's UVERworld's 2nd time which their songs are used to promote the Nanatsu no Taizai anime franchise after 2019's ROB THE FRONTIER which was used as the 1st opening theme no. for the Nanatsu no Taizai : Kamigami no Gekirin anime .
Same as before , UVERworld's music is notoriously hard to get into & I realised in recent times after watching their music videos , I get a more better & clearer idea on whether I can say if I like their songs or not .
That happened for both ROB THE FRONTIER & HOURGLASS and luckily now the same thing applies to NAMELY too .
Interestingly , NAMELY is not as complex sounding as compared to ROB THE FRONTIER . I was hoping NAMLEY would be a ballad as it was used as the ending theme & not the opening theme but for once the song's a mid tempo number , in this case , less is more for UVERworld .
That said I'm still hoping that UVERworld will release another ballad single . Some of their past ballads they released as singles ie. Koishikute & Kanashimi wa Kitto are still some of their best ballads to date & they should revisit that era once more .
CD
CD + DVD & CD + Blu-ray
1) Non Fiction
2) Kaibutsu-san Feat Aimyon
3) #302
4) 1995
5) Boku no Kokoro o Tsukutte yo
6) Orthodox
7) Polyester no Onna
8) Todokanaikara
9) Ite mo Tatte mo
10) Shiranai ne Desho?
11) Oni ni Narimashita
12) half of me
13) Oyasuminasai
Ken's last studio album release was 2016's THE STILL LIFE .
Anata ni Narita Katta was released on the same day as Ken Hirai Films Vol.15 DVD/Blu-ray .
The new album has 2 1st's for Ken :
- 1st album release that has a Japanese title
- 1st album release to get a fanclub version
Anata ni Narita Katta was released in 5 versions , CD , CD + DVD & CD + Blu-ray and 2 fanclub exclusive CD + DVD & CD + Blu-ray .
13 songs are included in Anata ni Narita Katta which consists of 6 singles , 2 digital released songs & 5 new album tracks .
The 1st 3 songs in the album's tracklist are physical & digital released singles Ken released prior .
Kicking things off in Anata ni Narita Katta is Ken's 42nd single Non Fiction which was used to promote TBS's drama Chiisana Kyojin .
The next song is Kaibutsu-san which featured Aimyon . Not only it was the only new song Ken released digitally last March , it's also the only no. that's a duet .
#302 is Ken's 46th single & it was used to promote the TBS drama 4 Funkan no Marigold .
The 1st of 5 Anata ni Narita Katta new material , 1995 served as the album's lead promo track .
Written by Ken , 1995 was chosen to promote NTV's morning show Sukkiri!! last month . Before Anata ni Narita Katta was released , 1995 was 1st released digitally last month on 5th May .
A video was made for 1995 but it's surprisingly not included in Ken Hirai Films Vol.15 DVD/Blu-ray .
Out of all the new album material , it's quite evident why 1995 was chosen to promote Anata ni Narita Katta as not only it's seriously catchy but it's very much similiar to Sore Demo Shitai with both songs having a really fun memorable Bollywood inspired melody .
Boku no Kokoro o Tsukutte yo is Ken's 41st single & it was used as the theme song to promote the movie Doraemon Nobita no Nankyoku Kachikouchi Dai Bouken .
The next 2 songs are new album tracks . Orthodox was written & composed by Ken while Ken only had writing credits for Polyester no Onna .
Both songs are very different from each other but in a good way . Other than 1995 , Ken also promoted Orthodox on TV even though 1995 had more TV promo performances .
Todokanaikara is Ken's 43rd single & it was used to promote the movie 50 First Kisses which's a remake of 2004's USA movie 50 First Dates .
Ite mo Tatte mo was released digitally on May 2019 & it was used to promote the movie Machida Kun no Sekai .
Shiranai ne Desho? is Ken's 44th single & it was used to promote the TV Asahi's drama Mikaiketsu no Onna .
Oni ni Narimashita is the 2nd last album track & this was written and composed by Ken .
While I like Oni ni Narimashita , I wish the song could have been a bit longer even though surprisingly it's not the shortest song in Anata ni Narita Katta .
The final physical single included in Anata ni Narita Katta , half of me is Ken's 45th single & it's an answer song to Ken's 11th / 2000 single even if .
Wrapping things up in Anata ni Narita Katta is Oyasuminasai which's the last album track & it's also the shortest no. in the album . Written & composed by Ken , this song embodies the whole less is more approach & it showcases Ken's vocally at his very best .
Anata ni Narita Katta is a belated celebration of Ken's 25th anniversary in the business & the fact that it's also his 10th studio album offering , that says a lot .
Unlike other artistes' albums , Anata ni Narita Katta is relatively easy to get into especially since the majority of songs in it were already released prior so that just leaves the album tracks .
This also plays a factor in whether Anata ni Narita Katta will be liked or not & luckily the songs that Ken released before the album I generally like them .
Most of the album tracks are good & I don't know was it a delibrate decision for them to sound generally upbeat except for Orthodox & Oyasuminasai but at least it prevented Anata ni Narita Katta from sounding boring overall .
That's not to say Anata ni Narita Katta doesn't have any flaws . At times the album's sound consistency is not there as 1 moment it can be mellow while the next it can be really upbeat .
In addition even though I like Kaibutsu-san which featured Aimyon , I thought Ken should have recorded his own solo version of the song & make it a bonus track since he sung/performed it by himself during last Dec's Ken Hirai 25th Anniversary Special !! Ken's Bar -ONLINE- .
Other than that , Anata ni Narita Katta is another fine album release added to Ken's discography & for him to still be in the business for so long , it's admirable & I hope he will continue to make music as long as he possibly could .
To hype up the release of their upcoming 16th studio album , GLAY will be releasing a total of 5 digital release songs for 5 consecutive months .
1st is FRIED GREEN TOMATOES . Written & composed by guitarist TAKURO , the song is based on one of his favourite films . It's described as a number that follows the sound of 1990's J-POP & J-ROCK with lyrics that tell a short story .
Despite the weird song title , FRIED GREEN TOMATOES is actually quite a nice mid tempo song that's relatively easy to get into unlike some of GLAY's previous songs that took me a while to get the hang of things .
The description of FRIED GREEN TOMATOES more or less sums up the song at its best & knowing that there will be 4 more songs that GLAY will release in the next 4 months prior to the release of their new studio album , that's already good news to look forward to in due time .
CD
CD + DVD
1) Distance
2) Freeze
3) Daijoubu
This's flumpool's 1st single release of 2021 & prior to this , the A-side was 1st released digitally on 21st May .
Distance expresses the present & future of the band .
2 B-sides are included in Distance .
The 1st B-side Freeze was chosen to use as the opening theme no. for the TV anime Seven Knights Revolution: Eiyuu no Keishousha .
Before being included in Distance , Freeze was 1st released digitally on 2nd April .
Seven Knights Revolution : Eiyuu no Keishousha is the latest project of the smartphone RPG Seven Knights . It tells the story of the "successors" who inherited the power of the heroes who once fought to protect the world .
Regarding Freeze , vocalist/guitarist Ryuta commented , "After reading the story , I was moved by the protagonist Nemo who dedicates himself to face enemies despite hesitation & conflict . Freeze was made while thinking about him . "
The 2nd B-side Daijoubu was released digitally last Christmas .
For this song , Ryuta teamed up with sound producer Tabo Koichi . They utilised messages & words submitted by listeners of Radio Fields , a radio show hosted by Yamamura . In addition, 38 volunteer students from a middle school where Yamamura's former teacher works at participated in the chorus * they also incorporated audio clips of singing that were submitted by listeners .
When I 1st heard Distance I was a bit surprised as it's more on the poppy side which's very different from what flumpool usually does .
Also with the absence of bass , keyboards & synthesiser are used in Distance's melody .
Lyrically Distance sums up quite well with what has been happening worldwide & hopefully flumpool's latest single offering will be able to give a bit of comfort to those who've been affected by COVID-19 .
B'z's last release of new material was their 21st album NEW LOVE that was released in May 2019 .
After releasing nothing last year other than staging 5 consecutive weeks of online streamed B’z SHOWCASE 2020 -5 ERAS 8820- , it's great to see B'z back with something new in the form of Kimi to Nara which's classic B'z at their best .
It would have been nice if B'z performed Kimi to Nara during any of the 5 B’z SHOWCASE 2020 -5 ERAS 8820- dates though .
Given how not so musically active B'z has been in recent years , any new release from them is always welcome & I will not be surprised if Kimi to Nara is a prelude to their next physical single if not 22nd studio album release ?
This's Shota's 1st new release for 2021 & despite being a digital release , a video was made for Koi Uta .
Nowadays whenever Shota release something that has no auto tune usage in it , it tends to be a bit shocking especially since 2015 , his music direction has changed & not for the better .
The last song that Shota released which has no auto tune in it was last April's 416 which eventually was included in his 1st mini album period EP as track 3 .
The music that Shota released & that I became a fan of him years ago is of him not overusing so much auto tune in his music so hearing both 416 & Koi Uta gave me a bit of hope that all's not lost in Shota's music , for now .
And with the type of vocals that Shota has , he doesn't need to hide his voice underneath all the auto tune & Koi Uta is proof of that .
