CD Regular
CD Limited (includes T-shirt)
1) Loser
2) Life Style
3) Fallin
4) Baby I love you so
5) Moonlight
6) Tokyo Life (KAN)
7) SUMMER
8) More than friends
9) Insomnia
10) Nights
11) Memories
12) Kimi ga Inai , Bokura no Nichijou
Shota's last album release was 2021's HOPE .
In Insomnia , 12 songs are included inclusive of 3 prior digital released songs :
- Baby I love you so ; released digitally last Sept
- Loser ; released digitally on 14th June
- Fallin ; released digitally on 31st May
A video was made for Fallin but Shota does not appear in the video .
Touyama Mirei participated in the chorus of Fallin which exemplifies Shota's style with a memorable melody , melancholic lyrics & edgy arrangement .
Moonlight is a song that Shota performed during last year's SHOTA SHIMIZU LIVE TOUR “HOPE” while for More than friends , a video was made for the song .
Unlike Fallin , not only does Shota appeared in More than friends , he also had a hand in directing the video .
Described as a heartbreaking love song about a love for a childhood friend , More than friends is the first video that Shota directed himself . Shota was in charge of its plot + storyboard and even gave acting instructions .
The video for More than friends shows the song's romantic situation , while incorporating a scenery that is reminded of the "good old Japanese summers"
Reaching the landmark 10th album release , Shota Shimizu released his latest album Insomnia which's also to celebrate his 15th anniversary in the business .
Shota's previous studio album HOPE was something I unexpectedly like after I was really disappointed with his previous 3 albums (PROUD , FLY & WHITE) .
Before listening to Insomnia , I did wonder if it's a release that I would like or outright dislike & luckily , I like most of what Insomnia had to offer .
While there's still autotune present in Insomnia , Shota did not overuse it & it felt like 50/50 in terms of autotune usage in his latest album which to me it's a fair compromise .
Not surprisingly , the songs that I enjoy a lot from Insomnia are the non autotune tracks . Moonlight is really fantastic & I had a feeling it was something that probably miss the cut in HOPE but in this case it's Insomnia's gain in having it included .
Even the only cover in Insomnia ie. KAN's Tokyo Life is also good & all the while I feel Shota shines a lot more when comes to ballads , as evident in More than friends & Kimi ga Inai , Bokura no Nichijou .
I have supported Shota for almost the same duration he 1st debuted in 20th Feb 2008 with HOME . While not everything Shota release over the years is great , the ones that stood out to me from him they're still some of the best material found in his discography .
On that note happy 15th anniversary to Shota !
The 3rd song that SPYAIR releases digitally this year , RE-BIRTH is this year's theme song for JUST LIKE THIS 2023 outdoor concert & the 1st original new song to feature new vocalist YOSUKE .
YOSUKE had a hand in co writing & co composing RE-BIRTH .
Same with previous JUST LIKE THIS related releases , RE-BIRTH will be available for physical CD purchase when JUST LIKE THIS 2023 takes place on 11th Aug at Fuji-Q Highland & 3 B sides will be included ie. :
- Samurai Heart (Some Like It Hot!!) -New Version-
- My World -New Version-
- RAGE OF DUST -New Version-
On 1st listen , RE-BIRTH is not catchy & proably the weakest JUST LIKE THIS promo song SPYAIR released to date . But to be fair considering RE-BIRTH is the 1st original new song to feature YOSUKE , I will give it some leeway & the more I listen to it , the more I realised the song's not as bad as what I initally thought .
I do hope along the line , SPYAIR will release RAGE OF DUST -New Version- as a standalone digital available song or maybe included it in a future physical release because this's 1 remake I most definitely want to hear .
This is flumpool's 2nd new song release of 2023 after they released Magic digitally in April .
Described as flumpool's latest Summer song , Hiasobi was created from the realisation that fans' voices are an important element of a live performance which this aspect was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic .
Hiasobi is described as a positive but slightly sad love story that brings into mind Summer that everyone experienced during their youth .
Just like Magic , a video was also made for Hiasobi .
While not catchy on 1st listen , Hiasobi brings to mind flumpool's past Summer inspired songs like Natsu Dive & Natsu yo Tomenaide ~You're Romantic~ .
Also the video made for Hiasobi is quite amusing & change my opinions on the song along the way .
flumpool will release their new best album The Best flumpool 2.0 ~Blue[2008-2011]& Red[2019-2023]~ on 9th Oct and both Magic + Hiasobi will be included in the new release .
A newly re-recorded version of SPYAIR's 2012 / 6th single , this is the 2nd song that SPYAIR re-recorded after Samurai Heart (Some Like It Hot!!) .
My World is 1 of the more under rated SPYAIR singles the group released & I think they made the right choice to re-record the song .
In addition My World was the 1st single I began supporting SPYAIR since then onwards although BEAUTIFUL DAYS was the very 1st song I heard from them .
Unlike Samurai Heart (Some Like It Hot!!) -New Version- which new vocalist YOSUKE sounded almost on par if not identical to ex vocalist IKE , that's not the case in the new take of My World & it's quite evident when I compare both new recordings side by side together .
RE-BIRTH which is the 1st original new song to feature YOSUKE was released digitally 2 weeks ago on 7th July & it will be reviewed soon .
CD & CD + DVD
2 CDs + Blu-ray
1) To The Moon
2) Home
3) Mugen Hanabi
4) Joyful Change
5) Only Star
6) Tsuki Yaburu Honno
7) AoRaki
8) Sayonara Mr.
9) Mirai e
10) Anata no Sekai ga
11) Beautiful World (Tamaki Koji feat ayaka)
ayaka's last album release was last Feb's LOVE CYCLE .
Funtale includes 11 songs inclusive of 2 prior digitally released songs :
- Mirai e ; released digitally last July which was used to promote NTT DoCoMo's DoCoMo Mirai Museum
- Beautiful World (Tamaki Koji feat ayaka) ; released digitally last Oct & the song was released last year to celebrate Tamaki Koji's 35th anniversary in the business
ayaka's latest album is named after Fantail , a songbird that is native to New Zealand . ayaka wrote & composed the entire Funtale album herself .
Regarding Funtale , ayaka commented , "It's been more than 15 years since I made my debut . Seeking growth & change as a singer + creator, I tried creating songs in New Zealand . Being surrounded by the beautiful ocean , comfortable winds & delicious air + being exposed to gentle personalities & culture , I feel like I've found a new perspective on creativity ."
Funtale's opening number To The Moon was used to promote the ads of Suzuki's Solio Bandit & it was released digitally on 7th June .
While the 2nd song Home , a video was made for the song but it's not included in the physical release of Funtale .
It's a surprise that ayaka released a new album relatively soon .
Regarding ayaka's previous album LOVE CYCLE , I felt the album was underwhelming due to the lack of new songs in the release & it's also partially my fault for listening to the prior digital released songs as I'm sure my opinions on LOVE CYCLE would have been much different if I didn't undertook this decision .
Luckily I didn't have that same feeling towards Funtale & the entire album musically felt extremely different as compared to ayaka's past studio album releases .
Funtale overall is more cheery , fun & upbeat . The more I listen to it , the more I unexpectedly enjoy the album on whole .
For ayaka to sought musical inspiration when she was in New Zealand , this for sure helped her creatively which paid off nicely for her .
Funtale is definitely 1 of my favourite new album releases that's released this year & I look forward to see what else ayaka can come up with musically in due time .