No Music No Life

CD Review :: Koda Kumi - JAPONESQUE

2012-01-29T09:44:00.004+08:00

CD Review :: Koda Kumi - JAPONESQUE

CD

CD Limited + B4 sized 32 page photobook + 2012 organiser

CD + DVD

CD + 2DVDs

1) Introduction ~JAPONESQUE~
2) So Nice Feat Mr.Blistah
3) Boom Boom Boys
4) V.I.P. Feat T-Pain (Album Version)
5) Slow Feat Omarion
6) Brave
7) Everyday
8) IN THE AIR
9) You are not alone (Acoustic Version)
10) Interlude ~JAPONESQUE~
11) ESCALATE
12) Love Me Back
13) No Man's Land
14) Ai wo Tomenaide (Don't Stop The Love)
15) KO-SO-KO-SO
16) Lay Down
17) Love Technique
18) Poppin' love cocktail Feat TEEDA
19) All for you

JAPONESQUE is Koda Kumi's 10th album & this was released a few days ago on 25th Jan .

The original release date for Koda's latest album offering was supposed to be 1st Feb but it has since been pushed up to a week later than expected .

3 singles are included in the album & all the 4 tracks from Koda's 50th single 4 TIMES are included in JAPONESQUE which was released about 11 months + since Koda's previous album Dejavu .

Just like her 6th album Kingdom , all album tracks in JAPONESQUE get music videos with the exception of the introduction & interlude .

After a lush sounding Introduction ~JAPONESQUE~ , Koda jumps straight into the 1st album track which's titled So Nice .

So Nice is 1 of 4 collaborations found in JAPONESQUE & in So Nice , Koda teamed up with a familiar personnel that she used to work before in her career ie. Mr.Blistah .

Rapper Mr.Blistah provided the rap vocals in Koda's 25th single Candy & after close to a 6 years gap , both of them finally reunite to work on So Nice together .

So perhaps it's not surprising that I immediately viewed So Nice as a sequel to Candy & it's evident that both tracks have a very strong Egyptian feeling attached but with that said , So Nice is well really nice & thankfully , Mr.Blistah's rap vocals is not as gritty as what I've heard before in Candy .

Boom Boom Boys is the 2nd album track & this takes on a more club banging sound with rock beats thrown in .

This's actually the 1st album song I've heard from JAPONESQUE . I didn't like it that much in the beginning as the quality I've heard for Boom Boom Boys was quite low quality but now I've grown to like it a fair deal .

The next 2 tracks in the album features collaborations side by side together .

V.I.P. is 1 of the 4 songs found in Koda's 50th single 4 TIMES & in here , it features rapping done by T-Pain .

There's not much difference between the single & album take of V.I.P. , as everything's basically the same except with the inclusion of T-Pain's rap vocals .

As a result , I find this a bit un-necessary for T-Pain to be featured in the song . It would have been a different case should V.I.P. had a different melody hook attached to it .

Slow follows after the album take of V.I.P. & in here , Koda collaborates with US R&B singer/rapper Omarion who used to be in the now disbanded group B2K .

I really like Slow the very moment I 1st heard it & as despite the title , Slow is actually well not a slow no. but rather this's a rather mid tempo if not smooth sounding track .

I thought both their vocals might clash but the harmonisation of both Koda's vocals & Omarion's rap vocals work really well , making Slow a very memorable track worth listening to it over & over again .

Brave follows after Slow & in here , Brave is the 1st album ballad no. .

Koda's ballads tend to be either hit or miss but thankfully , Brave falls in the hit department .

It's very easy to compare Brave with previous ballads Koda has in her discography but I suppose Brave sounds like Ai no Uta (Love Song) to me to a certain extent . Also , the amount of emotions Koda poured into Brave is evident as well .

The next album track after Brave is titled Everyday & it seems that in each Koda album , there will be a cutesy song or 2 which I guess it applies for Everyday .

To me , Everyday sounds a bit like a much more cheery poppier version of Kingdom's Himitsu (Secret) but with that said , Everyday is 1 of those songs that will no doubt put a smile on a person's face when he/she listens to it .

IN THE AIR is 1 of the 4 songs included in Koda's 50th single 4 TIMES . The song was used as the theme no. for BEE TV's Rabusupotto ~Koi ga Minoru Basho~ .

Honestly before the tracklist for JAPONESQUE was released , I was hoping that IN THE AIR will make the cut on the album because IN THE AIR is something I extremely adore & I'm very glad all the tracks in 4 TIMES did so & that applies for IN THE AIR as well .

You are not alone was originally found as the B-side no. in Koda's 51th single Ai wo Tomenaide & in here , it has been given an acoustic take .

Lyrically , You are not alone is an encouragement song that was written after the March 11th earthquake/tsunami & despite it being a B-side , it also gets a music video just like Ai wo Tomenaide .

Naturally the music video for both the single & album takes of You are not alone are different but with that said , I really liked the original take of the song & giving it an acoustic makeover just makes things even more enjoyable for me to listen .

After Interlude ~JAPONESQUE~ , comes the next album track which's titled ESCALATE .

With a title like ESCALATE , naturally it bound to be a hot club banging track & I already like the preview for ESCALATE before I heard the full version of the song & when that came on , it didn't surprise me that I like it .

Love Me Back is Koda's 52nd single , which's her most recent release prior to the release of JAPONESQUE .

Love Me Back was used as the opening theme song for the drama Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de , starring ARASHI's Sakurai Sho & Kitagawa Keiko .

Like it or not , Koda's ero kawaii side is something that she does best & the same thing applies to the suggestive sexy Love Me Back .

No Man's Land follows after Love Me Back & to me , No Man's Land is probably 1 of the album's standout tracks as this's a music style that Koda never does before .

It's easy to compare No Man's Land with her past rock tinged no.s such as Can We Go Back & also Ningyo Hime (Mermaid Princess) but something about No Man's Land makes it a class of its own & it's great the video brought the song up to even greater heights .

Ai wo Tomenaide (Do Not Stop The Love) is Koda's 51st single & this was used as the theme song for the movie Second Virgin .

Out of the singles included in JAPONESQUE , Ai wo Tomenaide is probably my least fave as it's a known fact that Koda's ballads can either be in the hit or miss department .

In the case of Ai wo Tomenaide , it's 1 of those songs that I'm sitting on a fence . One day I like it , the next I wouldn't so I leave it as it's .

KO-SO-KO-SO is 1 of 4 songs found in Koda's 50th single 4 TIMES & this was used as the theme song for Nihon TV's Dorama -Piece Vote- .

The transition from Ai wo Tomenaide to KO-SO-KO-SO is pretty weird to say the least but to say that KO-SO-KO-SO is downright raunchy , that's an understatement , especially since the video for this song got banned due to its nature & content which's understood as KO-SO-KO-SO is not something for the faint hearted to listen , lyrically speaking .

Lay Down is the next album track & this's another very memorable upbeat song which's perfect to spin in a club .

Unlike the other album tracks that have a party vibe , Lay Down stood out in the sense that it has a much more stronger R&B flavour but with that said , this's something I like so I have no complaints about it .

With a rather amusing song which's titled Love Technique , it can be easily forgiven that this might be something erotic sounding coming from Koda but in actual fact , Love Technique is a cutesy no. just like Everyday .

Unlike Everyday , Love Technique takes on a much more video game inspired like music route & the video to accompany the song is downright funny but I suppose Koda wanted to show that in pretty much every album of hers , there will be a song or 2 that has a non serious vibe & I believe that's what she was trying to aim for with regards to Love Technique .

Poppin'love cocktail is the last A-side no. included in JAPONESQUE & it's also 1 of 4 songs included in Koda's 50th single 4 TIMES .

This no. features rapper TEEDA & it was used in the TV ads for H.I.S .

It can be unofficially considered that Poppin'love cocktail serves as the main promo track for 4 TIMES & even though it has been somewhat over promoted , this's something I can never get tired of as this no. screams out fun fun & more fun .

All for you is the final track before things are concluded in JAPONESQUE & this's basically simplicity at its best because this song is a very raw sounding track .

The video for All for you also paints this picture as All for you is a very nice understated acoustic no. & I don't know if I'm correct but I suspect this song was recorded on a 1 take basis which makes things even more raw .

All for you is the perfect song to silence Koda's critics that she can't sing but in reality , she can which I suppose this serves the purpose for All for you very well & I'm glad she incorporated such a no. like this before wrapping things up in JAPONESQUE .

Sexy diva Koda Kumi does what she does best in her ravishing 10th album JAPONESQUE . The highly anticipated album comes with a whopping 19 tracks , including her singles Love Me Back , Ai wo Tomenaide , all four songs from 4 TIMES & an acoustic version of You are not alone .

Judging from the number of rave reviews I've read about JAPONESQUE on the net , it's easy to see why & I honestly can say that I never have truly enjoyed such a versatile album coming from Koda in a very long time .

It's not that her previous albums weren't good but something about JAPONESQUE just put the rest of her records to shame & the sheer number of versatile music styles she displayed in her latest album is evident .

The singles that're included in JAPONESQUE are already pretty good but it's the album tracks that managed to carry the whole album to the next level . I was initally concerned if JAPONESQUE was going to be another Kingdom part 2 but thankfully , my fears were dispelled once I've listened to JAPONESQUE .

Reaching a 10th album milestone is no joke but I'm very happy that Koda was able to pull off such an enjoyable versatile album which proves that she's able to tackle pretty much every music style out there & this prevents her from being pigeon hole & stuck in a music rut .

All in all , JAPONESQUE is really a very solid album from the start til end & it's a highly recomended record to check out for the month of Jan .

It's an accomplishment to release 10 albums in Koda Kumi's music career & she celebrates this feat with style in the form of JAPONESQUE .

BENI - Eien (Eternity)

2012-01-28T12:16:00.001+08:00

BENI - Eien (Eternity)

1) Eien (Eternity)
2) Saigo no Uso (The Last Lie)
3) Eien (Instrumental)
4) Saigo no Uso (Instrumental)

Eien (Eternity) is BENI's 14th single & it was released 3 days ago on Jan 25th .

BENI's 1st release of 2012 , Eien was released on the same day as Jewel Concert Tour DVD & it was used to promote the drama Honjitsu wa Taian Nari .

Described as a happy love song , Eien showcases a really sweet enduring side of BENI . If this song was included in her 4th album Fortune , it frankly will feel a bit out of place but as a song on its own , Eien is really good .

With Valentine's Day approaching soon , Eien will make a suitable track to be played on this occasion .

The B-side is titled Saigo no Uso (The Last Lie) & it paints a complete different picture as opposed to the A-side .

Saigo no Uso is a bit depressing sounding but not as bad as Koe wo Kikasete (Let Me Hear Your Voice) . But still it's 1 of those heartfelt songs that can be good or bad , depending on the individual but to me I have no issues with such an emotional track with it being a B-side no. .

BENI is off to a good foot start to 2012 in the form of her latest single Eien & this's a single that I really enjoy listening to .

There're rumours going on she will be releasing an album on 21st March but speculations are arise that it might be a best album but details for this to be confirmed soon .

KinKi Kids - Kawatta Katachi no Ishi (Odd Shaped Stone)

2012-01-22T08:03:00.001+08:00

KinKi Kids - Kawatta Katachi no Ishi (Odd Shaped Stone)

CD

CD + DVD

Kawatta Katachi no Ishi (Odd Shaped Stone) is KinKi Kids's 32nd single & this was released on 11th Jan .

The duo's new single is a ballad song written by AKB48's founder Akimoto Yasushi & composed by Mashiko Tatsuro .

KinKi Kids is known for their great harmony in synth vocals & this's no exception for Kawatta Katachi no Ishi which's such a heartwarming ballad that I couldn't help but be drawn into it the moment I heard it .

Also the fact that AKB48's founder Akimoto Yasushi is the 1 that penned the lyrics for Kawatta Katachi no Ishi , you know things are in good hands & an interesting fact is that Akimoto Yasushi was also in charge of writing the lyrics for the guys's 22nd single SNOW! SNOW! SNOW! too .

There're 3 B-sides in total that're found in Kawatta Katachi no Ishi , the 1st one is something that's titled Namida Sora ni Kagayaku (Tears Shining In The Sky) .

Namida Sora ni Kagayaku is 1 really peppy no. which paints a really good contrast against Kawatta Katachi no Ishi . It's 1 of those songs that gives off positive vibes which I like .

The next 2 B-sides are tracks that're only found in the CD pressing of the single .

Rinkaku (Contour) -l'e contour d'amour- is 1 song that really has quite a lot of edge & kick since Rinkaku -l'e contour d'amour- is a pretty fast paced upbeat track which has a lot of attitude .

In the case of Yukimushi , it's a ballad just like Kawatta Katachi no Ishi but it's a lot more slower & mellow . I'm not really sure if I can consider Yukimushi as something I would listen to often but something about Yukimushi brings out a rather different raw side of the duo .

Following the release of their 12th album K Album , KinKi Kids kicks off 2012 with their 32nd single Kawatta Katachi no Ishi . The A-side is a ballad for music fans of all ages to enjoy .

With the release of Kawatta Katachi no Ishi , KinKi Kids have extended their own Guiness World Book of Records with their 32nd consecutive #1 single since their 1997debut single Glass no Shounen .

Acid Black Cherry - Yes

2012-01-21T07:17:00.001+08:00

Acid Black Cherry - Yes

CD

CD + DVD

Yes is Acid Black Cherry's 15th single & it was released a few days ago on 18th Jan .

This single was released less than a month + since their previous single CRISIS & it's the last single from a 5-consecutive-monthly singles plan (one single per month for five months) .

Yes has been described to be the ultimate love ballad & the single also includes the long awaited Stop it love which yasu wrote for a radio show 10 years ago which Stop it love will not be reviewed .

I wouldn't deny that I didn't like CRISIS as much as I hoped for , so naturally my expectations for Yes were lowered but luckily , I find Yes a lot more better than CRISIS .

On 1st listen , Yes kind of reminds me of their 7th single Nemuri Hime (Sleeping Princess) which was the very 1st song I've heard but only a lot more heartwarming & heart wrenching .

The amount of emotions yasu poured into Yes is evident & I couldn't help but be drawn into such a power ballad . Yes deserves to be a very fitting single to wrap up Acid Black Cherry's 5-consecutive-monthly singles plan , that's for sure .

Acid Black Cherry's 3rd album 2012 will be released on 21st March & all the singles from Re:birth all the way til Yes will be included in their highly anticipated new album , their last album release being 2009's Q.E.D. .

CD Review :: Kuriyama Chiaki - CIRCUS Deluxe Edition

2012-01-15T19:24:00.001+08:00

CD Review :: Kuriyama Chiaki - CIRCUS Deluxe Edition

Cover for both CD & CD + DVD's

1) Roulette de Kuchizuke wo (A Kiss At Roulette)
2) Tsukiyo no Shouzou (Portrait Of The Moonlit Night)
3) Kuchi ni Shita (Love In The Mouth) LOVE
4) Seishun no Mabataki (Blink Of Youth)
5) Oishii Kisetsu (The Creamy Season)
6) Cold Finger Girl
7) Mirai no Hikari (Future Light)
8) Ketteiteki Sanpunkan (The Decisive 3min.)
9) Shinkai (Deep Sea)
10) Kanousei Girl (A Girl With Potential)
11) Gokoku Houjou (Harvest Rock) ROCK
12) Ladies & Gentlemen
13) New Moon Day

CIRCUS Deluxe Edition is a re-release edition of model / actress Kuriyama Chiaki's debut album CIRCUS which was released a few days ago on 11th Jan .

The original release date for CIRCUS was last year on 16th March & CIRCUS Deluxe Edition includes Kuriyama's 2nd - 5th singles & a B-side .

Just like in CIRCUS & CIRCUS Deluxe Edition , Kuriyama's debut single Ryuusei no Namida (Meteor's Tears) is excluded from the CD tracklist but the video of the song's included in the DVD tracklist .

There's not much significance between CIRCUS & CIRCUS Deluxe Edition aside from the inclusion of the entire single of Kuriyama's 5th single Tsukiyo no Shouzou & the video in the DVD .

Each track on the album was produced by a famous rock band or artist , with 2 of them being foreign acts : Chris Cester & Mark Wilson of the Australian band Jet & Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind .

Roulette de Kuchizuke wo (A Kiss At Roulette) is the 1st track to kick start CIRCUS (Deluxe Edition) & this song pretty much is the basis on what to expect for the other tracks in Kuriyama's debut album ie. a mean gritty aggressive rock no. that's full of attitude & plenty of kicks .

I was quite impressed when I 1st heard Roulette de Kuchizuke wo because prior to this , I had no idea how does Kuriyama sounds like but after hearing this track , I became more interested on what she has to offer in CIRCUS which follows the next track .

Tsukiyo no Shouzou (Portrait Of The Moonlit Night) is Kuriyama's 5th single & this was used as the theme song for the TV drama Himitsu Chohouin Erika starring Kuriyama herself .

Shiina Ringo is responsible for this cool stylish rock tune & she was also in charge of Kuriyama's 4th single Oishii Kisetsu / Ketteiteki Sanpunkan too .

Tsukiyo no Shouzou sure is interesting & in the hands of a veteran such as Shiina Ringo , Kuriyama is in good hands , especially since this's the 2nd time Shinna works in producing this slick no. for Kuriyama .

Kuchi ni Shita (Love In The Mouth) LOVE is the shortest track in CIRCUS (Deluxe Edition) , clocking in at 2:40 mins . In here , the usage of synth is much more heavily emphasised & Kuriyama sounds prety dreamy in here .

I'm not sure if it's due to the way Kuchi ni Shita LOVE sounds like but it's interesting to say the least .

Seishun no Mabataki (Blink Of Youth) is the B-side track of Tsukiyo no Shouzou & I really like this no. as it compliments the A-side really well .

When I 1st heard Seishun no Mabataki , I like just how vulnerable if not raw sounding this goes & it's fuss free sounding as well .

The next 2 songs on the album are singles prior to the release of CIRCUS (Deluxe Edition) .

Oishii Kisetsu (The Creamy Season) is the 1st A-side of Kuriyama's 4th single Oishii Kisetsu / Ketteiteki Sanpunkan & just like Tsukiyo no Shouzou , this's also produced by Shiina Ringo .

I feel that Oishii Kisetsu has a very childlike innocence attached to it . Besides being a rather cool sounding rock track , Kuriyama was still able to carry this track off with gusto .

Cold Finger Girl is Kuriyama's 3rd single & this was used as an opening theme song for the anime Level E .

This single is 1 of my fave Kuriyama tracks because I find the whole song really cool & unique . It's not a typical straightforward rock no. but combining with aggressive guitar riffs & an interesting melody , it gives rise to Cold Finger Girl .

Mirai no Hikari (Future Light) is the next album track & I only find this a-ok for my liking .

Then again , I feel that Mirai no Hikari is quite a standard rock no. . Comparing to the other songs found in CIRCUS (Deluxe Edition) , there's definitely better songs available for me to like & appericate .

Ketteiteki Sanpunkan (The Decisive 3min.) is the 2nd A-side of Kuriyama's 4th single Oishii Kisetsu / Ketteiteki Sanpunkan .

As the song title suggests , Ketteiteki Sanpunkan clocks exactly 3 mins on the dot duration wise but aside from this , it compliments the pleasant sounding Oishii Kisetsu well , with Ketteiteki Sanpunkan being a mean gritty track , with Kuriyama's vocals that can be heard in the background .

Shinkai (Deep Sea) follows after Ketteiteki Sanpunkan & to me , I consider Shinkai as 1 of my fave tracks in CIRCUS (Deluxe Edition) simply because it's such a beautiful soft tempo ballad .

There's not really a lot of slow sounding tracks in the album but Shinkai most certainly sounds extremely chilled out if not lush sounding . The fact that it's pretty much piano driven gives this song a total class of its own .

Kanousei Girl (A Girl With Potential) is Kuriyama's 2nd single & this was used as an opening theme song for the anime Yorinuki Gintama-san .

Alongside with Cold Finger Girl , Kanousei Girl is also another awesome track that I enjoy coming from Kuriyama & Kanousei Girl screams out nothing but fun fun fun .

Also , a special mention has to go to COMPLEX's Hotei Tomoyasu for doing such a great job in composing Kanousei Girl & downright at the end of the day , I adore Kanousei Girl in giving out so much postive energy .

Gokoku Houjou (Harvest Rock) ROCK is the longest track found in CIRCUS (Deluxe Edition) , clocking in at 5:59 mins .

This's quite an unusual if not a bit random no. because in Gokoku Houjou ROCK , Kuriyama's vocals sounds a lot more deeper than usual . Let alone this has a very space dreamy feeling .

I'm not sure if this's a good or bad thing but I guess it's 1 of those tracks that falls in the off beat direction , depending on whether this's interpret in a good or bad way .

With a cool title such as Ladies & Gentlemen , it can be certain that this song has the word fun being stamped all over .

Likewise , the same thing goes for the last track in the album which's New Moon Day which presents this very energetic & straightforward rock vibes that makes me want to sing & hum along .

I suspect these 2 traits more or less form the basis of a catchy memorable track which's evident in New Moon Day .

Kuriyama Chiaki brings her own brand of fun , edgy & energetic songs in a rock music carnival offering in the form of CIRCUS Deluxe Edition & overall I find this album to be pretty solid .

I was actually skeptical to try her music even though she isn't the 1st model/actress that I've listen/support with regards to in their music careers & I didn't even know how she sounds like prior to this .

But after giving CIRCUS Deluxe Edition a listen , I definitely can detect traces of another model/actress that does the same style of music just like Kuriyama ie. Anna Tsuchiya .

It's easy to dismiss a model/actress in carving out a music career but considering that Kuriyama has some pretty big names in backing her up if not producing her music , I say she's in good hands .

Given a little bit more time , I guess Kuriyama's able to go far in this tough fickle industry but for now , I'm going to be enjoying this re-released edition of her debut album CIRCUS .

CIRCUS takes on a fun musicial ride from the start to the end & this album might be a good 1 in starting off 2012 on the right musicial note .

CD Review :: girl next door - Agaruneku !

2012-01-08T08:08:00.009+08:00

CD Review :: girl next door - Agaruneku !

CD

CD + DVD A

CD + DVD B

1) Dada Para !!
2) No.1
3) Summer Time
4) Boogie-Woogie Night
5) Kimi no Moto e (To Your Original)
6) Kimi no Tomodachi (Your Friends)
7) ROCK YOUR BODY EXTENDED
8) my own path
9) Zutto (Forever)
10) Kiss Kiss Kiss
11) Yume no Hana (Dream Flower)
12) Your Story
13) snowflakes

Agaruneku ! is girl next door's 4th album & it was released about 2 weeks ago on 28th Dec .

The trio's latest album is actually their 2nd album release of 2011 & this comes in 8 months + since the release of their previous album Destination .

Agaruneku ! is a pun on Agaru (uptempo) & their shortened nickname Garuneku . Agaruneku ! is their 1st album to be released under the new stylisation of the band's name in lower caps .

This release is the culmination of a 4 consecutive months release campaign with the theme of Progress ! & in Agaruneku ! , 3 singles that were released over 3 consecutive months that are designed to cheer up the Japanese people are included in the tracklist .

Dada Para !! is the group's 12th single & it was used as the theme song for the NHK mobile drama Kingyo Club & as the commercial song for ABC Mart .

Featuring a hip dance beat & an addictive hook , the song will make listeners hum its catchy "dada" hook everywhere .

No.1 is the 1st album track & this was used as promo in the ads of Sanrio's Yumemiru My My Melody TV .

I only find No.1 pretty so-so for my liking as this's something pretty standard fare coming from the group & the same thing goes for Summer Time too .

Summer Time I feel is something that tend to get repetitive especially when comes to the chorus that can be a bit overwhelming for me to handle .

Boogie-Woogie Night's the group's 14th single & this was used as the theme song for the drama Watashi no Host-chan ~Shichinin no Host~.

girl next door completed their trilogy of bright , upbeat singles with Boogie-Woogie Night which sees the avex electropop trio doing the time warp to the 70s with their spin on disco dance music .

Kimi no Moto e (To Your Original) is a really upbeat peppy electro pop no. with positive vibes which basically screams out fun fun & more fun .

On the other hand for Kimi no Tomodachi (Your Friends) , this's a pretty slow mid tempo track & it's 1 of the more slower tracks found in Agaruneku ! .

ROCK YOUR BODY is the trio's 13th single . After the eurobeat tune Dada Para !! , the series' continues with ROCK YOUR BODY which's a rave music-style no. .

Designed to get a person's body jumping to its ultra-fast rhythm , Agaruneku ! includes an extended version instead of the original version to keep the party moving .

my own path is quite an edgy sounding track which flows quite good from where ROCK YOUR BODY left .

While in the case for Zutto (Forever) , this reminds me a bit of the guys's 7th single Orion to a certain extent .

Kiss Kiss Kiss was used as promotion in the ads of Tinkiss WEB-CM & this's 1 of the more harder sounding tracks in Agaruneku ! & this sounds as though it picks up from where Destination's Yume no Katana left behind .

Yume no Hana (Dream Flower) is quite a standardised nice track even though it took me quite a while to remember how this sounds like because it doesn't sound as memorable as the other tracks in Agaruneku ! .

Your Story is a pretty sweet sounding track & what I like about this song is that unlike the other album tracks , it's less electropop driven & it tend to be more guitar driven which I find it nice to listen .

snowflakes is the last song found in Agaruneku ! & this was used as promo in the ads of H.I.S. Xmas campaign which the trio themselves are featured in the ad .

In keeping up unofficially with a knack of having winter song titles in their past albums , snowflakes is no exception . I actually like the preview when I 1st heard it in the H.I.S. Xmas campaign ads & when I finally got the chance to hear the full version , it's nice I say .

snowflakes is not as outright Winter sounding as their previous Winter inspired no.s but this's something pretty laidback & chilled .

girl next door concluded 2011 with probably their most music productive year to date , seeing that they released 2 albums within last year .

Truth be told , I was expecting Agaruneku ! not to sound as great as Destination (which was a downright amazing fantastic album) & unfortunately true enough , I was right on this .

I frankly feel releasing 2 albums within a year is really rushing & in Agaruneku ! , most if not all the album tracks are pretty weak & I suspect these tracks are probably the rejected if not leftovers songs which were not included in Destination .

Unlike Destination where each album track is solid & has its own unique identity/flair , that's not the case for Agaruneku ! where I had to take probably close to 10 times in order to get some of the songs registered in my head .

As a fan of girl next door from their debut single Guuzen no Kakuritsu til now , it really saddens me to see that gone are the days when they were able to sell decently & that also securing top 10 positions in the Oricon charts for them now are a thing of a past .

That's not to say I haven't completely give up hope on them . What I hope to see for their future releases is something unexpected & no disrespect to keyboardist Daisuke Suzuki (who composed all of the group's music from day 1 til now) , I would like to see external composers to work on their stuff , in order to switch things up a notch or 2 .

Electropop can be a very difficult music genre to deal with but if girl next door was able to put out some of their best works after releasing their 1st 2 albums , I don't see why it cannot happen for their future releases .

For now , I'm anxious to see what will be their next step & it wouldn't surprise me if a best album might follow suit .

Akanishi Jin - Seasons

2012-01-02T07:25:00.001+08:00

Akanishi Jin - Seasons

CD

CD + DVD featuring 4 alternate jacket covers according to the 4 different seasons

1) Seasons
2) The Fifth Season
3) Season (Instrumental)
4) The Fifth Season (Instrumental)

Seasons is Akanishi Jin's 2nd single & it was released last week on 28th Dec .

Akanishi's new single was released exactly 3 weeks after he released his debut mini album TEST DRIVE & 9 months + since the release of his debut single Eternal .

Written & composed by Akanishi himself , Akanishi commented that Seasons is "a love song , but it is not only for men & women or lovers . It's a song of love toward everything , including family or friends who you cherish ."

The ballad is his touching tribute to all the people he loves .

Well honestly I did not really like Eternal so much as I liked the B-side Murasaki (Purple) so much more than the A-side but in the case for Seasons , I really like it on 1st listen .

What striked me about Seasons is that it's a simple heartfelt ballad . Unlike his English solo stuff which speaks otherwise , I still feel Akanishi's Japanese solo material has a lot more depth if not substance attached to it .

Even though both Eternal & Seasons are somewhat piano driven , Seasons is much more stronger in terms of the lyrical content & melody .

The Fifth Season serves as the B-side in the single which Akanishi performed this track before during his series of solo concert tours .

This's a pretty odd if not strange song . I wasn't sure what to expect when I 1st heard it but it's quite random & a total sharp contrast against Seasons .

I think all & all , The Fifth Season is quite interesting but it doesn't seem to have a clear structure in terms of the way it sounds but I leave it as it's .

Akanishi Jin may be working hard to make it in the United States music industry , but he's also staying close to his native home Japan . Just after releasing his first English-language debut mini album TEST DRIVE , Akanishi ended 2011 in Japan with his second Japanese solo single Seasons .

SID - Fuyu no (Winter) Bench

2011-12-31T15:26:00.001+08:00

SID - Fuyu no (Winter) Bench

1) Fuyu no (Winter) Bench
2) Otori (Decoy)
3) Alibi (Live from 『dead stock TOUR 2011』)

Fuyu no (Winter) Bench is SID's 10th single & it was released a few days ago on 28th Dec .

This single is released exactly 4 months since the group's previous single Itsuka (Forever) .

It has been close to 2 years since SID last released a winter inspired no. , the last one was their 2nd single 2 Dome no Kanojo (Get Her Back Again) so naturally I was looking forward to hear what they have to offer for Fuyu no Bench .

Fuyu no Bench is honestly not SID's strongest sounding track . I have to admit I find the song a bit weak on 1st listen but things does get better as each listen goes by but other than that , this's a nice soothing no. the group delivered .

There're 2 B-sides included in the single . The 1st one is something that's titled Otori (Decoy) .

Wow on 1st listen , Otori reminds me of dead stock's Wife which's not a bad thing since I adore Wife but I couldn't help but had that when I 1st heard Otori .

Otori plays a great contrast against Fuyu no Bench that's for sure .

Recorded live from the group's dead stock TOUR 2011 , it's a live take of Alibi . I like Alibi which's such a uplifting rocking track , which's more or less a suitable song to conclude things in the Fuyu no Bench single .

SID wraps up 2011 with their latest single release Fuyu no Bench . 2011 saw the group releasing their 2nd album dead stock & with them following things up with Itsuka & Fuyu no Bench .

This's 1 rock group that I enjoy supporting/listening & I sure hope 2012 will see them releasing even more awesome material which I think it wouldn't be a problem , since SID is a really talented group to begin with .

Shota Shimizu - Fuyu ga Owaru Maeni (Before The End Of Winter)

2011-12-31T09:18:00.001+08:00

Shota Shimizu - Fuyu ga Owaru Maeni (Before The End Of Winter)

1) Fuyu ga Owaru Maeni (Before The End Of Winter)
2) When You Cry
3) Kimi ga Kurasu Machi -Jazzin'park Winter Remix-
4) Fuyu ga Owaru Maeni (Before The End Of Winter) -instrumental-

Fuyu ga Owaru Maeni (Before The End Of Winter) is Shota Shimizu's 11th single & this was released last week on 21st Dec .

Shota's new single was released about 2 months + since his previous single Mada Owaranai (It's Not Over Yet) & it has been described to be a winter love song .

Fuyu ga Owaru Maeni is described as a sparkly love song which's perfect in conveying the feelings of a person who can't see their loved one .

This's Shota's 1st solo winter no. & I'm really glad that he delivered such a simple heartfelt no. & immediately when Fuyu ga Owaru Maeni hits , it has the words winter & ballad stamped all over the place .

I don't think it's fair to compare Fuyu ga Owaru Maeni against Mada Owaranai since they're both different in terms of the style & sound but Shota never fails to disappoint when comes to his ballads & Fuyu ga Owaru Maeni is no exception .

There're 2 B-sides in the single , the 1st one is something titled When You Cry .

When You Cry is a nice mid tempo piano tune that compliments well against Fuyu ga Owaru Maeni . Compared to the A-side which's rather sad sounding , there's somewhat of a positive vibe that When You Cry presented .

Kimi ga Kurasu Machi (The Town You Live In) is Shota's 7th single & in here , Kimi ga Kurasu Machi has been given a Jazzin'park Winter Remix prior to conclusion of Fuyu ga Owaru Maeni .

I never really like Kimi ga Kurasu Machi as I find it a bit depressing sounding for my liking but surprisingly , the Jazzin'park Winter Remix of the song is something I like on 1st listen .

In here , Kimi ga Kurasu Machi has been transformed & given a winter touch which makes the song sound a lot more lighthearted & cheery sounding , giving the original take pretty much a run for its own $ .

Shota Shimizu wraps up a pretty fruitful year with this single Fuyu ga Owaru Maeni . After releasing his 3rd album COLOURS which was a very enjoyable & fantastic offering , he followed up with 4 more singles , inclusive of his 3rd duet collaboration with Miliyah Kato ie. BELIEVE .

To me , it's great to see Shota progress/mature as a musician/singer songwriter as each release of his goes by . He wasn't good initally but in due time , the transition/maturity Shota displayed in his music speaks otherwise .

His 12th single title tbc is rumoured to get released in Jan 2012 , followed by his 4th album in Feb 2012 .

Acid Black Cherry - CRISIS

2011-12-23T07:25:00.001+08:00

Acid Black Cherry - CRISIS

CD

CD + DVD

CRISIS is Acid Black Cherry's 14th single & it was released 2 days ago on 21st Dec .

Their new single was released less than a month after their previous single Chou (Butterfly) & it's their 4th single from a 5-consecutive-monthly singles plan (one single per month for five months) .

Described as an intensely painful rock tune , acclaimed producer Tetsuya Komuro lends yasu a hand in CRISIS by arranging & composing the track himself .

Honestly , I was expecting pretty big things when comes to CRISIS but I couldn't help but felt let down when I heard it as it sounded like a typical standard Acid Black Cherry rock song .

Perhaps I was so impressed with what their previous single offerings had to offer which probably explains why I couldn't help but feel a bit underwhelmed with regards to CRISIS , especially since I really liked what Tetsuya Komuro did with ayumi hamasaki's Love songs .

It's not as if CRISIS is a bad song but I suppose so far out of the singles that have been released consecutively from Sept til now , this's probably my least fave for the time being .

The B-side is a cover track of 1986's Misato Watanabe's BELIEVE & this song will not be reviewed .

Acid Black Cherry's 15th single Yes will be released next month on 18th Jan 2012 & this will be the last single that will conclude the 5-consecutive-monthly singles plan .

L'Arc~en~Ciel - CHASE

2011-12-22T07:32:00.001+08:00

L'Arc~en~Ciel - CHASE

CD

CD + DVD

1) CHASE
2) My Dear -L'Acoustic version-
3) CHASE (hydeless version)
4) My Dear -L'Acoustic version- (hydeless version)

CHASE is L'Arc~en~Ciel's 39th single & it was released yesterday on 21st Dec .

The group's latest release is their 3rd single release of 2011 to celebrate the band's 20th anniversary & this comes in 2 months + after their last single X X X .

For starters , the B-side My Dear -L'Acoustic version- will not get reviewed .

Selected to be used as the theme song for the action blockbuster Wild 7 , CHASE features a strong electronic guitar presence to make a heavy rock tune .

After the sexy sounding X X X , L'Arc~en~Ciel is back on full swing with this really rocking track CHASE . I wasn't sure what to expect but this's basically classic L'Arc~en~Ciel & also I feel this song fits the whole concept on what Wild 7 has to offer too .

Compared to last year & 2009 , 2011 has been a relatively active year for L'Arc~en~Ciel in the music front & that can't be blamed since this year , the group celebrated 20 years of being in the business .

Hopefully next year will see even more music activities for L'Arc~en~Ciel , perhaps a long overdue new album since their last album was released 4 years ago which was KISS .

Kis-My-Ft2 - We never give up !

2011-12-21T07:49:00.001+08:00

Kis-My-Ft2 - We never give up !

CD

CD + DVD A

CD + DVD B

1) We never give up !
2) Kis-My-Venus
3) Love is you (CD Only Track)

We never give up ! is Kis-My-Ft2's 2nd single & it was released last week on 14th Dec .

The group's latest single release comes in about 4 months since the release of their debut single Everybody Go .

We never give up ! is described as an energetic piece that's sure to make everyone listening “stand up ! stand up !”

The tune , the theme song for Lawson Hot Station's ad campaign , is a spirited encouragement song about standing up & beating challenges that keep fans down .

Well with a song description like this , naturally We never give up ! is an enpowering no. & I really like this the very moment I heard it . It's definitely different from Everybody Go & the chorus in We never give up ! is extremely catchy/memorable .

Also I like songs that have positive vibes attached to them , with We never give up ! fitting the bill well .

There're 2 B-sides in the single , with the 1st 1 titled Kis-My-Venus which I assume this's 1 of the group's many original songs they tend to perform on variety shows before their official debut .

Kis-My-Venus might sound like a strange song title but in actual fact , it's another catchy track just like the A-side itself .

Only included in the CD pressing of the single is the 2nd / last B-side ie. Love is you .

I did not find Love is you memorable on 1st listen & it's a pretty standard upbeat pop no. . As to whether will this be a fave Kis-My-Ft2 B-side track of mine , somehow I doubt it but it does get easier for me to remember how Love is you goes as each listen goes by .

Johnny's Associates latest group Kis-My-Ft2 celebrated this year by finally getting to debut officially after they were formed close to 8 years ago & I'm sure longtime fans of Kis-My-Ft2 rejoiced the moment when this happened .

2011 has been a relatively great year for Kis-My-Ft2 & judging from the number of accolades they've received , this's nothing but the start of many great things for Kis-My-Ft2 & I'm sure 2012 will see them being more productive on the music front .

CD Review :: Hilcrhyme - RISING

2011-12-18T12:03:00.001+08:00

CD Review :: Hilcrhyme - RISING

CD

CD + DVD

1) Personal COLOR
2) Tomo yo (My Friend)
3) TOKYO CITY
4) Ponpira
5) Dancers Anthem
6) Okubyou na Ookami (Cowardly Wolf)
7) Nirei Ichi Ichi Nihon Nite-ki su (Database recorded one thousand one hundred and two in Japan)
8) Changes
9) My Christmas Carol
10) Extraction -Instrumental-
11) LOOP
12) no one
13) RISING MARCH

RISING is Hilcrhyme's 3rd album & it was released on 7th Dec .

The duo's brand new album contains 3 singles & a B-side . Their last album MESSAGE was released last year on 24th Nov .

In addition , RISING was released on the same day as their new DVD Hilcrhyme Live in TOKI MESSE -Ake no Sagi- .

Starting RISING is Personal COLOR which's the duo's 9th single .

Personal COLOR was used as the outro theme song for the drama IS ~Otoko Demo Onna Demo nai Sei~ & the song's about using colour to define the uniqueness of individuals .

Tomo yo (My Friend) is the B-side of their 8th single no one .

This's 1 B-side I'm really thrilled to see it being included in RISING because I adore Tomo yo when no one was released & because of this , I have no complaints seeing Tomo yo here .

TOKYO CITY is RISING's 1st album track & this's 1 really funky no. which combines Hilcrhyme's trademark hip hop rap beats together with singer/MC TOC's rap/singing vocals nicely .

Likewise , Ponpira is also another new song I enjoyed too & it's equally upbeat & funkier just like TOKYO CITY too .

Dancers Anthem is 1 unusual no. & this's quite heavily R&B emphasised . Also it's somewhat a bit more darker sounding as well .

Okubyou na Ookami (Cowardly Wolf) is Hilcrhyme's 7th single . This song has pop essence & it showcases a new style from the guys .

Promo wise , Okubyou na Ookami received the following mode of promotion :

- NTV "MIDNITE television series " ending theme (4th Jan - 22nd March )
- Nippon TV series "Happy Music "POWER PLAY (28th Jan - 18th Feb)

When Okubyou na Ookami was released way back in Feb , it definitely showcased a different music style from the duo , with it being much different from their previous singles & they even throw in a bit of saxaphone beats for good measures too .

The rather long sounding Nirei Ichi Ichi Nihon Nite-ki su (Database recorded one thousand one hundred and two in Japan) might sound rather daunting but surprisingly , this's 1 track that I kind of enjoy .

It's 1 of the few songs I get to hear TOC sing instead of rap & I feel TOC actually sounds good when he sings , not that I dislike his rapping style .

Changes is also another song I enjoyed as this does reminds me of Loose Leaf's Hikari (Light) to a certain extent since both Changes & Hikari are acoustic guitar meets hip hop songs .

My Christmas Carol is the only album track that gets a music video but the video's not included in the DVD of RISING .

The song is described to be the ultimate Christmas gift you give to that important person you want to reach with the message , “I wrote this song for you & I’ll only sing it on this night .”

My Christmas Carol is 1 song I've been waiting to hear since I really like the preview & I wasn't disappointed when I finally get to listen to the full version in the album .

This can be considered as the duo's 1st Christmas song & I thought they did such a great job in giving My Christmas Carol a funky update feel . It's not a typical Christmas song but somehow , they were able to combine old & modern traits which gives rise to this which I enjoy a lot .

After a 2:45 mins Extraction -Instrumental- , in comes LOOP which's the 2nd last album track .

LOOP is another song that I enjoy & it's much more fast paced driven as compared to other album tracks found in RISING .

no one is Hilcrhyme's 8th single & it was used as the opening theme for NTV's Happy Music this year in June .

This's 1 heartfelt ballad that I still enjoy even up to now & I can feel just how much emotions TOC has poured into this track . Unlike their 4th single Daijoubu (It's Alright) , no one is much more simplified sounding , in terms of the piano melody that was utilised .

Kind of being named after the album , it's the last track on RISING ie. RISING MARCH .

As the song title suggests , RISING MARCH is a rather fist pumping track that's full of enthusiasm & I think this's a pretty fitting no. to conclude things , just like what it happened in the duo's previous album MESSAGE when MESSAGE BOX closed off the album .

2011 has been a pretty fruitful music year for Hilcrhyme , which saw them releasing 3 singles , 2 DVDs & now their latest 3rd album RISING before 2011 concludes .

Honestly , this's 1 artiste I'm really glad to follow ever since BREAKERZ's frontman DAIGO name dropped them on his blog last year & I can understand why at that time DAIGO was singing praises on the duo's debut album Recital (which was a really good album I must add) .

I'm not really big on hip hop/rap but I feel Hilcrhyme is an exception & with regards to RISING , they're proof on why they're 1 artiste that will bound to stick around for a pretty long time .

RISING is definitely an album worth checking out before 2012 swings by & also if you need a good dosage of hip hop/rap .

CD Review :: ON/OFF - Legend Of Twins II -Zoku Futago Densetsu-

2011-12-18T08:12:00.002+08:00

CD Review :: ON/OFF - Legend Of Twins II -Zoku Futago Densetsu-

CD

CD + DVD

CD + DVD + Christmas present box

1) Myth
2) Hajimaru no Wa , Sayonara (Beginning Of Goodbye)
3) Chozetsu (Transcendent) Requiem
4) Kimi ga Suki (Love You)
5) I loving ...-Boku no Ai- (My Love)
6) Butterfly
7) Kimi ga Inakerya (If You're Not Here)
8) Chromatic Liner
9) CONNECTION
10) Boku Dake no (I Just) Orion
11) AKATSUKI (Dawn) ~Kimi no Kireina Kokoro ga Suki~ (I Like Your Beautiful Mind)
12) Legend
13) 24 Jikan no Shinwa (The Myth Of Time) (Bonus Track)
14) Christmas Carol no Koro Niha (By The Time) (Bonus Track)

Legend Of Twins II -Zoku Futago Densetsu- is ON/OFF's 2nd album & it was released 2 weeks ago on 7th Dec .

3 singles & 3 B-sides are included in Legend Of Twins II -Zoku Futago Densetsu- . The twin brothers's debut album Legend Of Twins I -Futago Densetsu- was released 2 1/2 years ago on 22nd April .

After a really cool opening introduction Myth , the 1st proper song to kick things off is Hajimaru no Wa , Sayonara (Beginning Of Goodbye) .

Hajimaru no Wa , Sayonara is the duo's 6th single & it served as the opening theme no. for the anime Beezlebub .

I still remember when I 1st heard Hajimaru no Wa , Sayonara , I was really surprised because in general , they're known for their more angsty edgy stuff when comes to their singles so it's definitely a breath of fresh air when comes to this cheery sounding no. .

And speaking of angsty no.s , the 1st album track Chozetsu (Transcendent) Requiem falls in this category which I really like for it being downright angsty & an in your face upbeat no. .

I thought the usage of a rather strong Jazz sound works really well in Chozetsu Requiem . As a result , this makes such a really good memory track for me to enjoy .

With a title like Kimi ga Suki (Love You) , I frankly was expecting a ballad but I was surprised when I found out it's actually a rather upbeat sounding no. & it's a nice cheery sounding song just like Hajimaru no Wa , Sayonara .

I loving ... -Boku no Ai- (My Love) serves as the 2nd B-side of the duo's 7th single Akatsuki (Dawn) .

I remembered when I blogged about Akatsuki , I talked about I loving ... -Boku no Ai- in that I feel it compliments & contrasts Akatsuki pretty well . The A-side is a mid tempo track while I loving ... -Boku no Ai- is downright a fuss free ballad .

Butterfly is ON/OFF's 5th single & this was used as the 2nd ending theme for the anime Durarara !! .

When this single was released , there was quite a long release gap between their debut album & Butterfly . But still , Butterfly can be considered as a great comeback song for the twins since Butterfly became the duo's best charting position for a release to date .

Kimi ga Inakerya (If You're Not Here) was originally found as the B-side of their 6th single Hajimaru no Wa , Sayonara .

I still adore Kimi ga Inakerya a great deal & I'm real glad that this song is included in Legend Of Twins II -Zoku Futago Densetsu- as this's a song that I still cannot get enough of even up to now .

Likewise , Chromatic Liner is another standout album track & this's 1 beautiful angsty song that's quite oriental influence which's something I haven't came across in ON/OFF's discography .

Needless to say , Chromatic Liner is 1 of the album's must listen songs & this's 1 track that's crafted well .

CONNECTION was originally found as the B-side in ON/OFF's 5th single Butterfly .

I remember when I 1st heard CONNECTION , I found it not as strong if not outstanding as what Butterfly has to offer . Even up to now , CONNECTION is not something that I would consider as 1 of my fave B-sides of the duo but I suppose this's a song I can tolerate now .

Likewise for Boku Dake no (I Just) Orion , I frankly thought it was going to be a ballad but when I heard it , it's a pretty standard pop song which's neither good or bad but there're better album tracks for me to enjoy so I just leave it as it's .

Akatsuki (Dawn) is ON/OFF's 7th single & in here , it has been renamed as AKATSUKI (Dawn) ~Kimi no Kireina Kokoro ga Suki~ (I Like Your Beautiful Mind) .

For AKATSUKI ~Kimi no Kireina Kokoro ga Suki~ , it's almost the same as the original except there's a fair bit of rapping done by the brothers & also by a mysterious female rapper who goes by the name of J .

But other than that , I like the little touches thrown in as Akatsuki is already something that I enjoy .

After a beautiful Legend interlude , the last 2 songs are bonus tracks included in Legend Of Twins II -Zoku Futago Densetsu- .

24 Jikan no Shinwa (The Myth Of Time) is quite a sad sounding sorrowful no. coupled with a piano underlining . I found this a bit on the boring side but I appericate the amount of emotions both brothers poured into this track .

In the case of Christmas Carol no Koro Niha (By The Time) , as the song title suggest , it's a Christmas inspired no. & I definitely prefer this over 24 Jikan no Shinwa even though I can't help but feel this's something KinKi Kids might do .

I'm not sure why but the vibes that Christmas Carol no Koro Niha said otherwise but the fact that this's not a straightforward sounding Christmas track , it kind of speak for itself .

The legend of the ON/OFF twin brothers - Sakamoto Naoya & Kazuya - finally continues with the release of their second full-length album Legend Of Twins II -Zoku Futago Densetsu- .

Fans have been waiting for 2 1/2 years for a new album from the twins & the boys now make the fans' dreams come true .

ON/OFF is an artiste that I feel is under-rated but the material both brothers make are great . It's a bit unfortunate to see that their material has been under promoted lately , especially with regards to the charting of their music after they've released Butterfly .

But with that said , waiting close to 2 1/2 years for a new album to materialise is no laughing matter but after listening to Legend Of Twins II -Zoku Futago Densetsu- , it's definitely worth waiting for , even though a drawback I found in their latest album is that , they should have axed the less than stellar B-sides & replaced them with album tracks .

Other than that , Legend Of Twins II -Zoku Futago Densetsu- is an album that should be purchased in time for Christmas , if not before 2012 swings by .

UVERworld - BABY BORN & GO / KINJITO

2011-12-17T07:31:00.001+08:00

UVERworld - BABY BORN & GO / KINJITO

CD

CD + DVD

1) BABY BORN & GO
2) KINJITO
3) UVER Battle Royal ~5/L6S mix~

BABY BORN & GO / KINJITO is UVERworld's 20th single & this was released a few days ago on 14th Dec .

The group's new single was released about 6 months + after the release of their 6th album LIFE 6 SENSE .

The 1st A-side BABY BORN & GO infuses hip-hop into their signature rock style , creating a fresh sound that the band has rarely explored before .

Well honestly I wasn't sure what to expect when I 1st heard BABY BORN & GO but it's true in that this's something I haven't came across from the group .

They already utilised saxaphone beats in CORE PRIDE so I guess they want to do the same thing for BABY BORN & GO which I kind of enjoy .

In the case of the 2nd A-side KINJITO , the presence of saxaphone can be still heard but it's interwined with soft acoustic guitar sounds in the beginning which was followed by a loud blazing guitar riff .

Clearly both A-sides of UVERworld's latest single is some of the most unique if not unusual sounding tracks I've heard of the group in recent times & this I'm sure will leave fans debating on if this's something the group should take it as a 1 off music experiment or not .

The B-side UVER Battle Royal ~5/L6S mix~ will not be reviewed .

flumpool - Present

2011-12-14T08:05:00.002+08:00

flumpool - Present

CD

CD + DVD

1) Present
2)『Arigatou』 (Thank You) Kurai Jya Tsutae Kirenai Kimochi Wo (Isn't Enough To Convey A Person's Feelings)
3) Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
4) Present (Instrumental)
5)『Arigatou』 (Thank You) Kurai Jya Tsutae Kirenai Kimochi Wo (Instrumental)

Present is flumpool's 8th single & it was released last week on 7th Dec & this comes about 3 months+ since the release of the group's previous single Akashi (Proof) .

This single is an end-of-the-year ‘present’ for flumpool's fans & it’s described to be filled with the members' strong feelings .

The band explained , “We want to combine all of the happy & sad things that happened this year & conclude the year with a smile . Connecting our feelings of gratitude for important people such as family & friends , we want to do our best next year !”

The 2 B-sides available in Present are perhaps not surprising Christmas influence driven just like the A-side .

『Arigatou』 (Thank You) Kurai Jya Tsutae Kirenai Kimochi Wo (Isn't Enough To Convey A Person's Feelings) has a very strong if not cheery sounding Christmas vibe which's definitely a song that's able to get me into the festive mood .

Despite the rather long sounding title , I actually prefer 『Arigatou』 Kurai Jya Tsutae Kirenai Kimochi Wo a lot more than Present itself (which took me a few listens to remember how it sounds like) .

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) is a cover track which was written by the late Beatles's John Lennon & his wife (now widow) Yoko Ono .

This song was 1st released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko / Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir .

At 1st , I found it a bit strange hearing lead singer Ryuuta singing in full English in their cover take of Happy Xmas (War Is Over) but after I got that out of the way , I guess this's a pretty good cover of this classic no. .

I'm not sure if the group was able to do justice to the original but I have to give them credit for trying their best to cover Happy Xmas (War Is Over) .

flumpool held their largest-scale concert ever on Dec 10th & 11th at the Saitama Super Arena . To coincide with the 2 concerts , the band is especially releasing their latest Present .

Truth be told , to me this year has been a rather disappointing music year for flumpool as it's no open secret I haven't been impressed with their recent material , starting from their 2nd album Fantasia of Life Stripe which I feel it's quite a letdown , especially when I compare this album against their older works .

Thankfully , the singles that followed after Fantasia of Life Stripe still are able to hold a fort on its own but I do hope next year flumpool's able to bring back that old spark of theirs back to their material as it will be a major big waste to see this talented band going the samey same old same old route .

Kuroki Meisa - Woman's Worth / Breeze Out

2011-12-13T12:20:00.001+08:00

Kuroki Meisa - Woman's Worth / Breeze Out

CD

CD + DVD

1) Woman's Worth
2) Breeze Out
3) Wired Life (1llmnt / Illuminati / Remix)
4) Woman's Worth (instrumental)
5) Breeze Out (instrumental)

Woman's Worth / Breeze Out is Kuroki Meisa's 6th single & this was released last week on 7th Dec .

This's Kruoki's 1st double A-side single & it comes about 4 months + since the release of her previous single Wired Life .

The 1st A-side Woman's Worth is currently used in the ads of the Seiko Lukia watch starring Kuroki herself . Woman's Worth combines hip-hop & electronica pop for a new style of feminist anthem .

I love Woman's Worth on 1st listen as it presents a different music style that Kuroki displayed which's vastly different from what Wired Life had to offer .

As mentioned earlier on , Woman's Worth has a neat combination of hip hop & electronica , which give rise to this really catchy memorable track .

The 2nd A-side Breeze Out is currently used in the ads of the Subaru's BRZ car & just like for Seiko Lukia , Kuroki is also the spokeswoman for the product .

Breeze Out is also another solid A-side & unlike Woman's Worth , Breeze Out takes on a more urbanised music route . Both A-sides are equally upbeat but they're able to distinct itself from each other with an unique sound of their own respectively .

The 1llmnt / Illuminati / Remix of Kuroki's previous single Wired Life serves as the B-side track . The original take of the song has a more dark R&B feeling but in here , it presents a much more surprisingly video games driven music route .

I frankly was surprised to hear the 1llmnt / Illuminati / Remix of Wired Life & no doubt it's an interesting remix which's vastly different from the original mix of the song & this's something I frankly enjoy listening to .

Kuroki Meisa shows off some serious fierce girl power in her latest double A-side single Woman's Worth / Breeze Out & considering that this's her 1st double A-side single , I say she did it really well with plenty of gusto & attitude .

I feel this year has been a really good year for Kuroki music wise as seems to me she's focusing a lot more on her singing career while juggling this with her modelling & acting career but the fact that I known her as an actress prior to her being a singer , I couldn't be any happier for her .

Kuroki's much anticipated 2nd album title tbc will be released next year on 15th Feb & this's something I definitely can't wait to get my hands on , let alone listening to it .

School Food Punishment - How to go

2011-12-11T09:12:00.001+08:00

School Food Punishment - How to go

Cover for both CD & CD + DVD's

CD + DVD Anime edition

1) How to go
2) Kaeru (Return)
3) Kimi ni Mune Kyun (Heart To You)
4) How to go -Instrumental-
5) How to go -Anime Edit- (CD Only Limited Edition)

How to go is School Food Punishment's 7th single & it was released a few days ago on 7th Dec .

This release is the group's 1st single after the release of their 2nd album Prog-Roid .

How to go was picked as the opening theme song for UN-GO ! anime & it's described to be a cool rock tune with a sense of speed .

In general , the material that School Food Punishment does is very experimental & bold which I guess the same thing can apply for their latest offering How to go .

How to go is pretty much what the group does best , ie. an upbeat fast paced song that consist of a lot of different layering of beats , which makes them 1 of the most distinct if not unique artistes I've come across .

There're 2 B-sides available in the single & the 1st one is something titled Kaeru (Return) .

Kaeru is very pretty on 1st listen & the emphasis in here is a lot more synth which's really cool & I adore the way lead singer Yumi sings in Kaeru as well .

Kimi ni Mune Kyun (Heart To You) is the 2nd B-side & this's actually a cover of Yellow Magic Orchestra .

This's quite an unusual song . Unlike Kaeru & How to go which're quite straightforward sound wise , in Kimi ni Mune Kyun , it's a lot more slower & tend to skip from time to time .

At 1st I thought there was a problem with Kimi ni Mune Kyun but it doesn't seem to be the case after I checked it but I suppose this's 1 of those songs that falls either in the like or dislike category .

2011 has been a pretty fruitful year for School Food Punishment which saw them releasing their 2nd album Prog-Roid which was really enjoyable & then now , wrapping up the year with this latest single offering , How to go .

I feel that this's 1 group that's really under-rated but very talented in terms of what they do . They're not exactly mainstream & everyone's cup of tea but listening to them might bring a whole lot of fun music surprises .

I definitely can't wait to see what they have in store in 2012 .

Namie Amuro - Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! / Love Story

2011-12-08T09:53:00.001+08:00

Namie Amuro - Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! / Love Story

CD

CD + DVD

1) Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down !
2) Love Story
3) Higher
4) arigatou (thank the world for LOVE ... gift song for 2011)
5) Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! (Instrumental)
6) Love Story (Instrumental)
7) Higher (Instrumental)

Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! / Love Story is Namie Amuro's 36th single & it was released yesterday on 7th Dec .

Namie's new single comes about 5 months + since the release of her previous single NAKED / Fight Together / Tempest .

Despite being a double A-side single release , Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! does not have a music video .

The 1st A-side Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! is a dance song & it's produced by T.Kura & michico . The R&B production team otherwise known as Giant Swing , hasn't worked with Namie since her 2009 album PAST < FUTURE .

Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! is currently used as the theme song used for the drama Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyuu .

Producer Nakano Toshitaka explained his reason for choosing Namie to sing for the drama in that , “When I was planning the main character for Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyuu , I thought that Namie was the only one who could sing the theme song .

Namie is charismatic to young women & has an impact on their lifestyle , so I wanted her to give them courage . She has written the song after reading the script , so I expected it to be a support song for women that involves sadness & power .”

Meanwhile , Namie expressed , “This time , I am very honoured to receive this offer to provide the theme song for Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyuu . Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! overlaps scenes from the drama , so I hope viewers could relate to it even more . I am also looking forward to watching the drama .”

The 2nd A-side Love Story is described as an adult ballad . While Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! is used as the opening track for Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyuu , Love Story serves as the ending theme song to the drama .

The song's about how Namie has grown up & moved on from the love she left behind .

Namie's not really that known for her ballads but Love Story is very pretty & I feel it compliments & contrasts Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! pretty well .

Unlike Tempest which's a dramatic sounding emotional ballad , Love Story presents a more under-stated music approach that Namie undertook .

There're 2 B-sides included in the single & it has been close to 4 years since Namie included B-sides in her singles , the last being 2007's FUNKY TOWN .

Higher is a downright bad ass R&B uptempo track . It's almost able to rival Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! since both tracks are extremely upbeat but with that said , Higher is a class of its own .

The 2nd B-side arigatou (thank the world for LOVE ... gift song for 2011) is currently used in the Kose Esprique Love Colour ads featuring Namie herself in which in the ads , Namie sang this B-side acapella style .

arigatou (thank the world for LOVE ... gift song for 2011) is available as a free download track through her recently launched official Facebook website & it is a big surprise present from Namie for the year-end as this is the very 1st time a song of hers is available to be downloaded for free .

Let alone , this is the song that Namie sings at the end of her encore segment during her current ongoing nationwide namie amuro LIVE STYLE 2011 Arena tour .

Though 2011 was a tough year for Japan , this is a present from Namie with gratitude toward people all over the world for their support for Japan .

Namie Amuro concludes 2011 with this another solid single release in the form of Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! / Love Story . Compared to previous years , 2011 sees Namie being more active on the release front , in the form of releasing her 1st collaboration album Checkmate ! & also NAKED / Fight Together / Tempest & now Sit ! Stay ! Wait ! Down ! / Love Story .

I'm pretty sure 2012 will see the release of a new studio album . I hope that will happen since Namie didn't release 1 this year .

But regardless of which , here's hoping 2012 will be another eventful year for Namie in the music release department .

Koda Kumi - Love Me Back

2011-12-04T08:44:00.002+08:00

Koda Kumi - Love Me Back

CD

CD + DVD

1) Love Me Back　
2) Say Her Name
3) Love Me Back (Andy Price Remix)

Love Me Back is Koda Kumi's 52nd single & it was released a few days ago on 30th Nov .

Koda's new single comes in less than 2 months + since the release of her previous single Ai wo Tomenaide (Do Not Stop The Love) .

Love Me Back is Koda's 3rd straight single release for 2011 & the A-side is described as a sexy & mysterious number .

Promo wise , Love Me Back is currently used as the opening theme song for the drama Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de , starring ARASHI's Sakurai Sho & Kitagawa Keiko .

Love Me Back carries a retro flavor that's almost reminiscent of those 70s spy movies . It's got a playful sound & a great energy which goes hand in hand together .

This song definitely is a spillover effect from where 4 TIMES's V.I.P. left behind as Love Me Back sounds very sexy & club driven , a perfect setting of what Koda does best in her early Ero Kawaii days .

Say Her Name serves as the B-side of the single & wow , this's such a different music direction Koda takes .

I haven't heard such a simple acoustic guitar driven track from her B-side wise & the result gives Say Her Name such an under-stated feeling which allows Koda to let most of her vocals do the work for her which's wonderful .

The Andy Price Remix of Love Me Back concludes the single & I'm not a remix person to begin with but this's 1 remix that I couldn't help but dislike simply because of how gritting Koda's vocals sound like in here .

The original mix of Love Me Back is great but in here , the Andy Price Remix takes on a much more heavily club vibe . There's nothing wrong with it but unfortunately , it's the vocals & the over usage of synth & overlayering that more or less killed things .

Koda Kumi wraps up her 3 consecutive months of single releases with her new single Love Me Back . After the emotional ballad Ai wo Tomenaide , Kumi shows off her sexy side once again with Love Me Back .

Her 10th album JAPONESQUE will be released on 1st Feb , with Love Me Back being included in the tracklist as #11 .

2011 has been a pretty fruitful musical journey for Koda & hopefully 2012 will bring nothing but the best for this talented lady .

KAT-TUN - BIRTH

2011-11-30T19:04:00.001+08:00

KAT-TUN - BIRTH

CD

CD + DVD A

CD + DVD B

BIRTH is KAT-TUN's 17th single & it's released officially today on 30th Nov .

The group's new single comes in about 3 months + since the release of their previous single RUN FOR YOU & BIRTH is currently used to promote the drama Yokai Ningen Bem , starring Kamenashi Kazuya .

The song has been described as a positive support no. that intends to provide encouragement for those who feel uneasy about the unpredictable nature of the world today .

In general , I adore KAT-TUN's singles & this's once again no exception . BIRTH is pretty much a standard straight up classic fare that the guys deliver but something about it makes things really enjoyable for me to listen to & I guess in here , that's where BIRTH comes into the picture .

There're a total of 3 B-sides in the single . The 1st one is something titled STAR RIDER .

STAR RIDER also gets a music video , making this the 2nd B-side in having 1 after Love yourself ~Kimi ga Kirai na Kimi ga Suki~'s THE D-MOTION .

This song is currently used in the ads of Suzuki SOLIO featuring the guys themselves & the inclusion of JOKER rap lyrics can be felt here .

Boy oh boy , STAR RIDER definitely for sure deserves to get a music video , with it being just downright mean , gritty & in your face . There's quite a lot of autotune going on , just like a couple of their B-sides & also album tracks .

But still , this's something I don't mind & STAR RIDER had so much potential to be a worthy A-side but I suppose for the song to get a music video , this can be considered as a form of consolation .

The next 2 songs are only found in the CD pressing of the single .

ACT ON EMOTION is such a lush chilled out no. & just like STAR RIDER , the presence of autotune can be felt in here as well .

Not that I mind because ACT ON EMOTION is very relaxing sounding .

BABY B MINE is the last B-side track & for this , the lyrics are written by singer/songwriter miwa .

I think out of the 3 B-sides , BABY B MINE seems like the odd one because unlike the 1st 2 B-sides , BABY B MINE has a more harder rock sound but there're still traces of autotune being presented here .

But still , BABY B MINE is something I enjoy , since KAT-TUN's known for their harder sounding no.s .

KAT-TUN concludes 2011 with 4 awesome sounding singles , with BIRTH being their latest single offering .

This's 1 Johnny's group that has been going from strength to strength musically ever since the departure of their 2nd co-lead vocalist Akanishi Jin which happened last year but the reminding members came out stronger in full force , after releasing CHANGE UR WORLD all the way to currently BIRTH .

I consider KAT-TUN as my most fave Johnny's group & as a fan , I'm really proud to see them rising from the ashes & just kicking butt with so much gusto as each release of theirs goes by .

I'm pretty sure 2012 will see them releasing their 6th album since they will begin their KAT-TUN LIVE TOUR 2012 CHAIN in Feb 2012 & it wouldn't surprise me if their next record will be titled CHAIN .

But for now , 2011 has been a musically enriching experience for KAT-TUN & I hope this journey will never stop for them .

Anna Tsuchiya - Switch On !

2011-11-28T08:11:00.001+08:00

Anna Tsuchiya - Switch On !

CD

CD + DVD

1) Switch On !
2) Switch On ! Rock'n Roll States edit. (inst)
3) Switch On ! Space Techno States edit. (inst)
4) Switch On ! instrumental

Switch On ! is Anna Tsuchiya's 14th single & it was released last week on 23rd Nov . The original release date for the single was supposed to be 26th Oct .

Anna's new single is released 2 months + after her 1st triple A-side single UNCHAINED GIRL .

Switch On ! has been selected to be used as the opening no. for the Tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Fourze in celebration of its 40th anniversary of the Kamen Rider franchise .

Anna cites her children's love of Kamen Rider as a strong reason for participating with the series .

Regarding the theme song , she showed her confidence in its appeal by saying , “It’s a cheerful song that will linger in your ears . It also has a good beat , so I think the children will love it . In order for the children to get into the song , I changed the direction of my singing just a little .”

I wasn't sure what to expect before hearing Switch On ! but it's a fun song & a bit different from Anna's usual stuff . At least in here , she gets to lighten up her mood which's nice & this's something I haven't seen of her since LUCY .

I'm not sure if this's a song that will catch on people but it's something that's suitable for the whole family to listen to .

GLAY - My Private "Jealousy"

2011-11-23T14:33:00.001+08:00

GLAY - My Private "Jealousy"

Cover for both CD & CD + DVD's

1) My Private "Jealousy"
2) Snow Flake
3) Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis (Thesis Of Cruel Angel) (We ♡ Happy Swing Live ver.)

My Private "Jealousy" is GLAY's 44th single & it was released last week on Nov 16th .

This single is the 2nd of 3 singles will be released back to back in Oct - Dec & it comes in less than 1 month since the release of the band's previous single G4・II -THE RED MOON- .

My Private "Jealousy" is written by guitarist/keyboardist TAKURO & is described to be 'fresh with an edgy & flowing riff' .

GLAY always has a tendency to be quite experimental with their material & My Private "Jealously" is no exception .

The main A-side might come across as a standard rock fare but the quartet was able to transform/do something pretty refreshing in here , courtesy of TAKURO .

There're 2 B-sides in the single , with the 1st B-side being titled as Snow Flake .

Snow Flake has been described as a pop-like track with a beautiful melody that’s like a basic winter song .

There's not a lot of winter influences in Snow Flake but still I wouldn't deny it compliments the A-side very well & it's so pretty I must add .

The live version of Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis (Thesis Of Cruel Angel) is the 2nd B-side & this's something that I really enjoy a great deal .

Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis is full of a lot of emotions & it's quite evident on the way lead singer TERU belts out this uplifting soaring no. live with plenty of gusto & spunk .

GLAY is ending 2011 with a 50-show nationwide concert tour & 3 singles releases over three consecutive months . Unlike G4・II -THE RED MOON- , which was only available on the band's online store, the series' 2nd single My Private “Jealousy” is being made available everywhere .

girl next door - Boogie-Woogie Night

2011-11-22T19:39:00.001+08:00

girl next door - Boogie Night

CD

CD + DVD A ; DVD footages contains the music video of Boogie-Woogie Night

CD + DVD B ; DVD footages contains live footages of Guuzen no Kakuritsu & Arigatou

1) Boogie-Woogie Night
2) Happy Birthday !
3) Hoshizora Keikaku (Planning Stars) (FROM LIVE Destination) (CD Only Track)
4) Boogie Night (Instrumental)
5) Happy Birthday ! (Instrumental)

Boogie-Woogie Night is girl next door's 14th single & it was released last week on 16th Nov .

This single was released less than a month after ROCK YOUR BODY & it's the last single in 3 back to back monthly single releases .

The A-side has been described of having the concept of a disco theme & it serves as the theme song to TV Asahi’s drama Watashi no Host-chan ~Shichinin no Host~ .

Boogie-Woogie Night was also released on the same day as lead vocalist Chisa's 26th birthday .

The CD only pressing of the single contains the live version of Hoshizora Keikaku (Planning Stars) which's the 2nd A-side of the group's 10th Single Unmei no Shizuku ~Destiny's star~ / Hoshizora Keikaku & this track will not be reviewed .

Honestly with a title like Boogie-Woogie Night , I frankly was expecting another upbeat no. just like ROCK YOUR BODY & Dara Para !! but I was surprised when I 1st heard it .

I think out of the 3 singles , Boogie-Woogie Night is probably my least fave if not the weakest sounding . Maybe because I quite like the 1st 2 singles a lot , that's why I was expecting a bit more from Boogie-Woogie Night as this song sounds unusually pretty mellow for me .

I'm sure Boogie-Woogie Night will grow on me in due time but I don't think I will consider this as 1 of my fave singles coming from the trio .

Happy Birthday ! serves as the B-side of the single & I think this's such a fitting title for a B-side track , seeing that Boogie-Woogie Night was released last week on the same day as lead singer Chisa's birthday .

I don't really have any complaints about Happy Birthday ! as it's not often a release falls on the same day as an artiste's birthday .

girl next door completes their trilogy of bright , upbeat singles with Boogie-Woogie Night . After offering their own take on eurobeat & rave music , Boogie-Woogie Night sees the avex pop trio doing the time warp to the 70s with their spin on disco dance music .

The trio's 4th album Agaruneku ! will be released on 28th Dec , with Boogie-Woogie Night being included as track #4 in the CD tracklist .

Tackey & Tsubasa - Heartful Voice

2011-11-20T08:22:00.001+08:00

Tackey & Tsubasa - Heartful Voice

CD

CD + DVD A

CD + DVD B

Heartful Voice is Tackey & Tsubasa's 13th single & it will be released this coming week on 23rd Nov .

The duo's new single will get released 3 months + after their previous single Journey Journey ~Bokura no Mirai~ (The Future Of Us) .

Heartful Voice has been described to be a winter love song which expresses a man's loyal feelings & it has been selected to be used as the tie-up song for Akasaka Sacas' winter campaign White Sacas .

I couldn't help but feel winter is about to dawn upon Japan after hearing Heartful Voice & the tune is such a sweet winter love song that I'm pretty sure will warm the hearts of their female fans .

The following songs serve as B-sides of the single :

- Our Songs
- Smile (CD Only Track)

Both songs will not be reviewed .

Tackey & Tsubasa are celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2012 & they're kicking off the celebrating with the single Heartful Voice .

CD Review :: BENI - Fortune

2011-11-13T18:57:00.001+08:00

CD Review :: BENI - Fortune

CD

CD + DVD

1) Fortune Intro
2) Darlin'
3) Suki Dakara. (I Like.)
4) LAST SONG
5) MEMORY
6) My World
7) crazy girl
8) One In A Million
9) Koe wo Kikasete (Let Your Voice)
10) secret
11) YES or NO ?
12) Oh Yeah !
13) Unmei no Hito (Man's Destiny)
14) ONLY ONE (Bonus track)

Fortune is BENI's 4th album & it was released last week on 2nd Nov .

BENI's latest new album was released less than a year since her previous album Jewel . In Fortune , it contains 3 singles & a B-side track .

All lyrics in Fortune are written by BENI herself . In addition , she has a hand in co-composing 3 songs in the album too .

After a charming Fortune Intro , the album dive straight into 2 songs that were already released as singles prior to being included in Fortune .

Darlin' is BENI's 13th single & this's her most single release since this was only released about a month ago or so before Fortune . Despite this , Darlin' is still a very refreshing cheery sounding no. which's nice .

Suki Dakara. (I Like.) is BENI's 11th single & I feel in recent times , this's 1 of BENI's best single that she has put out , simply because both lyrically & musically , it's gorgeous .

Out of the singles included in Fortune , Suki Dakara. is still a standout track even up to now & I think it's great BENI had a hand in co-composing the song .

The next 3 songs are album tracks . The 1st one is something titled LAST SONG which's a R&B mid tempo sad no. while the next track MEMORY is another pretty prominent album track worth checking out .

It's also nice to know that BENI had a hand in co-composing MEMORY as well .

With that said , the next track My World is 1 of my fave tracks in Fortune , with it being really upbeat & I love it that musically , it's really memorable & very catchy .

And speaking of catchy , crazy girl is the 2nd A-side of BENI's 12th single Koe wo Kikasete / crazy girl .

I remembered when Koe wo Kikasete / crazy girl was released 2 months ago , I was so very impressed with the single but in this case , crazy girl is the standout track as compared to Koe wo Kikasete .

Even up to now , crazy girl never fails to blow me away & credits has to go to lil' showy for composing such a killer melody .

One In A Million is the B-side of BENI's 11th single Suki Dakara. .

Just like the A-side , I adore One In A Million a great deal & I was no doubt thrilled/happy to see this being included in Fortune as this's 1 song that I really like , so with that said , I have no complaints about this .

Koe wo Kikasete (Let Your Voice) is the 1st A-side of BENI's 12th single Koe wo Kikasete / crazy girl & this song is the last single included in Fortune .

While crazy girl is a straight up infectious party tune , Koe wo Kikasete takes on a sad ballad music route , with a rather unusual music box tune that complimented the lyrics .

Koe wo Kikasete is quite unusual for a ballad but the amount of emotions that can be felt from BENI is pretty strong .

secret is a very chilled lushed mid tempo treat which I really enjoy . It's of the more slower sounding tracks in Fortune but this doesn't stop me from liking secret a lot .

The next 2 tracks YES or NO ? & Oh Yeah ! are also standout tracks in Fortune & just like crazy girl , lil' showy had a hand in composing both songs .

I'm not sure if lil' showy composed for BENI before but if not , both of them definitely should work more often in future because I realised lil' showy's compositions for Fortune is really good .

Also , it just so happened that the more memorable prominent songs were composed by the same person too .

The 2nd last track of Fortune , Unmei no Hito (Man's Destiny) is a ballad & it's 1 of the more slower tunes just like secret .

Unmei no Hito is pretty & pleasant although I can't help but feel the song sounds a bit like Dakishimete (Hold Me) , not that I'm complaining though .

Included as a bonus track in Fortune , it's the last song which's titled ONLY YOU .

The live version of ONLY YOU was originally found in the CD of Lovebox Live Tour DVD & it was used to promote the movie Runway☆Beat .

I know about the existence of ONLY YOU for quite a while & I was wondering when's it possible to hear a studio version of it which I'm glad this has finally materialised .

On 1st listen , ONLY YOU sounds a bit like Anything Goes !! to me , with it being an all out upbeat R&B fast paced no. , which I think it's a good song to conclude things in Fortune .

BENI's latest 4th album Fortune gets released barely less than a year since her previous album Jewel but personally to me , I feel that Fortune is much more solid than Jewel .

I wasn't feeling so much love for Jewel & let alone her 2nd album Lovebox but this time round , the singles included in Fortune are some of BENI's best if not strongest to date & also , it's great that there're quite a few memorable solid album tracks that I enjoy in her new album .

1 of the biggest challenges I noticed when comes to R&B artistes is that their material can have a tendency to sound mundane/the same & it can get quite hard to remove this stigma .

BENI was caught in this music rut a while back ago but I'm glad to see that this time round for Fortune , it's a music step up for her .

Nothing still beats her debut album Bitter & Sweet at this point in time but Fortune could possibly be a good successor from where Bitter & Sweet left behind .

Acid Black Cherry - Chou (Butterfly)

2011-11-13T14:00:00.001+08:00

Acid Black Cherry - Chou (Butterfly)

CD

CD + DVD

Chou (Butterfly) is Acid Black Cherry's 13th single & it will be released this coming Wed on 16th Nov .

This new single will get released less than a month after the previous single Shangrila & it's the 3rd single from a 5-consecutive-monthly singles plan (one single per month for five months) .

Chou has been described as a jazzy , rock no. & the song fuses a slight swing melody with driving guitars .

There's no question/doubt that I immediately love Chou the very moment I heard it , especially since this sounds as though where Acid Black Cherry's 2nd single Black Cherry left behind .

Except in this case , the jazz influences in Chou are somehow more prominent/stronger & it doesn't take me long enough to adore it a lot which's great .

Kubou Ruriko's Otoko (Man) which was released in 1993 serves as the B-side in the single & this track will not be reviewed .

Acid Black Cherry's 14th single CRISIS will be released next month on 21st Dec .

ON/OFF - Akatsuki (Dawn)

2011-11-12T20:10:00.001+08:00

ON/OFF - Akatsuki (Dawn)

1) Akatsuki (Dawn)
2) Tsukisasa re ! (Pierced) Darts
3) I loving ... -Boku no Ai- (My Love)
4) Akatsuki (Dawn) (Instrumental)

Akatsuki (Dawn) is ON/OFF's 7th single & it was released last week on 2nd Nov .

The twin brothers's new single comes in about 7 months since the release of their previous single Hajimaru no Wa , Sayonara (Beginning Of Goodbye) .

I really like Akatsuki on 1st listen . I thought this was going to be a ballad but I was surprised to find out that it's actually an upbeat mid tempo track . It's definitely catchy & both Naoya & Kazuya sounded at ease/calm in here which's really nice .

There're 2 B-sides in the single . The 1st 1 is something that's titled Tsukisasa re ! (Pierced) Darts .

Tsukisasa re ! Darts really does compliment Akatsuki extremely well , with the former being such a gritty angsty B-side . It's not as angsty as Butterfly but still , Tsukisasa re ! Darts packs quite a lot of punch & attitude .

I loving ... -Boku no Ai- (My Love) is the 2nd B-side . It's a pretty piano mid tempo driven no. but I feel this's 1 of the duo's weaker B-sides because unlike their previous B-sides , it took me quite sometime to recall how I loving ... -Boku no Ai- sounds like .

But with that said , I loving ... -Boku no Ai- is an earnest sincere no. & it's quite evident at the way both brothers delivered this tune .

Fast approaching the 5th anniversary of their music debut , ON/OFF pulls off their 2nd single release for the year , in the form of Akatsuki .

The twin brothers's 2nd album Legend Of Twins II -Zoku Futago Densetsu- will be released next month on 7th Dec with Akatsuki included as track #11 & let alone it getting an album version .

While I loving ... -Boku no Ai- will be included in the album as track #5 .

Saito Kazuyoshi - Yasashiku Naritai (I Want Gently)

2011-11-09T12:18:00.001+08:00

Saito Kazuyoshi - Yasashiku Naritai (I Want Gently)

1) Yasashiku Naritai (I Want Gently)
2) Aisaretai Yatsura no Hitorigoto (Each One Of The Guys Want To Be Loved)
3) Usagi to Kame (Rabbit & Tortoise) (USTREAM Live at studio JIVE 2011.8.31)

Yasashiku Naritai (I Want Gently) is Saito Kazuyoshi's 39th single & it was released last week on 2nd Nov .

Saito's new single was released less than a month after he released his 15th album 45 STONES .

The A-side used as the theme song for the TV series Kaseifu no Mita starring Nanako Matsushima .

I was honestly surprised a new single would follow so soon after 45 STONES but with that said , Yasashiku Naritai is frankly classic Saito with the song being very catchy & memorable .

It's hard not to like Yasashiku Naritai as it has such an infectious melody & catchy hooks , something that Saito has a knack of when comes to writing/composing his material .

Both B-sides in Yasashiku Naritai will not be reviewed .

CD Review :: YUI - HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE

2011-11-06T09:08:00.001+08:00

CD Review :: YUI - HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE

CD

CD + DVD

1) HELLO
2) Separation
3) Get Back Home
4) Lock On
5) U-niform
6) Cooking
7) Rain
8) Good night
9) YOU
10) It's My Life
11) no Reason
12) Nobody Knows
13) Green a.live

HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE is YUI's 5th album & it was released a few days ago on 2nd Nov .

YUI's new album includes 4 singles & a B-side . HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE comes in about a year & four months since YUI released her last album HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN back in July 2010 .

HELLO is YUI's 19th single & it was used as the main theme song for the movie Paradise Kiss .

When the single was released , it was titled as HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ in line with the promotion for Paradise Kiss the movie . I'm not sure why it has been shortened here but anyway , HELLO is still a fun cheery sounding no. which's a good song to kick start the album .

The album 1st track is something titled Separation . YUI commented that "Separation has a funky rhythm , something I’ve never tried before . I made it while imagining bits & pieces of rhythm quickly being added into the song .

Although I was told , “That’s not a funk rhythm“ , I feel I was able to bring out a groovy effect . Then , I thought it would be fun to add painful lyrics & started writing" .

Get Back Home is the next album track & for this , it's quite a mellow no. . This song kind of reminds me of HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN's Please Stay With Me & also a little bit of again's Sea too .

Lock On is the only album track that gets a music video & for this , it was chosen as the theme song for the drama Kaito Royale which Matsuzaka Tori stars in .

Kaito Royale is originally a popular mobile game & it has been described as a exciting suspense story . Other than Matsuzaka , Oomasa Aya , Fukushi Seiji & 2PM's Chansung serves as the main cast members for the drama .

YUI commented that "I made the song with the theme of ‘thrill’ . Since the drama is set in a world of treasure stealing , I wanted it to have a kind yet fun outlook on the world . To make it even more thrilling , I changed the key during the middle , but it was difficult .

When I first received the offer to write the theme song , there was no script , so I read the draft . I knew a little about Kaito Royale through games & ads , which helped me to create an image of the drama" .

U-niform is track #5 & for this , I only find it ok & it's quite a typical standard track YUI is known for .

This's not really something I might listen to on a frequent basis but at least U-niform is a pleasant sounding no. .

Cooking follows after U-niform & I guess you can say Cooking is the 1st title that caught my attention when I saw the album tracklist as I was curious to know how this will sound like .

YUI challenged herself to simple triple (three beats in each measure) in Cooking . She commented that "Ever since my debut , I always wanted to make a song with simple triple . But back then, I couldn’t operate a computer that well & I wasn’t able to step record .

Now , I’ve become accustomed to a computer so I typed in the drums myself , then created the melody . It was by feel , but I had fun . The song had a warm feel to it , so I think the kind lyrics accompanies the song’s outlook .

I felt that every girl has the feeling of wanting to make food for the person they love , so I sang the song while imagining I was near that person ."

Rain is YUI's 17th single & this was used as the theme song for the drama Perfect Report which was aired last October .

The producer of Fuji TV stated that YUI's song was chosen due to the fact that she puts in lots of energy into her songs .

Even though Rain is the oldest single included in the album , it's something that I'm still not bored with even up to now .

Goodnight is the shortest track included in HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE & the last time YUI included an interlude in her album was I LOVED YESTERDAY's No way .

YUI said that "The song I wrote while wanting to change the scene is Goodnight . At first , it was a song you could hum to but as I was making it , I became greedy . In the end , I recorded it properly & added a chorus to it" .

YOU is the B-side of YUI's 19th single HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ . While the A-side was used as the movie's opening no. , for YOU , it was used as the movie's ending theme song instead .

This's the 1st time YUI has included a B-side track in her album & frankly , I'm really happy she did that because I really like YOU a lot so needless to say , I'm thrilled she decided to do this & I can understand why , with HELLO being the main opening no. for HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE , it kind of make sense to include YOU in the tracklist as well .

It's My Life is the 1st A-side of YUI's 18th single It's My Life / Your Heaven . It's My Life was used as U-CAN's 2011 commercial song & just like her previous double A-side singles , the 2nd A-side Your Heaven is not included in the album .

I still remember the surprise I had when It's My Life was released alongside with Your Heaven . While Your Heaven is a ballad , It's My Life is something YUI really experimented & went all out .

It's My Life has that very ska reggae influence which might or might not sit well with longtime fans of YUI but for me , I feel that it's a music risk that paid off nicely for YUI .

The last 2 songs are album tracks , the 1st one that's titled no Reason .

no Reason is frankly 1 of my fave album tracks , simply because it sounds almost like LIFE , which's also incidentally 1 of my fave YUI singles . I just like no Reason for being really memorable & catchy on 1st listen .

Definitely 1 of the standout tracks in HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE for sure .

Likewise , the same thing goes for Nobody Knows as well . It has a much more edgier sound . It's not as heavily angsty driven as some of YUI's previous songs but Nobody Knows is still something worth listening & checking out .

Green a.live is YUI's 20th single & this's the last song included in HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE & let alone the most recent single she released prior to the release of the album .

This song is dedicated to the victims of the March 11th earthquake/tsunami . YUI mentioned that "it's a song with many factors . It was hard to put them into words because I wanted to make it carefully .

Also, when I finished the song , I was able to think , “This is me right now” . There are a lot of emotions within me that I haven’t unraveled yet . So I realised that I have to face it , instead of putting an end to it ."

Since making her debut presence felt some 6 years ago , YUI has certainly matured & have come a long way in the music scene & it's evident/proof in her latest album release HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE .

In relation to YUI's thoughts about her new album , she sums up by saying "It holds the meaning of ‘how much is your affection’ . I used the word ‘LOVE’ in the title , but I wanted it to mean a big ‘emotion’ .

Like support or a guideline for life … in a broad sense , I think it turned out to be an album that asks , ‘What are your emotions?‘ By using ‘LOVE’ , I felt that it was the best way to deliver these feelings in simplest form" .

ARASHI - Meikyuu (Labyrinth) Love Song

2011-11-06T08:31:00.001+08:00

ARASHI - Meikyuu (Labyrinth) Love Song

CD

CD + DVD

Meikyuu (Labyrinth) Love Song is ARASHI's 36th single & it was released a few days ago on 2nd Nov .

This new single comes about 4 months + after the release of the group's 10th album Beautiful World .

Meikyuu Love Song is currently used to promote the drama Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de , starring Sakurai Sho & it has been described as a positive tune about the bond of family , friends & lovers .

Honestly on 1st listen , I find Meikyuu Love Song really boring if not stale as this sounds like any typical of their previous mid tempo tracks which they released before , such as Hatenai Sora (Endless Sky) & My Girl .

But I suppose after I saw the video for Meikyuu Love Song , my perception towards the song has changed since then but still , I wouldn't consider this as my fave single that ARASHI has released . It's a pleasant song but not something I will go wow over .

There're a total of 4 B-sides included in the single , with the 1st 3 found in the CD only pressing of the single .

The 1st B-side is something titled together , forever . I honestly thought this might be a ballad but I was surprised when I found out that's not the case .

Instead , together , forever is quite an upbeat track which plays a really good contrast against the A-side . I also thought it's quite interesting to have a little bit of saxophone inspired beats thrown in for good measure .

In the case of Utakata (The Way You Sing) , it's also another uptempo no. but this's the only B-side that Sakurap is present & I kind of like this with Utakata having such an edgy pop melody .

My only grouse for Utakata is that despite the fact that Sakurap is present , it's pretty brief . It would have been awesome if it was longer , seeing that most of the time , songs that have the inclusion of Sakurap tends to sound much better than those without it .

wanna be ... is the 3rd B-side & for this , it's quite interesting as it takes on a more guitar driven melody .

This's the type of sound that I prefer to see ARASHI do as it keeps things fresh & exciting , instead of the usual standard pop songs which they have been known for in recent times .

Kienu Omoi (Unforgettable Feelings) is found exclusively in the CD + DVD pressing of Meikyuu Love Song .

Unlike the 1st 3 B-sides , for this Kienu Omoi is a ballad & I couldn't help but feel this song is something that their seniors KinKi Kids might do .

I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing but at least Kienu Omoi is not the typical standard type of ballad Johnny's have been known to include in their discography .

This year is the 12th year since ARASHI debuted in the scene & they have wrapped up a rather fruitful year of releases with their latest single Meikyuu Love Song .

Just like their previous singles , I must admit it's starting to become a common sight where I enjoy their B-sides much more than the A-side & it's evident in their previous singles that follow this route , such as Hatenai Sora & My Girl .

I frankly wish to see them do something different in their next single release , something unexpected but great will do nicely . Another dark no. such as truth will be something that I most certainly welcome .

Shota Shimizu - Mada Owaranai (It's Not Over Yet)

2011-11-02T19:08:00.001+08:00

Shota Shimizu - Mada Owaranai (It's Not Over Yet)

Cover For Both CD & CD + DVD's

1) Mada Owaranai (It's Not Over Yet)
2) Dream of love
3) YOU & I ~Acoustic Piano Version~
4) Mada Owaranai (It's Not Over Yet) -instrumental-

Mada Owaranai (It's Not Over Yet) is Shota Shimizu's 10th single & it was released last week on 26th Oct .

Shota's new single is released 3 months + after his 3rd collaboration duet with Miliyah Kato , BELIEVE .

The A-side is described as a song to encourage people working toward their careers , dreams , love & any part of life .

I can't help but feel that Mada Owaranai is such a bright , but laid-back song which's definitely refreshing to know so , especially since it's such a big difference comparing to this no. & let alone love .

It's also cool that Mada Owaranai features a new jack swing style coupled with a fresh melody twist as well .

The B-side is something titled Dream of love & I was pretty surprised when I 1st heard this no. .

Shota's material is generally not autotune driven but there's definitely a 1st for everything , especially since Shota has never venture in incorporating autotune in his music .. until now in Dream of love .

The Acoustic Piano Version of Shota's 8th single YOU & I serves as the 2nd / last B-side .

YOU & I is already piano driven but in here , YOU & I ~Acoustic Piano Version~ takes on a much more stripped down & emotional music route , which is able to let Shota's vocals do most of the work with the finished product being something worth enjoying .

Before his COLOURS TOUR 2011 DVD gets released on 30th Nov , R&B singer Shota Shimizu releases his latest single Mada Owaranai . The light dance song intends to put fans in a good mood & help them have a positive outlook on life .

Shota's 11th single title tbc will be released next month on 21st Dec .

CD Review :: Saito Kazuyoshi - 45 STONES

2011-10-30T19:29:00.002+08:00

CD Review :: Saito Kazuyoshi - 45 STONES

Cover for both CD regular & limited editions

1) Usagi to Kame (Rabbit & Tortoise)
2) Sakura Rhapsody
3) Would you join me ?
4) Saru no Wakusei (Planet Of The Apes)
5) Makeinu no Uta (Poem Loser)
6) Niji ga Kierumade (Rainbow To Disappear)
7) Ohkami Chunen (Middle-aged Wolf)
8) Boku to Kanojyo to (I'm With Her) Rock'n'Roll
9) Amayadori (Shelter)
10) Otona (Adults)
11) Guitar

45 STONES is Saito Kazuyoshi's 15th album & it was released on 19th Oct .

No singles are included in 45 STONES . Instead , only a digital single Amayadori (Shelter) is found in Saito's latest album offering .

Saito's last album release was last Oct's ARE YOU READY ? .

45 STONES start things off with a rather weird song that's titled Usagi to Kame (Rabbit & Tortoise) . I wasn't sure what to expect for Usagi to Kame but it turns out to be a rather simple easy listening mid tempo no. .

In the case of the next song Sakura Rhapsody , it's classic Saito in the sense that there's just so many layering of different instruments being utilised in this rather grand sounding track in which Sakura Rhapsody is hands down 1 of my fave tracks found in 45 STONES .

Would you join me ? is pretty random because Saito can be heard reciting the title song many times in here .

However if I thought Would you join me ? was random , the next song Saru no Wakusei (Planet Of The Apes) is even more up there on the odd factor .

With a song titled as Saru no Wakusei , naturally I have no idea what to expect for this just like another animal related song title just now ie. Usagi to Kame .

But for Saru no Wakusei , it's more unusual & it does pay homage to the song title's because I strangely can hear monkey related sounds in it . It's not really something that I would listen to on a regular basis but I have to give credit to Saito for experimenting out of the box .

Luckily the next song Makeinu no Uta (Poem Loser) is something that's less complicated sounding but it still is able to retain a lot of charm & class .

Makeinu no Uta is a very under-stated song that's quite guitar & piano driven . This's something I like & coming from Saito , he did this very well .

Niji ga Kierumade (Rainbow To Disappear) is actually a self-cover that's originally written for Koizumi Kyoko .

Just like Makeinu no Uta , Niji ga Kierumade is another nice track that I enjoy & in here , it takes on a more acoustic guitar route which's great as I feel Saito doesn't need anything else to make things better sounding than this .

Saito basically let his vocals & a simple melody do most of the work in Niji ga Kierumade & he even did a bit of whistle blowing prior to the conclusion of the song too .

Ohkami Chunen (Middle-aged Wolf) is the 3rd animal related song in 45 STONES & it seems that in the past 2 albums I've heard/reviewed of Saito , there always tend to be a song that's slotted in the random department & I guess the same thing can apply for Ohkami Chunen .

In short , Ohkami Chunen is really random if not obnoxious . I thought the earlier part of 45 STONES was quite weird for me to handle but that doesn't seem to be the case after I've heard Ohkami Chunen .

It's definitely not something for the faint hearted to listen .

Whereas in the case of Boku to Kanojyo to (I'm With Her) Rock'n'Roll , this's 1 really catchy memorable track .

Boku to Kanojyo to Rock'n'Roll as the title suggests , is a cheery sounding no. that brings back a lot of old school fuss free rock from the old days . I don't really have much to add except this's 1 song I love on 1st listen .

Amayadori was released as a digital single & this song is something that I've reviewed/talked about a while back ago .

I'm real pleased to see Amayadori in the tracklist as this's 1 song that never fails to stuck a chord or 2 in me . I can tell just how much emotions Saito has poured into this heartfelt piano ballad .

Amayadori is quite a sombre sounding no. as well which's a nod/dedication to the victims of the March 11th earthquake/tsunami disaster .

Otona (Adults) contrasts Amayadori in the sense that Otona is a very uplifting no. which I find it really inspirational .

Also instead of Otona sounding just like any other typical rock song , Saito added in a few little touches of his own such as using a harmonica which gives Otona a bit of more kick than the average standard no. .

Guitar is the last song in 45 STONES & this's yet another simple & fuss free track which I think it's perfect to conclude things .

The vibes presented in Guitar is very simple & clear cut . It's basically just Saito singing alongside with an acoustic guitar melody , with a little bit of percussion on the sideline to make things sound better than the norm .

In 2002 , singer-songwriter Saito Kazuyoshi released the album 35 STONES , named as so because he was at the age of 35 at the time of release .

Nearly 10 years later , Saito - now 45 years old - has released his 15th studio album 45 STONES . Recorded after the March 11th earthquake/tsunami , 45 STONES is a personal album that expresses Saito's thoughts in the post-disaster situation .

Saito's 39th single Yasashiku Naritai (I Want Gently) will be released this coming week on 2nd Nov .

CD Review :: Tegomass - Tegomass no Mahou

2011-10-25T20:42:00.001+08:00

CD Review :: Tegomass - Tegomass no Mahou

CD

CD + DVD

1) Mahou no (Magic) Melody
2) Hanabi (Fireworks)
3) Yuuyake to Koi to Jitensha (Sunset , Love & Bicycle)
4) Yuki Daruma (Snowman)
5) Wasuremono (Forgetten Things)
6) Tanabata Matsuri (Star Festival)
7) Mr.Freedom
8) Over Drive
9) Ryoukiteki (Bizzare) Honey
10) Yume Tabibito (Dream Traveller)
11) Aoi Bench (Blue Bench)
12) La La Sakura (CD Only Track)
13) Tadaima , Okaeri (Welcome Back I'm Home) (CD Only Track)
14) Ai no Naka de (In The Center Of Love) (CD Only Track)

Tegomass no Mahou is Tegomass's 2nd album & it was last week released on 19th Oct .

The duo's debut album Tegomass no Uta was released 2 years ago on 15th July & in their latest album offering , Tegomass no Mahou consists of 2 singles with 1 album track that gets a music video .

Mahou no (Magic) Melody is the 1st song that kick things off in Tegomass no Mahou & this's the album track in question that gets a music video .

I can understand why Mahou no Melody deserves to as the concept of the video goes very well hand in hand with the song .

Going with the flow of the album title , Mahou no Melody presents a very fun light hearted cheery side of Tegomass which definitely sets the bar on what to expect in the 1st 1/4 of the album .

The next album track Hanabi (Fireworks) is another catchy memorable track & it has a mixture of piano beats & even a little bit of slight Jazz thrown in for good measures .

Hanabi is 1 of those songs that will bring a smile to a person's face which's a good thing .

Likewise , the same thing goes for the free spirited Yuuyake to Koi to Jitensha (Sunset , Love & Bicycle) except in this case , Yuuyake to Koi to Jitensha takes on a more pop & piano route unlike Hanabi .

Yuki Daruma (Snowman) is an interesting song & with a song title such as Yuki Daruma , I was kind of expecting something probably Winter inspired & it's actually quite true to a certain extent .

This is quite an unusual song because I wasn't sure if I could classify this as a Winter song but I suppose I can , given that this mid tempo song is actually 1 of my fave album tracks in Tegomass no Mahou .

After a couple of uptempo songs , Tegomass has slow things down a bit with Wasuremono (Forgetten Things) .

Wasuremono started with a really pretty piano melody & then it branch out into something that's quite Jazz driven & there's even a big of Bossanova here thrown in for good measures .

Definitely a top notch tune that I enjoy listening to .

Tanabata Matsuri (Star Festival) is Tegomass's 4th single . This is their 2nd single after the duo's debut single Miso Soup which was simultaneously sold at Japan & Sweden's music stores .

Honestly Tanabata Matsuri is a very cute song but it's not something that I will listen to on a regular basis , since there're other good songs that I can cherry pick & enjoy from Tegomass's discography .

Things begin to pick up a bit of a speed in the form of Mr.Freedom .

Mr.Freedom is a bit hard to describe but it has quite a lot of trumpet beats which's combined with Tegomass's signature pop sounds .

It's quite an odd combination but somehow or another it works for Tegomass pretty well .

Over Drive is probably 1 of the more crazy over the top songs in the album as I couldn't help but have vibes of Tegomass no Ai's Cheetah , Gorilla , Orangutan when I 1st heard Over Drive .

Unlike Cheetah , Gorilla , Orangutan which was much more upbeat , somehow or another , the craziness factor is quite toned down in Over Drive but in terms of gritty guitar beats , this can be felt a lot more in Over Drive .

With an odd title such as Ryoukiteki (Bizzare) Honey , I wasn't sure what to expect for this song but surprisingly if not even more stranger , Ryoukiteki Honey has that very strong Carribean vibes that it gives off when I 1st heard it .

I don't know if it's a good or bad thing but I kind of enjoy Ryoukiteki Honey though .

Yume Tabibito (Dream Traveller) is 1 of the shorter tracks in Tegomass no Mahou but this has to be 1 of my faves as this's really simplicity at its best .

In short , Yume Tabibito has the duo belting out this simple heartfelt no. in an almost acapella style . Both of Tegoshi & Masuda's vocals are strong & they compliment each other very well .

It's evident in Yume Tabibito where they make use of their vocals & let it do most of the work . They didn't need anything to complicate things further , which makes Yume Tabibito a really enjoyable track worth checking out .

Aoi Bench (Blue Bench) is Tegomass's 5th single & this's the last single if not the recent single release prior to the release of Tegomass no Mahou .

This song is a cover of the now defunct folk-rock duo Sasuke's hit song Aoi Bench . Tegomass gave a fresh take on the refreshing folk-rock tune , which was heard nightly on television as the February theme song of ranking show Onegai ! Ranking .

The last 3 tracks are songs that're only found in the CD only pressing of the album .

La La Sakura & Tadaima , Okaeri (I'm Home , Welcome Home) were included as the B-side tracks in the Swedish version of Tanabata Matsuri .

Because of this , I find both songs very familiar as I do know how they sound like . I'm actually glad the duo decided to include them in the album because for fans that were not able to purchase the Swedish edition of Tanabata Matsuri , at least now , they will not lose out in this aspect .

Ai no Naka de (In The Center Of Love) is the final no. in Tegomass no Mahou & for this , the lyrics were written by Tegomass & this song was performed during their 2nd tour

I think it's a great way to conclude the album with Ai no Naka de . The live version of the song is pretty something but for them to make a studio version of this really enduring mid tempo ballad , I have no further complaints about it .

Considering the fact that this's the only song in the album that has personal input from both members , I should give Tegomass credit on when it's due .

After experiencing their music & their love , it's time for fans to experience Tegomass's magic with their latest album Tegomass no Mahou .

I don't think it's fair to compare which album of Tegomass is better as in general I really like the type of music Tegomass does but all I can say's that they have shown a great deal of maturity from their early days of their debut single Miso Soup until now .

For Tegomass no Mahou , it's a very enjoyable album from start til the end . I don't really have any complaints about their new album , especially since both of them have really good vocals so in terms of vocals & executing the right styles on what works & what doesn't , they nailed it downpat well here .

Definitely an album worth checking out before 2011 concludes .

girl next door - ROCK YOUR BODY

2011-10-22T13:50:00.003+08:00

girl next door - ROCK YOUR BODY

CD

CD + DVD A ; DVD footages contains the music video of ROCK YOUR BODY

CD + DVD B ; DVD footages contains live footages of Ready to be a lady , Infinity & Silent Scream

1) ROCK YOUR BODY EXTENDED
2) Nanatsu no Moji (Seven Letters)
3) ROCK YOUR BODY
4) Ready to be a lady (FROM LIVE Destination) (CD Only Track)
5) Nanatsu no Moji (Seven Letters) (Instrumental)

ROCK YOUR BODY is girl next door's 13th single & it was released a few days ago on 19th Oct .

The trio's new single is released less than a month after their previous single Dara Para !! & it's their 2nd of 3 back to back monthly single releases .

The A-side is described as a fun upbeat song & all the songs except for the live take of Ready to be a lady will be reviewed .

This single has 2 different versions of the A-side in the sense that there's both an original & extended version of ROCK YOUR BODY .

The version that's in sync with the music video is about 5 mins + long while the extended version is close to a whopping 9 mins + long .

This's the 1st I've seen something like this taking place for the group but anyway , on 1st listen , ROCK YOUR BODY does sound extremely different from Dara Para !! .

While ROCK YOUR BODY still contains familiar traces of the trio's signature electro pop tunes , this sounds as though they're taking a music step back in time as I can detect sounds of the late 90's disco vibes in here .

Not that it's a bad thing but it brings back to quite a lot of memories for me when I was still in tune with English music

The B-side Nanatsu no Moji (Seven Letters) features lyrics that's written by lead vocalist CHISA herself .

I frankly thought that Nanatsu no Moji might be a ballad to contrast & balance things out but it's still a nice B-side .

Somehow or another , Nanatsu no Moji reminds me of Climber's High a little bit to a certain extent . I couldn't help but when I listen to both songs , the similiarity is pretty close .

ROCK YOUR BODY is girl next door's 2nd work in a trilogy of songs that seeks to deliver smiles & energy across Japan . Utilising rave as its concept , the song will make fans want to get up out of their seats & dance !

The trio's 14th single Boogie Night will be released next month on 16th Nov .

BENI - Darlin'

2011-10-16T08:56:00.001+08:00

BENI - Darlin'

1)　Darlin'
2)　Suki Dakara. (I Like.) (BACHLOGIC REMIX)
3)　Anything Goes !! (DJ cool-k REMIX)
4)　Darlin’ (Instrumental)

Darlin' is BENI's 13th single & it was released a few days ago on 12th Oct .

BENI's new single comes less than a month since the release of her previous single Koe wo Kikasete (Let Your Voice) / crazy girl & this's her 2nd single release which was released within 2 consecutive months .

I really like Darlin' , it's such a cute enduring song & it's 1 of those feel good no.s that will bring a smile to anyone .

Darlin' is a song about women's empathy on love & it's a happy love song in talking about love that lasts forever between people .

The 2 B-sides are remixes of BENI's previous songs , an idea that her 10th single 2FACE utilised before .

The BACHLOGIC REMIX of her 11th single Suki Dakara. (I Like.) serves as the 1st B-side . The original take of the song is more emotional driven but in here , the BACHLOGIC REMIX gives it a somewhat more lighthearted feeling .

The DJ cool-k REMIX of Anything Goes !! serves as the 2nd B-side & Anything Goes !! was originally found as track #6 in BENI's debut album Bitter & Sweet .

Honestly I'm really surprised BENI choose to sing a remix of Anything Goes !! & it's quite random , given that Bitter & Sweet was released close to 2 years back but I frankly find the DJ cool-k REMIX of the song nothing special .

It sounds almost the same as the original except the song has been twerked a little bit , by adding a little bit of autotune & some extra fanciful beats .

BENI released 3 singles this year & her recent material has been some of her strongest releases to date with Darlin' being no exception .

Her 4th album Fortune will be released next month on 2nd Nov , with Darlin' being slotted in the CD tracklist as track #2 .

Acid Black Cherry - Shangrila

2011-10-15T11:16:00.001+08:00

Acid Black Cherry - Shangrila

CD

CD + DVD

Shangrila is Acid Black Cherry's 12th single & it will be released this coming Wed on 19th Oct .

Acid Black Cherry's new single offering comes less than a month after the release of their previous single Pistol .

Shangrila has been described as a refreshing & positive song which combined both rock & orchestra sounds & this's the 2nd single from a 5-consecutive-monthly singles plan (one single per month for five months) .

To say that the mood/vibes Shangrila displayed is vastly different from Pistol is an understatement & it has been quite a long time yasu has released such a happy if not very inspirational upbeat track , the last one being their 5th single 20+∞Century Boys .

But even if so , I have to say Shangrila presents a very different sound/side from yasu & I can't help but feel very happy after hearing it & it doesn't surprise me .

It's great that Shangrila is 1 of those songs that is such a great motivational booster no. & perhaps it's not surprising that I have been loving this song a lot more than Pistol .

The B-side is ANRI's Kanashimi ga Tomaranai (Grief Does Not Stop) which was released in 1983 & this song will not be reviewed .

Acid Black Cherry's 13th single Chou (Butterfly) will be released on 16th Nov .

L'Arc~en~Ciel - X X X

2011-10-09T09:56:00.001+08:00

L'Arc~en~Ciel - X X X

CD

CD + DVD

1) X X X
2) I'm so happy -L'Acoustic version-
3) X X X (hydeless version)
4) I'm so happy -L'Acoustic version- (hydeless version)

X X X is L'Arc~en~Ciel's 38th single & it will be released this coming Wed on 12th Oct .

This new single comes about 4 months + since the release of the group's previous single GOOD LUCK MY WAY & it's their 2nd single release for 2011 in celebrating L'Arc~en~Ciel's 20th anniversary in the music business .

Despite the rather weird unusual song title , the A-side is actually pronounced as kiss-kiss-kiss .

To say that X X X is unusual , it's an understatement . I wasn't sure what to expect when I 1st heard X X X but I was really surprised how this song turns out to be .

L'Arc~en~Ciel has a tendency to experiment with their music quite a fair bit for the past 20 years or so & this's evident for X X X . X X X is actually has the traits of both mid tempo & fast tempo .

The fast tempo aspect consists of really loud/strong beats that just blahs out from the stereo & it's also quite Orchestra driven to a certain extent .

X X X is 1 of the more unusual songs that I've heard in recent times but for a season veteran artiste such as L'Arc~en~Ciel , they did it really well & nailed X X X downpat .

I'm so happy -L'Acoustic version- serves as the B-side & this song will not be reviewed .

YUI - Green a.live

2011-10-08T14:26:00.002+08:00

YUI - Green a.live

CD

CD + DVD

1) Green a.live
2) Let's face it
3) HELLO ~YUI Acoustic Version~
4) Green a.live ~Instrumental~

Green a.live is YUI's 20th single & it was released a few days ago on 5th Oct .

YUI's new single comes in about 4 months + since the release of her previous single HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ .

Originally schdeuled to be released on 10th Aug , Green a.live was eventually pushed back to its now release date of 5th Oct .

The A-side is described as a sorrowful no. & the song was created after the March 11th earthquake took place .

YUI commented , “I put the title of the song with the meaning of ‘living inside of the earth’ because sometimes , I ask myself if I have not lost something precious while living in a city . I started thinking about fate through this song Green a.live .”

YUI traveled to the disaster-stricken areas to perform concerts & did charity work . This experience & her feelings about the tragedy helped her write this inspirational light rock tune , which is dedicated to those who were affected by the disaster .

The B-side Let's face it contrasts Green a.live really well . While the main A-side is a mid tempo song , for Let's face it , it has a more rockish upbeat vibe .

Let's face it is not as memorable as her previous B-sides & let alone a bit short but this's still something enjoyable to listen to .

The ~YUI Acoustic Version~ of her previous single HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ wraps up the single & just like her previous singles , YUI will tend to give an acoustic treatment to songs & HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ is no exception .

The YUI Acoustic Version for HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ is very nice & easy listening . The original take of the song was pretty upbeat but in here , it has been given a very under-stated feeling which I like .

Green a.live is YUI's 3rd single release for 2011 & the fact that this's her 20th single release overall , it shows just how far she has come & with YUI's thoughts after the March 11th earthquake , Green a.live is sure to became a song that will touch the listeners’ hearts .

YUI's 5th album HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE is scheduled to be released on 2nd Nov .

SID - Itsuka (Someday)

2011-10-05T21:27:00.002+08:00

SID - Itsuka (Someday)

CD

CD + DVD A

CD + DVD B

1) Itsuka (Someday)
2) Aki Kaze (Autumn Breeze)
3) NO LDK (Live from 『dead stock TOUR 2011』)

Itsuka (Someday) is SID's 9th single & it was released last week on 28th Sept .

Their 1st single release for 2011 , Itsuka comes after the release of the group's 2nd album dead stock which dropped this year on 23rd Feb .

Itsuka has been described as a powerful burst of energy that will rock listeners & it was used as the opening theme song for TBS's CDTV last month .

With lyrics written by lead singer Mao & the melody composed by guitarist Shinji , both of them make quite a good combination in making Itsuka sound a complete class of its own .

Shinji doesn't tend to compose as often as the rest but his compositions speak volume & it's quite evident with regards to Itsuka which's a really solid & memorable A-side that I enjoy .

There're 2 B-sides in the single . The 1st one is something that's titled Aki Kaze (Autumn Breeze) & this's composed by bassist Aki .

Aki Kaze really compliments & contrasts Itsuka very well . Itsuka can tend to sound a bit depressing but Aki Kaze presents something that's hopeful sounding if not just being inspirational which I guess it didn't surprise me I enjoy both songs equally as much as the next .

Recorded live from the group's dead stock TOUR 2011 concert/s , it's the live take of NO LDK which's found as the 1st track in the tracklist for their 2nd album dead stock .

NO LDK is actually 1 of my fave tracks in dead stock & I'm actually thrilled that they decided to include a live take of it in Itsuka .

To me , Mao sounds on par if not almost the same as what I listen in a CD which's good as there's always a tendency for artistes to lip synch their material in live performances but thankfully , such a thing does not exist for SID .

After close to a 7 months absence of not releasing anything new , SID is back with brand new material in the form of their latest single Itsuka & what an enjoyable single this's .

All 3 songs on the single are really solid & memorable . It's nice to know despite the rather long absence of not releasing new material for the last 7 months , it's great that the guys returned back in fine form with Itsuka .

Their 10th single will be released on 7th Dec & for that , I can't wait for more details to surface on this in due time .

CD Review :: SPYAIR - Rockin' the World

2011-10-04T12:15:00.001+08:00

CD Review :: SPYAIR - Rockin' the World

Cover for all 3 editions (CD , CD + Bonus Disc & CD + DVD)

1) Rockin' the World
2) Japanication
3) Samurai Heart (Some Like It Hot !!)
4) BEAUTIFUL DAYS
5) STRONG
6) LIAR
7) Stay together
8) Beautiful
9) I miss you
10) Last Moment
11) SINGING (album mix)
12) My Friend

Rockin' the World is rock band SPYAIR's debut album & it was released last month on 21st Sept .

SPYAIR's debut album contains 5 singles & a B-side & with the release of Rocki'n the World , this's the group's 1st release that charted in the top 10 of the Oricon charts .

Sharing the same title as the album , Rockin' the World is a nice start to what to expect from the guys which's a good dosage of no-nonsense power pop rock with distinct vocals delivered by lead singer/frontman IKE .

Rockin' the World (the song) definitely has a lot of potential should it be a full length track but with it being slotted as the very 1st track in the tracklist , it sets the mood/tone on what to expect from SPYAIR in the next few songs to come .

The next 3 songs are singles that SPYAIR has already released prior to the release of Rockin' the World .

Japanication is the group's 3rd single & for this , it's basically a mean gritty aggressive track that has plenty of attitude & kick .

I can understand why this song's slotted right after Rockin' the World , since sound consistency wise , it's there & let alone Japanication is extremely catchy & memorable .

Samurai Heart (Some Like It Hot !!) is the band's 4th single & for this song , it was used as the outro theme for the anime Gintama .

I really like Samurai Heart (Some Like It Hot !!) , with it being another solid & strong single . Unlike Japanication , the mood that can felt from Samurai Heart (Some Like It Hot !!) is more light hearted & cheery sounding which's really nice .

BEAUTIFUL DAYS is SPYAIR's 5th single & for this , it was used in the drama Don Quixote & it's the guys's most recent release before they released Rockin' the World .

This song can be considered as the band's breakthrough hit even though their past singles were used in the Gintama & BLEACH animes but I guess it's easy to see why more people sit up & take notice of SPYAIR soon after BEAUTIFUL DAYS is released .

Before I decided to listen to SPYAIR , I actually have heard a little bit of BEAUTIFUL DAYS but at that time , I didn't paid attention to them . It was only until I heard the full song & then I can understand why IKE mentioned on TV that this no. pushed up their popularity to a certain extent .

It's hard not to like BEAUTIFUL DAYS , with soaring vocals & with such an emotional driven melody , this probably can be considered as the group's best single which they included in Rockin' the World .

STRONG is the 1st proper album track & just like Japanication , it's 1 highly charged up rock thumping no. . With a song that's called STRONG , this is actually 1 of the more stronger & prominent album tracks found in Rockin' the World .

LIAR is SPYAIR's debut single & this was used to promote the drama Hammer Session ! .

I suppose the fact that LIAR is the band's debut single , LIAR gave them a proper footstart in the industry & even though this was released last year in Aug , LIAR still sounds really fresh & unique which I like .

The next 3 songs are album tracks . The 1st up is something that's titled Stay together .

Stay together is really fuss free sounding . Unlike the other songs which can get a bit over complicated sounding , Stay together presents a more stripped down & chilled out vibe that the song gives off .

Beautiful follows after Stay together & Beautiful is well beautiful in the sense that it has some really nice guitar riffs & also drum beats that's thrown in for good measures .

Likewise for I miss you , it's an emotional charged up mid tempo no. . I thought I miss you might be a ballad but I guess from the song title , I was a bit mislead on things .

Last Moment is SPYAIR's 2nd single & this was used as the outro theme for the anime BLEACH & this's also the last single included in Rockin' the World .

This song can be considered as the 1st song/video I've heard/seen of the guys . I must admit , I wasn't really impressed with what Last Moment had to offer but it's only until much later after I heard BEAUTIFUL DAYS & the rest of the singles , my perception towards Last Moment gradually changed slowly .

SINGING was originally included as the 2nd B-side in the guys's debut single LIAR & in here , it has been given an album mix .

SPYAIR has quite a lot of B-sides from their 1st 4 singles but I'm actually glad they decided to include SINGING in the album & let alone giving it an album mix , as this song's really a class of its own .

My Friend is the last album track if not song in the CD tracklist & I think out of the new songs that're included in Rockin' the World , I consider My Friend as 1 of my faves .

1 of the things that makes My Friend stood out from the rest is that I thought it's brillant for IKE to sing acapella at the beginning before the song breaks out in having this unusual if not cool finger snapping / beats thumping no. , which's something the other songs in Rockin' the World does not have .

I guess I can see why the guys included My Friend as the last song , because I couldn't think of any other song that's more fitting to wrap things up in Rockin' the World than My Friend .

SPYAIR is 1 artiste I can see that they have a lot of potential to go far & Rockin' the World is a really solid debut album from this upcoming talented rock band .

The time duration for Rockin' the World lasts a total of 40 mins but still , this album that contains 12 songs is extremely enjoyable to listen to from the start to the end & let alone , it's great that this's the guys's very 1st release to debut in the top 10 in Oricon .

Their fans have spoken & Rockin' the World is easily the best debut album I've came across that was released this year & I'm excited to have come across SPYAIR's music as this's 1 rock group that definitely can survive in this tough fickle music industry .

I wait & anticipate to see their next single release & with this album , SPYAIR proclaims that they are rocking the world & they're here to stay !

Anna Tsuchiya - UNCHAINED GIRL

2011-10-02T21:56:00.002+08:00

Anna Tsuchiya - UNCHAINED GIRL

CD

CD + DVD

1) STAYIN' ALIVE
2) JUICY GIRL Feat The SAMOS
3) Master Blaster

UNCHAINED GIRL is Anna Tsuchiya's 13th single & it was released a few days ago on 28th Sept .

Originally titled as STAYIN' ALIVE / JUICY GIRL / Master Blaster , UNCHAINED GIRL is Anna's 1st triple A-side single & her 1st release for the year .

All the 3 songs in UNCHAINED GIRL get music videos which string together a story plot from the start to the end .

The 1st A-side STAYIN' ALIVE is a cover of the 1977 classic Bee Gees number .

It has been quite a while since Anna did a cover song , the last one being a cover of The Sex Pistols's ANARCHY IN THE UK . Perhaps no surprises , her cover of STAYIN' ALIVE is very much drenched with NANA inspired like elements .

The 2nd A-side JUICY GIRL which features The SAMOS was used to promote in the ads of Zespri Kiwi .

JUICY GIRL is interesting because I have no idea what to expect with regards to it but there's quite a lot of electro meets rock influences going on in here .

Combining both music genres might sound like a music recipe for disaster but in actual fact , Anna managed to pull it off pretty well in JUICY GIRL .

Master Blaster is the final A-side included in UNCHAINED GIRL & for this , it was used to promote the Role Playing Game Continent of the Ninth .

The song was written & composed by a famous songwriter Kanno Yoko & is described to to be an emotional number that expresses the magnificent world in Continent of the Ninth & the soldiers who run into battle with monsters .

Even prior to the song’s release , the unprecedented but powerful tag team of Anna & Kanno has gathered much attention from the media .

I think out of all the 3 A-sides , Master Blaster can be considered as the best song if not 1 of Anna's most strongest A-side release to date .

I don't know much about Kanno Yoko but I have to say that Kanno did such a great job with regards to Master Blaster & if that's not evident enough just how good the song's , even guitarist MIYAVI worked on this track as well .

Anna Tsuchiya has been relatively quiet ever since she released her 3rd album RULE last Sept but she came back with this rather solid single release , UNCHAINED GIRL .

UNCHAINED GIRL is Anna's 1st triple A-side single release & I must say , each of the A-side offers something different from her , which shows how versatile she can be .

There're many other models/singers out there but to me , I feel Anna's still able to stand the test of time & being her fan for quite a long time , I couldn't be anymore happier for her .

Anna's 14th single Switch On ! will be released next month on 23rd Nov & for this , it has been selected to be used as the opening no. for the Tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Fourze .

Koda Kumi - Ai wo Tomenaide (Do Not Stop The Love)

2011-09-30T09:38:00.002+08:00

Koda Kumi - Ai wo Tomenaide (Do Not Stop The Love)

CD Jacket A

CD Jacket C

CD + DVD

Ai wo Tomenaide (Do Not Stop The Love) is Koda Kumi's 51st single & it was released last week on 21st Sept .

Koda's latest single offering comes in about less than a month since the release of her previous single 4 TIMES .

The A-side is described as a love song & it was selected to be used as the theme song for the movie Second Virgin . The drama version previously featured her previous single Anata Dake ga (Only You) as its theme song .

Anata Dake ga is the 2nd A-side of her 48th single Suki de , Suki de , Suki de. / Anata Dake ga .

Ai wo Tomenaide follows the tradition of hit Koda ballads like Suki de , Suki de , Suki de. (Like You , Like You , Like You.) & Ai no Uta (Love Song) .

Koda's ballads are always known to be either really enduring/awesome if not boring & this boils down to a listener's preference at the end of the day .

For me , I don't really have any issues with Koda's ballads in general but I must admit Ai wo Tomenaide does sound like a cross hybrid mix of Suki de , Suki de , Suki de. & Anata Dake ga .

I don't know if that's a good or bad thing but these 2 ballads are some of Koda's strongest ballads that she released in recent times so there .

The 1st B-side You are not alone is an encouragement song that was written after the March 11th earthquake/tsunami & just like Ai wo Tomenaide , You are not alone also gets a music video too .

I thought it's a great idea for Koda to write such an inspiring no. & You are not alone is definitely encouraging to say the least , let alone it contrasts Ai wo Tomenaide really good as well .

The next 2 B-sides are only available in the CD only pressing of the single which're basically the Strings Version & Music Box Version of Anata Dake ga .

Honestly to me , Anata Dake ga is a really fantastic ballad but when the song was released alongside with Suki de , Suki de , Suki de. , I felt that Anata Dake ga got overshadowed a lot in the process .

I don't know if it's because Anata Dake ga is the 2nd A-side in Suki de , Suki de , Suki de. / Anata Dake ga but I'm really pleased in here , there're 2 really beautiful lovely versions of the song .

I don't really need to elaborate on both takes of Anata Dake ga in here as the remix for each of them is self explainatory .

After releasing the awesome single 4 TIMES , Koda Kumi is back in full throttle once more with this really solid single , Ai wo Tomenaide & it doesn't look she's slowing down in any single bit .

Especially since her next single aka her 52nd single Love Me Back will be released very soon on 30th Nov & for this , Love Me Back will be used as the opening theme song for the drama Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de , starring ARASHI's Sakurai Sho .

CD Review :: BREAKERZ - GO

2011-09-29T12:05:00.003+08:00

CD Review :: BREAKERZ - GO

CD

CD + DVD A ; DVD contents - music videos that were released last year & this year

CD + DVD B ; DVD contents - a GO making recording documentary & the live performance of GO which took place at Nippon Budokan this year on 22nd July

1) GO　
2) Gekijou (Passion)　
3) Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahou (Moonlight Magic Prank) (GO Version) 4) CHANGE THE WORLD　
5) CLIMBER×CLIMBER
6) Present　
7) Zettai (Absolutely) ! I LOVE YOU
8) Smile 100%　
9) Sabishigariya (A Person Who Is Scared Of Being Lonely)
10) BUNNY LOVE　
11) LAST † PRAY　
12) Hoshi no Tabibito (Star Wanderer)
13) Orange Iro no Sora (Sky)
14) Destruction

GO is BREAKERZ's 5th album & it was released last week on 21st Sept .

The guys's last album release was 2009's FIGHTERZ & in GO , 4 double A-side singles are included even though in the tracklist , 2 A-sides hEaVeN & REAL LOVE 2010 have been excluded .

Except for 1 track , all lyrics in GO are written by frontman/lead singer DAIGO .

Sharing the same title as the album , it's the 1st track in the tracklist ie. GO .

GO was selected to be used as the ending theme no. for JAPAN COUNTDOWN starting this month in Sept & right now , it has been used in the ads of Fight Card ! Vanguard , with DAIGO appearing in the ads himself .

Just like the guys's previous album opening tracks such as in BIG BANG !'s BIG BANG ! & also FIGHTERZ's NEXT LEVEL , GO (the song) was written & composed by DAIGO .

GO doesn't have that strong impact on 1st listen but still after a few more listens , I can say it's 1 of the most interesting if not sliently strong opening track of an album .

It's a bit difficult to describe GO but all I can say's that lyrically & musically , it's really fantastic .

Gekijou (Passion) is the 1st A-side of the guys's 8th single Gekijou / hEaVeN & this song was used as the ending theme song for TV Asahi's Onegai ! Ranking last July .

As mentioned before , the 2nd A-side hEaVeN is not included in GO but the music video for the song is included in the CD + DVD A pressing of the album .

Despite Gekijou being the oldest single that's included in the album , I never fail to get a good kick or 2 after hearing Gekijou multiple times . It's a mean gritty aggressive song & the fact that DAIGO wrote & composed it , the song itself speaks volume (pun intended) .

Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahou (Moonlight Magic Prank) is the 1st A-side of the band's 10th single Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahou / CLIMBER x CLIMBER & it was used as the ending theme for the anime Detective Conan .

In here , Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahou has been given a GO version but the treatment given is only minor in the sense that it's only the opening that's a bit longer than the single take .

With that said , the GO version of Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahou is still fantastic & I love the slightly longer introduction piece that guitarist AKIHIDE incorporated since he composed it .

Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahou is 1 of BREAKERZ's most unique sounding singles they have released in recent times with it having a really strong Japanese meets Oriental flair which's awesome .

CHANGE THE WORLD is the 2nd album track & just like Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahou , this's also composed by AKIHIDE , with lyrics written by DAIGO .

On 1st listen , I thought CHANGE THE WORLD sounds like from where FIGHTERZ's DEAR LIAR left behind since both songs are equally mean aggressive sounding .

But what prevents CHANGE THE WORLD from sounding like a typical standard rock fare is the way the song's being composed , something that AKIHIDE's really good at since sometimes , his compositions might miss the mark but luckily that did not happen here .

CLIMBER x CLIMBER is the 2nd A-side of their 10th single Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahou / CLIMBER x CLIMBER . This was used in the ads of Fight Card ! Vanguard , with DAIGO appearing in the ads himself prior to being replaced with GO eventually .

Perhaps due to the sheer brillance of Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahou , it can be forgiven that CLIMBER x CLIMBER is quite overshadowed a lot in the process but it shouldn't stop listeners from enjoying this rather back to basics fuss free no. , with the melody that's composed by guitarist SHINPEI .

Present is the 3rd album track & just like CLIMBER x CLIMBER , SHINPEI composed it & it's also the only album track that he composed in GO as well .

I thought Present is such a sweet under-stated mid tempo ballad , especially after following a string of rather fast paced no.s in GO , it's nice to slow things down a bit .

In general , I really like SHINPEI's compositions . He doesn't compose as often as the other 2 but most of the time , for SHINPEI , it's quality over quantity for him .

Zettai (Absolutely) ! I LOVE YOU is the 2nd A-side of the guys's 11th single LAST † PRAY / Zettai ! I LOVE YOU .

DAIGO has a knack for writing/composing a variety of songs that suit different moods & in here , Zettai ! I LOVE YOU belongs to the fun peppy cheery category .

Zettai ! I LOVE YOU definitely contrasts the rather dark sounding LAST † PRAY extremely well & the song was written/composed by DAIGO under the theme that human beings really need love in life .

Concidentally or not , the next 2 album tracks are also written & composed by DAIGO too .

Smile 100% follows almost in the same vein as Zettai ! I LOVE YOU but what makes Smile 100% a real class of its own is 2 things . Firstly , the vocals of all 3 members can be heard in the song .

Secondly , 25 of their fanclub members serve as background vocals in Smile 100% which their voices can be heard after each of the member sings a line in the song .

As a result , I feel Smile 100% is 1 of the guys's most recent uniquely crafted tunes to date & it's definitely awesome that all 3 of them get to sing in Smile 100% , after they did such a wonderful job with regards to Arigatou (Thank You) ~Beautiful day~ .

Sabishigariya (A Person Who Is Scared Of Being Lonely) is the next song & for this , wow , I can't help but feel a rather big sense of nostalgia when I 1st heard Sabishigariya .

This song really reminds me a lot of the guys's older works , especially with regards to BIG BANG !'s Koko Kara Dashite (Let Me Get Out Of Here) & some of the songs found in their self titled debut album .

It has been quite a while since I heard such a song that DAIGO sung in a much lower vocal range than the norm too .

BUNNY LOVE is the 1st A-side of the group's 9th single BUNNY LOVE / REAL LOVE 2010 . The song was used in the ads for Rekochoku .

The 2nd A-side REAL LOVE 2010 is excluded in GO which's kind of expected , especially since the original take of the song was already found in their very 1st album .

Despite this , the music video for REAL LOVE 2010 is included in the CD + DVD A of GO , with it having an alternate plot that's different from the single take .

I had quite a fair bit of issue when BUNNY LOVE was released last Nov , as at that time , I felt it was not memorable on 1st listen with it being 1 of their weaker sounding A-sides at that time of release .

However naturally as time goes by , BUNNY LOVE stood the test of time & just like REAL LOVE (2010) , the lyrical content of BUNNY LOVE is pretty raunchy & can be considered as 1 of the group's most adult like no.s being offered in their discography .

LAST † PRAY is the 1st A-side of the guys's 11th single LAST † PRAY / Zettai ! I LOVE YOU & this song was used as the opening theme for TBS's CDTV this year in July .

This's also the last A-side single that's found in GO .

Just like BUNNY LOVE , LAST † PRAY was written by DAIGO & composed by AKIHIDE but to say that there's a difference between how both songs sound like , it's an understatement .

While BUNNY LOVE is a sexy sounding jazz inspired track , for LAST † PRAY , it takes on a more darker & gothic feeling .

BREAKERZ never had such a song in their discography before & perhaps it's no surprises that LAST † PRAY , alongside with Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahou , are 2 of the band's most unique sounding songs they released recently & hats off to AKIHIDE for having a knack in composing both tunes respectively .

And speaking of AKIHIDE , the next song Hoshi no Tabibito (Star Wanderer) is something that he wrote & composed .

Hoshi no Tabibito is also the only song in GO that DAIGO did not provided the lyrics for too .

In a radio show broadcast , AKIHIDE explained that the inspiration that came when he wrote & composed Hoshi no Tabibito was that this song was inspired by March 11th earthquake/tsunami .

It's a bit freaky to say this but I couldn't help but had strong vibes of DAIGO☆STARDUST when I 1st heard Hoshi no Tabibito , especially since AKIHIDE did composed a few tracks in DAIGO☆STARDUST's 2nd/final album HELLO CRAZY GENTLEMAN as well .

I really don't know if that's a good or bad thing but I must admit Hoshi no Tabibito is very AKIHIDE . It's no Orion or Snow Rose but the closest I can describe Hoshi no Tabibito is that it's a more dreamier & peppier version of CRASH & BUILD's Hoshi ni Negai wo (Wish On A Star) .

Orange Iro no Sora (Sky) is the 2nd last track & I feel this's 1 of my fave album tracks in GO , simply because it's such an earnest sounding no. .

I love the preview of Orange Iro no Sora & I wasn't surprised that I was going to like the full version as it basically sounds like from where FIGHTERZ's Bokura (Us) left , except in this case unlike Bokura that DAIGO wrote & composed it , in here , Orange Iro no Sora is written by DAIGO while the melody's composed by AKIHIDE .

Then again , this combination usually works & it's evident when comes to Orange Iro no Sora & also in the CD sleeves , AKIHIDE is being credited as the 1 who plays the harmonica in the song too .

Destruction is the final track in GO & for this , it's written & composed by DAIGO .

I must admit , Destruction is the song that I was most unwilling to hear in full , especially since from the preview I have heard prior to the release of GO , it really does remind me of Ao no Mirai's DESTROY CRASHER , for it being rather random sounding .

However my opinion on Destruction kind of change when I heard the full song . Something about the melody in Destruction screams out being rather cool , even though I was a bit shocked at the end of the song , with DAIGO giving such a high pitched screech , something that was not present in any of their songs before .

DAIGO had to record Destruction twice , so much so that after the 2nd take , his throat suffered but I suppose the ending result speaks for itself , with the amount of energy & gusto he put into Destruction .

BREAKERZ will be celebrating their 5th anniversary next July & in the impending months before this happened , they finally released their new album GO after a 2 years wait .

During the time transition from FIGHTHERZ to GO , the guys have displayed a significant growth & maturity in their music . Also , as each release of theirs goes by , they have become much more stronger , musically .

I never fail to say this on my blog but they're the only artiste that I never fail to promote a great deal . Even though I listen/support other artistes , BREAKERZ is the only band I take a lot of pride & joy in promoting on a regular basis .

With regards to GO , I don't think it's fair to compare it against FIGHTERZ (which to me that's still a superb great sounding album) . Instead , I feel that GO borrowed quite a lot of elements from their older works & it's these traits that they incorporated in their new album , which gives a mixture of both the old & new sides of the group .

Just like FIGHTERZ , GO is a really enjoyable album to listen to from the start to the end & BREAKERZ has definitely come a long way from their early days & the fans have spoken also in that GO is now officially their best charting album to date in the Oricon album chart .

With the release of GO , BREAKERZ has cemented their position as 1 of the most handworking if not talented JRock groups in recent times .

Definitely a shoo in for album of the year & being a long time fan of the guys , I couldn't be anymore happier for them than anything else .

Hey ! Say ! JUMP - Magic Power

2011-09-26T13:38:00.001+08:00

Hey ! Say ! JUMP - Magic Power

Magic Power is Hey ! Say ! JUMP's 8th single & it was released last week on 21st Sept .

This's the group's 1st single release as a now 9 member band , after the departure/suspension of former member Morimoto Ryutaro .

Magic Power comes about 3 months + since the release of the group's previous single OVER .

Selected to be used as the theme song for the Japanese dub of the animated movie The Smurfs , Yamada Ryosuke & Chinen Yuri did voice acting for the main cast . Yamada provided the voice for Clumsy while Chinen provided the voice for Brainy .

Magic Power was written along the theme of the movie & has a motown sound that will make people happy just by listening to it . Using The Smurfs's saying , "Even if we are small , we can do anything if we work together !" , as the theme , the song conveys a 'magic power' that is created by the bonds of friendship .

Well obviously Magic Power is a stark contrast to the group's previous rather serious sounding singles , especially OVER & ｢Arigatou｣ (Thank You) ~Sekai no Doko ni Itemo~ (~No Matter Where In The World~) .

Then again , considering the circumstances , Magic Power is really fun to listen to , especially it has that very cheery & lighthearted feeling it gives off .

There're a total of 5 B-sides which're all scattered in the 3 editions of Magic Power . The 1st 3 songs are only available in the CD pressing of the single .

Beat Line is the 1st B-side & wow I have to say this is such a great contrast on what Magic Power has to offer .

It has been quite a while since I last enjoyed a B-side from Hey ! Say ! JUMP but Beat Line screams out being a very enjoyable , catchy & dancey track . It's very grown up without sounding over the top which makes Beat Line 1 of the group's strongest B-sides track they offer to date .

Nemori no Mori (Sleeping Forest) is the 2nd B-side & just like Beat Line , it's another very solid B-side . What makes Nemori no Mori unusual is that it has quite an strong Egyptian influence , something that I haven't heard in the group's discography before .

Then again , there's always a 1st for everything & the guys nailed this really well in this aspect .

BE ALIVE is the last B-side found in the CD only pressing of the single . Perhaps due to how awesome/fantastic sounding the 1st 2 B-sides sound like , BE ALIVE tend to get overshadowed a fair bit in here .

That's not to say BE ALIVE is a bad song but this's basically a very standard pop song that Hey ! Say ! JUMP offers at the end of the day .

Only found in the CD + DVD A of the single , it's School Days which's sung by the older guys within Hey ! Say ! JUMP ie. Hey ! Say ! BEST .

I frankly find School Days ok for my liking . It's also nothing really special that Hey ! Say ! BEST has to offer even though I must say that both BE ALIVE & School Days are pretty much very easy listening pop songs that're pretty likeable to boot .

Found only in the CD + DVD B of Magic Power , it's GET !! which's sung by the younger guys within the group ie. Hey ! Say ! 7 .

GET !! is also the final B-side being offered in the single & I thought this's a really fun song that I enjoy . Despite the song being sung by the younger members in the group , GET !! is surprisingly pretty mature sounding for them which's not necessary a bad thing .

Hey ! Say ! JUMP is back with another single that's filled with positive energy ! Magic Power is a cheery , big band-style tune that encourages listeners to recognise the power they have when they're united as one !

Despite what has happened with regards to the departure/suspension of former member Morimoto Ryutaro , I do hope that the reminding 9 members of Hey ! Say ! JUMP will continue to carry on releasing music as this's 1 group I literally see them grow as each of their release goes by , be it musically & then some .

I don't know what will be their next move but I do hope next on their music agenda will be a 2nd album .

Acid Black Cherry - Pistol

2011-09-21T09:04:00.003+08:00

Acid Black Cherry - Pistol

CD

CD + DVD

Pistol is Acid Black Cherry's 11th single & it is released today on 21st Sept .

Acid Black Cherry's new single comes in about 3 months since the release of their previous single Shoujo no Inori III & it has been described as a rock tune with a powerful beat .

Pistol is the 1st single release that's conceived from a 5-consecutive-monthly singles plan (one single per month for five months) .

Honestly , Pistol is pretty much classic Acid Black Cherry & I don't really have that much issues with the type of music that yasu does in his solo project .

What I do like about Pistol is that it places a bit more heavier emphasis on the drum beats unlike Shoujo no Inori III but still , Pistol is 1 kick ass song to rock out to .

A cover of WANDS's 1993 hit Ai wo Kataru Yori Kuchizuke wo Kawasou serves as the B-side track in the single & for this no. , it will not be reviewed .

Acid Black Cherry's 13th single Shangrila will be released next month on 19th Oct .

BENI - Koe wo Kikasete (Let Your Voice) / crazy girl

2011-09-19T08:11:00.002+08:00

BENI - Koe wo Kikasete (Let Your Voice) / crazy girl

Koe wo Kikasete (Let Your Voice) / crazy girl is BENI's 12th single & it was released last week on 14th Sept .

BENI's new single comes about 3 months + since the release of her previous single Suki Dakara. (I Like.) .

The 1st A-side Koe wo Kikasete has been described as a medium-tempo tune that expresses the painful feelings that sway between hope & insecurity from unrequited love .

Koe wo Kikasete is also currently used as the opening theme no. this month for NTV's Happy Music variety show .

On 1st listen , Koe wo Kikasete is a soft ballad track with delicate touches that bring out BENI's lovely voice which I find that very enduring from her . Just like Suki Dakara. which I enjoyed , Koe wo Kikasete is another of those songs that will bound to strike a chord in listeners .

Also , the melody that centres on Koe wo Kikasete is pretty unusual as most parts of the song utilises a musical box which's pretty .

crazy girl is the 2nd A-side & this plays such a great contrast to the otherwise dreary sounding Koe wo Kikasete .

In crazy girl , BENI really let loose in a good way . Unlike 2FACE which somehow didn't had that much of a oomph impact , crazy girl is much more feisty & upbeat that showcases BENI's fun loving party girl side & crazy girl is something that's perfect to spin at in a loud disco party for sure .

Koe wo Kikasete / crazy girl is BENI's 2nd single release for 2011 & this's yet another solid release delivered by this talented R&B songbird that I really enjoy .

Both A-sides are equally solid but crazy girl is quite a music breakthrough for BENI this time round .

BENI's 13th single Darlin will be released next month on 12th Oct .

Mika Nakashima - LOVE IS ECSTASY

2011-09-16T07:48:00.001+08:00

Mika Nakashima - LOVE IS ECSTASY

CD

CD + DVD

1) LOVE IS ECSTASY
2) You Knocked Me Out
3) LOVE IS ECSTASY (Instrumental)
4) You Knocked Me Out (Instrumental)

LOVE IS ECSTASY is Mika Nakashima's 34th single & it was released 2 days ago on 14th Sept .

Mika's new single comes about 5 months + since the release of her previous single Dear .

LOVE IS ECSTASY was selected to be used as the theme song for the movie Unfair the answer starring Shinohara Ryoko & the song's concept is based on Shinohara's character Yukihira Natsumi by drawing inspirations from Yukihira's cool , tough & competent personality traits .

The theme of the song is about the strength of a women who confronts life & its difficulties & LOVE IS ECSTASY is Mika's 1st rock song in 6 years since GLAMOROUS SKY .

Regarding Unfair the answer , Mika commented , "It is a fast-spaced & passionate movie ; it was wonderful . I can't believe it had that kind of conclusion !! I'm sure this movie will meet viewers' expectations !" She added , "I am honoured to take part in this movie through my music ."

Mika's voice blends well when comes to rock music , especially since what she does when she acted in the 2 NANA movies was amazing , particularly GLAMOROUS SKY which's still her only #1 single to date .

With regards to LOVE IS ECSTASY , the rock influences are still there evne though it's not completely full blown rock . Then again , LOVE IS ECSTASY is still a very nice no. to enjoy & let alone with it being catchy/memorable with most parts of the tune goes 'lalala' .

The B-side is something titled You Knocked Me Out . Just like the A-side , You Knocked Me Out still treads on the rock terriority but this's more laid back & lush sounding .

Mika's vocals basically does most of the work in You Knocked Me Out & something about the melody captivated me a great deal & it paints a great contrast against LOVE IS ECSTASY .

After making her return from a health-related hiatus with Dear , Mika Nakashima lets loose with her latest single LOVE IS ECSTASY . In the vein of heavy rock hits like GLAMOROUS SKY , LOVE IS ECSTASY is a powerful rock tune that shows a more wild side of the stylish singer .

girl next door - Dada Para !!

2011-09-13T08:27:00.002+08:00

girl next door - Dada Para !!

CD

CD + DVD A ; DVD footages contains the music videos of Dada Para !! & Yume no Katana (Beyond Dream)

CD + DVD B ; DVD footages contains live footages of Freedom , Yume no Katana & Unmei no Shizuku ~Destiny's star~

1) Dada Para !!
2) Pure
3) Summer Breeze (CD Only Track)
4) Dada Para !! (Instrumental)
5) Pure (Instrumental)

Dada Para !! is girl next door's 12th single & it was released last week on 7th Sept .

This's the trio's 1st single release after they released their 3rd album Destination this year on 27th April .

Dada Para !! is the 1st of 3 back to back monthly single releases , with the next 2 getting released in Oct & Nov , the same thing that happened to their 1st 3 singles & it will be the 1st of a trilogy of songs that seeks to encourage & enliven the world .

The A-side has been described as an uptempo song . The dance for Dada Para !! features parapara , synchronised dancing that mostly uses arm movements & it specifically features the use of fans .

Featuring a hip dance beat & an addictive hook , Dada Para !! will make listeners hum its catchy "dada" hook everywhere .

Dada Para !! has been compared to the group's 5th single Infinity , but with an increased speed . The members commented , "We think it's a song that will liven things up in many places , starting with our participation in ‘a-nation’ this summer ."

In addition , Dada Para !! is the trio's 1st release onwards for the group's name to be changed to lowercase letterings (from GIRL NEXT DOOR to girl next door) in celebration of the trio's 3rd anniversary .

Honestly , I have no idea why the comparison of Dada Para !! has been made with Infinity because I can't really find any similiar traits with both songs but I definitely prefer Dada Para !! over Infinity anytime of the day .

The trio's known for creating catchy electro pop songs & it's either songs that people love to hate or end up hating to love & I believe Dara Para !! is no exception here , especially the chorus which can get very addictive .

There're 2 B-sides in the single , the 1st one is something titled Pure .

Pure was selected to be used for the NHK's TV series Kingyo Club & it has been dsecribed as a medium-tempo ballad which talks about a person's painful love .

Compared to Dada Para !! , Pure paints a complete different picture since it's a ballad . I do feel that Pure sounds a bit like their previous B-side ballads , such as Breath .

I thought Pure might be a straightforward sounding ballad but the song surprised me by moving towards a slightly more uptempo beat in the later 1/2 of the no. . I would have prefer Pure to be strictly a ballad track but something like this , I'm alright with it .

Only found in the CD pressing of the single , it's the 2nd B-side that's titled Summer Breeze .

Summer Breeze sounds like Winter breeze which's found as track #6 in Destination . Except in this case , Summer Breeze has the same melody as Winter breeze but with different lyrical content .

I definitely had a sense of dejavu when I 1st heard Summer Breeze because in my mind , I thought , didn't I heard this before somewhere ? & sure enough , after I found out more information background on Summer Breeze , this has been put to rest .

I like Winter breeze that's found in Destination so I didn't had that much issues with Summer Breeze . Both songs do sound almost the same but there's a little bit of difference for Summer Breeze , lyrically speaking .

girl next door debuted 3 years ago on September 3rd with Guuzen no Kakuritsu (Accidental Probability) & they just recently welcomed their 3rd anniversary as a band . By turning over a new leaf with their change of name , they plan to walk a new road as a musical unit .

Destination was a very enjoyable & amazing album the trio released & I'm really glad they haven't lost their music touch with regards to the release of their latest single offering , Dara Para !! .

Their 13th single ROCK YOUR BODY will be released on 19th Oct .

flumpool - Akashi (Proof)

2011-09-12T08:21:00.001+08:00

flumpool - Akashi (Proof)

CD

CD + DVD

1) Akashi (Proof)
2) Kakusei (Awakening) Identity
3) for no one
4) Akashi (Proof) ~flumpool×Choir~ Gasshō (Chorus) ver.
5) Akashi (Proof)(Instrumental)
6) Kakusei (Awakening) Identity (Instrumental)

Akashi (Proof) is flumpool's 7th single & it was released last week on 7th Sept .

The quartet's new single comes in less than 2 months after the release of their previous single Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru (Love Is In Any Future) / Touch .

The 1st A-side Akashi was chosen to be used as the insert song for NHK broadcast Minna no Uta between August & September .

The song was also assigned to the junior high school division of the 78th NHK National School Music competition .

On 1st listen , Akashi sounds like a more mellow & quieter version of the band's past single Kimi ni Todoke except in this case , Akashi somehow sounds more stronger & grander , maybe it's because of the really inspirational choir backing that was provided in the background .

There're 3 B-sides found in the single . The 1st one is something titled Kakusei (Awakening) Identity .

Kakusei Identity will be used as the theme song for this fall's Rugby World Cup 2011 & this's the 1st B-side of flumpool that gets a music video as well .

This song plays a really good contrast to the A-side . I haven't heard this side of flumpool until I heard Kakusei Identity .

Basically , Kakusei Identity is pretty funky sounding & it's much more experimental than the group's previous works which I like . I can understand why it gets a music video as this's 1 no. that deserves so .

for no one is the 2nd B-side & for this song , I find it to be a typically standard fare that flumpool offers .

This is nothing groundbreaking but it's those type of songs that when it's there , I wouldn't mind listening to it .

The ~flumpool×Choir~ Gasshō (Chorus) ver. of Akashi is the final B-side & as the title suggests , this's a team combination effort of flumpool & a choir group belting out Akashi together .

This concept is quite similiar to what alan applied for her 3rd single Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ but for her case , she did not sing with a choir group (it's just the choir group themselves that belted out Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ in the single) but anyway , I thought the ~flumpool×Choir~ Gasshō ver. of Akashi is something nice & refreshing .

I was worried if the addition of a choir group would clash lead singer Ryuuta's vocals but surprisingly , something about this strategy was able to enhance the A-side & take things to a whole new level .

After releasing Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru / Touch , flumpool release a 2 months + follow up from the single , in the form of Akashi .

Truthfully , I was real impressed with what they had to offer for Akashi , especially the B-sides which I thought are on par if not more superior sounding than what the A-side has to offer .

I'm glad that they still haven't lost their touch when comes to their singles & I hope this will continue to stay that way .

Hilcrhyme - Personal COLOR

2011-09-11T11:53:00.001+08:00

Hilcrhyme - Personal COLOR

CD

CD + DVD

1) Personal COLOR
2) Ake no Sagi (Red Heron)

Personal COLOR is Hilcrhyme's 9th single & it was released a few days ago on 7th Sept .

The duo's new single comes about 3 months + since the release of their previous single no one .

Personal COLOR was selected to be used as the outro theme song for the drama IS ~Otoko Demo Onna Demo nai Sei~ & the song's about using colour to define the uniqueness of individuals .

Hilcrhyme always has a knack of releasing songs that're unique , catchy & lyrically inspirational & Personal COLOR is no exception .

Just like no one , Personal COLOR is quite piano driven to a certain extent except in this case , it has a lot more R&B hip hop influences attached & Personal COLOR is more up tempo driven too .

Ake no Sagi (Red Heron) serve as the B-side of the single & this's basically a very catchy full throttle no. that Hilcrhyme dishes out .

Compared to the A-side , Ake no Sagi is more heavily drenched in R&B + Hip Hop , 2 music genres that Hilcrhyme is best known for & coupled that with lead singer/rapper TOC , the results give an memorable no. to remember .

Hilcrhyme already have released 3 solid singles this year & Personal COLOR is no exception & once again , this's another single that I enjoy from the duo .

I'm curious to see what will be their next move but I do hope next on their agenda will be a new album .

After all , this's 1 artiste I feel that brings nothing but the best R&B hip hop tunes from their discography .

Fukuyama Masaharu - Kazuko ni Narou yo (Let's Be A Family) / fighting pose

2011-09-08T07:30:00.003+08:00

Fukuyama Masaharu - Kazuko ni Narou yo (Let's Be A Family) / fighting pose

Cover for all 3 editions

1) Kazuko ni Narou yo (Let's Be A Family)
2) fighting pose
3) HARD RAIN from WE'RE BROS. TOUR 2011 「THE LIVE BANG !!」
4) Kazuko ni Narou yo (Let's Be A Family) Wedding Ver.
5) Kazuko ni Narou yo (Let's Be A Family) (Original Karaoke)
6) fighting pose (Original Karaoke)
7) Kazuko ni Narou yo (Let's Be A Family) Wedding Ver. (Original Karaoke)

Kazuko ni Narou yo (Let's Be A Family) / fighting pose is Fukuyama Masaharu's 27th single & it was released last week on 31st Aug .

Fukuyama's last single release was last Aug's Hotaru (Firefly) / Shounen (Boy) . Unlike Hotaru / Shounen where Shounen did not get a music video , in this case for Kazuko ni Narou yo / fighting pose , both A-sides had music videos to accompany each song .

The 1st A-side Kazuko ni Narou yo was picked up by Zexy to be used in their ads . Zexy is a Japanese wedding magazine & Kazuko ni Narou yo has been described as a heartwarming acoustic guitar ballad .

This's Fukuyama very 1st wedding song & he wrote it with the theme of family in mind . The star was forced to stop his nationwide tour for a month after the March 11th earthquake .

When he resumed the tour on April 16th in Mie prefecture , he performed Kazuko ni Narou yo for the 1st time . It's said that it caused a lot of his female fans to tear up .

Fukuyama commented , "I believe many people started reconsidering about family bonds with this situation & I wrote Kazuko ni Narou yo using family as the theme . I hope you think about your loved ones while you listen to this song ."

I do admit on 1st listen , Kazuko ni Narou yo sounds like nothing of what I expect of a typical wedding song but it's actually the lyrics that speak volume .

Lyrically , Kazuko ni Narou yo is very touching which I wasn't surprised a lot of his female fans were really moved when Fukuyama performed this song live for the 1st time on April 16th .

Sound wise , Kazuko ni Narou yo eerily sounds like an identical twin of Hotaru . Not that it's bad since Hotaru is still very enjoyable even up to now despite the fact that it was released a year ago alongside with Shounen .

The 2nd A-side fighting pose was written to aid the March 11th earthquake relief with a portion of the sales donated to relief funds .

Just like Hotaru / Shounen , fighting pose plays a great contrast against Kazuko ni Narou yo & as the song title suggests , fighting pose packs quite a lot of punch & attitude which compliments Kazuko ni Narou yo very well .

The live rendition of HARD RAIN serves as the 1st B-side of Kazuko ni Narou yo / fighting pose & this was recorded from Fukuyama's WE'RE BROS. TOUR 2011 「THE LIVE BANG !!」 .

I never heard of how HARD RAIN sounds like before so this's new to me but all I can say's that I have seen live performances of Fukuyama before & basically , he sounds almost the same if on par , be it when I hear him sing in a CD or if I watch a live performance of him .

Song wise , HARD RAIN is quite similiar to fighting pose , with both songs being quite fast paced & kicking .

The Wedding Ver. of Kazuko ni Narou yo is the 2nd / last B-side before wrapping things up in the single & for this as the title suggests , Kazuko ni Narou yo has been given a wedding influence treatment .

I honestly like the Wedding Ver. of Kazuko ni Narou yo since it basically brings out the song even more than ever before & I thought this would have been a much better choice for it to be the main A-side track instead .

After 22 years in the music business , Fukuyama Masaharu still has it going on in his long lasting successful career & with the release of Kazuko ni Narou yo / fighting pose , this has officially made him the best-selling male artist in Oricon history .

With the release of Kazuko ni Narou yo / fighting pose , it's evident that Fukuyama does not show signs of slowing down with what he does best , ie. writing/composing songs that are meaningful , emotional & striking a chord with his fans .

Kuroki Meisa - Wired Life

2011-09-07T07:43:00.002+08:00

Kuroki Meisa - Wired Life

CD Regular

CD Limited

CD + DVD

CD Regular & CD + DVD Tracklist's :

1) Wired Life
2) UPGRADE U !
3) One More Drama -PINGPONG REMIX remixed by dee.c-
4) Wired Life (Instrumental)

CD Limited Tracklist :

1) Wired Life
2) Wired Life (No Escape Remix) Feat Okumura Rin
3) Wired Life (Animation Size version) -2分13秒- (2:13 mins)
4) Wired Life (Instrumental)

Wired Life is Kuroki Meisa's 5th single & it was released last week on 31st Aug .

This new single comes about 4 months + since the release of her previous single One More Drama .

Wired Life was selected to be used as the ending theme no. for the anime Ao no (Blue) Exorcist & the song's written & composed by Nao'ymt who works on Namie Amuro's material .

This's Kuroki's 1st single to be used for an anime promotion but I must say , the Namie influences in Wired Life is very high & who couldn't blame Nao'ymt on that ?

Then again , Wired Life is very unusual unlike the Spanish heavily influenced One More Drama . It's definitely something Namie is able to do & Wired Life has a rather dark feeling it gives off which I suspect this's done to compliment Ao no Exorcist very well .

There're 3 B-sides in total . The 1st 2 tracks are found in both the CD only regular & CD + DVD's pressings of Wired Life .

UPGRADE U ! is up 1st & this's actually the 1st song from the single that I've heard , before I managed to take a listen to the A-side .

Unlike Wired Life , UPGRADE U ! presents a more fun & upbeat side of Kuroki which's nice . I also can hear a bit of gaming like sounds that can be quite felt quite significantly in UPGRADE U ! as well .

The PINGPONG REMIX remixed by dee.c of her previous single One More Drama serves as the 2nd B-side .

Unlike the original take which was very Spanish driven , this remix for One More Drama has a more electro vibe attached & it's also very Pop drenched too . I wasn't sure what to think about when I 1st heard the PINGPONG REMIX remixed by dee.c of the song but I must say , in general , I really like Kuroki's remixes .

I'm not a remix person but there's just something about Kuroki's remixes of her songs that I actually find very enjoyable to listen to .

The No Escape Remix of Wired Life is only found in the CD only limited pressing of the single & for this , it features dialogue that's narrated by Okumura Rin (who's voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto) , who's actually the main protagonist of the Ao no Exorcist anime .

To be frank , the remix is actually quite interesting but it would have been better if Okumura Rin is excluded from this song as I feel it's quite un-necessary but I suppose to keep things in line with the anime , that's that in this case .

Kuroki Meisa has been on a non stop musical roll & she doesn't show any signs of slowing down , especially with regards to her latest release Wired Life .

I already have followed/like Kuroki way before she began her singing career & it's really nice to chart her musical progress as each release of hers goes by . I thought One More Drama was great but she managed to kick things up a notch or 2 with regards to Wired Life .

It's said that she's currently in the studio recording new material so it wouldn't surprise me if something new will follow up real soon .

CD Review :: ayumi hamasaki - FIVE EP

2011-09-05T06:33:00.005+08:00

CD Review :: ayumi hamasaki - FIVE EP

CD Regular

CD Limited

CD + DVD

1) progress
2) ANother song Feat URATA NAOYA
3) Why ... Feat JUNO
4) beloved
5) BRILLANTE
6) beloved (Orchestra version) (CD Only Regular Edition Track)

FIVE is ayumi hamasaki's 2nd mini album & it was released last week on 31st Aug .

ayumi's 1st mini album Memorial address was released on 8 years ago on 17th Dec . However unlike Memorial address , FIVE does not include any singles .

As the title of ayumi's latest mini album suggest , FIVE contains a total of 5 songs & all the songs receive music videos of their own .

Also , all the songs on FIVE have different promotion tie in's respectively as well .

progress is the 1st song on the tracklist & this was selected to be used to promote the PS3 game Tales of Xillia .

This song can be considered as the oldest track in FIVE because even before FIVE was announced to get released , preview snippets for progress have already been floating around the net for quite sometime now .

I really like the preview clips for progress & needless to say hearing the full version of the song was really worth it .

What I like about progress is that the song started out as a ballad but later on , it breaks into a really angsty gritty track & given the tone of progress , it's easy to see why it has that video game tone like setting which's fantastic .

ANother song is the 2nd track & for this , it has been described as a sad ballad with lyrics that'll touch a person's heart .

Promotion wise , it is currently used as the theme songs for BeeTV & sweetTV .

ANother song is the 1st collaboration track in FIVE & this features AAA's leader URATA NAOYA .

This marks the 2nd time ayumi collaborates with URATA , the 1st being Dream ON which was released last Dec .

I know ANother song received a lot of criticisms in that various negative comments I have read include that this no. sounded really cheap , URATA's vocals ruined things & etc but personally to me , I'm 1 of the rare few that really enjoy listening to ANother song .

Perhaps the saying 1 man's trash is another man's treasure fits this scenerio but I really don't have any problems with ANother song in any single bit & I feel that fans should cut URATA some slack in this aspect .

Why ... is the 3rd track & it's the 2nd collaboration no. found in FIVE .

Described as a medium upbeat no. , this song features JUNO who's the older/twin brother of TOHOSHINKI / JYJ's JUNSU .

Promotion wise , Why ... is currently used in the TV ads for HIS Taiwan Campaign & Recochoku TV .

This's a really pretty no. & I like it that Why ... started off with some nice piano beats & then it transformed into a rather good sounding mid tempo no. . I never heard of JUNO sounded like before but I thought his vocals compliment ayumi's quite nicely .

beloved is the 4th track in FIVE & this's a ballad which was composed by Hoshino Yasuhiko that fans have been expecting .

Promotion wise , beloved was used as the theme song for Japan TV's Sukkiri !! last month .

On 1st listen , beloved reminded me of Rock'n'Roll Circus's meaning of Love to a certain extent except in this case , I feel that beloved is much more prominent & stronger .

It took me quite a while to warm up to meaning of Love but for beloved , I really like it when I 1st heard it & this's a pretty ballad .

BRILLANTE is the final track in FIVE & it has described as a song that has a mysterious & impressive atmosphere .

Promotion wise , it's currently used in the ads of music.jp TV-CF .

Alongside with progress , I feel that BRILLANTE is probably 1 of the stand out tracks in FIVE .

It's a bit hard to describe BRILLANTE but all I can say's that this's a style that ayumi has not tried before in her music until now .

The chanting & Egyptian like sounds going on in BRILLANTE can get a bit creepy but it's 1 of those songs that does blow people's mind off & it did for me when I 1st heard BRILLANTE .

In addition to the 5 'normal' tracks found in FIVE's tracklist , there're 2 additional songs found in different pressings of FIVE .

The CD only regular edition includes an Orchestra version of beloved while the CD + DVD pressing of FIVE contains a hidden track after BRILLANTE , which's a remix for Why ... but it features URATA NAOYA on vocals instead of JUNO .

The Orchestra take of beloved is basically self explainatory but with regards to the version of Why ... that features URATA's vocals , I thought that's pretty cool .

I assumed that this version was going to sound the same as the version that ayumi sang with JUNO but for the URATA version of Why ... , it's more uptempo & poppier .

Somehow or another , both versions are equally nice & obviously depending on a person's preference , either the JUNO or URATA versions of Why ... is here for fans to critic on which version is better than the other & vice versa .

After 13 years in the music business , ayumi hamasaki shows no signs of slowing down when comes to releasing music .

She has been relatively quiet in 2011 after she got married early this year but she came back in releasing her 2nd mini album FIVE .

I must admit when it was 1st announced she was going to release a new mini album , I didn't had any expectations on what to expect for FIVE but I must say I was pretty blown away on the quality she has to offer in FIVE .

No doubt fans will tend to compare what she has done then for Memorial address & now for FIVE but I feel that as each release goes by , ayumi just keeps on progressing on & maturing as an artiste .

At the end of the day , FIVE is a really solid mini album & with an awesome photoshoot & covers to boot , who couldn't ask for more ?

Tackey & Tsubasa - Journey Journey ~Bokura no Mirai~ (The Future Of Us)

2011-09-02T14:06:00.002+08:00

Tackey & Tsubasa - Journey Journey ~Bokura no Mirai~ (The Future Of Us)

CD

CD + DVD A

CD + DVD B

Journey Journey ~Bokura no Mirai~ (The Future Of Us) is Tackey & Tsubasa's 12th single & it was released a few days ago on 31st Aug .

The duo's last single release was Ai wa Takaramono (Love Treasure) which was released on 24th Nov last year but they released their 2nd mini album TRIP & TREASURE was released this year on 16th March .

Journey Journey ~Bokura no Mirai~ has been described as an uplifting song , mixing smiles & softness with a pop beat that will make a person's heart race .

Bringing back the travel concept from TRIP & TREASURE , Journey Journey ~Bokura no Mirai~ is being labelled as the duo's first encouragement song .

Unlike the duo's previous single Ai wa Takaramono (Love Treasure) which I find it a bit cheesy for my liking , Journey Journey ~Bokura no Mirai~ presents a more light hearted & fun without going over the top side of the duo .

What struck me about Journey Journey ~Bokura no Mirai~ was that lyrically & musically , both go very well hand in hand together & as stated earlier on this's their 1st encouragement no. which should put a smile to anyone's face the moment she/he listens to it .

The following songs serve as B-sides in the single :

- Tomo yo (My Friend)
- Love Is All
- Ai wa Takaramono (Love Treasure) (Remix)

All B-sides will not be reviewed .

Matsushita Yuya - SUPER DRIVE

2011-08-31T14:33:00.001+08:00

Matsushita Yuya - SUPER DRIVE

CD Regular

CD Limited ; Comes with a photobook

CD + DVD A ; DVD contains the music video & making offshot clips for SUPER DRIVE

CD + DVD B ; DVD contains the SUPER DRIVE music video & US documentary

CD + DVD C ; DVD contains the SUPER DRIVE & Lonely Rain music videos

SUPER DRIVE is Matsushita Yuya's 9th single & it was released last week on 24th Aug .

Matsushita's new single release comes in about 3 months + since the release of his previous single Naturally .

SUPER DRIVE is described as a dance tune that has a bass-thumping melody with an aggressive choreography to match . The song features a heavy dance beat that gives Matsushita a chance to show off his talents as a dancer .

I have been waiting for Matsushita to deliver another hot R&B dance track after he released Paradise & Naturally which were 2 mid tempo's no.s back to back so when he finally decides to do something upbeat once more , I couldn't be any happier than this .

SUPER DRIVE on 1st listen , is seriously very catchy & immediately when I 1st heard it , I knew what a very memorable song this's & the video also complimented things extremely well .

Just like his previous harder sounding R&B tracks such as Trust Me & YOU , SUPER DRIVE is another 1 of those songs that once the song hits , it will be quite impossible for it to leave someone's mind in the next few days or so .

There're 3 B-sides in SUPER DRIVE which're all scattered in different pressings of the single .

Found only in the CD regular edition , it's ROCK WITH YOU & this's actually a cover of the late Michael Jackson's .

Matsushita is no stranger to do cover songs since he covered 6 songs that were scattered in 6 different limited editions with regards to Naturally . But still , for him to cover something by the Michael Jackson , it's something not to joke about .

Honestly , I have no recollection of how the original take of ROCK WITH YOU sounds like but I suppose Matsushita had a valid reason on why he choose to cover this song . His English dictation's quite ok but the melody included in ROCK WITH YOU , it's really funky .

Found only in the CD limited edition pressing of SUPER DRIVE , it's something titled Lonely Rain .

Lonely Rain has been described as a ballad & it's the 2nd B-side of Matsushita's to get a music video , the 1st being Negai ga Kanau Nara ... (If My Wish Comes True) ... , which was found in his 3rd single Honesty .

For Lonely Rain , it compliments & contrasts SUPER DRIVE very well in the fact that SUPER DRIVE is an intense upbeat R&B mid tempo no. while Lonely Rain is a rather sad sounding ballad .

Lonely Rain sounds as though it picks up from where Trust Me's B-side Futari ... (2 Of Us ...) left behind but this's still good stuff to enjoy & Lonely Rain definitely does deserve to get a music video that's for sure .

Found only in the CD + DVD A , B & C pressings of the single , it's the last B-side that's titled Hot Girl !! .

Described as something which has an 80's sounding music influence , Hot Girl !! is a pretty hot tune . It's slightly less catchy than SUPER DRIVE but I really don't mind this but it managed to make an impact on me eventually after I gave Hot Girl !! a few more listens after that .

SUPER DRIVE is Matsushita's 3rd single release for 2011 & once again , this's another single that I really enjoy .

I feel that all the songs on the single were nailed down well , with each of them having their own distinct identity & it's nice to see as each release of Matsushita goes by , he continues to mature in his craft .

I really hope next on his music agenda will be a new album since after releasing his debut album I AM ME last year , he has already put out 4 singles , inclusive of SUPER DRIVE .

But if he's going to replicate on what happened in I AM ME (it includes his 1st 5 singles) , then I suppose a new single will follow up next before he delivers his 2nd album .

V6 - Sexy.Honey.Bunny ! / Takaranoishi (Treasure Stone)

2011-08-26T09:44:00.001+08:00

V6 - Sexy.Honey.Bunny ! / Takaranoishi (Treasure Stone)

From left to right : CD + DVD (Honey Version) , CD + DVD (Bunny Version) & CD

Sexy.Honey.Bunny ! / Takaranoishi (Treasure Stone) is V6's 38th single & it was released 2 days ago on 24th Aug .

This new release of V6 comes close to 11 months since the release of their previous single only dreaming / Catch .

Sexy.Honey.Bunny ! has been selected to be used as theme song for the drama Shin Keishichou Sousa Ichi-ka 9-gakari Season 3 starring Inohara Yoshihiko while for Takaranoishi , it's used as a song tie-up for the latest Waseda Academy ads .

Despite being a double A-side single release , Takaranoishi does not get a music video .

Honestly before I heard Sexy.Honey.Bunny ! , I was a bit worried whether will this be a cheesy sounding no. but luckily my fears were relieved when I heard the song .

Sexy.Honey.Bunny ! is not as bad as what I thought it might be . I kind of prefer this over Swing ! but I suppose this style of music gives V6 a chance to showcase a different music side of the group .

In the case of Takaranoishi , this's 1 A-side that's a winner from the very beginning . The moment I listen to it , I immediately love it & I'm a bit sore that this does not get a video as it really deserves so .

Takaranoishi plays a great contrast to Sexy.Honey.Bunny ! & the best way to describe Takaranoishi will be a cross hybrid mix of ARASHI's truth & Monster . In closer related to V6 , Takaranoishi gears more towards LIGHT IN YOUR HEART which's fantastic .

The following songs serve as B-sides in the single :

- Mission of Love
- WALK

Both songs are only found in the CD only pressing of the single & they will not be reviewed .

Kanjani∞ - Tsubusa ni Koi (Wing Song)

2011-08-24T15:13:00.001+08:00

Kanjani∞ - Tsubusa ni Koi (Wing Song)

CD

CD + DVD

Tsubusa ni Koi (Wing Song) is Kanjani∞'s 19th single & it was released last week on 17th Aug .

The group's new single comes about 2 months + since the release of their previous single 365 Nichi Kazoku (Days Family) .

Tsubusa ni Koi is currently used as the outro theme for the drama Zenkai Girl starring Aragaki Yui & Ryo Nishikido .

Described as a mid-tempo ballad , Tsubusa ni Koi is also Kanjani∞'s 1st theme song for a "Getsu 9" (Monday , 9pm) drama , known as the hottest time slot for a television drama on Japanese television .

Honestly on 1st listen , Tsubusa ni Koi sounds like something that's picked up & continue on from where their 17th single My Home left behind since both songs have that really strong somewhat indie feeling .

Not that I'm complaining because I frankly like this type of music style Kanjani∞ does as it really does show a different side of themselves if you were to compare the music they do against their other Johnny's counterparts .

There're 3 B-sides in the single . The 1st one is something titled I to U .

I to U is basically a simple under-stated no. that's quite heavily acoustic guitar driven . It's still almost in the same music vein as Tsubasa ni Koi , but for I to U , it's almost quite stripped down & fuss free sounding .

The next 2 songs are only available in the CD pressing of the single .

Something that's called Nanairo (Seven Colours) Parameter is up 1st . I wasn't sure what to expect for this song but it's quite a pretty sounding no. .

The usage of synth can be felt quite a great deal for Nanairo Parameter while it utilises the same sounds as the 1st 2 songs in the single .

Hi & high is the final B-side & for this , it's basically a crazy over the top song , something that Kanjani∞ is famously known for when comes to their A-side singles .

While Hi & high is not as crazy as their other songs that have the same music direction , this hold rather nicely as in general , the whole single has that grown up mature feeling except for this .

Tsubusa ni Koi is Kanjani∞'s 4th single release for 2011 & they definitely do not show any signs of slowing down at this pace they're releasing material this year .

I still feel that they're 1 of the more under-rated Johnny's & it's nice to know that they've paid their dues & have come a long way to get to where they're at now .

I do hope next on their music agenda will be plans to release a new album .

Koda Kumi - 4 TIMES

2011-08-20T11:23:00.003+08:00

Koda Kumi - 4 TIMES

CD Regular

CD Limited (Comes With 50 Postcards) ; this edition only contains 1 song in the CD which's Poppin'love cocktail

CD + DVD

1) Introduction ~sunny time~
2) Poppin'love cocktail Feat TEEDA
3) Interlude ~sunset time~
4) IN THE AIR
5) Interlude ~midnight time~
6) V.I.P.
7) Interlude ~time to ... love~
8) KO-SO-KO-SO

4 TIMES is Koda Kumi's 50th single & it was released a few days ago on 17th Aug .

The original release date for 4 TIMES was supposed to be 10th Aug . As the single title suggests , 4 TIMES contains 4 songs which all 4 of them receive music videos .

Similiar to Koda's previous singles such as 4 hot wave & 3 SPLASH , 4 TIMES also contains an introduction & interludes so at times , it feels like listening to a mini album instead of a single .

The 1st A-side is something called Poppin'love cocktail which features TEEDA .

Poppin'love cocktail is currently used in the TV ads for H.I.S. .

Summer is currently in full throttle & Poppin'love cocktail has been described as a rock dance no. .

Interwined with TEEDA's rap , Poppin'love cocktail is a refreshing no. & the feeling gives off an impression of that of a sun-drenched ride .

Poppin'love cocktail is filled with plenty of fast paced energy & vibes . The last time Koda released something pretty similiar sounding to Poppin'love cocktail was 3 SPLASH's Hashire ! .

At the end of the day , Poppin'love cocktail basically screams out fun fun fun in the sun .

The 2nd A-side is titled IN THE AIR .

Wanting to help the person you love , surrounding them always like air , this song describes the heart of a woman in love in this heart-warming track .

IN THE AIR is currently used as the theme song for BEE TV's Rabusupotto ~Koi ga Minoru Basho~ .

A warm gentle ballad , a sample portion of the lyrics for IN THE AIR reads "I want us to help each other" "Especially during painful times , let us join hands" .

I thought IN THE AIR is such a sweet song . I know Koda's ballads can get a bit mundane at times & I personally can't find any fault with regards to IN THE AIR , especially lyrically , it's real encouraging & inspiring .

The 3rd A-side is titled V.I.P. .

Described as an electronica dance song , it's said that Koda showcases her true worth in this aggressive electro-sound cool track .

In actual fact , V.I.P. was the 1st song I heard from the 4 TIMES single & hearing it in a much higher quality , it is really solid .

V.I.P. follows in almost similiar Koda songs that have this electro dance vibe such as ECSTASY but for V.I.P. , it's more meaner , gritter & packs plenty of punch & attitude .

Also , the small inclusion of a violin strings influence thrown in the middle of V.I.P. was quite cool too .

The final A-side in 4 TIMES is titled KO-SO-KO-SO .

KO-SO-KO-SO is currently used as the theme song for Nihon TV's Dorama -Piece Vote- .

Described as a scandalous song with sexy breaths interwined , KO-SO-KO-SO is a no. that is about mingling , mixing & attraction .

Furthermore , KO-SO-KO-SO narrates a situation just before dozing off at a sparkling dawn .

KO-SO-KO-SO is pretty much a seductive song that shows off Koda's sexy side & the lyrics for this are pretty raunchy , so much so that the video has been reportedly to be too explicit to be aired on TV .

Then again , considering that this's after all Koda's 50th single , I suppose she wants to do this to pay an homage to her ero kawaii days as frankly , some of her older works that had the ero kawaii-ness to them such as CUTIE HONEY , Butterfly , could be considered as some of Koda's best if not classics to enjoy even up to this day .

Koda Kumi has come a long way in the music business since debuting in the scene in late 2000 & releasing 50 singles is no laughing matter but I have to say the whole 4 TIMES single was done really well , downpat .

From the covers to the songs to the videos to the choice of music variety in the single , every single aspect she had it nailed down in a really brillant way & 4 TIMES feels like it picked up from where 4 hot wave left .

Also , the 4 songs in 4 TIMES each showcase a different side of Koda which I really like & it showcase her versatility when comes to her music .

Koda has come a long way since her early days & 4 TIMES is testimonial to that .

Her 51st single Ai wo Tomenaide (Do Not Stop The Love) will be released next month on 21st Sept .

Kis-My-Ft2 - Everybody Go

2011-08-19T08:19:00.001+08:00

Kis-My-Ft2 - Everybody Go

CD

CD + DVD A ; DVD contents -> the video & making offshot clips of Everybody Go

CD + DVD B -> live footages taken from LIVE Eizou from ~Kis-My-Ft ni Aeru deShow vol.3 ~ 2011.2.12 @ Yoyogi Stadium

1) Everybody Go
2) S.O.KISS
3) KISS FOR U
4) Wakamonotachi (Young People) (CD Only Track)

Everybody Go is Kis-My-Ft2's debut single & it was released last week on 10th Aug .

The A-side was used as the theme song for the dorama , Ikemen Desu ne , a Japanese remake of 2009's Korean drama , You're Beautiful .

In August 2005 , two Johnny's Jr. units , Kis-My-Ft & A.B.C. Jr. , combined to form Kis-My-Ft2 .

The name comes from the first letter from each of their last names ; Kitayama Hiromitsu , Iida Kyohei , Senga Kento , Miyata Toshiya , Yokoo Wataru , Fujigaya Taisuke , Tamamori Yuta & Nikaido Takashi ("ni" in Kanji is the number 2) .

They performed as a 8 member group until end of March 2006 when Iida Kyohei left Johnny's due to furthering his studies , leaving Kis-My-Ft2 without its "I".

This year on Feb 12th , during their concert they received an envelope which was opened during the MC . It announced that they will have their debut in May under avex trax .

I know about these guys for quite a while , especially since they usually tend to open for their seniors during concerts such as for KAT-TUN .

I was skeptical to try their music at 1st but I was quite surprised when I listened to Everybody Go .

Everybody Go doesn't stray so much from what KAT-TUN does , especially since both groups's music influences are almost similiar but what I like about Everybody Go is that , it doesn't try hard to sound good , the result gives off this catchy song in the process .

There're 3 B-sides in the single . The 1st one is something called S.O.KISS & for this , it feels as though the song takes a note or 2 from KinKi Kids's Time as both songs have this similar angsty driven vibe .

Then again , I'm not complaining because I feel Time was really good & I don't have any issues with S.O.KISS , except that I feel the rapping going on is a little bit weak & it felt a bit out of place .

KISS FOR U is the 2nd B-side & out of the 3 B-sides , I think this has to be my fave even though it eerily sounds like a cross mix of ARASHI's Love so sweet & Aoyama Thelma's WITHOUT U to me .

Both S.O.KISS & KISS FOR U have the inclusion of rap but unlike S.O.KISS which I wasn't that fond of the rapping , the one that is done for KISS FOR U is much better & flows well with the song .

Found only in the CD pressing of the single , it's the last B-side track which's titled Wakamonotachi (Young People) .

Wakamonotachi is a fast paced no. with plenty of bite . It sounds like the grown up version of Hey ! Say ! JUMP's Ultra Music Power except in this case , Wakamonotachi presents a more grown up & fun side to Kis-My-Ft2 .

It took a good 8 years for Kis-My-Ft2 to finally debut on the scene & I think they have paid their dues before getting the chance to debut alongside with their seniors .

Everybody Go was quite a solid single for Kis-My-Ft2 to get things started . My only grouse for the single is that the songs all somehow sound like carbon copies of songs that I have came across from other Johnny's groups .

I would like to see Kis-My-Ft2's next single to have more of their own style & identity but with that said , I have confidence Kis-My-Ft2 will have potential to shine on their own & only time will tell if this's so .

Suga Shikao - Aozora (Blue Sky) Pedal & Real Face

2011-08-18T07:37:00.001+08:00

Suga Shikao - Aozora (Blue Sky) Pedal & Real Face

Aozora (Blue Sky) Pedal & Real Face are 2 songs that're taken from Suga Shikao's 2nd acoustic album Sugarless II which was released last week on 10th Aug .

Sugarless II was released to celebrate Suga's 15th anniversary in the music business .

The album features self covers , inclusive of a collaboration song with Mr. Children's lead singer Kazutoshi Sakurai which's titled Fastener .

Aozora Pedal & Real Face were songs that were released by 2 respective Johnny's groups , namely ARASHI & KAT-TUN some 5 years back .

Found as track #13 in Sugarless II , Aozora Pedal was ARASHI's 17th single . This song was written & composed by Suga .

I have been waiting for a very long time to hear Suga's rendition of Aozora Pedal , especially since he had a hand in both writing & composing it but I wasn't disappointed in any single bit when I finally heard Suga's take on Aozora Pedal .

Suga's rendition of Aozora Pedal is pretty much classic Suga at what he does best . It's simple , carefree & easy listening but Suga is able to transform this under-rated no. into something that doesn't sound anything like the original song that ARASHI released which's great .

Found as track #18 in Sugarless II , Real Face was KAT-TUN's debut single . Unlike Aozora Pedal , Suga only wrote the lyrics for Real Face while the melody was composed by B'z's lead guitarist Tak Matsumoto .

Suga's rendition of Real Face is quite unusual , considering that his main focus in his music lies in a lot of jazz , funk & soul . I wasn't sure how was he going to tackle such a harder rock style of a song but he managed to pull it quite well .

In fact , I feel Suga's take sounds a bit similiar to Real Face #1 which was found in KAT-TUN's Best of KAT-TUN , only for Suga's case , his's a lot more mellower while I'm still able to detect quite a lot of influences Suga incorporate on his own accord .

I also thought it was nice of Suga to include the rap lyrics found in the original version of Real Face & that Suga incorporate them into his cover of the song despite the rap lyrics portions can be somewhat not very audible here .

At the end of the day , it took close to a good 5 years for Suga Shikao to release his own renditions of Aozora Pedal & Real Face but I must say , it's really worth the wait .

I respect Suga as a musician & after being in the business for so long , he still has got what it takes to separate himself from so many other artistes . I haven't come across any artiste that has an unique sound & also a distinct voice unlike for what Suga has to offer .

Suga's renditions of Aozora Pedal & Real Face are really top notch & the fact that he did a great job in making both songs sound nothing like the original , that speaks volume .

KAT-TUN - RUN FOR YOU

2011-08-07T08:23:00.002+08:00

KAT-TUN - RUN FOR YOU

CD Regular

CD Limited

CD + DVD

RUN FOR YOU is KAT-TUN's 16th single & it was released a few days ago on 3rd Aug .

The group's latest release comes in about 3 months + since the release of their previous single WHITE .

The A-side RUN FOR YOU is currently used to promote in the ads of SUZUKI's SOLIO , which's the same thing like what their 14th single ULTIMATE WHEELS did as so .

A song about chasing a person's dreams & moving forward , RUN FOR YOU is an inspirational gift from the boys to their devoted fans .

Way before RUN FOR YOU received an official release , I already have heard the preview of how the song sounds like in the SUZUKI's SOLIO ads which sounded promising & needless to say when RUN FOR YOU was announced to be released as a single , I was thrilled .

And I was not disappointed with what RUN FOR YOU had to offer & it's very catchy & memorable on 1st listen . Unlike WHITE , RUN FOR YOU takes on a music route that's quite similiar to the group's previous autotune driven no.s such as THE D-MOTION & RIGHT NOW but thankfully , RUN FOR YOU is a class of its own which's great .

There're 4 B-sides found in RUN FOR YOU , with the 1st 2 found in both the CD regular & limited pressings of the single .

The 1st B-side is something called COSMIC CHILD . It's currently used in the ads for Wing's (Wacoal's lingerie brand) new products Zurui Bra & Zurui Pants and the inclusion of JOKER can be heard here .

I wasn't sure what to expect for COSMIC CHILD but it's such an unique no. & I find it hard to compare this with other songs found in the group's discography & just like the A-side , it's another solid catchy track .

What intrigued me about COSMIC CHILD was the melody which's hard to describe it in words as it's a mixture of a lot of music genres put together as 1 .

The 2nd B-side DIAMOND was used as the theme no. for NTV's broadcasted Yomiuri GIANTS baseball games .

Before RUN FOR YOU was officially released as a single , DIAMOND is actually the 1st song I heard before it was included in RUN FOR YOU but I did not had a good impression of the song , maybe because what I heard is the radio rip of the no. .

However , my perceptions towards DIAMOND changed after I heard a much higher quality version of the song & I have no problems with it now & this goes to show that sometimes , a radio rip of a song doesn't do justice to the higher quality of a no. .

Only found in the CD regular pressing of the single , it's a song titled SWEET CHAIN & the inclusion of JOKER rap lyrics is found in here .

SWEET CHAIN is an unusual no. to say the least . It's a mid tempo ballad but it's not a typical sounding one . For once & probably the 1st time , this's quite falsetto driven which surprised me at 1st but once I get over this , I actually do enjoy SWEET CHAIN a significant deal .

Found only in the CD limited pressing of RUN FOR YOU , it's the last B-side no. titled & FOREVER .

Out of al the 4 B-sides in the single , & FOREVER is probably my least fave but it does not mean I dislike the song completely . It's just that I feel after listening to 3 distinctive B-sides , there's something about & FOREVER which sounded quite plain for my liking & it's frankly a typically sounding Johnny's happy go lucky tune .

But with that said , & FOREVER is still worth checking out for .

KAT-TUN has been on a music roll for 2011 & RUN FOR YOU is the group's 3rd single release & once again , they delivered another solid release which I enjoy listening to from the start to the end .

Since the release of CHANGE UR WORLD , they have proven time & time again that despite the departure of their former co lead vocalist Akanishi Jin , the reminding 5 members are still able to soldier on & deliver great material & it's evident in CHANGE UR WORLD , ULTIMATE WHEELS , WHITE & then now RUN FOR YOU .

I'm proud of how far KAT-TUN has come by so far & I really hope a new album will surface soon but until then , I'm going to be plugging in RUN FOR YOU on repeat mode .

CD Review :: B'z - C'mon

2011-08-02T08:46:00.004+08:00

CD Review :: B'z - C'mon

Cover for both CD & CD + DVD's editions

1) C'mon
2) Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo (Goodbye , The Days Of Wounds)
3) Hitoshizuku no Anata (Only A Tiny Bit Of You)
4) Homebound
5) Don't Wanna Lie
6) DAREKA
7) Boss
8) Too Young
9) Pilgrim
10) The Meister
11) Dead End
12) Meimei
13) ultra soul 2011

C'mon is B'z's 18th album & it was released on July 27th .

The duo's last album release was 2009's MAGIC & in C'mon , the album contains 2 singles & 1 B-side .

Sharing the same title as the album , it's C'mon which's concidentally the very 1st (album) track .

Just like the duo's 48th single Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo (Goodbye , The Days Of Wounds) , C'mon was selected to be used in the ads of Pepsi's NEX (which the duo appear in the ad) & it's the only album track that gets a music video .

I can understand why C'mon is the only song in the album that received a video because it's such a simple under-stated no. . I haven't heard that many songs of B'z that presents a somewhat more raw feeling which I really like .

From another Pepsi's NEX ad promotion song to the next , in comes Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo which's B'z's 48th single .

Before C'mon , Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo was 1st used to promote in the ads of Pepsi's NEX , which B'z appears in the ad alongside with model Kagami Reina .

It was fairly recent Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo was released this year but still , this's 1 song that I really like as it's basically a downright bad ass & angsty driven song which's more or less classic B'z at its best .

Hitoshizuku no Anata (Only A Tiny Bit Of You) is the 2nd album track & I wasn't sure what to expect when comes to this but it more or less pick up from where Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo left behind .

The mood is still set in a rather upbeat & heart thumping tone with 2 of such songs that're similiar sounding back to back with each other .

Homebound was 1st found as the B-side track of B'z's 49th single Don't Wanna Lie . This was served as the ending theme song for TBS's nationwide television series NEWS 23X .

Described as a grand ballad number , I was really pleased to see Homebound make the cut in C'mon because this's 1 B-side that I enjoy & it does contrast Don't Wanna Lie really well .

From a B-side to an A-side , in comes B'z's 49th single Don't Wanna Lie which's also the last single to be included in C'mon .

Don't Wanna Lie was used as the theme song for the Detective Conan movie Detective Conan : Quarter of Silence .

Unlike Homebound , Don't Wanna Lie is an upbeat medium-tempo tune & this's still something that I like as it somehow has a more happier sound attached unlike Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo .

After Don't Wanna Lie , the reminding tracks found in C'mon are all new material .

DAREKA is track #6 & this's an interesting song because it has a bit of an American flair which I detected when I heard this . With that said , DAREKA is quite fun to listen to .

Boss & Too Young are the next two songs & I believe both no.s are connected with each other to a certain extent because after the mid tempo Boss finished , the melody for Too Young continues on where Boss left .

Out of all the album tracks in C'mon , Boss & Too Young are probably the 2 slower sounding no. but luckily , there's a bit of experimentation going on , especially for Too Young which had quite a Bossanova flair which I thought it's quite refreshing to boot .

From 2 mid tempo tracks , in comes Pilgrim which's basically a no nonsense uptempo track .

Unlike the standard rock no. , I'm able to detect a faint bit of Orchestra influences in the melody which's more than enough to give Pilgrim an edge it deserves to have .

In addition , I can't help but feel that Pilgrim sounds a bit similar to the duo's 47th single MY LONELY TOWN . It's not as prominent as somewhere in Pilgrim , I'm able to draw comparision with both songs , so there .

Following after Pilgrim , The Meister is yet another uptempo track . Honestly , I don't find anything special about The Meister . It's a standard rock fare that B'z does but that's that .

Also , it took me quite a while to recall how The Meister sounds like as well but I noticed that The Meister has some music resemblances to MAGIC's long time no see .

Dead End fares much better than The Meister because for Dead End , it's almost like an identical cousin of the song that shares the same title as MAGIC .

I'm not sure if this's a good or bad thing but considering that I like MAGIC (the song) , I don't really have any issues with regards to Dead End .

Meimei is the 2nd last album track & despite the rather strange name , this's 1 song that I really enjoy listening to as it's probably the only album ballad available in C'mon .

Immediately when the song started , I was drawn into just how emotional Meimei is & the melody is very beautiful .

Coupled with shades of Orchestra & acoustic guitar strings , it makes Meimei a winning combination

ultra soul 2011 is the conclusion track for C'mon & this's actually a remake of the duo's 31st single ultra soul .

For the updated version , ultra soul 2011 was selected to be used as the theme no. for the 2011 World Aquatics Championships which was held in Shanghai .

I never heard the original take for ultra soul but I have to say , the updated version for ultra soul 2011 is very cool & unique .

Out of the many album tracks in C'mon , I thought it was great for B'z to wrap up their album with an updated version of 1 of their earlier single releases & after listening to this , it makes me feel complied to give the original take of ultra soul a listen .

After being in the music business for close to 23 years , the best selling Japanese act of all time , B'z , shows no signs of slowing down & it's evident in the release of their latest album offering C'mon .

Artistes come & go but I feel B'z is 1 of the rarity few that is able to display a really long standing power in line with the impact , numerous accomplishments & records they have attained since making their presence felt for the past 23 years .

With the release of C'mon , they have once again set a significant number of new records & C'mon definitely will not be the last this legendary rock duo has to offer , that's for sure .

JASMINE - ONLY YOU

2011-07-30T09:06:00.001+08:00

JASMINE - ONLY YOU

1) ONLY YOU
2) Addiction
3) ONLY YOU [Instrumental]
4) Addiction [Instrumental]

ONLY YOU is JASMINE's 7th single & it was released a few days ago on 27th July .

JASMINE's new single comes about 5 months + since the release of her previous single ONE & just like ONE , ONLY YOU has been selected to be in the ads of Sony Walkman’s Play You .

I really like ONLY YOU on 1st listen as it bears quite a lot of resemblances to JASMINE's debut single sad to say . Already when the song started with a beautiful piano melody , I couldn't help but get drawn into the song easily .

After releasing ONE , I thought it's nice of JASMINE to release this mid tempo R&B piano number & she did it well with ONLY YOU .

The B-side track is something called Addiction & it plays a really good contrast against the A-side in that Addiction is a hot uptempo R&B no. & just like JASMINE's spunky attitude , don't be surprised if you hear the F word in Addiction even though it's not as prominent as what was found in sad to say .

JASMINE is 1 of the most unique R&B female solo acts around & I'm lucky to have come across her music & judging from the songs that she has released & also for her choice of unique outfits combination , I say she has potential to go far in the business if she keeps this up .

And what better way than it's proof with the release of her latest single ONLY YOU & I'm already looking forward to see what else she has up in store in her next move .

Namie Amuro - NAKED / Fight Together / Tempest

2011-07-26T13:31:00.003+08:00

Namie Amuro - NAKED / Fight Together / Tempest

CD

CD + DVD

1) NAKED
2) Fight Together
3) Tempest
4) NAKED (extended instrumental)
5) Fight Together(instrumental)
6) Tempest (instrumental)

NAKED / Fight Together / Tempest is Namie Amuro's 35th single & it will be released tomorrow on 27th July .

Namie's 2nd triple A-side release comes in after she released her 1st collaboration album Checkmate ! this year on 27th April .

NAKED was selected to be used as the theme song to a Kose ad for ESPRIQUE which Namie can be seen in the ad herself & it's composed by Osawa Shinichi with lyrics provided by m-flo's VERBAL .

The song has been described as a very Namie song , meaning it's a dance-able tune .

On the other hand , Fight Together was used as the theme song to anime ONE PIECE & it went on-air this year in April . Namie is said to be a big fan of ONE PIECE & unlike the other 2 A-sides , Fight Together does not get a music video .

Last but not least , the last A-side Tempest is described as a touching ballad that's also used as the theme song for the NHK period drama of the same name which started airing on July 17th .

Personally I like all the 3 A-sides as each song presents a different side of Namie .

NAKED is very catchy & typical of Namie does in her music but the strong catchy memorable hooks coming from NAKED is extremely addictive & it definitely does get stuck in your head as each listen goes by .

Kudos to both Osawa Shinichi & m-flo's VERBAL for being a dymanic duo in composing & writing NAKED .

On the other hand , Fight Together is a very nice uplifting positive song . It's not as upbeat as NAKED but Fight Together makes up for things by being mid tempo .

In fact , Fight Together is actually the 1st A-side I heard of the single before the other 2 songs , so naturally I will have more attachment towards it . I'm just a bit sore that this's the only A-side in the single that does not get a music video though .

From a very danceable song to a mid tempo no. , the single closed things off with the ballad Tempest .

I noticed that Namie doesn't tend to do a lot of ballads in her discography which I find it a real pity because ballads showcase a different side of her that's not present in her usual works .

But Tempest is really nice & conclude things very well , the same thing which happened last year with regards to Break It / Get Myself Back .

Namie Amuro is 1 of the most respected & talented female solo acts that I admire & after being in the business for so long , she still has it going on with her & NAKED / Fight Together / Tempest is evident of things .

This single has a little bit of everything for a Namie fan to enjoy & can satisfy even the most nit pick non fan of Namie .

CD Review :: School Food Punishment - Prog-Roid

2011-07-23T11:37:00.001+08:00

CD Review :: School Food Punishment - Prog-Roid

CD

CD + DVD

1) free quiet
2) RPG
3) in bloom
4) Utsurou , Sangatsu (Move On , March)
5) ≠
6) are
7) Ura Omote
8) Halation
9) flashback trip syndrome
10) Hikari (Light)
11) Y/N

Prog-Roid is School Food Punishment's 2nd album & it was released on 13th July .

The group's latest album offering comes in about 1 year & 3 months since the release of their debut album amp-reflection & just 1 single is included in Prog-Roid .

free quiet is the 1st song that kick things off in the album & this's quite a cool experimental track to start things .

School Food Punishment is known for their unique indie mix when comes to their music & free quiet is no exception which gives rise to this rather lushed piano driven chilled out song .

RPG is the group's 6th single & it was used as the outro theme for the anime C .

This's the only single included in the album but RPG is still undeniable catchy even up to this point in time .

in bloom follows after RPG & I really like this song a great deal . Just like free quiet , in bloom takes on a more piano driven sound except in this case , in bloom is somewhat more upbeat & cheery sounding which's great .

Utsurou , Sangatsu (Move On , March) has an unusual sound attached to it . It's quite slow sounding that's quite heavily synth to a certain extent .

I wouldn't really consider Utsurou , Sangatsu as a fave album track of mine in Prog-Roid as there're other tracks that stood out from the lot but this's still worth checking out .

≠ is track #5 & it's pronounced as 'not equal' . Despite the strange song title , I must admit ≠ is a joy listening to .

The song is also piano driven & positive sounding just like in bloom but both songs are able to craft out an unique identity of themselves which's able to distinguish itself .

I also detect a bit of slight saxaphone sounds in ≠ which's able to give the song an slight musical edge over the other songs found in the album .

are follows after ≠ & for this , are is 1 of the more poppier songs that has a really pretty memory attached to it .

What stood out from are is the way lead singer Yumi sings , especially when she echo 'are are are' in the backdrop , which I find it quite interesting .

I also find the next song Ura Omote enjoyable to listen as well , as it presents a music blend of synth & rock which sounds really good & this allowed lead singer Yumi's vocals to work in her favour .

Halation is 1 of the more harder sounding no. in Prog-Roid as it has a more gritter sound , which's something that's not very prominent unlike the songs found in the group's debut album amp-reflection .

Nevertheless , Halation is some good stuff that's worth recommending to check out .

flashback trip syndrome was used as the theme song for the movie Nanase Futatabi .

I reviewed flashback trip syndrome a while back ago on my blog & I was thrilled to find this included in the tracklist of Prog-Roid .

Way before the announcement of a new album , I always have enjoyed listening to flashback trip syndrome & it's still something I enjoy even up to now .

Hikari (Light) is the 2nd last song & before I listened to Hikari , I had a feeling it was going to be a ballad & sure enough , it's .

This's probably the only ballad found in Prog-Roid but the group did such a good job in making Hikari exclusive in the sense .

Hikari is piano driven but Yumi's vocals basically does most of the work here & I can't help but like this chilled lushed no. which's nice .

Y/N is the final track & for this , it's probably the most flashed out & poppy song in the album .

I detected quite a fair bit of xylophon beat influences in Y/N which I find it pretty cool as it's notably absent in other album tracks in the album & that makes things better in concluding Prog-Roid .

Despite the fact that only 1 single is included in School Food Punishment's latest album offering , Prog-Roid showcased a significant amount of growth & maturity the group has displayed in their music since making their debut presence felt with their debut single futuristic imagination .

Compared to amp-reflection , Prog-Roid presents much more upbeat , slick & polished sounds coming from this extremely under-rated & talented group .

There's not much angst that I was able to detect in Prog-Roid unlike in amp-reflection but what makes Prog-Roid enjoyable to listen from the start to the end is the way each song is able to stand out from 1 another , without coming across as though the album is 1 long song that's stringed together from 11 tracks .

All in all , Prog-Roid is a solid album & if you're looking to try something different ie. a mixture of indie , pop , rock & ambient fusion , then School Food Punishment might be just the artiste to check out .

flumpool - Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru (Love Is In Any Future) / Touch

2011-07-23T10:02:00.001+08:00

flumpool - Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru (Love Is In Any Future) / Touch

CD

CD + DVD

1) Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru (Love Is In Any Future)
2) Touch
3) Kimi no Tame no 100 no Moshi mo (100 If's For You) (Live at Kanagawa Kenmin Hall) (Bonus Track)
4) Kimi ni Todoke (Delivered To You) (Live at Kanagawa Kenmin Hall) (Bonus Track)
5) two of us (Live at Kanagawa Kenmin Hall) (Bonus Track)
6) Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru (Love Is In Any Future) (Instrumental)
7) Touch (Instrumental)

Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru (Love Is In Any Future) / Touch is flumpool's 6th single & it will be released this coming week on 27th July .

This's the group's 1st single release of 2011 & this comes about 6 months + after they released their 2nd album Fantasia of Life Stripe .

The 1st A-side Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru (Love Is In Any Future) has been selected to be used in the ads for mobile game site Mobage .

Lead singer Ryuuta commented , "We are living in times where the future is unclear . I wrote this song hoping to bring a smile upon as many people as possible . I will be happy if the message of Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru will encourage those who are living positively .”

On the other hand , the 2nd A-side Touch is currently used in the ads of Sharp's "au AQUOS PHONE IS11SH" .

The single contains 3 B-side tracks that're all live renditions of songs that are taken from Fantasia of Life Stripe which will not be reviewed .

After being quite disappointed with Fantasia of Life Stripe , I was quite pleased to see that at least flumpool still has some good staying/standing power in line with this latest release of theirs .

Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru is basically a light hearted mid tempo song & it's very inspirational , especially with what lead singer Ryuuta had to say about the no. .

On the other hand , Touch is actually the 1st A-side that I heard before Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru & I must say that Touch presents a different side of flumpool that I haven't heard before until now .

Touch is quite piano driven to a certain extent but there's something really cheerfully upbeat about the song that plays a good contrast against Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru . Also , it helps that it's catchy as well .

flumpool is 1 of the most talented bands that I listen & also respect & I'm glad to see that they will not be losing my interest anytime soon , especially with regards to their latest single release Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru / Touch .

I was worried before I hear the songs on the single , especially since I feel Fantasia of Life Stripe did not live up to my expectations but with regards to Donna Mirai ni mo Ai wa Aru / Touch , they began to experiment & hopefully slowly but surely , able to break new ground in their music .

flumpool will release their 7th single Akashi (Proof) on 7th Sept & for this , Akashi has been chosen to be used as the title song for the intermediate division of 78th NHK National School Music Competition .

Miliyah Kato x Shota Shimizu - BELIEVE

2011-07-17T13:54:00.000+08:00

Miliyah Kato x Shota Shimizu - BELIEVE

CD

CD + DVD

1) BELIEVE
2) My love goes on
3) Love Forever (DAISHI DANCE REMIX)
4) BELIEVE (Instrumental)

BELIEVE is Miliyah Kato x Shota Shimizu's 3rd collaboration single & it was released on a few days ago on 13th July .

After collaborating 2 times together with Love Forever & FOREVER LOVE , in comes the duo's 3rd collaboration release BELIEVE .

Honestly , I was very surprised when both Miliyah & Shota decided to band together for the 3rd time in a row to release another single but then again , they did it really well for their last 2 duets together & BELIEVE is no exception .

BELIEVE is basically a nice peppy no. that showcase each of their vocals well . It's quite a feisty no. that makes a person feel motivated when he/she gives this song a listen & also , the song is catchy too .

The B-side is titled My love goes on & for this , My love goes on takes on a more less uptempo route & I like the introduction which I thought it's quite interesting .

I wasn't sure what to expect for the song at 1st but all I can say's that it compliments & contrasts BELIEVE well .

The DAISHI DANCE REMIX of their 1st duet Love Forever serve as the 2nd B-side of the single .

I'm not really a remix person & the DAISHI DANCE REMIX of Love Forever is neither good or bad . It's quite lengthy as compared to the original & this's something I might skip as I didn't like the fact that the remix kind of ruined things .

I prefer the ~Happy Wedding Remix~ of Love Forever which's found in FOREVER LOVE much more so something like Love Forever (DAISHI DANCE REMIX) , I might take a pass .

As the saying goes , 3rd time's the charm & I feel this applies to Miliyah Kato x Shota Shimizu's latest single offering BELIEVE .

I have been a fan of the duo's collaboration songs since Love Forever & it thrills me that they're still continuing to release duet singles as I feel both of their vocals compliment each other very well , be it whether are they singing a ballad or a mid tempo R&B song .

It wouldn't surprise me if their next music move together will be an joint collaboration album release . This's something that I will support & if they're able to release 3 collaboration singles & counting , I don't see why such an idea is not able to materialise in the near future .

BREAKERZ - LAST † PRAY / Zettai (Absolutely) ! I LOVE YOU

2011-07-16T08:41:00.002+08:00

BREAKERZ - LAST † PRAY / Zettai (Absolutely) ! I LOVE YOU

CD

CD + DVD A

CD + DVD B

1) LAST † PRAY
2) Zettai (Absolutely) ! I LOVE YOU
3) Sore wa Yasashii Kimochi (That Warm Feeling)

LAST † PRAY / Zettai (Absolutely) ! I LOVE YOU is BREAKERZ's 11th single & it was released a few days ago on 13th July & this comes in about 3 months + since the release of the guys's previous single Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahou / CLIMBER × CLIMBER .

The 1st A-side LAST † PRAY is written by lead singer DAIGO & composed by guitarist AKIHIDE & it has been described as a song that makes 1 feels that no matter how much a person is tossed about by an ovewhelming power , hope definitely exists at the end of one's prayer .

LAST † PRAY is a dark rock no. that questions the limits of prayer & it is currently used as the opening theme song for CDTV starting from July .

I was blown away when I 1st heard LAST † PRAY because the trio never had a song that sits on the fence of something dark & gothic . As such , I'm not able to make any comparison of LAST † PRAY with any of their songs found in their discography .

LAST † PRAY is notably dark , angsty & edgy which I really like & the fact that AKIHIDE composed it , he did such a great job in conveying how the song turned out to be , sound wise .

The 2nd A-side Zettai ! I LOVE YOU contains strong feelings with the word Zettai to the point that one straightforwardly shouts love .

Zettai ! I LOVE YOU is an upbeat song with a strong , straightforward message of love that will leave fans swooning & this no. is written & composed by DAIGO .

From LAST † PRAY having a dark gothic sound , in comes Zettai ! I LOVE YOU which brings out the fun , bubbly & cheerful side of BREAKERZ . It's quite easy to compare Zettai ! I LOVE YOU with CLIMBER x CLIMBER since both songs have the same happy peppy vibe going on .

But at the same time , Zettai ! I LOVE YOU is a class of its own & it's so undeniable catchy & memorable , it wouldn't surprise me if the chorus get stuck in someone's head the moment he/she heard it & that's what I had when I 1st heard Zettai ! I LOVE YOU although singing this song might pose a challenge given that it goes quite fast paced when the chorus comes on .

The B-side no. is something titled Sore wa Yasashii Kimochi (That Warm Feeling) & just like Zettai ! I LOVE YOU , this's also written & composed by DAIGO .

Even before I give Sore wa Yasashii Kimochi a listen , I knew that it was going to be a ballad from the sound of the title & sure enough , it's & it's such a simple & very touching ballad which plays a great contrast towards the 2 A-sides .

I noticed that the songs DAIGO wrote & composed that's sung in full Japanese usually tend to be are some of the best works that he does for BREAKERZ & Sore wa Yasashii Kimochi is evident of it .

My only grouse for Sore wa Yasashii Kimochi is that it's a bit too short for my liking but I guess sometimes , short & sweet does the trick .

Fast approaching the 4th anniversary of their debut , BREAKERZ has come of age & they once again brought another amazing single to the table in the form of LAST † PRAY / Zettai ! I LOVE YOU .

Both A-sides convey the band's strongest message thus far , which has been incorporated in this new single & I never fail to say this but I'm very proud of just how far they have come since their debut .

I have been a fan of the guys for close to 3 years now , starting from their debut single SUMMER PARTY / LAST EMOTION all the way til now & as each release of their goes by , they always never fail to keep on surprising me , be it good or bad .

And with the release of LAST † PRAY / Zettai ! I LOVE YOU , they once again have pushed even more musical boundaries from where they left after releasing Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahou / CLIMBER × CLIMBER & for that , they deserve my respect .

I definitely cannot wait to see what else they have up their sleeves but a new album should be next in their agenda , since it has been close to 2 years when their 4th album FIGHTERZ was released so now it's more or less fitting to bring out another new album .

But until then , I'm going to wait patiently for the guys's next move .

CD Review :: ARASHI - Beautiful World

2011-07-15T10:58:00.005+08:00

CD Review :: ARASHI - Beautiful World

1) Rock this
2) Mada Minu Sekai he (World That Is Yet To Be Seen)
3) Lφve Rainbow
4) always
5) Shake it ! (Matsumoto Jun's Solo)
6) Niji no Kakera (Rainbow's Fragments) ~no rain , no rainbow~
7) Dear Snow
8) Hung up on (Ohno Satoshi's Solo)
9) Joy
10) Doko ni Demo Aru Uta. (Song That Exists Anywhere) (Ninomiya Kazunari's Solo)
11) negai (Wish)
12) Lotus
13) 「Janakute」(That's Not It) (Aiba Masaki's Solo) 　
14) morning light
15) To be free
16) Kono Mama Motto (More Like This) (Sakurai Sho's Solo)
17) Hatenai Sora (Endless Sky)
18) Tooku Made (Until At A Distance)

Beautiful World is ARASHI's 10th album & it was released last week on 6th July .

ARASHI's latest new album offering comes about close to 11 months + since the release of their previous album , the million selling Boku no Miteiru Fukei .

Beautiful World consists of 5 singles , 5 solos , 8 group tracks which in total , 18 songs are found in a single disc in the album , unlike the 2 discs version that Boku no Miteiru Fukei had , let alone for the group's last few albums which includes Dream"A"live & Time .

The album kick things off with Rock this which packs quite a lot of punch to set the mood to a good start . Personally I feel Rock this is equally good/on par with movin on' & the inclusion of Sakurap naturally makes things a lot more better .

Mada Minu Sekai he (World That Is Yet To Be Seen) marks a 1st for ARASHI because it's the 1st album track of the group that gets a music video . However , the clip & making offshot footages of Mada Minu Sekai he are only included in the ARASHI 10-11 TOUR "Scene" ~Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fuukei~ DOME + DVD .

With that said , I can see / hear why Mada Minu Sekai he has the honour in this aspect because it sounds like basically from where Boku no Miteiru Fukei left .

This can be a good or bad thing but personally , I like most of the album tracks found in Boku no Miteiru Fukei & I like Mada Minu Sekai he the 1st time I heard it so I'm alright with it & the autotune that's used in the song's just sufficient .

Just like Rock this , Mada Minu Sekai he also has Sakurap included but I feel the autotune kind of diluted & made things bad slightly since a combination of autotune & rap should not go hand in hand together in any single way .

Løve Rainbow is ARASHI's 32nd single & it was used as the theme song for the drama Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku which starred Matsumoto Jun .

Even though it has been close to 10 months since Løve Rainbow was released , this's something that I'm not bored with even up to now . I have no issues with Løve Rainbow in any single way so I leave things as it's .

always is the group's 3rd album track & this song has some attitude just like the 1st 2 album tracks of Beautiful World .

The opening for always intrigued me & I like the fact that the song began to transform itself into a mean gritty angsty track that's backed up quite significantly with edgy beats which I think it's very cool .

Shake it ! is the 1st solo song found in Beautiful World & for this , this's sung by Matsumoto Jun .

I never really like the past solo songs of MatsuJun but I'm surprised for Shake it ! , I actually kind of enjoy it .

Just like Boku no Miteiru Fukei's Come back to me , there's quite a lot of autotune influences going on in Shake it ! which I suppose it works well in MatsuJun's favour , especially since he's not the best , when comes to his vocals .

Niji no Kakera (Rainbow's Fragments) ~no rain , no rainbow~ follows after Shake it ! & this's probably 1 of my fave album tracks in the album , simply because it sounds like nothing on what the group had done before .

Immediately when Niji no Kakera ~no rain , no rainbow~ started , I have that impression of a countryside chilled out carefree setting that came on when I heard the song .

Niji no Kakera ~no rain , no rainbow~ is quite an unusual sounding no. but this works very well for ARASHI .

Dear Snow is ARASHI's 33rd single & it was used as the theme song for the film Ohoku which starred Ninomiya Kazunari .

Out of the 5 singles that're included in Beautiful World , Dear Snow is probably my least fave because even though it's a ballad , it treds quite dangeoursly on the boring side & the video didn't help things either .

Having said that , I frankly don't really mind Dear Snow that much but I usually will tend to skip this because there're other tracks in the album that I like much more than Dear Snow .

Hung up on is the 2nd solo song & for this , it's sung by the leader Ohno Satoshi with interestingly enough , there're rap lyrics found in the song that's written by the resident rapper Sakurai Sho .

I wasn't sure what to expect when comes to Hung up on but considering that it's a known fact Ohno has the best vocals in the group , I wasn't disappointed when I gave Hung up on a listen .

For once , Ohno didn't sang a ballad & I feel he's able to carry almost all different styles of music available which I supposed this's the reason why he choose to tackle such a pretty much autotune driven no. .

I can't really hear the presence of Sakurap that much on Hung up on , except only a little of it in the background of the song .

Joy is the 5th group track & out of the 8 group album tracks , Joy has to be my least fave because I find it very boring on 1st listen .

It's a standard pop song but the vocals in Joy sounded really flat & the inclusion of Sakurap honestly saved the no. from becoming a total snoozefest .

Doko ni Demo Aru Uta. (Song That Exists Anywhere) is the 3rd solo song & for this , this's sung by Ninomiya Kazunari .

Nino had a hand in writing & composing Doko ni Demo Aru Uta. & he coarranged the song with ha-j .

Usually , Nino's solos tend to be either a hit or a miss but I'm glad to say that Doko ni Demo Aru Uta. falls in the hit department .

Doko ni Demo Aru Uta. is no Niji but I like just how emotional driven & sincere Doko ni Demo Aru Uta. sounds . The fact that Nino had personal input towards Doko ni Demo Aru Uta. , it's worth commending for .

negai (Wish) is the 6th group track & unlike Joy , negai fares slightly better . The opening wasn't very interesting but negai mangaed to pick up the pace & interest me a lot more than what Joy had to offer .

Lotus is ARASHI's 35th single & it was used as the theme song for the drama BARTENDER , starring Aiba Masaki .

This is the most recent single included in Beautiful World before the album was released & Lotus is still something that I enjoy listening to , in line with the edgy angsty driven sounds that it has going on which I still feel it's great .

And speaking of Aiba , his solo no. 「Janakute」(That's Not It) follows after Lotus .

Even though Aiba doesn't have the best vocals in the group , he's able to choose solo songs that conceals his weak vocals & also showcase the fun & outgoing traits of himself which I suppose that also applies to 「Janakute」 as well .

For Aiba to tackle 「Janakute」 , I think he did it pretty good . It's just that for a change , I would like him to probably make an attempt to do a ballad next time since this's something that he has not done before yet .

morning light is the group's 2nd last track & this's 1 song that I really like a lot on 1st listen simply because it has plenty of angst , spunk & attitude in which all 3 go hand in hand together very well , with autotune thrown in for good measure .

When the introduction of morning light hits , it immediately sets the tone on how the song is like which I feel it's great .

To be free is ARASHI's 31st single & it was used in the ad of Asahi's Mitsuya Cider soft drink which Sakura Sho appeared in the ad himself .

This single is the oldest single found in Beautiful World . But I still enjoy listening to To be free a great deal up to now because I like the somewhat simple fuss free under-stated song that's very guitar driven .

The last single that has such vibes was probably the group's 17th single Aozora Pedal & to me , I feel To be free brings back to basics on what ARASHI used to do when comes to their older works .

Kono Mama Motto (More Like This) is the last solo song & for this , this's sung/rapped by Sakurai Sho .

I never really enjoy Sakurai's solos because just like Nino , they can be a hit or miss but for Kono Mama Motto , it's a definite hit because Sakurai is not trying to do anything extreme but at the same time , a mid tempo ballad with Saxophone beats thrown in for good measures , works wonders for him .

Out of the 5 solos included in Beautiful World , Kono Mama Motto surprised me the most & the fact that Sakurai's solos are generally something that I like or dislike , for Kono Mama Motto to sound this carefree & nice , it's refreshing to say the least .

With the Sakurap that's thrown in the song , it makes things so much better .

Hatenai Sora (Endless Sky) is ARASHI's 34th single & it was used as the theme song for the drama Freeter , ie wo kau , starring Ninomiya Kazunari .

This's the last single included in Beautiful World & I remembered when Hatenai Sora was 1st released , I disliked the song a lot because I thought it sounded really bland & boring .

But along the way , my opinions towards the song have changed significantly after I found out the meaning behind what Hatenai Sora is all about .

Tooku Made (Until At A Distance) is the final group track found in Beautiful World & for this , Tooku Made was selected to be used to promote the latest JAL ad featuring the group , just like what happened to Boku no Miteiru Fukei .

Basically in short , Tooku Made is a fuss free song to enjoy & the fact that summer's currently taking place , this's something that's good to listen to if you want to take a time out .

After the million selling Boku no Miteiru Fukei , ARASHI launched another milestone of theirs , with their latest 10th album offering , Beautiful World .

Truth be told , before I listened to Beautiful World , I was worried how the album was going to turn out as I have previous experiences of listening to albums where the group album tracks would sound great but the solos are a big mess & vice versa .

Surprisingly , for Beautiful World , everything flows well from the start to the end & I think another thing that surprised me was that this time round , all the solos found in the album are actually really solid which I should give kudos to each member for tackling each solo song of theirs with gusto .

In ARASHI's previous albums where I find myself not enjoying all the solos & in the process skipping them , that did not happen for Beautiful World .

Group tracks wise , they're all done nicely with each song having the ability to stand out from each other . The only drawback I find is that there's surprisingly a lack of album ballads this time round which I'm not sure why that's the case but it will be good to note in their next album release , this's something that they should work on .

Having said that , ARASHI has come a long way since their debut in 1999 & Beautiful World is 1 album that's a must get & a must listen to get for 2011 .

Saito Kazuyoshi - Amayadori (Shelter)

2011-07-13T07:34:00.001+08:00

Saito Kazuyoshi - Amayadori (Shelter)

Amayadori (Shelter) is a digital single released by Saito Kazuyoshi & this song was released last week on 22nd June .

This song was written in response to the March 11th Japanese earthquake .

I respect Saito Kazuyoshi for being a brillant talented musician as I really like the little touches that he incorporates in his music .

Amayadori is basically a sombre ballad that's very piano driven . It's a bit dark here & there but I suppose that's the tone of the song Saito decided , in line with the meaning behind the song .

Saito basically let his vocals does most of the work in Amayadori which gives rise to this under-stated ballad .

Shota Shimizu - love

2011-07-07T13:50:00.001+08:00

Shota Shimizu - love

Cover for both CD & CD + DVD's editions

1) love
2) Song for you
3) Massugu ni (Straight)
4) love -instrumental-

love is Shota Shimizu's 9th single & it was released last week on 29th June .

This's Shota's 1st single release after the release of his 3rd album COLOURS which dropped this year on 9th March .

love has been described as a song "that though the one you love is important , you hurt them and they hurt you too . Love is painful . But even still , wanting to be only together in love is incredibly precious" & that's what Shota's new single is all about & it's another love song being added to his discography .

I was a bit bored when I 1st heard love & it didn't help matters that this's quite a lengthy A-side coming from Shota , clocking in at 5:47 mins .

But after I found out the description of love , I couldn't help but soften my thoughts towards the song & it's a known fact that Shota has a knack for writing/composing songs that're meaningful & I guess that is where love fits in .

I wouldn't consider love as a fave Shota single of mine but I suppose the meaning to what the song's all about kind of redeem things .

There're 2 B-sides found in the single . The 1st B-side is something called Song for you .

Unlike love , I really like Song for you on 1st listen . It's a nice under-stated ballad that's very piano driven which I feel it's a lot more memorable & stronger than the A-side .

Shota's vocals does most of the work in Song for you which I think it's fantastic .

Likewise , the 2nd B-side Massugu ni (Straight) is another fantastic enjoyable song except in this case , Massugu ni takes on a more carefree sounding approach .

Massugu ni kind of reminded me of Shota's 2nd album , Journey's CREAM . Only thing is that it took me a while to appericate CREAM but I like Massugu ni in an instant .

Shota Shimizu continues to showcase on why he's still 1 of the talented R&B singer/songwriter around & love is evident as proof .

I said before that I don't really like the A-side that much but I really enjoy the 2 B-sides a great deal which it's not a bad thing I gather , since I have respect towards the personal input that Shota incorporates in his music .

Shota's 3rd collaboration single with Miliyah Kato that's titled BELIEVE will be released next Wed on 13th July .

Hey ! Say ! JUMP - OVER

2011-07-04T08:00:00.003+08:00

Hey ! Say ! JUMP - OVER

CD

CD + DVD A

CD + DVD B

OVER is Hey ! Say ! JUMP's 7th single & it was released a few days ago on 29th June .

The group's 1st release for 2011 , OVER presents a positive message of encouragement to all their fans from the young pop group , reminding their fans to look forward to a brighter future .

I have been impressed with what Hey ! Say ! JUMP has to offer , especially since for every release they have come up with , they have displayed a significant growth in their music & OVER is no exception .

OVER is still pop at the end of the day but just like their previous singles , this's edgy pop that I like . There're certain parts of OVER that I find it really cheesy but other than that , this's still some really good catchy stuff .

There're 4 B-sides in total , with the 1st 3 songs are exclusively found in the CD only pressing of the single .

The 1st B-side is something called Ai (Love) ing -Aishiteru- (I Love You) & this's the group's 1st B-side song to get a music video .

Unlike OVER , Aiing -Aishiteru- presents more of a fun lovable side of Hey ! Say ! JUMP which's something their younger fans will endure towards .

Personally to me , I have no issues with this type of songs as once in a while , I feel it's ok to release something that's age approriate since this's 1 group that comprises of teens and adults so I don't have anything against Hey ! Say ! JUMP for making a song like Aiing -Aishiteru- .

You Gotta More is the 2nd B-side & this's sung by Hey ! Say ! 7 that comprised of the younger members within Hey ! Say ! JUMP .

I really dig You Gotta More on 1st listen as it somewhat reminded me of the group's debut album , JUMP NO. 1's Shinku (Crimson) to a certain extent since both You Got More & Shinku have that very catchy memorable Salsa influences going on .

I didn't know what to expect before hearing You Gotta More but Hey ! Say ! 7 nailed this no. very well downpat .

Screw is the 3rd B-side & this's sung by Hey ! Say ! BEST that comprised of the older members within Hey ! Say ! JUMP .

Just like You Got More , I had no idea what to expect when comes to Screw but the older members of Hey ! Say ! BEST sang this no. together well & it's pretty much a standard pop no. that's fun to enjoy listening to .

Found only in the CD + DVD B pressing of the single , it's the last B-side no. that's called Born in the EARTH .

Born in the EARTH is quite a fitting song to conclude OVER as this sounds to me like a very grown up version of a lot of the group's older works & also more importantly , I really like the harmonisation effects of everyone in Born in the EARTH which I really like .

Hey ! Say ! JUMP starts off 2011 with this very solid single offering , OVER & I personally feel it's 1 of my fave singles of the group now .

I wasn't feeling the B-sides of their last single 「Arigatou」 ~Sekai no Doko ni Itemo~ that much but in the case for OVER , I like all the songs that're found in all 3 editions of the single as each song presents a different side of Hey ! Say ! JUMP .

Definitely a single worth checking out for the year from this talented group as there's something for everyone to enjoy listening to .

Hilcrhyme - no one

2011-07-03T07:30:00.001+08:00

Hilcrhyme - no one

Cover for both CD & CD + DVD's editions

1) no one
2) Tomo yo (My Friend)

no one is Hilcrhyme's 8th single & it was released a few days ago on 29th June .

The duo's new single was selected to be used as the opening theme for NTV's Happy Music starting from June onwards & it's a ballad .

no one comes about 4 months + since the release of their previous single Okubyou na Ookami .

I really like Hilcrhyme's previous single ballads such as Mou Bye Bye & Daijoubu but in this case for no one , it emphasises more on piano . As a result , no one is simple & yet under-stated .

no one doesn't try to sound hard which's a good thing & this allows lead singer/MC TOC to let his vocals do most of the work in no one which's great .

The B-side is something that's called Tomo yo (My Friend) & Tomo yo plays a great contrast to no one .

While no one is a ballad , for Tomo yo , it's classic Hilcrhyme where it's a catchy hip hop/rap track which's what the duo's known for .

I really like Tomo yo on 1st listen as it basically presents what Hilcrhyme is all about , memorable catchy hip hop meets rap tunes that they make .

Hilcrhyme is 1 of my fave acts & once again , they released another solid single in the form of no one . Okubyou na Ookami was a bit too experimental for my liking but for no one , they managed to bring things back to basics which work well in their favour .

Recently on their website , Hilcrhyme announced details that they have a new song that's called Personal COLOR which will serve as the ending theme no. for a new drama titled IS (Aiesu) ~Otoko de Mo On'na de mo Naisei~ .

The drama will start airing on 18th July & there's no further word on when/whether Personal COLOR will be the duo's next single after no one but if so , I say bring it on .

alan - Minna de ne (Like Everyone) ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~ / Ikiru (Live)

2011-07-01T19:05:00.001+08:00

alan - Minna de ne (Like Everyone) ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~ / Ikiru (Live)

CD

CD + DVD A

CD + DVD B (Candy BEAR's Version)

1) Minna de ne (Like Everyone) ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~
2) Ikiru (Live)
3) Minna de ne (Like Everyone) ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~ (Instrumental)
4) Ikiru (Live) (Instrumental)

Minna de ne (Like Everyone) ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~ / Ikiru (Live) is alan's 16th single & it was released a few days ago on 29th June .

This latest single release is alan's 1st release after she released her 1st best compilation album JAPAN PREMIUM BEST & MORE on 2nd March .

The 1st A-side Minna de ne ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~ is used as an image song for a character Candy BEAR's , which is created to promote two giant pandas whose names are Ri Ri & Shin Shin that arrived at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo from Sichaun , China this year in 1st April 2011 while the 2nd A-side Ikura is a ballad .

Just like her 12th single Diamond / Over the clouds , there're no B-sides included in Minna de ne ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~ / Ikiru .

Honestly , I wouldn't deny that I was scratching my head when I saw the title of the 1st A-side but after I dug up more information about this , now I understand why so .

Minna de ne ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~ by right is actually a very pleasant easy listening no. & I guess due to the background story of the song , there's a fair bit of Oriental influences which can be heard in here .

Despite the rather lengthy duration , clocking in at 6:12 mins , this shouldn't prevent listeners from enjoying Minna de ne ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~ which I sure did .

The 2nd A-side Ikiru , as mentioned before , it's a ballad . To me , alan has other better ballads (be it singles or album tracks) which're found in her discography .

I only find Ikiru ok for my liking . It's neither good or bad but the upside's that it compliments the somewhat peppy cheery sounding Minna de ne ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~ well .

Ikiru is a bit too mellow/slow for my liking but I heard this song 1st before Minna de ne ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~ came along so there .

After alan released her 1st best compilation album JAPAN PREMIUM BEST & MORE on 2nd March , I wasn't sure what to expect next from her but she returned back with this pretty good double A-side single release .

I enjoyed both songs since each of them present a different music side of alan & I'm anticipating to see what her next music move will be like but for now , Minna de ne ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~ / Ikiru is here to satisfy alan's fans .

kanon x kanon - Koi no Dotei (Love's Journey)

2011-06-26T18:54:00.001+08:00

kanon x kanon - Koi no Dotei (Love's Journey)

CD Regular

CD Limited

1) Koi no Dotei (Love's Journey)
2) Ren'ai no Susume (Love Memory Device)
3) Koi no Doutei TV SIZE (Limited Edition Bonus Track)
4) Koi no Doutei madmaid 17's DT Bassline remix
5) Koi no Doutei Instrumental

Koi no Dotei (Love's Journey) is kanon x kanon's 2nd single & it was released last week on 15th June .

The duo's 2nd single served as the opening theme no. for the anime 30-sai no Hoken Taiiku .

kanon x kanon's debut single Calendula Requiem was released last year on 17th Nov & the A-side was used as the 2nd opening theme song for the anime Shiki .

Honestly , I was very surprised when kanon x kanon decided to release another single because I frankly thought Calendula Requiem would be a 1 off thing .

With that said , I had quite a shock when I 1st listened to Koi no Dotei because it sounded like nothing the duo if not Kanon Wakeshima would do , simply because it's very if not extremely pop .

After I got that somewhat rude shock outta the way , I actually find Koi no Dotei pretty fun to listen to but it's definitely not something I expect Kanon Wakeshima to do in solo mode but at least I'm still able to detect a little bit of cello influences in Koi no Dotei , not much but it's better than none .

There're 2 B-sides found in the single , the 1st one is something called Ren'ai no Susume (Love Memory Device) .

Unlike Koi no Dotei , I really adore Ren'ai no Susume on 1st listen as there're traces of what the duo left their music mark on in Calendula Requiem .

Ren'ai no Susume is definitely something that's on familiar music grounds for kanon x kanon / Kanon Wakeshima & the cello prominence is much more stronger here which's great .

The madmaid 17's DT Bassline remix of Koi no Dotei is the 2nd B-side & this's quite a strange remix which sounds nothing like the original .

This remix gets pretty random at times & I can barely hear any lyrics going on in Koi no Doutei madmaid 17's DT Bassline remix . I don't know if this's a good or bad thing but I suppose given the somewhat uniqueness music influences that kanon x kanon brings , it should be a good thing ?

kanon x kanon brought an unique/refreshing music concept when this dynamic duo made their music presence felt last year with Calendula Requiem & now this year , they more or less managed to repeat the same thing with regards to Koi no Dotei .

I'm interested to see if they will release another single if not an album , especially since I'm a fan of what Kanon Wakeshima does in her solo discography but regardless of which , I look forward to see what else kanon x kanon will have in store .

If not , I wouldn't mind something new from Kanon Wakeshima , especially since it has been close to a year since she released her 2nd album Shoujo Jikake no Libretto ~LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO~ .

CD Review :: Aoyama Thelma - WILL

2011-06-25T07:14:00.004+08:00

CD Review :: Aoyama Thelma - WILL

CD Regular

CD Limited

1) Fighting Soldier
2) Zutto. (Much.)
3) WITHOUT U Feat 4Minute
4) LET'S PARTY !
5) Hitori ni Shinaide (Do Not Be Alone)
6) GOODBYE
7) CRAZY CRAZY LOVE
8) STRONGER THAN EVER
9) I'm All Yours
10) 23
11) Fallen Angel
12) ONE LOVE , ONE HEART , ONE DESTINY Feat SUPER CRISS's FIRE BALL
13) Uso Demo Ii Kara (I Wish I Could Lie)
14) WILL
15) Zutto. (Much.) (Wedding Acoustic Ver) (Limited Edition Track)
16) WITHOUT U Feat 4Minute (English Ver.) (Limited Edition Track)

WILL is Aoyama Thelma's 3rd album & it was released on 15th June & this comes about
about 2 years since the release of previous album Emotions .

3 singles & 1 B-side are included in WILL . Aoyama's 9th single Kaeru Basho (The Place We'll Return To) is excluded from the tracklist .

Inclusive of 2 bonus tracks which're only available in the CD limited pressing of WILL , Aoyama presents 9 new album tracks in her latest album offering .

Fighting Soldier is the 1st track that kick things off & I like this no. which's packed full of punch .

It's not full blown upbeat but this's something good to start WILL in the right music direction .

The next 3 songs are singles that Aoyama has already before she released WILL .

Zutto. (Much.) is Aoyama's 12th single & this's her 1st wedding song that she released . Aoyama wrote Zutto. for her close friend Kinoshita Yukina's wedding .

The lyrics for Zutto. were rewritten 5 times & Aoyama worked on the song for three months in order to give Kinoshita the perfect wedding gift on her wedding .

I still feel Zutto. is 1 of her most sincere songs to date since something like this , is priceless & it was very thoughtful of Aoyama to decide to give such an intangible gift to her close friend .

Aoyama could have given a physically gift but making a song like Zutto. & dedicating to Kinoshita , now that's something $ cannot buy at all .

WITHOUT U Feat 4Minute is Aoyama's 13th single & this's the most recent release prior to the release of WILL while LET'S PARTY ! is the 1st A-side of her 11th single LET'S PARTY ! / 23 .

I think it's quite fitting to slot both WITHOUT U & LET'S PARTY ! together side by side & they play a good contrast , since WITHOUT U is a slow mid tempo ballad while LET'S PARTY is upbeat .

The next 5 songs are album tracks , starting with Hitori ni Shinaide (Do Not Be Alone) which's actually a pretty nice mid tempo R&B track that flows well after LET's PARTY .

With a song title like GOODBYE , I frankly was expecting another ballad but I was surprised when I found out it's actually quite an upbeat no. that has some pretty nice guitar riffs that complimented things .

Likewise for CRAZY CRAZY LOVE , Aoyama takes on a more guitar pop feeling with this song & I wouldn't deny that I find this really catchy & a bit different from what Aoyama usually does .

Let alone the song's catchy & it does stuck in my head after a few listens with regards to CRAZY CRAZY LOVE .

I also like the next album track STRONGER THAN EVER as well & I find STRONGER THAN EVER very inspiring & enpowering & I consider this as 1 of my fave tracks in WILL .

After STRONGER THAN EVER , in comes another new song titled I'm All Yours . Just like the previous album tracks , it has quite a heavy guitar backing attached to the song .

I would prefer I'm All Yours to be a bit longer as I feel it's somewhat a bit short & for it to end adruptly , I didn't see that coming but I wouldn't deny that I'm All Yours is another good track that Aoyama delivered .

23 is the 2nd A-side of Aoyama's 11th single LET'S PARTY ! / 23 & I remembered when this single was released , I wrote that I preferred 23 a lot more than LET'S PARTY ! & up to now , my opinions towards 23 has not changed .

Fallen Angel is found as the 1st B-side track in Aoyama's 13th single WITHOUT U in which the other B-side my sweetest sin is not included in WILL .

I really like both B-sides that're found in WITHOUT U but nonetheless , I was happy to see Fallen Angel making the cut in WILL because I actually like this song slightly a bit more than my sweetest sin .

Also , Fallen Angel plays such a good contast against the ballad WITHOUT U which's nice .

The next 3 songs are the last few album tracks in WILL .

ONE LOVE , ONE HEART , ONE DESTINY is the only collaboration song found in the album & for this , it features the vocals of SUPER CRISS's FIRE BALL .

I really enjoy listening to ONE LOVE , ONE HEART , ONE DESTINY & I feel FIRE BALL & Aoyama's vocals go very well together hand in hand . Also I realised that ONE LOVE , ONE HEART , ONE DESTINY has quite a very distinct sound as compared to the other albums tracks found in WILL .

In general , I like Aoyama's collaborations that she has done with other artistes & ONE LOVE , ONE HEART , ONE DESTINY is no exception & lyrically , it has a very positive feeling attached to it which I like .

Uso Demo Ii Kara (I Wish I Could Lie) is a ballad & for this , it's a very simple & under-stated no. that has the backing of a piano .

What I like about Uso Demo Ii Kara is that the song allows Aoyama's vocals to do most of the work here & she doesn't need any fanciful autotune or other special music effects to make a song good in her favour .

The last album track concidentally shares the same title as the album , WILL . Just like the other album tracks , WILL has this very positive great sounding vibes & lyrically , it's very encouraging & inspirational .

WILL is quite similiar to GOODBYE & I'm All Yours since all the songs employ a much heavier acoustic guitar backing & the R&B emphasis is not as strong as the other album tracks found in the album .

The last 2 songs are found as bonus tracks which're included in the CD only limited pressing of WILL .

The Wedding Acoustic Ver of Aoyama's Zutto. is as suggested , a very pretty acoustic version of the original take of Zutto. . I don't really have issues with acoustic songs because I really like them as it showcase a different music side of an artiste .

In this case , be it whether it's the original or wedding acoustic versions of Zutto. , I like both of them equally since in recent times , Zutto. has become 1 of my fave Aoyama's singles .

The English Ver. of Aoyama's 13th single WITHOUT U was originally found as the 1st track in LOVE STORY EP , which was released on 6th May as a special Asian Album release .

Aoyama's fluent in English so it's not surprising that she did a good job singing WITHOUT U in full English which's the only difference between this version & the original take , language wise .

Korean girlgroup 4Minute is featured in both takes of the song & they also sang/rap in English in here as well .

After close to 21 months since the release of her 2nd album Emotions , Aoyama Thelma bounced back with this really enjoyable solid follow up in the form of WILL .

Frankly , I was surprised at the quality of the album tracks found in her latest album because I thought she wasn't able to top things up after what she did with Emotions which was fantastic to boot but she managed to pull a few surprises here & there in WILL .

It's unfortunate that in recent times , her selling power has diminished a great deal especially since she was at the top of her music selling peak when she 1st debuted in the scene some 4 years ago but regardless of which , this's something secondary & I'm still glad that despite what has happened to her , she still solidered on & continues to make great music .

WILL is evident in this case and Aoyama has come of age & maturity in releasing such an enjoyable R&B album to listen to .

Definitely an album worth checking out for in 2011 .

KinKi Kids - Time

2011-06-17T07:25:00.001+08:00

KinKi Kids - Time

CD

CD + DVD

Time is KinKi Kids's 31st single & it was released 2 days ago on 15th June & this's the duo's 1st release to get released in a CD + DVD edition .

KinKi Kids's latest single offering was selected to be used as the image song for the game Dynasty Warriors 7 & it has been described as an epic mid-tempo number featuring a blend of electronic & strings-produced sounds .

I was stoked when I saw the writing/composing credits for Time because U-Key zone is in charge of things & he's the same person who has produced works for Kuroki Meisa .

Naturally or not , Time is extremely different from KinKi Kids's past works , which gives raise to this unique & refreshing track .

Time is obviously very different as compared to their last single Family ~Hitotsu ni Narukoto~ (~The Thing That Becomes One~) but I have to say it's a bold risky music move that paid off very well .

The B-side tracks are all only found in the CD only pressing of the single .

Both Haiiro no Hana (Grey Flower) & Kimi to Boku no Uta (You And Me Song) are ballads which play a good contrast against the experimental Time .

Haiiro no Hana is slightly more depressing sounding but something about Kimi to Boku no Uta gives off nothing but positive affirmation & Kimi to Boku no Uta can be seen/heard like the distinct cousin of Family ~Hitotsu ni Narukoto~ .

After being in the business for close to 14 years , KinKi Kids prove why they still have a long staying power in the Johnny's talent agency & I am satisfied with what they have brought to the music table in the form of Time .

I haven't heard many of their songs that have this experimental music route but hopefully their future releases will be more of such things as I appericate it whenever an artiste take risks & experiment with their music , be it whether the final result is good or bad .

CD Review :: Ken Hirai - JAPANESE SINGER

2011-06-14T07:00:00.002+08:00

CD Review :: Ken Hirai - JAPANESE SINGER

CD

CD + DVD A ; DVD material contains footages taken from Ken's Ken Hirai 15th Anniversary Special!! Vol.4 concert which was held at Kyocera Dome Osaka

CD + DVD B ; DVD material contains music videos of the 5 singles included in the album

1) Sing Forever
2) Itoshiki Hibi yo (Oh Endearing Days)
3) CANDY
4) Onegai (Please) Jury☆
5) Boku wa Kimi ni Koi wo Suru (I Fall In Love With You)
6) Sayonara (Goodbye) ・My Love
7) R&B
8) Girls 3x
9) Aishiteru (I Love You)
10) BLIND
11) Miss Summertime
12) Yume no Mukou de (The Other Side Of Dreams)
13) Anata to (With You)

JAPANESE SINGER is Ken Hirai's 8th album & it was released on 8th June .

Ken's last album release was 2008's FAKIN POP & in JAPANESE SINGER , it contains 5 singles & 8 new songs .

On the jacket cover , Ken is holding a red ball . According to him , it expresses the symbol of many important things , such as Japan , Earth , the heart .

The 1st 3 songs in the tracklist are singles that Ken has already released prior to JAPANESE SINGER .

Sing Forever is Ken's 32nd single & it was released as a celebration of his 15th anniversary as an artist last year .

I think it's nice to kick things off with Sing Forever as this's a song that I'm still not bored with up to now , with it being a simple straightforward soulful track .

Itoshiki Hibi yo (Beautiful Days) is Ken's 34th single & it was used as the theme song for the 2nd season of the TBS drama JIN .

This's Ken's latest single release before he released JAPANESE SINGER & I can't help but feel so in awe when Ken belts out such a power ballad as I still feel ballads is his forte after being in the business for so long .

CANDY is Ken's 30th single & out of the 5 singles that made the cut in the album , this has to be my least fave .

Even though CANDY was released close to 2 years back , there's just something about CANDY I don't like even up to now , as it feels as though Ken is not comfortable in trying such a bold daring style .

Onegai (Please) Jury☆ is the 1st new song & this's some groovy stuff Ken has come up with ! I feel this's probably 1 of my fave album tracks as it's just a very catchy memorable tune & I definitely like it on 1st listen .

Also , what I like about Onegai Jury☆ is that it's 1 of those songs that puts people in a very dancey happy mood too & I definitely can see this song being played in a swinging bar .

Boku wa Kimi ni Koi wo Suru (I Fall In Love With You) is Ken's 31st single & it was used as the theme song for the movie Boku no Hatsukoi wo Kimi ni Sasagu starring Inoue Mao .

Out of the 5 singles included in JAPANESE SINGER , Boku wa Kimi ni Koi wo Suru is Ken's most successful single , in terms of sales & charting power & it's easy to see why so .

Boku wa Kimi ni Koi wo Suru is an enduring ballad & the lyrical content is really touching/emotional . It's not as heartfelt/depressing unlike Itoshiki Hibi yo but still this does nicely for Ken & it also fits the movie theme concept for Boku no Hatsukoi wo Kimi ni Sasagu very well .

Sayonara (Goodbye) ・My Love is the 2nd album track & this's quite a good mid tempo tune .

The prominent issue going on for Sayonara ・My Love is the melody which's a simple fuss free soulful tune & Ken's vocals easily transforms an understated song into something memorable .

R&B & Girls 3x are the next 2 album tracks . These 2 songs frankly are somewhat the odd ones out in JAPANESE SINGER due to the fact that they're pretty experimental if not randomly slotted/allocated in the tracklist .

I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing . On 1 hand , I give Ken credit for doing something different from what he usually does but long time fans of him probably will give both songs a thumbs down for being too different & they might prefer him to stick to what he does best .

Aishiteru (I Love You) is Ken's 33rd single & it was used as the theme song for the film Ghost Mou Ichido Dakishimetai , which is a Japanese remake of the 1990 American film Ghost .

This is the last single included in the album & there's just something haunting/charming about Aishiteru . It's not as emotional driven as Itoshiki Hibi yo but still this's something I don't mind to listen to .

The last 4 songs are the last 4 album tracks before JAPANESE SINGER wraps up .

BLIND is quite an interesting song . I wasn't sure what to expect but it's somewhat quite memorable & catchy with such a lush piano driven melody to boot .

Miss Summertime follows after BLIND & I feel Miss Summertime is 1 of my fave tracks in JAPANESE SINGER as it's a hot track .

Not as heavy upfront upbeat as CANDY & fake star but still , there's something about Miss Summertime that I like & I even can detect a little bit of Carribean sounds in here which's cool .

The final 2 songs on JAPANESE SINGER are ballads .

Yume no Mukou de (The Other Side Of The Dream) is the only album track that gets a music video & it was used as the theme song for the movie Hoshi Mamoru Inu which starred Nishida Toshiyuki .

I find Yume no Mukou de a sweet sincere mid tempo R&B ballad . It's not as depressing sounding as Ken's other ballads but in Yume no Mukou de , it feels quite uplifting & inspiring & I can understand why it gets a music video as it deserves so .

Anata to (With You) is the last song in the album & just like Yume no Mukou de , it's a ballad .

Except in this case , Anata to takes on a more fuss free back to basics route in the sense that it's simply just Ken being backed up musically with a simple under-stated piano melody .

I didn't like Anata to at 1st but I appericate the simplicity state Ken gives in here , which I feel it's nice to conclude JAPANESE SINGER with such a music style .

After being in the business for close to 16 years , Ken Hirai is still 1 of the most respected & dedicated R&B male solo artistes in the JPop world & I guess it's evident in JAPANESE SINGER .

Ken takes his time to release a new album each time it happens since his last album FAKIN' POP was released 3 years back .

To me , I feel JAPANESE SINGER is much more musicially versatile since there were less album tracks available in FAKIN' POP . Some of the tracks in JAPANESE SINGER are pretty experimental but I have to give credit to Ken for trying his best to stay true to himself as much as possible in this cutting throat fickle minded music world .

I've been a fan of Ken's music for close to 5 years now & I'm glad he's still around in making/releasing simple old school R&B soulful tunes which's what he does best at the end of the day .

BENI - Suki Dakara. (I Like.)

2011-06-11T07:49:00.002+08:00

BENI - Suki Dakara. (I Like.)

1) Suki Dakara. (I Like.)
2) One In A Million
3) Suki Dakara. (I Like.) (Instrumental)
4) One In A Million (Instrumental)

Suki Dakara. (I Like.) is BENI's 11th single & it was released a few days ago on 8th June .

This's BENI's 1st release for 2011 & it has been described as a new chapter for BENI in that Suki Dakara. is much more pop than her usual works .

Suki Dakara. tells the story of a love that one simply can't give up , despite how much one gets hurt in the process .

Well I really like Suki Dakara. on 1st listen . It's definitely a bit different from what BENI used to do & after a somewhat music slump period she had a while back ago , it's great that she has bounced back with this rather strong memorable R&B mid tempo ballad .

The B-side One In A Million is also another fine sounding R&B track & in here , it sounds a bit like Sign's Gon' luv u .

Not that I'm complaining since I really like Gon' luv u but what I like about One In A Million is that it's able to contrast Suki Dakara. pretty well .

BENI returns back to the music scene with her 1st release for the year with this pretty solid comeback , Suki Dakara. . I frankly feel she's really talented & offers something different from other R&B artistes in the market & something like Suki Dakara. is evident .

Memorable songs with soulful distinct vocals , it doesn't get any better for BENI than this .

Kanjani∞ - 365 Nichi Kazoku (Days Family)

2011-06-10T18:43:00.002+08:00

Kanjani∞ - 365 Nichi Kazoku (Days Family)

CD

CD + DVD

365 Nichi Kazoku (Days Family) is Kanjani∞'s 18th single & it was released a few days ago on 8th June .

The last of 3 back to back months single releases , 365 Nichi Kazoku is currently being used to promote the drama Umareru , starring Okura Tadayoshi .

Like the group's previous single My Home , 365 Nichi Kazoku is an ode to family . Unlike My Home , 365 Nichi Kazoku takes on a much more sombre serious tone , something that's absent in My Home .

365 Nichi Kazoku is notably much longer than the group's previous single too . Still , this shouldn't stop listeners to enjoy 365 Nichi Kazoku & I really like it when an artiste experiments & showcase different music sides of themself .

Kanjani∞ is known for their crazy over the top songs but something like 365 Nichi Kazoku is great to showcase this serious sombre side of the band .

There're 3 B-sides in total that're found in the single . The 1st one is something called Train in the rain .

Train in the rain is 1 fine B-side . I love it the moment I listened to it & the song plays such a great contrast against the somewhat moody sounding A-side .

It's 1 of those songs that will put anyone in a good mood , with Train in the rain having a rather energetic sounding pop/rock sound attached to it .

The next 2 B-sides are only included in the CD pressing of the single .

9 Gōsha 2 Ban A Seki (9 A Second Car Seat) is sung by Subaru Shibutani & Ryo Nishikido . Both of them cowrote & coarranged the song together while Ryo composed the tune .

After 2 duo B-sides that're found in My Home , in comes 9 Gōsha 2 Ban A Seki & it's another B-side that I really enjoy .

In fact , prior to getting the chance to hear 9 Gōsha 2 Ban A Seki , I was already excited because Subaru & Ryo are unofficially considered to be the 2 main lead vocalists in Kanjani∞ & with Subaru having possibly 1 of the best voices in the group , his vocals pretty much shine a great deal in here .

Both of them compliment each other very well in 9 Gōsha 2 Ban A Seki , which's such a nice inspirational mid tempo tune & I also appericate the personal input that both guys incorporated in 9 Gōsha 2 Ban A Seki too

Eightopop !!!!!!! is the last B-side & in here , everyone in Kanjani∞ sang the song together .

Wow , on 1st listen , I can't help but realised that Eightopop !!!!!!! sounds exactly the same as Shota Yasuda's solo TOPOP , which's found in the disc 2 of the group's 4th Album 8UPPERS (Pacchi Uppers) .

In fact when I compare & listen to both TOPOP & Eightopop !!!!!!! , they sound pretty much sound the same , from the melody & also the way that the songs were delivered as well .

I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing but Eightopop !!!!!!! is such a fun song which's pretty much perfect to conclude things in 365 Nichi Kazoku .

Eightopop !!!!!!! is not as crazy over the top as the group's other songs in their discography but this does nicely .

Kanjani∞'s 3 months back to back single release finally ended with 365 Nichi Kazoku . I must say for the 3 singles that were released from April to this month , each of them are top notch & there's something for everyone to enjoy .

I feel that Kanjani∞ is 1 of the most under-rated if not talented Johnny's in the talent agency & I think it's great that with this 3 months back to back single release project , it allows them to showcase the many different music sides of themselves & it's good to see that they have paid their dues to get to where they're at now .

B'z - Don't Wanna Lie

2011-06-04T08:57:00.002+08:00

B'z - Don't Wanna Lie

Cover for both CD & CD + DVD's editions

1) Don't Wanna Lie
2) Homebound

Don't Wanna Lie is B'z's 49th single & it was released a few days ago on 1st June .

The duo's latest release comes in less than 2 months + after the release of Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo (Goodbye , The Days Of Wounds) .

Don't Wanna Lie serves as the theme song for the new Detective Conan movie Detective Conan : Quarter of Silence & the A-side is an upbeat medium-tempo tune .

Compared to Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo , Don't Wanna Lie takes on a more cheery upbeat mood which's such a refreshing change after B'z delivered quite a lot of angst for Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo .

As a result , Don't Wanna Lie is 1 of those songs that makes a person feel good about 1 self & it's also classic B'z at the end of the day with lead singer Koshi's soulful distinct voice & guitarist Tak's guitar showmanship .

The B-side Homebound serves as the ending theme song for TBS's nationwide television series NEWS 23X & it's described to be a grand ballad number .

Homebound plays a very nice contrast against Don't Wanna Lie . It's not as emotionally sounding as MAGIC's PRAY but still , Homebound is some good stuff that I enjoy listening to , if I want to unwind after a long day .

B'z shows no signs of slowing down at the rate they're releasing material after a year hiatus they took to pursue their own projects & both Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo & Don't Wanna Lie are evident proofs that they still have the power to stay relevant & at the top of their game after being in the business for so long .

It reminds to be seen what will their next move but I do hope they will release another new single since their next release will be their 50th single release in total so hopefully they will do something great & go all out with it !

YUI - HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~'s B-sides

2011-06-02T20:49:00.001+08:00

YUI - HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~'s B-sides

The following songs serve as B-sides in YUI's 19th single HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ which was released yesterday on 1st June :

- YOU
- It's My Life ~YUI Acoustic Version~

HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ was selected to be used as the opening theme song for the movie Paradise Kiss .

YUI is a huge fan of Yazawa Ai's Paradise Kiss manga . She commented , "The melody came to my mind easily . They are songs that are full of hope"

While HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ is used as the opening no. , in the case for the 1st B-side YOU , it's being used as the ending theme song for Paradise Kiss .

YOU is a very nice song & compliments/contrasts HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ . To me , I feel YOU sounds like a mixture/combination of YUI's past songs such as Tomorrow's way , Please Stay With Me & most recently Your Heaven .

I like all the 3 songs that I singled out & I feel YUI combined certain elements from these 3 songs which give rise to YOU which's very calming & soulful .

The ~YUI Acoustic Version~ of It's My Life is the 2nd B-side & like all of YUI's past B-sides , she always has the tendency to acoustic-fy past single releases & this time round , It's My Life got the treatment & not Your Heaven .

I was a bit scared off by It's My Life as it's something different coming from YUI but the acoustic version works well . I always like such simple under-stated touches that YUI brings to the acoustic takes of her songs & in this case , It's My Life ~YUI Acoustic Version~ is no exception .

YUI has been on a music roll lately after releasing her 2nd single release of 2011 , HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ & it doesn't seem she will be slowing down anytime soon .

There're rumours going on she will release her 20th single on 10th Aug . If so , I sure hope it's true & maybe YUI might be planning to do something special , since after all a 20th single release is kind of a momentum occasion but for now , it looks like HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ will not be leaving my mp3player anytime soon .

Aoyama Thelma Feat 4Minute - WITHOUT U

2011-05-29T09:25:00.001+08:00

Aoyama Thelma Feat 4Minute - WITHOUT U

CD

CD + DVD

1) Intro
2) WITHOUT U Feat 4Minute
3) Fallen Angel
4) my sweetest sin
5) WITHOUT U Feat 4Minute (Instrumental)

WITHOUT U is Aoyama Thelma's 13th single & it was released a few days ago on 25th May .

Aoyama's new single comes after 2 months + since the release of her previous single Zutto. (Forever.) & this's Aoyama's 2nd time in doing a collaboration with a Korean artiste , the 1st being Fall in Love with BIG BANG !'s SOL .

After a rather cool sounding Intro , it jumps straight into the main title track of the single .

Honestly , I wasn't sure what to expect for WITHOUT U but it surprised me when I heard the song in that it's a pretty simple under-stated ballad , with rap verses thrown in by both Aoyama & 4Minute .

I don't listen to Korean acts but the vocals of 4Minute are pretty ok but their rap verses are much stronger in here .

There're 2 B-sides in the single . The 1st one is something titled Fallen Angel .

Fallen Angel is a nice upbeat R&B tune . I feel it has traces of Fall in Love except it's much more mellow & not angsty driven . Still this's some neat stuff going on .

Likewise , the same thing goes for the 2nd B-side my sweetest sin . my sweetest sin is sung by Aoyama in full English & in here , there's no weird Engrish that takes place since Aoyama is fluent in both English & Japanese .

Both B-sides are equally good which plays a nice contrast to WITHOUT U .

Aoyama Thelma is on a music roll lately & after delivering a heartfelt ballad in the form of Zutto. (Forever.) , she returns back with this pretty fine follow up with 2 rather prominent catchy B-side tunes thrown in the mix .

Her 3rd album WILL to be released on 15th June . WITHOUT U will be included as track #3 while Fallen Angel has also made the cut as track #11 in the CD tracklist .

L'Arc~en~Ciel - GOOD LUCK MY WAY

2011-05-25T06:37:00.000+08:00

L'Arc~en~Ciel - GOOD LUCK MY WAY

CD

CD + DVD

GOOD LUCK MY WAY is L'Arc~en~Ciel's 37th single & it will be released next month on 29th June .

L'Arc~en~Ciel's previous single release was last year's BLESS which was released on 27th Jan .

GOOD LUCK MY WAY has been selected to be used to promote the anime movie Fullmetal Alchemist : Milos no Seinaru Hoshi which will be released in Japan cinemas on 2nd July .

This single has been dubbed the celebration of the group's 20 years in the music business & I feel it's basically classic L'Arc~en~Ciel .

BLESS was a nice ballad but for GOOD LUCK MY WAY , the guitar riffs & drum beats are back in full force in this positive driven song .

Also , it helps that GOOD LUCK MY WAY is catchy & cheery sounding on 1st listen which's definitely not a bad thing but considering the long time gap between BLESS & GOOD LUCK MY WAY , it's worth the wait for sure .

metropolis -2011- (P'UNK~EN~CIEL) serves as the B-side for the single & for this , the song will not be reviewed .

KAT-TUN - WHITE

2011-05-22T12:21:00.001+08:00

KAT-TUN - WHITE

CD Regular

CD Limited

CD + DVD

WHITE is KAT-TUN's 15th single & it was released a few days ago on 18th May .

The group's new single comes about 3 months + after the release of their previous single ULTIMATE WHEELS .

WHITE was selected to be used in the latest SOFINA WHITENING LOTION ad & it has been described as a song that has a lively & refreshing melody , with women providing some backing vocals to give the song a big impact .

Now this's 1 really peppy song that I like on 1st listen ! It's easy to draw comparison with WHITE alongside with the group's previous singles that follows the same music vein , such as Yorokobi no Uta (Song Of Joy) .

Except in this case , WHITE takes on a more fresher & positive sounding approach . As a result , the final product comes across really fun & memorable .

In total , WHITE have 3 B-sides . WHITE , PERFECT & SILENCE all contain rap lyrics contributed by Tanaka Koki who goes by his pen name JOKER .

Just like WHITE , the 1st B-side PERFECT also was used in an ad for promotion . This time round , it was used to promote Aoki's Men Suits in which the ad features Kamenashi Kazuya .

I love the preview of PERFECT which can be heard in the Aoki's Men Suits ad so I wasn't surprised that I came to enjoy the full version of the song subsequently .

PERFECT is almost in the same music vein as WHITE but unlike WHITE , PERFECT takes on a slightly more pop approach .

Exclusively found in the CD regular edition pressing of the single , it's a song that's titled SILENCE .

SILENCE is unusual on 1st listen but this's 1 track that is unique & has plenty of attitude . I haven't come across any of KAT-TUN's past B-sides/tracks that have this style going on in SILENCE .

Having said that , SILENCE plays a great contrast against the peppy sounding WHITE & PERFECT . SILENCE is mysterious but full of angst all rolled into 1 combination which that was nailed downpat .

The last B-side Yuuki no Hana (Flower Of Courage) is found only in the CD limited edition pressing of WHITE .

Just like ULTIMATE WHEELS's TWO , Yuuki no Hana is a ballad but in this case , Yuuki no Hana has a beautiful haunting piano melody in place which's plain lovely .

I frankly can see Ueda Tatsuya singing Yuuki no Hana on his own because his solo works almost have this characteristic going on in his solos , especially when it's evident in Ai no Hana but there's a sense of bittersweet sadness which can be heard in Yuuki no Hana but I feel KAT-TUN nailed this aspect well .

KAT-TUN has on a music roll lately & WHITE is once again a very solid single that's enjoyable from the start til the end .

I love their previous single ULTIMATE WHEELS but for that , I thought the B-sides were much weaker than the ones found in CHANGE UR WORLD . This time round in WHITE , it's great that the guys stepped things up & also experimented very well with regards to what they had to offer for SILENCE & Yuuki no Hana .

It reminds to be seen what move they will be taking next after the release of WHITE but I welcome a new single if not a new album & if this continues to keep up , they're doing fine for a now 5 member group .

School Food Punishment - RPG's B-sides

2011-05-17T07:36:00.002+08:00

School Food Punishment - RPG's B-sides

The following songs serve as B-sides in School Food Punishment's 6th single RPG , which was released last week on 11th May :

- Slide show
- Transition period

RPG was selected to be used as the outro theme for the anime C .

The 1st B-side Slide show is basically a nice calmed down mellow tune that's studded with the group's signature indie fusion rock meets ambience sounds which plays a nice contrast on what RPG has to offer .

As for the 2nd B-side Transition period , the song kind of reminded me of after laughter , sound wise since both songs are almost in the same music route except in this case , Transition period has a bigger emphasis on the synth factor .

The last release of School Food Punishment was last April when they released their debut album amp-reflection . After close to a year & a month , the quartet returned back with this comeback single RPG .

Personally , School Food Punishment is 1 of those artistes that are extremely under-rated but music wise , their material speaks volume & also , what they has to offer is something unusual but it's more than enough to separate them from the masses .

I haven't come across any other artiste that does the same type of music like what School Food Punishment do but I hope I wouldn't need to wait real long for them to release something since RPG is real solid & enjoyable to listen to .

Kanjani∞ - My Home's B-sides

2011-05-15T08:29:00.001+08:00

Kanjani∞ - My Home's B-sides

CD

CD + DVD

The following songs serve as B-sides in Kanjani∞'s 17th single My Home , which was released a few days ago on 11th May :

- Baby Moonlight
- Futari no Hana (Two Flowers) (Maruyama Ryuhei / Okura Tadayoshi) (CD Only Track)
- Hanikami Obbligato (Signs Of Embarassment Obligation) (Yokoyama You / Murakami Shingo) (CD Only Track)

My Home is currently used to promote the drama Inu o Kau to Iu Koto , starring Ryo Nishikido & the A-side is a song that talks about being grateful for the little things in everyday life .

This is the group's 2nd of 3 back to back months single releases .

On 1st listen , the 1st B-side Baby Moonlight sounds a bit to me like PUZZLE's Ichibyou KISS .

Not that it's a bad thing but considering that I like Ichibyou KISS , I'm fine with Baby Moonlight & also it plays quite a nice contrast against My Home nicely too .

The next 2 songs are only found in the CD only pressing of the single & for the 1st time , the group decided to release duo songs as B-sides tracks in a single .

Futari no Hana is sung by Maruyama Ryuhei & Okura Tadayoshi . Honestly both of them are not really the 2 best vocalists in the group but something light hearted & cheery sounding like Futari no Hana suits them well .

The last song Hanikami Obbligato is sung by Yokoyama You & Murakami Shingo .

On 1st listen , Hanikami Obbligato sounds a bit like the group's 6th single Zukkoke Otokomichi , especially in the beginning when Hanikami Obbligato starts .

Both Yokoyama & Murakami compliment each other well in Hanikami Obbligato & this's something that I also enjoy listening to .

Kanjani∞ has been on a music roll back to back month wise . After releasing T.W.L / Yellow Pansy Street last month , they returned back this month with this well rounded release My Home .

They have not release B-side songs that feature the vocals of 2 members but judging from what they have done with regards to Futari no Hana & Hanikami Obbligato , I say it's a good move for them to try something different .

Kanjani∞'s 18th single 365 Nichi Kazoku (Days Family) will be released next month on 18th June & 365 Nichi Kazoku has been selected to be used to promote the drama Umareru , starring Okura Tadayoshi .

Matsushita Yuya - Back to Love (Naturally's B-side)

2011-05-11T06:55:00.001+08:00

Matsushita Yuya - Back to Love (Naturally's B-side)

Back to Love serves as the B-side track in Matsushita Yuya's 8th single which was released last week on 4th May .

Naturally was used to promote in the ad for NATURAL BEAUTY BASIC & Naturally is now Matsushita's best charting release to date , suppressing that of his 4th single Trust Me .

In Naturally , Back to Love is an original song while in the other 6 CD limited editions , it features 1 cover song in each limited pressing jacket .

All 6 cover songs will not be reviewed but the 6 songs that Matsushita covered are as followed :

1) Makihara Takayuki - Donna Toki mo
2) Seiko Matsuda - Himitsu no Hanazono
3) BOØWY - Kisetsu ga Kimi Dake wo Kaeru
4) Tokunaga Hideaki - Koware Kake no Radio
5) Oda Kazumasa - Love Story wa Totsuzen ni
6) Yoshida Minako - Yume de Aetara

To me , Back to Love is basically like an extension from where Naturally leaves . It's something that I don't mind because in general , Matsushita's B-sides material are good .

Usually I'm able to compare Back to Love with other B-side tracks but in this case , I'm not able to but it's basically like a Naturally sequel which has a nice sound consistency .

Matsushita Yuya is definitely on a music roll . Naturally is his 2nd release for 2011after Paradise but already , he doesn't seem to slow down in what he delivers best , smooth upbeat R&B tunes from his discography .

I'm not sure what's his next move but I would welcome a new album from him . If not , another single will be fine too .