CD
CD + DVD
1) 20080701
2) NEW DAY DREAMER
3) Never Mind
4) Discuss
5) Futoumei Ningen
6) Chiisana Hibi
7) Hajimete Ai wo Kureta Hito
8) Kunsho
9) Subarashiki Uso
10) Hourensou no Sautee
11) Update
12) PEPE Paradise
13) Niji no Kasa
14) HELP
Not available in the physical CD but digitally only :
15) FREE YOUR MIND
16) Last Call
17) Toutoi
flumpool's last album release was 2016's EGG .
Real includes 2 singles , 1 B-side & 11 new album tracks inclusive of an album opening number which's a 1st for flumpool as their previous studio albums didn't had any .
These 3 singles are not available in the physical CD of Real they're available digitally only :
- FREE YOUR MIND
- Last Call
- Toutoi
The Taiwan version of Real includes 2 bonus tracks that the Japan press do not have ie. Mandarin versions of HELP & Subarashiki Uso .
Real album covers are a recreation of flumpool's 1st mini album Unreal which was released in Nov 2008 .
In order to portray the world view of Real , that shows the current way of living after experiencing a period of setbacks & conflicts , flumpool decided to use back the same studio & photographer to shoot the jacket covers of Real .
Vocalist Yamamura Ryuta commented , "Real consists of the band's magnified way of living after experiencing various setbacks & conflicts during the past 12 years . With that concept , we took everything off for the 1st time in 12 years ."
After the album opening number 20080701 , flumpool jumped straight into Real's 1st album track , NEW DAY DREAMER .
Prior to the physical release of Real , NEW DAY DREAMER was 1st released digitally on 20th April .
NEW DAY DREAMER is a collaboration song that Ryuta & Tabo Koichi worked on together . A video was made for NEW DAY DREAMER but it's not included in the DVD of Real .
There's a considerable amount of really good album tracks in Real but it's nice that NEW DAY DREAMER had a video made cos it deserve it even though I personally rather see other album tracks have videos made instead .
I guess flumpool chose NEW DAY DREAMER cos it's the most radio friendly sounding song in Real & it's relatively easy to like this upbeat sounding number .
Never Mind serve as the B-side in flumpool's 20th single Subarashiki Uso . Promo wise , Never Mind was used as the opening theme song for the anime Ahiru no Sora .
Back when I reviewed Subarashiki Uso , I did said that I liked Never Mind more than the A-side and this still applies . Needless to say I'm real pleased that flumpool included Never Mind in Real .
The next 5 songs in Real are all album tracks which each of them having its own unique identity/sound .
Discuss is 1 of my favourite album tracks in Real as it sounds very cool and nothing like what flumpool does .
Futoumei Ningen is a bit of an odd song as compared to the other album tracks , this's the rare song that has an angsty feel so in a way it sounds a bit out of place in Real .
While the next 2 album tracks Chiisana Hibi & Hajimete Ai wo Kureta Hito are back to back mid tempo songs and are the closest that can be associated as ballads .
Chiisana Hibi was 1st released digitally on 2nd April & it was used as the opening theme song for the Kakushigoto anime .
Kunsho was chosen to promote Fuji TV's Tokudane last month . Another album standout track , just like NEW DAY DREAMER , I really like how upbeat Kunsho sounds and I like it that it has a great memorable melody which's unusually somewhat folk sounding .
Subarashiki Uso is flumpool's 20th single & it was used as the theme song to promote NTV's drama Shiranakute Ii Koto .
The next 4 songs in Real are all album tracks and once again , each of them has its own unique identity/sound .
Despite the strange song title , Hourensou no Sautee is actually quite a nice mid tempo song while for Update , flumpool decided to play around with synthesisers + a bit of autotune .
Interestingly , both Hourensou no Sautee & Update have the same song duration .
The last 2 album tracks PEPE Paradise & Niji no Kasa are also another 2 of my favourite new songs in the album . PEPE Paradise is a fun catchy peppy number while Niji no Kasa felt like it picks up from where Kunsho left behind .
Concluding Real is flumpool's 19th single HELP which was released as their comeback single last May after the group went on hiatus due to health issues that plagued Ryuta's throat .
Frankly before listening to flumpool's comeback album Real , I didn't know what to expect as their last album EGG was and is still so good .
As such , flumpool unintentionally set a very high standard when comes to EGG so before listening to Real , I was a bit worried .
Luckily my fears were more or less put at ease when I hear the new material in Real as for starters , I feel none of the new songs sounded like they could have been in EGG ie. album reject tracks .
I overall really like Real & in a way I should not compare it against EGG as both albums are very different , sound wise .
If I have a choice , I would switch HELP & Niji no Kasa with each other , with Niji no Kasa being the last song as I rather see the album end on a positive upbeat note .
While I was a bit disappointed that flumpool did not include their 16th to 18th singles in Real , at least they're still included somewhat digitally as I guess they want to include as many new songs as possible .
Other than that , I feel that Real is a fantastic comeback album for flumpool and I'm so relieved it's not a Fantasia of Life Stripe 2.0 as up to now , their 2nd album is still my least favourite studio album from them .
Both EGG & REAL took almost 4 years each to get released but the upside is that both albums contain some of flumpool's best album tracks in their discography to date .
If this keeps up , I definitely don't mind to wait another 4 more years before flumpool release their next studio album .