Tracks:

1. Katayoku no Tori (片翼の鳥)

2. VII

3. Katayoku no Tori (Instrumental)

3. VII (Instrumental)

Katayoku no Tori is Akiko Shikata’s 1st single and it was released on August 19th, 2009. This single reached #11 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and has sold 23,138 copies. The title track was used as the opening theme for the anime Umineko no Naku Koro ni.

A little bit about Akiko Shikata: She’s been around the music scene since 2001, doing a lot of songs for animes and such as. She released her 4th major album back in March of this year called Harmonia under avex. I know, avex!?

This is just what I needed, a little more epic in my life, which is exactly what Katayoku no Tori is. Right from the beginning, I’m pulled in with a burst of strings, drums, and some chanting. I was a little surprised at Shikata’s vocals since they’re a bit strange, but I like it all the same. This song has an amazing energy about it and it’s great from beginning to end. Shikata’s voice picks up some strength during the epic chorus. I’m really impressed with Akiko Shikata, and I’m excited for what she has next.

I loved VII even more. This song starts out slow with an orgel sound, with Shikata singing in a quiet voice. Not too special, but pretty cute. The first chorus comes in and some strings come in, still nothing special. Once the first chorus ends with Shikata saying “Qui sono!?” (thanks for correcting me) and a giggle a flurry of strings and drums come in. Shikata’s voice adjusts well to the tempo change, and from here on out it’s fast. An equally great track.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. Nakumonka (なくもんか)

2. Orion (オリオン)

3. Nakumonka -instrumental-

Nakumonka is ikimono-gakari’s 16th single and it was released on November 11th, 2009. This single reached #6 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 24,631 copies. The title track was used as the theme song for the movie Nakumonka.

This really hasn’t been their year. I haven’t been real pleased with the stuff they’ve been releasing after their last album, My song Your song. But it’s safe to say, this is my favourite song by them out of the three singles they’ve released this year. Nakumonka is ANOTHER ballad from the trio and it’s a lot more interesting than the previous two. Kiyoe doesn’t sound dead, and the arrangement is really pretty, with all the flowing strings and whatnot. Hopefully their album will be packed with all the good songs they’ve been saving.

Orion has harmonica, and the usual. Nothing exciting about it, but that’s okay since I’m never really liked their B-sides. I will say that it’s the most “exciting” one so far, but that’s about it. It HAS grown on me though, so that’s a plus.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. Let it Go

2. Happy Days

3. Let it Go (Instrumental)

4. Happy Days (Instrumental)

Let it Go is Yuna Ito’s 14th single and it was released on November 11th, 2009. This single reached #36 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 2,858 copies. The title track was used as the theme song for the movie Tenshi no Koi.

I wasn’t too surprised when I heard that Let it Go was being produced by the former guitarist of Superfly, Koichi Tabo (although, I was surprised it didn’t sound like 60s stuff, but that’s a different story). I wasn’t extremely impressed with this track, since I’m more used to Ito’s normal pop/ballads, but it’s a nice change of pace from the norm. This song does have some percs though. Ito sounds really nice among all the acoustic whatnots. But for the future, stick to the pop. ;D

I guess I got my wish with Happy Days? Not really. I liked the A-side way more. The instrumental didn’t really stand out, since it was quite reserved for an upbeat song. There’s some piano and acoustic guitar thrown in here, with a quieter thumping beat. I didn’t really like the chorus either, since it didn’t flow right. Oh well, one mess up isn’t bad.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. Swear

2. Beauty

3. Swear (Instrumental)

4. Beauty (Instrumental)

Swear is alan’s 11th single and it was released on November 4th, 2009. This single reached #35 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 2,910 copies.

It’s about DAMN time alan did an upbeat song. Don’t get me wrong, I love her ballads and all, but a little more variety please? Swear is a cute little song with chimes, acoustic guitar and some thumping beats, and I just adore it. ♥ alan sounds great, like always, and I’m glad she’s able to sing upbeat songs as well. I’d like moar upbeat from alan, prz.

Beauty is more like alan’s usual style. That being said, it’s a slower-paced track and it has a nice ethereal feel to it. The first verse isn’t too special, but the chorus features some gorgeous vocals. Not her best B-side, but it’s still nice. The 2nd verse is better since it has more to it, like some acoustic guitar and a heavier beat.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. KIRA☆KIRA☆

2. Zutto Futari de (DJ HASEBE REMIX)

3. Koi Kogarete (CLUB MIX)

4. KIRA☆KIRA☆ (Instrumental)

KIRA☆KIRA☆ is BENI’s 13th single and it was released on November 4th, 2009. This single reached #94 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 792 copies.

KIRA☆KIRA☆ sure has grown on me since BITTER & SWEET. I guess now I’ve taken time to listen to it more, and I’ve come to really like it. Sure it wasn’t the best song off of the album (you should’ve done Beautiful World, gurl!) but I got over it. It has a cuteness about it, and I liked the chill atmosphere it had. BENI, of course, sounded really nice with the low-key instrumental. And what’s this? A new single in January!? GET IT, BB.

Oh boy… remixes. I didn’t like the DJ HASEBE REMIX of Zutto Futari de or the CLUB MIX of Koi Kogarete. The first remix sounded really weird with BENI’s vocals and it just didn’t seem to flow right with the loud beat and random guitar riffs. And the second remix was really annoying. I didn’t like the way her voice was sped up, since it had that weird thing it makes if vocals are sped up. At least the A-side is good?

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. GHOST†HEART

2. A Blueberry Night

GHOST†HEART is LM.C’s 9th single and it was released on November 4th, 2009. This single reached #7 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 12,511 copies.

LM.C have proved to be one of my favourite artists this year. Their last single, PUNKY ❤ HEART was FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC. This time they’ve upped the darker parts of the music and created GHOST†HEART. This song is a lot like their last A-side, but like I said a bit darker. Not to say I don’t love it, I do, a lot. I loved the heavier guitar riffs and the keyboard here and there. maya’s vocals are one of the best I’ve heard from a male J-rock group, and I’m sure it’ll stay that way for a while.

This group has always been rather experimental with their B-sides, so A Blueberry Night was no surprise. They decided to try out a little more jazz-like style, thanks to the use of brass and chill guitar riffs. I thought it was a cool track, and I’d like to hear more of it in the future.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. KISS KISS KISS

2. aishiteru…

3. KISS KISS KISS (Extented Japanese Version)

4. KISS KISS KISS (Extented English Version)

5. aishiteru… (extended)

KISS KISS KISS / aishiteru… is Ami Suzuki’s 32nd single and it was released on October 28th, 2009. This single reached #28 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 2,448 copies.

You don’t know how happy I am that Ami Suzuki dropped Taku after what a flop Reincarnation was (both musically and chart wise!) This time around, Suzuki hooks up with Tomoyuki Tanaka, better known as Fantastic Plastic Machine. KISS KISS KISS is a sleek and stylish pop song. It features a thumping beat that doesn’t let up, and underlying acoustic guitar that appears throughout the song. Not only is this song better musically, vocally Ami-go sounds really nice (none of that shrieking and yelling crap like her last single). It’s safe to say we won’t be hearing any more songs like Reincarnation for a while, since her next single is back with Yasutaka Nakata. Anyways, great song Ami!

For some reason, aishiteru… reminds me of Mysterious from Supreme Show. It has kind of a clunky sound to it, but everything fits so well together. There’s some more gritty synth and lots of thumping beats. I liked when the faster synth came in, too. Another great track.

The B-sides are just extended version of the two tracks. KISS KISS KISS gets an Extended English AND Japanese Version, while aishiteru… just gets a normal extended version. Since it’s Ami, the extended version just feature longer instrumental parts. I’ll pass these up.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. BUMP BUMP! feat. VERBAL (m-flo)

2. IZM feat. VERBAL (m-flo)

3. BUMP BUMP! feat. VERBAL (m-flo) Instrumental

4. IZM feat. VERBAL (m-flo) Instrumental

BUMP BUMP! feat. VERBAL (m-flo) is BoA’s 29th single and it was released on October 28th, 2009. This single reached #8 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 12,706 copies.

It’s been a while, hasn’t it BoA? I mean, Eien was almost a year ago! Anyways, BoA returns with BUMP BUMP! featuring VERBAL of m-flo. These two are quite familiar with each other, so it was nice to hear them in another song together. I thought this song was pretty catchy, since it features a lot of brass and great vocals from BoA. VERBAL has minor parts, and also provides some back-up. It did take some time to grow on me, though, since I wasn’t as into it as first.

I still don’t really like the B-side, IZM. It’s kind of boring, and I just didn’t like the way it sounded. I did like BoA’s vocals, however. I didn’t like VERBAL’s random chime-ins though, since he had become a victim of auto-tune. D:

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. Nijiiro no Sakana (虹色の魚)

2. Open Happiness

3. MONSTER

Nijiiro no Sakana / Open Happiness / MONSTER is MONKEY MAJIK’s 12th single and it was released on October 28th, 2009. This single reached #22 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 3,443 copies.

Nijiiro no Sakana is a refreshing change of pace for MONKEY MAJIK. Their last single was a lot more serious, so it’s nice to see the guys having fun. I liked the guitar riffs, along with the great chorus with the catchy English lyrics by Blaise Plant (even though I prefer Mayanard. ;D)

The 2nd A-side, Open Happiness, is even happier (duh lol). This song is more lighter in instrumentation though, and uses more acoustics and piano. Plus there’s moar use of Maynard. lol

MONSTER is the darkest of the three songs. This song uses darker guitar riffs and features the brothers rapping the verses. This was my least favourite, but it was a welcome addition, since it provides great contrast next to the happier tracks.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. Mugen (夢幻)

2. Tenkuu no Canaria (天空のカナリア)

3. Dear Dream

4. STORIES

Mugen is Nana Mizuki’s 20th single and it was released on October 28th, 2009. This single reached #3 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 51,298 copies. The title track was used as the opening theme for the second season of the anime WHITE ALBUM, while Tenkuu no Canaria was used as the opening theme for the OVA adaption of Tales of Symphonia THE ANIMATION Teseara-hen and Dear Dream was used as the theme song for TV show Card Gakuen.

Mugen is your typical anime song from famous seiyuu Nana Mizuki, not to say it isn’t good though. Because she’s a seiyuu, I think it shows a lot in her musical choices. So expect some epic guitar solos and some flowing strings, since this song is kind of average compared to her past releases.

I think the B-sides are a bit more ~spicier~ for lack of a better term. Tenkuu no Canaria uses a mix of dance beats and gorgeous flowing strings. I thought this song was a lot better, and I even liked Mizuki’s vocals more, since it’s a step-out from her norm.

The third B-side is that obligatory upbeat track. Dear Dream is a no-frowns pop/rock song that uses a combination of flowing strings and guitar. I didn’t really like Nana’s vocals that much, but I guess they fit with the type of song, and it’s not that bad of a B-side.

STORIES was my least favourite. The strings sounded kind of sloppy during the beginning and other parts of the song, and it didn’t catch my attention at all. Overall, not a bad single from Nana Mizuki, but I know she can do better. This is alright, for now, since she has a new one coming out in January.

Overall Grade: