Tracks:

1. Daybreak

2. Say Hello

3. Haruka (Eternal Version)

4. Peace Song

5. Never Goodbye

6. Memories in Time

7. HORIZON

8. Kiss away

9. Anata no Soba ni

10. No Return

11. Sunset Love

12. Beneath My Skin

13. DOOR

14. Paradise

melody.’s Lei Aloha was released on April 9th, 2008. It’s her 4th album and peaked at #12 on the Oricon Charts, selling 11,771 copies in its first week.

To set the mood, is the calming Daybreak. It’s very soothing because of the sound of waves and harp, making it sound peaceful.

Quickly changing tones, Say Hello comes in with it’s calming, yet somewhat fast-paced violin. I really like the acoustics against melody.’s soft voice. I also really like the beginning verse “say hello, hello for you and myself.” It’s got a calm, island tone making it sound wonderful.

Since I already loved Haruka I think the Eternal Version hit home for me. It’s about a minute longer and adds a wonderful ending, much surpassing that of the original other than that nothing else has been changed. It adds a choir-like chorus saying “stay together, hand in hand” with melody.’s voice in the backround. I like this song even more now.

Next is the short, yet beautiful Peace Song. I like this song because of the nice message it has and the soothing acoustic guitar. It’s the only song on this album that will be in all English.

On the darker side, is Never Goodbye. I really like the arrangement of this song, because all of the instruments fit well together making it sounde somewhat dark, yet peaceful at the same time. I also like the vocals at the beginning and the end, how they echo in and out.

Another interlude, Memories in Time, sounds wonderful and transitions well between the songs. It has calming piano and “ooh”s throughout it.

HORIZON, is by far the best song on the album. It’s light, angelic atmosphere captures all the album. melody.’s vocals sound echoey, making it fit well with the song’s serene backround. It almost reminds me of Enya, in a way. xD melody.’s vocals surpass all of the others on the album. A must listen!

I like the almost tropical atmosphere of Kiss away. The bagpipes and the acoustic guitar tie it together well. Although, she could’ve done a better job at ending it, instead of it just stopping suddenly, but otherwise a nice, soothing track.

Anata no Soba ni is a lot like Haruka in the sense of the style of song. But otherwise it’s a lot different. It’s more upbeat and has a cheery sound to it. And melody.’s vocals in this song are somewhat more cheery too.

No Return sounds a lot like something off of READY TO GO!. A fast-paced dance track with mostly synth. It fits well among the slower, less-cheery songs on the album. It has acoustic guitar and violin but that’s about all of the real instruments it has. The chorus is catchy too.

The final interlude on here is Sunset Love. It’s got an ethereal feel to it and has distant english vocals. The lyrics sound very heartfelt and sweet.

Dai Nagao (of the late Do As Infinity) produced Beneath My Skin, so I thought it would sound nice, and I was right. This song’s got a nice, catchy beat that drew me into it. I also like the Spanish guitar at the instrumental part. It has a nice meaning too.

DOOR is probably my least favourite song on the album. Not saying it’s bad, it just didn’t capture me as much as the previous songs did. It has a mid-tempo beat and is upbeat, with acoustic guitar.

To end a perfect album, is with the perfect Paradise. It’s a heartfelt ballad that sounds light and mainly has acoustic guitar. melody.’s vocals sound wonderful among the simple arrangement of this song. A better way to end the album.

Lei Aloha is possibly melody.’s best material to date. She has finally found a style that fits her perfectly. She gives it her all and dishes out her best possible sound. If she continues down this path she will gain more success and become a high-rated artist.

Overall Grade:

1. Haruka

2. Plumeria

3. That’s The Way It Is

4. Haruka (Instrumental)

Maybe I was a little harsh, when I reviewed Haruka on Psycho Butterfly, because as I listen to it more, I really hear how wonderful it is. It’s a nice change from the usual synth-pop that melody. does. It’s got a calming rhythm, a nice chorus, and electric guitar which we haven’t heard a lot in her previous songs. I love the strings in the backround, it adds a great flavour to it, and also emphasizing melody.’s great vocals.

I was also too hard on Plumeria. It really is a great song, even though I made it seem like it wasn’t. Even though it doesn’t have an outstanding burst of energy, or an awesome chorus, it’s still a nice track for when you’re winding down. It doesn’t have a very heavy beat so it sounds soft. It’s also got a bit of synth in it.

My feelings haven’t changed for That’s The Way It Is. I still absolutely love it. It was supposed to be on the Tribute to Celine Dion album but was taken off for unknown reasons and placed in here. melody. does an amazing cover of this song, and the instrumental part of it is great. The combinations of the heavy beat and strings is awesome.

Overall Grade: