Tracks:

1. Flower

2. Utopia

3. manacles

4. Brave

5. Yumeji

6. carry out

7. Senkou

8. message.

9. Tokyo Biyori

10. Refrain

11. Van.

Van. is Tomiko Van’s 2nd album, and it was released on December 10th, 2008. It reached #28 on the Oricon Weekly Charts, and has sold 8,852 copies.

Tomiko Van’s 2nd album opens up with a pretty old track, and the first single of her solo career, Flower. I thought this was a perfect opener, since the overall arrangement is very uplifting with the upbeat acoustics and Van’s nice vocals. This track also sets the tone for most of the album.

Well, well, well! This track comes off as a surprise! Utopia explodes onto the scene with it’s prominent use of synthetic beats, which I thought was pretty different for Van. Anyways, this is definitely one of the best tracks off the album because not only is this song catchy, Van’s vocals make it even more catchier, especially during the very uplifting, yet simple chorus.

To me, manacles sounded like a combination of the two B-sides from the Senkou and Yumeji singles. While I think that, this is one of my favourite off the album. I love when Van does that smoky jazz track because her voice is PERFECT for it. The loud piano chords and melancholy guitar is awesome and I have no idea why I like it so much. XD

Originally the B-side on the Flower single, is Brave. For some reason, I get this song stuck in my head a lot. It might be because it’s pretty epic, and this song has really good build ups. I like how the verses start out calm and then as the chorus comes in it BLARES.

Another single track! ;D But Yumeji is also epic, so it doesn’t really matter. I’m gonna flat out say that this is probably Van’s best SECOND solo track to date (it doesn’t beat Senkou!). I love the flowing strings and the really nice and strangely uplifting chorus.

After Yumeji, carry out comes in, as loud as ever. There’s so much going on in this track, from the electric guitar, to the crazy beats and the odd blaring synth. It’s also the fastest song since Utopia. But, Van’s able to keep up with the crazyness and she’s not drowned in everything that’s going on. Despite it being really loud, I kinda like it. This also marks out last new track before a string of previously released tracks.

Omgz bbz, it’s Senkou~ I still really love this song and I think Van nailed the emu rock style. I also still like the epic minute-and-a-half instrumental part, especially that CRASH.

I bet the only reason message. got on here was because she made it herself. D< Oh wellz, I still like this dreamy acoustic track, even though it’s her worst B-side of the era. Van does sound kinda cute though.

Yawn, here comes Tokyo Biyori. Wait, that was mean. LOL ANYWAY. Speaking of worst B-side of the era, here’s the worst A-SIDE, to that B-side. ;D After 2 years of silence (no not including those “cover” albums) Van pumps out this single before waiting 5 more months. On the bright side, it kinda sounds nice, but only for a few listens, then I just get bored. And that’s it for the single tracks!

Van saved the best for last with Refrain! Like a certain someone said, “if Brave and Yumeji were one song, you’d have Refrain” and I couldn’t agree more. This track almost sounds like an exact mix of the two. It has that epic factor and a really nice build up. As well as a really uplifting chorus. Van sounds absolutely radiant too. Since it’s a combination of the two songs, you can expect flowing strings and some acoustic and electric guitar.

Van chose to end her 2nd (and probably last) solo album with an instrumental/title track. Van. is a serene and very ethereal track and I thought it would’ve made a fantastic full track. The Celtic woodwinds sounded really nice and I couldn’t have thought of a better track to end this great album. I’m kinda sad that her solo career is over… to be honest.

Though Tomiko Van waited too long to release her 2nd album, I thought it was well worth the wait. Not only did she put out amazing album tracks, the singles prior to them were amazing (except for maybe one. ;D) Though I’m sad her solo career is over, I’m glad that Do As Infinity is getting back together. When one door closes another reopens! But… in this case it’d be a minivan.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. Tokyo Biyori

2. message.

3. Hum a Tune

4. Tokyo Biyori (Instrumental)

5. message. (Instrumental)

Tomiko Van’s Tokyo Biyori was released on June 18th, 2008, almost two years after her 3rd single, Yumeji. It’s her 4th single and it charted at #18 on the Oricon Weekly Charts, and it has sold 5,219 copies.

Compared to all the music Van has released during her solo career, Tokyo Biyori has to be one of the most minimalistic, safer ones. While all in all I think this song is pleasant, it’s way too campy and to be frank, boring. Despite it being boring, Van sounds really nice among the flowing strings and pleasant acoustic guitar and though I don’t like this song much, it’s nice to hear her singing a slower song. She’s much better at upbeat songs, though.

message. is a pretty unique song. Not only is it completely different from what Van normally does, it’s her first self-composed song. I like this song a lot more for one main reason: it’s upbeat. Van’s vocals sound a lot better in an upbeat song. For her first composition, I say she did an okay job at combining brazen acoustic guitar with an echoey, ethereal twist. Despite it being a nice B-side, it’s one of my least favourite.

Our last B-side is a pretty annoying cover of ORIGINAL LOVE’s Hum a Tune. Van totally sounds out of her element in this really long winded, boring cover.  She sings at a lower register, which I don’t think suits her at ALL and the pop-rock song couldn’t be more typical. Sorry Van, not this time.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. Yumeji

2. labyrinth

3. Yumeji -instrumental-

4. labyrinth -instrumental-

Tomiko Van’s Yumeji was released on November 29th, 2006. It’s her 3rd single and it charted at #14 on the Oricon Weekly Charts, selling a total of 9,646 copies.

Yumeji definitely tops Van’s other A-sides. This time around, she goes for the grandiose ballad, completely with a light beat and beautiful flowing strings. Van continues to show strong vocals during her solo career, which is important. ;D Despite being an epic ballad, it’s happy. The chorus really lifts up your spirits and cheers you up! This is definitely her best A-side during her solo career, and easily her best ballad. *nods*

As for the B-side… well… it just screams sexy. ♥ ;D labyrinth is an excellent jazzy song and Van shows off her sexy side for this track. Perfect contrast to the A-side, mainly because of that brass section that really gives it that jazz flavor.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. Senkou

2. Mosaic

3. Senkou -instrumental-

4. Mosaic -instrumental-

Tomiko Van’s Senkou was released on September 27th, 2006. It’s her 2nd single and it charted at #12 on the Oricon Weekly Charts, selling a total of 12,196 copies.

In terms of emotion, Senkou blows Flower out of the water. Van sings with a lot of emotion in this very melancholy rock track, that’s about the inward struggles of being alone. This is also probably one of Van’s most darkest songs in her solo career, mainly because her other songs are either ballads, or upbeat acoustic songs. Anyways, the guitar riffs in this song are really good and the piano, as well. The last minute is just instrumental and it’s probably my favourite part of the song. The song ends with a… crash… for lack of a better word. Definitely my favourite track in her solo career.

As for the B-side, it’s definitely more upbeat. Mosaic is a pretty good coupling track because it provides a nice contrast with the A-side. I really like the chorus because Van’s vocals makes it pretty catchy, despite the jazzy piano chords not making it catchy enough!

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. Flower

2. Brave

3. Flower -Instrumental-

4. Brave -Instrumental-

Tomiko Van’s Flower was released on June 7th, 2006. It’s her debut solo single and it charted at #10 on the Oricon Weekly Charts, selling 18,802 copies. The title track was used as the theme song for the drama Oishii Proposal.

Marking Van’s debut as a solo artist is Flower. (YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT, BITCHES. Farewell doesn’t really count!) *Ahem* Anyways… I really quite like this song. It’s just one of those songs that makes you feel good. I like the upbeat acoustic guitar(s) and the random synth that comes in every so often. XD The chorus is nice too and Van sings really well. This actually souds a lot like her stuff in DAI.

The B-side, however, is more reserved. I guess you could classify it as a ballad? Nah. Brave is nice though and has really nice build-ups. Van shows off some really nice vocals in this song too, and I like them even more than the A-side. This almost borrows a lot of the stuff from Flower, but adds a stacatto of percussion beats and tons more electric guitar.

Overall Grade: