Tracks:

1. Orion

2. Toki no Shizuku (時の雫)

3. Drive away (GOGO’s Remix)

4. Orion (Instrumental)

Orion is GIRL NEXT DOOR’s 7th single and it was released on November 25th, 2009. This single reached #9 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 20,892 copies. The title track was used as the theme song for the drama Untouchable.

Well well well… it’s about fucking time GIRL NEXT DOOR changed it up. Orion isn’t the typical omghappyletssmileanddanceeverywhere tune from the trio. It’s actually SLOW, and more sincere. CHISA’s voice sounds a lot better when it’s not strained like it usually is in their upbeat songs and she sounds pretty. The first part of the song lacks a lot of beats and it isn’t until the second chorus that it picks up some noise. While this isn’t the best, the added piano and other ethereal noises makes it more listenable. Hopefully their album will have more diversity… but honestly, my hopes aren’t that high.

Like their last ballad, If, Toki no Shizuku is waaaay too long. Clocking in at 7 minutes and 1 second, GND try for an epic ballad. While it’s pretty (it actually is really nice) it’s much too long and I get bored about halfway through it. I’m glad that they toned down the synth and other stuff that they usually, and opted for some chimes and more piano. CHISA, again, sounds nice and her voice doesn’t go out of its range.

As the remix for this single it’s the GOGO’s Remix of Drive away, their second single. This remix is just all trance, which I don’t mind, but it’s just too much and the loudness of it gets annoying. For what it’s worth, it’s kind of catchy, but like I said before it’s just too much after a few minutes.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. futuristic imagination

2. flat

3. you may crawl -Takkyu Ishino Remix-

futuristic imagination is school food punishment’s debut single and it was released on May 27th, 2009. This single reached #35 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 6,643 copies. The title track was used as ending theme for the anime Higashi no Eden.

school food punishment have become one of my favourite bands with just four singles! The first of the four is futuristic imagination, which turned me into a stan. D: Right from the start, we’re greeted with a flurry of strings, bass, drums, and piano. I absolutely love how the group mixes classical elements, with rock and electronic. Frontwoman Yumi Uchimura has some lungs too. I love her voice because it can adjust really nicely. This song features some great strings and bass and I can’t believe how obsessed with them I am.

However, I didn’t really like the B-sides. First is flat. This has grown on me a bit, but it lacks the kick the A-side has, and it falls… well… flat. I did like the simple 1, 2, 3 chords of the keyboard though, and Uchimura’s vocals were cute too. The transition from verse to chorus is really abrupt and just changes all of a sudden, which I didn’t like.

Track 3 is the really repetitive Takkyu Ishino Remix of you may crawl, track one from their second mini-album air feel, color swim. This remix goes nowhere at ALL. It just repeats the same beat line and the same line of lyrics. It’s just plain awful and makes the original look like a sham.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. Swimming Dancing

2. World-Wide Tea Party

3. Swimming Dancing -RYUKYUDISKO Remix-

4. World-Wide Tea Party -Kentaro Takizawa BIG ROOM Remix-

5. ManyColors -Yukihiro Fukitomi Remix-

6. Stars -Jazzin’park 31 good night Remix-

7. Swimming Dancing -Extended Club Mix-

8. Stars -Jazzin’park good morning Remix-

Swimming Dancing is SAWA’s 4th mini-album and it was released on November 25th, 2009. This mini-album reached #210 on the Oricon Weekly Charts.

I love the way Swimming Dancing begins. It literally explodes, followed by a flurry of falling synth. I’m hooked right from the start. When SAWA comes in, she sounds better than ever. Since this was produced by Taku Takahashi, I was scared, because the LAST time he tried producing something it sucked ass (aka Reinshartation). The arrangement was everywhere and Ami Suzuki just yelled ERRTHANG. The arrangement is so much more catchier here, despite SAWA yelling the chorus. I mean, hey, it works this time around since it’s not so distracting. Yelling aside, SAWA’s voice has improved so much since her debut and it’s great to see her use it in a nice way.

The other non-remix track took a little more getting used to. World-Wide Tea Party starts out slow like the first track, but it’s a slow burner and it takes too long to get good. This track has grown on me considerably since I first heard it. One thing does stand out in this song though, the use of off-key piano chords. They sound all over the place, but they oddly fit really nicely. The first chorus is kind of awkward. There isn’t much beat to back it up, but SAWA sounds a lot better than in the chorus in the title track. The final chorus is when the song gets really good. More dance elements come in and it’s just plain awesome. I would’ve liked the choruses to be more like the last one, but I can deal with this track the way it is now.

The first remix is the RYUKYUDISKO REMIX of Swimming Dancing. This one was just plain weird and featured this weird tribal noise. I can’t really figure it out. It almost sounds like a shamisen(?) The rest is just random parts of the song jumbled around, layered, and messed around with. Gonna pass on this remix.

The Kentaro Takizawa BIG ROOM Remix of World-Wide Tea Party is catchy, but only for a while. This remix gives it a more dance feel. However, the arrangement starts to sound REALLY monotone after a while and it just gets boring. I would’ve liked more transformation of the arrangement and changes in melody, since it really does get monotone after a minute or two.

The Yukihiro Fukitomi Remix is a remix of her debut mini-album title track, ManyColors. The original took a really long time to warm up to, since her vocals aren’t the best. This remix gives it a lounge feel, thanks to the jazzy piano and the shakers, among other things.

Track 6 is the Jazzin’park 31 good night Remix of Stars, her second title track. This track has a nice lounge feel like the last track, and features more organic instruments rather than synth. There’s some nice acoustic guitar and more shakers. The only thing synthetic is SAWA’s layered vocals, but that’s how they were in the original, SO SUCK IT.

On the limited edition, you get an Extended Club Mix of Swimming Dancing. It isn’t really extended by much, but there are some changes. SAWA’s voice has a lot less back-up rather than in the original, and the synth at the beginning is turned down so it isn’t as loud. The chorus is where it gets back. SAWA’s voice sounds really robotic and there’s just something not right with it. It lacks a lot of the punch of what the original had.

Also on the limited edition is the Jazzin’park good morning Remix of Stars, which is a lot like the other remix, but with a lot brighter sounds. The tempo picks up and everything else is faster as well, otherwise they’re almost identical.

While overall this wasn’t the best effort from SAWA (thanks to the remixes), Swimming Dancing is SAWA’s catchiest track to date. It did take a little warming up to, but once you get hooked that’s it. SAWA’s voice has improved so much since her debut, and it really went downhill after her last mini-album I Can Fly, which only had like one good track. If you ask me, I think SAWA should go back to RAM RIDER as her producer, since Stars was and still is her best mini-album overall. For now, I can deal with the epicness of Swimming Dancing, but hopefully, SAWA’s next effort isn’t like I Can Fly.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. HANABI SKY

2. La La La FIGHTERS

3. I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)

4. HANABI SKY (Instrumental)

HANABI SKY is Miho Fukuhara’s 5th single and it was released on June 17th, 2009. This single reached #26 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 3,601 copies.

Somewhere along the way, I forgot about HANABI SKY. ;D So I’m gonna hold off on reviewing whoever is next in place of this single, so I can review her newest single. The thing I like about Miho Fukuhara is that she has a really strong voice, and you could definitely pick her out of a crowd of singing people, since she has a huskier tone to her voice compared to the female singers nowadays. This track is a feel-good rock track and it’s a good song to let loose with.

She must like 60s music, because La La La FIGHTERS is disco all the way! This song features groovy electric guitar chords and some brass during the chorus. This was a really catchy B-side, especially after the chorus with the ad-libbing.

As the third B-side, Fukuhara usually covers an English track. This time it’s I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair) originally by Scottish singer Sandi Thom. Normally her English is not bad at all, but I don’t know what happened this time since it’s all Engrish from here on out. This song is pretty catchy though, since it features some great acoustic guitar and bongo drums.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. Ima Sugu ni… (いますぐに・・・)

2. Koi ni Ochite -Fall in Love- (恋におちて -Fall in Love-)

3. Ima Sugu ni (Instrumental)

4. Koi ni Ochite -Fall in Love- (Instrumental)

Ima Sugu ni… is AZU’s 5th single and it was released on January 28th, 2009. This single reached #23 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 7,938 copies.

For those that don’t know AZU, I’ll tell you a little about her. She’s a somewhat well-known artist under BMG JAPAN and she rose to fame once she collaborated with hip-hop artist SEAMO for her 4th single Jikan yo Tomare. Since then she’s managed to chart in the low 20s and high 30s.

AZU has a pretty strange voice. It has this whispery tone to it, especially when she does softer lines. Ima Sugu ni… has a lot of this, but that’s not to say I don’t like it. It has kind of an R&B tinge to it, but it’s more pop than anything, thanks to the upbeat synth. This song is a bit lackluster, to be honest, since it doesn’t really go anywhere, but it’s not that bad.

Koi ni Ochite -Fall in Love- was a lot better since it had a chill reggae sound to it, and it was a lot more interesting than the A-side. I liked the groovy keyboard and the cool electric guitar riffs, snice it suits AZU’s voice more.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. reflection ~overture~

2. Swear

3. One

4. Mitsumeteitai

5. Namida (Smooth Jam mix)

6. Lost Child

7. Butterflies

8. Essence of me

9. Call my name

10. Shiroi Tsubasa

11. Nobody knows but me

12. BALLAD ~Namonaki Koi no Uta~

13. Kuon no Kawa

14. my life

my life is alan’s 2nd album and it was released on November 25th, 2009. This album reached #16 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 17,489 copies. The title track was used as the theme song for the Sony PSP game GOD EATER.

alan’s first album began with a really epic opening track. …IDK what to describe reflection ~overture~ as. It begins nice with a pretty, echoey tone to it. Then that cuts out and bitch goes all electronic. It was a really bad transition and the weird singing alan is doing is kind of annoying. It just ends, making a REALLY bad transition into the next song…

…which is the single prior to this album, Swear! There’s a difference in this song, though. Albeit a minor difference… but there is one! A little synth as added at the beginning but the otherwise bubbly song is unchanged. I still think this song is charming and cute and IDGAF what anyone else says.

One is our first new track. Already from the beginning, it’s easy to tell that this album isn’t going to be as epic as Voice of EARTH. But anyways, this track is a nice ballad and features some sweet vocals from alan.

Things get a little better with Mitsumeteitai, a track that consists of just piano, a little synth in the background, and some acoustic guitar. I thought this song was really pretty and I loved the repeated piano chords throughout the song.

What’s this? A remix in the middle of an album? Well, I wouldn’t necessarily call the Smooth Jam Mix of Namida, the B-side from Megumi no Ame, a remix, but it’s definitely a mix. Just like the title implies, it’s a smooth jam mix of chill drums, piano, and laidback vocals from alan. I actually preferred this track over the A-side and it was nice to see a new version of it.

Things starts to pick up after the new version of Namida, first with Lost Child, a progressive track that shows a new side of alan. The first thing that you’ll probably notice about this track is that it has a prominent beat that thumps throughout the song, alongside some synth and some strings that make their way in. The chorus was a bit of a let down, but it’s still pretty catch.

Mmmm, I love me some sitar! Butterflies slows things down a bit, but still keeps the listener interested with pretty harp, the catchy chorus and, of course, the sitar that’s in most of the song.

Essence of me is a big slap in the face since it’s electro. WHAT, ELECTRO!? You read me right. I think this song is a hot mess though, since there’s WAY too much going on and you can barely hear alan’s voice, which is under heavy layering. …I can’t help but like this song though. Even though it’s a hot mess it’s kind of catchy, and it’s one of those things you can’t help but like. I especially like the falling synth parts, it’s really captivating.

I liked Call my name even more, since it features some catchy synth and a somewhat groovy feel to it, which is more evident in the chorus. I didn’t really like the Engrish that comes in and out of the song though, since it sounds odd.

Shiroi Tsubasa is pretty much like One, but it’s more sweeping. I thought this song was prettier too since the song flows really well with the strings.

This next track was the joke among me and my friends, mainly because of its title. xD Nobody knows but me (and Ayu ;D) is another piano-based track, but it has a smokey feeling to it, and alan’s vocals are more vulnerable in this one, especially in the chorus. I didn’t like the creepy Engrish talking after the chorus, since it was just plain weird and kind of stalkerish.

BALLAD ~Namonaki Koi no Uta~ has grown on me considerably since I reviewed it. It fits really well on the album, but it’s still not her best.

Man does Kuon no Kawa stick out like a sore thumb. This track should’ve been on Voice of EARTH since it doesn’t fit ANYWHERE on this album. I still love it to pieces, though. ;D

Things end on a bittersweet note for alan’s second album. my life is a really pretty, sweeping ballad that you can’t help but tear up a bit. It’s a gorgeous, sweeping ballad that features emotinal vocals from alan and a beautiful instrumental to back it up. I thought it was a great way to end the album, and she definitely saved the best for last.

Before I say anything else, I’d just like to say, IDGAF what anyone else says about this album. *Ahem* Anyways. Despite this album getting a lot of negative feedback from just about everyone and their dog, I can’t help but like it (it’s the alan stan in me). I will admit that it’s not as captivating as her debut album was, but I still like it despite the quality being dumbed down a bit. Suck it, haters. ♥

Favourite Tracks: Swear, Kuon no Kawa, my life
Least Favourite Tracks: One, Namida (Smooth Jam mix), BALLAD ~Namonaki Koi no Uta~

Overall Grade:

As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t posted since the beginning of this month. That’s because: our router decided to eat major shit and die, so we had to buy a new one and have someone hook it up. xD

So, long story short, I’m back. ._.; But I have a few choice words right now:

FUCK reviewing.

There’s a lot of new stuff out that I haven’t had a chance to get my hands on. xD So reviews will be back on tomorrow, for the sake of me wanting to whore all these new releases.

-Ethan

Tracks:

1. LET IT OUT

2. Yasashii Aka another ver. (Regular Edition)

2. LET IT OUT (FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST ED Ver.) (FMA Edition)

3. BEN

4. LET IT OUT (Instrumental)

LET IT OUT is Miho Fukuhara’s 6th single and it was released on September 9th, 2009. This single reached #10 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 13,611 copies. The title track was used as  the ending theme for the anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

After I listened to Fukuhara’s debut album RAINBOW, LET IT OUT was kind of surprising. This track utilizes more rock elements, rather than acoustics. Not only that, her vocals sounded great, even better than what I’d heard already. I never really gave her a chance before and just kind of brushed her off, uninterested, but she has one of the strongest vocals I’ve heard from a newer artist. If you’re thinking about getting into this artist, definitely start here.

On the regular edition of the single, you get another ver. of her third single Yasashii Aka. This version tones things down a bit and is less dependent on the beat like it was in the original. It also uses more acoustic elements rather than the original  as well.

…And if you got the FMA edition, your track 2 is the FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST ED Ver. of LET IT OUT, which was the version that was used in the anime. This version starts right as the vocals and really gets the good part of the song.

The regular edition keeps on going! Instead of an instrumental like on the FMA edition, track 3 is a cover of Michael Jackson’s BEN. I thought this was a nice cover, featuring only some bongo(?) drums and some acoustic guitar. I was surprised at Fukuhara’s English, since it’s actually really good, with a slight accent.

Overall Grade:

Tracks:

1. Alternative (オルタナティブ)

2. Kanata no delight (彼方のdelight)

3. Alternative (off vocal version)

4. Kanata no delight (off vocal version)

Alternative is angela’s 15th single and it was released on November 18th, 2009. This single reached #17 on the Oricon Weekly Charts. Alternative was used as the opening theme for the anime Asura Cryin’ 2, while the B-side was used as the ending theme for the same anime.

Alternative sure starts off on a sour note. The first minute is atsuko (the vocalist) singing in a slow and boring tone with a dissonant cello(?) in the background, and it just sounds awful. Luckily, it springs into action as some echoing piano, and other various synths are added. atsuko’s voice picks up some speed and it sounds a thousand times better. The rest of the song is pretty straightforward and doesn’t really have any other flaws other than the latter.

The B-side is pretty good too. Though, Kanata no delight doesn’t have as bad of an opening, but it’s kind of a sloppy start. The verses aren’t anything to write home about, but they do feature some cool bass and really nice piano. A pretty good B-side.

Overall Grade:

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: