2008.03.19 Release - 2 1/2 of 5 stars

Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia

01. Fight The Blues 02. HEART STATION 03. Beautiful World 04. Flavor Of Live -Ballad Version- 05. Stay Gold 06. Kiss&Cry 07. Gentle Beast Interlude 08. Celebrate 09. Prisoner of Love 10. テイク５ (Take 5) 11. ぼくはくま (Boku wa Kuma) 12. 虹色バス (Niji Iro BUS) 13. Flavor Of Life (Bonus Track)

Alright. I’m saying first off that I wasn’t terribly impressed with this album, especially compared to ULTRA BLUE. It is by no means the worse album out there, but it is her worse (not counting Exodus) as far as her albums go. With that unpleasantness over with, let me tell you why:

Starting with Fight The Blues, this is no hard-hitting-drag-you-into-the-album-whether-you-like-it-or-not song like Is This Love was. Not once she starts singing, anyway. The instrumental at the beginning was promising, but once the singing starts it is a little, well, boring. And that seems to be the overall theme of the album. Both HEART STATION and Beautiful World were previous singles. I rather enjoy the chorus of HEART STATION, and Beautiful World has definitely grown on me a lot, but nothing spectacular yet.

Then, she put the ballad version of Flavor Of Life in. Hoooboy. I couldn’t stand this when it came out, and I can’t stand it now. I’m somewhat mollified that the fast-paced version was tacked onto the end but dude, way to make a slow-paced album THAT much slower. Here we go with the next two previously-released singles, Stay Gold and Kiss&Cry. I like the piano of Stay Gold, but… again. Yawn. Fine songs by themselves, not one after another. Kiss&Cry FINALLY picks the pace up a bit, and I especially like the beginning. It isn’t my favorite song of hers, but definitely one of the best on the album.

After an actual interesting Interlude, we get on to a few new songs. Celebrate has this weird disco-beat going for it. …When I say “going for it” I mean “um, what were you thinking”. And despite that, the song’s lyrics are pretty much a remixed ballad. Yeah, another one. Prisoner of Love is annoying in its repetition, but it has some good points, namely, showing off Utada’s voice. She has amazing control, and despite my beefs with this album, I certainly respect that.

I could almost forget that respect with Take 5. Don’t get me wrong, I actually like the song. It’s just that, ending that way doesn’t remind me of death, and it doesn’t make some serious statement about your song-writing skillz. What it does is a) make me do a double take and make sure my album isn’t corrupted, and then b) conclude it was really shitty album-arrangement/a management gaff rather then you being all indie-artist cool. Umm. Yeah. Not exactly what you were going for, huh? One idea you shoulda just dropped.

Boku wa Kuma. You either love this song, or hate it (I’m a bear, not a car! ). Enough said. Niji Iro Bus is… annoying. I’m sorry, I have to switch the song. It is just so… happy-bouncy-shitting rainbows and really, call me jaded but I just want to roll my eyes. And then we end with my preferred version of Flavor of Life, but I had to sit through all that to get there.

To sum, I like a grand total of 4, maybe 5 songs on an album of 13. The rest I could take or leave. Or, leave in the case of Niji Iro Bus. Not spectacular, especially with the hype this album was getting. Boo.

Well, while I’m posting, might as well do this week’s too, which is dedicated to the much-loved self-styled Queen of Hip-Pop, Amuro Namie! *cheers*

This week was the release of her single 60s 70s 80s and definitely one I was looking forward too! We got a taste of the single with two of the three PV’s last month, and they’ve pretty much been a daily listen since then. All three songs were featured as a CM (commercial) of Vidal Sassoon. Here’s the single, including that gorgeous cover:

01. NEW LOOK 02. ROCK STEADY 03. WHAT A FEELING 04. NEW LOOK (Instrumental) 05. ROCK STEADY (Instrumental) 06. WHAT A FEELING (Instrumental)

NEW LOOK is the 60’s themed song (take a look at the VS commercial over at youtube for a sample), and was based off of The Supreme’s “Baby Love”. It is a flirty, fun, and intensely catchy song, and I think the PV is adorable!

ROCK STEADY represents the 70’s theme, and features the amazing Aretha Franklin same-titled song at the beginning and for inspiration. This is my favorite of the three songs and show Namie definitely still has voice, even when she doesn’t show it. Also, her hair is gorgeous and I WANT that blue dress/shirt/thingy! Take a look at the VS commercial over on youtube to see what I’m talking about!

Finally, WHAT A FEELING took a few listens to grow on me, and I definitely prefer the chorus, but I really do like this song and the robots in the PV crack me up! This song features Irene Cara’s “What A Feeling” and you can preview it here on youtube!

Dear God.  This week was brutal in terms of amount of releases… and I’m still missing some of them, which is why this post is late. I had hoped to find everything before Wednesday, but looks like stuff will still be trickling in for awhile. It was, however, a very good week! Here are some of my favs Read the rest of this entry »

To make up for missing last week’s post, I included two weeks of recs… not that there are that many, despite the high amount of releases. March is going to be a BIG month in terms of release volume, but we’ll see how far on the awesome scale it got. February was pretty good. I think March will be better though! Anyway, click below to read:

Read the rest of this entry »

Apologies for the lateness of this. Not only are midterms approaching, I’ve.. uh.. been ignoring the Japanese music world to continuously refresh various communities about Tokio Hotel’s American debut. ;p So here are the two albums I paid attention to from this week:

Ikimonogakari - Life Album
Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: YesAsia US // YesAsia Global

01. Good Morning 02. Akaneiro no Yakusoku 03. Natsuzora Graffiti 04. Seishun Line 05. @miso soup 06. Soprano 07. Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi 08. Chikoku Shichau yo 09. okoro Hitotsu Arugamama 10. Nisemono 11. Tokyo Saru Monogatari 12. Tsuki to Atashi to Reizouku 13. Akaneiro no Yakusoku -acoustic version-

Ikimonogakari are a really fun band, but I can’t always stand a lot of their music in one sitting. I remember listening to around 7 of their songs on one CD, mostly from their singles, and going “please make it stop!” by the end of it. However, Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi has been one of my favorite songs from 2008 so far, so I was definitely hoping for a lot from this album, and really, they didn’t disappoint. Although I’m not huge on songs like @miso soup, most of the songs and especially the previous singles are really solid, and I genuinely enjoyed the album.

Tainaka Sachi - Love is…
Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: YesAsia US // YesAsia Global

01. Visit of love 02. Delight 03. Lipstick 04. Sayonara 05. Dakishimete 06. Ichibanboshi 07. HOME 08. My Darling 09. Nukegara 10. Sakura Mau 11. Itoshii Hito he 12. Michi

Very nice album, overall. I wasn’t a huge fan of Ichibanboshi or Lipstick when they came out, but Visit of love and especially Itoshii hito he are awesome. She can be a bit hit and miss, but overall I’m really happy with the album.

So there you have it; only two this week. Next week we’re getting some high-profile releases, which I’m really looking forward to!

Although this week had a lot of releases, compared to the sheer awesome that was last week I was a bit disappointed in the pickings. Most of the awesome stuff comes out on the 20th this month, so instead of doing my usual recommendations, I thought I’d try something different! Lately a lot of fun PV’s (Promotional Videos, i.e. Music Videos) have been released for upcoming songs/singles, and I’ll go through a few of my favorites here. These are mostly youtube links and the like, so they are under the “cut” so to speak.

Bennie K - Monochrome
2008.02.20 Release - Single “Monochrome”
Youtube link
I LOVE Yuki’s voice, and in this particular song, Cico’s part doesn’t bother me as much as it sometimes can. The two have a great blend, I will admit, and this PV really shows off their style and individual voices. I also like how everyone in the video is ignoring them, yet lip-synching along, and the (lack of) colors are beautiful!

Kato Miliyah - 19 Memories
2008.02.27 Release - Single “19 Memories”
Youtube link
The story-line of this PV, coupled with Miliyah’s amazing voice and heartfelt lyrics, is a really good combination and quite possibly a tear-jerker for some. The separate stories of the three girls, the awesome song, and the happy ending make this my favorite PV so far for this month, and make me really look forward to this single!

Utada Hikaru - Heart Station
2008.02.20 Release - Single “Heart Station / Stay Gold”
Youtube link
I really adore Utada’s voice, though I think this song is a little boring. Nevertheless, I’m really happy she’s releasing something! Maybe we’ll see a single by the end of the year…? One can hope, anyways!

YUI - Namidairo
2008.02.27 Release - Single “Namidairo”
Youtube link
Although a bunch of us YUI fans were really hoping for another release in the same vein as “Rolling star”, I still really like this PV and song. As you can maybe guess from the title, the song is a slow one, but the lyrics and melody are really pretty, and so I’m looking forward to the single! Also, looks like we’re getting an album in April! WOO!

Really, this week was AWESOME in terms of releases; so many good ones! My favorites:

Ikimonogakari - Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi [Single]
Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia

01. 花は桜君は美し (Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi) 02. 最後の放課後 (Saigo no Houkago) 03. 花は桜君は美し (Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi) -Instrumental-

WOW, this is such a good song! I normally can’t handle too much Ikimonogakari in one sitting, but this song I’ve had on repeat since I first heard it! Such a pretty song, and as we’re in the home-stretch of winter, even more appropriate! Have the translation, kanji, and romaji if you’re interested!

mihimaru GT - diverge [Single]
Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia

01. diverge 02. ええがな (Eegana) 03. diverge (Instrumental) 04. ええがな (Eegana) (Instrumental)

I liked diverge when I listened to the PV, but I wouldn’t have guessed it would become such a favorite so quickly from that. I love the piano, and the melody, and really everything about the song. And of course, Eegana is quite good to as a b-side, though diverge is definitely awesome. I haven’t loved one of their songs so much since PUNKISH!

Tsuchiya Anna - cocoon [Single]
Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia

01. cocoon 02. u 03. Guys (Cd Only)

Ahhh, the way they layer her voice in cocoon gives me the goosebumps in that “whoa…” kinda way. I LOVE the chorus, and I’m really happy with this single, since I didn’t like Bubble Trip at all.

I’d love to go through all of the stuff this week that was awesome, but I’ll just mention the rest briefly:
CHEMISTRY - Face to Face [Album]: CHEMISTRY can be a little repetitive sometimes, but honestly this is just a really solid album. And hey, my favorite song Yakusoku no Basho is on there! WOO!
Koda Kumi - Kingdom [Album]: Yeah, yeah, everyone and their dog is writing about this one. I like the album, and it should come to my hot little hands in about 2 weeks. ‘Nuff said.
Stephanie - Friends [Single]: I didn’t really like her winter single, but in this one she really shows off the strength of her voice. Nice!
the pillows - Tokyo Bambi [Single]: although I like Ladybird girl better, this is still a great song, and fun too!

SHOWTA. - Haru na no ni
Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia

01. Haru na no ni 02. Samidare no Uta 03. Haru na no ni (Instrumental)

Awww, I like SHOWTA. That’s a guy, btw. He has a very high, clear voice (think Keita of w-inds. before he hit puberty), and these songs are gentle and wintery feeling. Very nice single! We should be seeing an album from his shortly…

Heart’s Grow - Kasanaru Kage
Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia

01.Kasanaru Kage 02. SORA IRO 03. YELL 04. Kasanaru Kage (Instrumental)

Fun single, very upbeat and happy! I think SORA IRO is a bit repetitous, but YELL is a cool song. Pretty strong single, overall!

Kalafina - obvious
Info: Official
Support: YesAsia US // YesAsia Global

01. oblivious 02. Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaeteiku 03. Kizuato

WHOA. New project of Kajiura Yuki, who brought us the nifty sounding songs of various animes such as .hack//SIGN, plus the composition-collab FictionJunction series. This single is AWESOME. She has such a beautiful tone of voice, and has so much control over it as well, and couple that with the haunting melody of obvious plus two very solid extra songs makes this single the next on my “buy” list! Looking forward to future releases from her, as well!

Those three singles were my favorites, but other notables include ZARD’s fan-picked best album, Amano Tsukiko’s new indies-release HEAVEN’S GATE, and THE BACK HORN’s new BEST album. Fun week! Next week, the crowning jewel seems to be Koda’s new album, and her single this week was solid, but I guess we shall see. Till next time!

Which releases did you guys like this week? Looking forward to anything for next?

Good week of releases this week! I’ve already mentioned Ito Yuna and Celine Dion’s amazing collaboration, so I’d like to mention a few other releases that I enjoyed:

01. Yume no Kajitsu 02. Kokoro no Kagi 03. Okubyou na Lion 04. TELL ME THE TRUTH 05. Futashika na Mono 06. Moshimo Hitotsu dake Negai ga Kanau Kara 07. Uzu 08. Darling 09. Tenohira 10. Yasashii Uta 11. Hoshi ni Negai wo

Yorico’s third album, Negau, is a mellow, relaxing album typical of her style and highlighting her beautiful vocals. Many of these songs, including Kokoro no Kagi, were released as digital singles earlier, so we have heard pieces of this album. But I have to say, I enjoyed these songs within the context of the album as a whole a lot more than I did as individual singles. The songs were a bit boring by themselves, but they don’t make a boring album; indeed, they all add into a mellowing, calming experience together.

01. Fuyu no Maboroshi 02. Koi Ichiya

Acid Black Chery, vocalist of which is from Janne Da Arc, has released their awesome 4th single as a prelude to their album coming on in February (whose exited for that? I am! Yes!) Fuyu no Maboroshi… I can’t really pinpoint what I like about it. The sound effects are cool, instruments solid, lyrics really good, and the PV trippy. What’s not the like? XD;

People may be expecting a review of UVERworld’s new album, but I’ll have to disappoint. I didn’t like it at first listen (I never seem to like their albums, only singles…), but I’m going to listen a few more times and give it a chance. It doesn’t hit the disappointment that was Timeless, but we’ll see if it is even at BUGRIGHT’s level.

Feel free to add your 2 cents. What releases did you particularly like this week?

Apologies for the amazingly late post for this…er… last week! I’ll be recommending a single that is technically coming out the 16th, but has already been leaked, so we get an early taste of this awesome single!

An odd coupling at first, these two powerhouse diva’s work amazingly well together. Their voices blend in this single for an inspiring song that might be a bit familiar to those fans who also own Celine’s most recent album. Rumor has it that after hearing Yuna’s rendition of My Heart Will Go On on the album Tribute To Celine Dion, she picked Yuna to do a duet with over all the other collaborators for the album.

When first hearing of this single, I was a bit afraid Celine would overpower Yuna and outclass her a bit. After seeing the PV, I’m happy to say that my fears were misplaced. Yuna holds her own; indeed, I’d say she is featured even more than Celine is! Of course it is her single afterall… but even in the parts they sing together, Yuna’s beautiful voice shines through.

The single consists of four versions of the same song: the original, a “U.S.A version”, a version with Yuna singing the entire thing herself, and an instrumental. Although the version with Yuna by herself is beautiful, I tend to prefer when Celine sings as well, as I enjoy hearing the blend of two voices I love! The U.S.A version I would have assumed would be completely in English, but the lyrics are the same. It is the background music that is different, using just the more acoustic-sounding guitars and less of the little electronic additions that are in the original. Honestly though, they don’t sound all that different. I’d have been interested in an all-English version as a duet, but perhaps that was deemed too much like Celine’s solo original.

Additional Links:
Single information from wiki.theppn
Youtube link to the PV
Buy!: CDJapan // Yesasia
Lyrics from JPopAsia

So, what did you guys think? (BTW, would you prefer this style of posting/reviewing, or that of a big list and brief reccs?)