BoA – HURRICANE VENUS August 5, 2010
	1. GAME 2. HURRICANE VENUS 3. Dangerous 4. Yeop Saram (옆 사람) 5. M.E.P (My Electronic Piano) 6. Let Me 7. Hanbyeol (한별) 8. Adrenaline 9. Haru Haru (하루하루) 10. Don’t Know What To Say 11. Romance (로망스)

It was a surprise to me when I found that I had another BoA review to do so soon after the last one I covered. I certainly was not pleased, because not only did it seemed too soon to me, I’ve never been a particular fan of her Korean albums as a whole. After watching “GAME”, my dread actually increased, and then I saw the cover, which made me cry some more. In any case, I sucked it up clearly, so let’s get to it.

GAME is the first promotional track released to support this album, and it also leads off the album. Unfortunately, I think it’s actually a pretty bad start. I’m starting to grow more immune to the song, so I don’t mind it as much as I did initially, but believe me, there was a lot of cringing going on (had something to do with me disliking the MV for it as well). It is most certainly atypical for any Kpop song I’ve ever heard, but I just can’t get into it. The melody is pretty horrendous, when there is any apparent melody to it. The arrangement involves some sort of heavy beat throughout, but I think there’s too much going on with the special effects. Anyway, it is basically a heavily synthesized song, but not particularly memorable (I’ve managed to forget it on all occassions requiring me to seek it out and listen to it again as a refresher). For a lead track, it’s not particularly impressive.

BoA doesn’t waste any time (unless you thought “GAME” was a waste of time) getting into the title track. HURRICANE VENUS is a much more worthy promotional track to be honest. It’s more catchy, addictive and much cooler (for lack of a better word). I’m not liking the fact that I can fully understand her lyrics, with the amount of English she uses, and judging by those phrases (and random syllables), the rest of the song is equally as mindless. Not sure how I feel about overused, super-cheese that is “electronic-manic-super-sonic-bio-nic-energy” (yes, I deliberately wrote it that way because that’s how she sings it). Moving beyond that, this is another heavily synthesized song, but kind of fun in some ways. The chorus is fairly strong and has a good drive to it, and she does some pretty interesting stuff in the bridge. The verses aren’t too memorable, and she already doesn’t have much going on vocally, so the autotune in the verses just makes me want to tune out more. I also highly disliked how it ended off, mostly because it was so watered-down for this type of track. Despite all of my (slightly harsh) criticisms, this is one damn good guilty-pleasure track, and I think it is one of her better title tracks.

Continuing on with the heavy synth, Dangerous moves at a slower tempo than the first two. Honestly, it is definitely the worse of the three presented so far, on a few accounts. First of all, the chorus reminds me of that Pussycat Dolls song (“When I Grow Up”). Factor in the fact that BoA’s voice is hidden under all of the filters and drowned out by the synthesizer, doesn’t make me feel like I want to listen to it anymore. Did I mention that I thought the opening was very “Mortal Kombat”-esque? It is slow, noisy and unoriginal. Next!

A bit of a shock her is delivered considering my ears are still ringing from “Dangerous”, Yeop Saram slows down significantly for a heartfelt pop ballad. What caught my attention almost immediately (asides from the transition) was how much better BoA’s voice sounds. Her voice is clear, and free from sounding throaty and scratchy. “Yeop Saram” has a pretty melody, and BoA’s musicality is pretty decent her. I would have enjoyed it more if she just gave me a little more in the chorus because it has all of the big swooping lines and phrases, and would have helped to contrast it from the verses. The brings out a little more character in the bridge and kept building towards the end. Musically, it is seriously no different, nor anymore creative than any other Kpop ballad out there, as typical as can be, however, BoA’s interpretation was very endearing.

Let me get this out of the way first, I think the title to this next track, M.E.P (My Electronic Piano), is so “unnecessary” (I’m trying to be nice, you replace the word as you see fit). I find it a little amusing that I occassionally pronounce it as “meep”. Okay, enough of the useless comments. I generally like the more midtempo pop stuff BoA does, but I was very unimpressed by this song unfortunately. I found it kind of dull, in both melody and arrangement (although the melody had the upperhand slightly). BoA also struggles to hit those high notes in the leaping melody during the chorus, which ruins what little credit this song had to begin with. Normally, I’d pass off this song, but it catches my attention for being that boring. X_X;

Let Me takes us back to the dance numbers, but I don’t kid when I say this sounds like the lovechild of both “GAME” and “Dangerous”. It is worlds better than the two of the previous tracks put together though, which is certainly a bonus. The harmonization sounds pretty bad (especially the higher vocal parts, which isn’t BoA’s strength anyway), and it might be because of the distortion involved, but other than that slightly cringe-worthy aspect of the song, it’s not too bad. I thought BoA performed the verses pretty well, and they turned out with great character. The heavy synthesizer didn’t decide to give me a headache this time. I’ll take that over something like “Dangerous” anyday. Something tells me she should have just used this song in place of “Dangerous”…

I think BoA is toying with us now, because she’s making all these abrupt transitions from style to style on her album. I’m not saying that as a bad thing though. I’m kind of glad she took a break from the ballads and mid-tempo stuff before she got into this acoustic ballad, considering Hanbyeol spans 6 minutes long. Even though I’m usually a big fan of the acoustic stuff, I’m on the fence with this one. The acoustic guitar serves at the main accompaniment for majority of the song until the very end where a chorus joins in as well. It sounded like there was a mistake in the middle of the song on the guitars part, which was only noticeable because it was the only instrument playing at the time. I like BoA’s musical interpretation of this song, and it suited it quite perfectly. Her voice is a little too light and breathy though, so it might have been even more touching had she added some substance to support her voice. I did bring up the chorus earlier that joins in at the end of the song, turning it into a call-and-response type of thing, but I wonder why they decided to mute BoA’s singing, which didn’t really help with my interest. Although a nice ballad for the first minute or two, the melody doesn’t exactly go anywhere. It’s a good song for background music, or sleeping, but not particularly interesting beyond that.

Listeners, prepare yourself, this is the last high-energy song you’ll get for the remainder of the album. Adrenaline takes BoA back to the Britney Spears-like sound that Korea has learned to love, and it shouldn’t surprise anybody that this song could fit in easily into Spears’ latest two albums. Asides from that, it’s pretty fun to listen to. BoA doesn’t sound like a drone, and found a good balance of energy to display throughout the song. I’m so accustomed to her underperforming, or going over the top with things that it’s a nice change of pace to hear her get this song down pat. Frankly, I don’t really care that it does sound like a Britney song, it’s still quite enjoyable, especially since it isn’t as noisy as the earlier dance tracks off of this album.

Starting off with the three ballad extravaganza that will end off the album, Haru Haru is a sweet mid-tempo ballad. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much all I got out of listening to it. It starts of nicely enough with the verses, moves into this awkward pre-chorus transition phase, then into the sweet chorus. Transitions for this song are undoubtedly missing, because while each section sounds pretty good, they don’t really flow well into one another. I’m not really fond of the accidentals of this song either, which BoA chose to sing in a jazz-y manner. It kind of made her sound like her voice was cracking instead. Her singing was a bit lifeless as well. Don’t get me wrong, she had a decent amount of musicality, but she was more or less flat throughout and lacked the spark she had in all the other songs off of this album. It was even more evident during the bridge where the scratchy BoA from “IDENTITY” came back. Not a showcase of the best technique that I know she possesses.

Don’t Know What To Say is a very touching ballad, and I quite enjoyed BoA’s performance here. She came off too strong on some notes, which was kind of noticeable when that scratchy thing was present again (though it didn’t happen often). Nevertheless, I was quite impressed by how well she took this song and made it her own. The song flowed was quite seamless from section to section. I wasn’t too fond of the harmonizations because they clashed quite a bit. It probably would have been better to have an actual chorus supporting her instead of having her record each vocal part on her own, as it was evident that the vocal parts weren’t fully together when they put it all together. Actually, that’s one of the biggest problems with the song, often each part seemed to come in and out at different points. The rhythms were a bit awkward at times as well. However, the good qualities of this song definitely by far outweigh the not-so-great parts. It’s a beautiful ballad, and probably one of the best ballads BoA has recorded in a long while.

The album ends off surprisingly, with a blues-y number, and Romance is actually quite stunning. I generally enjoy BoA’s ventures into jazz and blues. This is easily one of her better ballads in her discography, and I really haven’t heard anything quite like it from her before. The arrangement was top notch, using a standard blues ensemble in conjunction with strings, which adds a nice touch to the song. I’m also usually very critical of BoA’s lack of ability to handle the low notes, and this song does hit extremely low notes that are well out of her range, however, I am pleased that she grasped them well this time around. Even better, she soared through her higher notes without being on the brink of wailing, which is a nice treat. BoA was on a ballad roll here, and I am incredibly impressed by this last track.

BoA’s comeback Korean album was a very nice surprise, considering I was expecting the absolute worst. HURRICANE VENUS blows “IDENTITY” out of the of the water, and it’s quite evident that she put a good deal of effort into this album. I’m usually the one that ends up disliking her Korean albums more than her Japanese works, but this album really showed a refreshing side of BoA not seen in the past five years. The dance tracks were annoying to say the least, but some were also incredibly catchy, so it helps in looking past the songs that I didn’t particularly like. Of course, I was most pleased by her ballads, and asides for some of the more forgettable mid-tempo stuff, this was some pretty solid work. I was definitely enjoying the fact that BoA’s vocals sounded much improved since IDENTITY (scaling back on the adlibbing was also a good call). I think it’s great that BoA sounds rested, and certainly caught a second wind in her renewed interest of being a recording artist. This album had more character than anything she’s released since 2005, making it a very worthy comeback.

Now, all I want her to do is release a repackaged version of this album with a better cover (but seriously, it can’t be that hard because the photoshoot was actually very good, it’s just that picture in particular).

Favourites:
Don’t Know What To Say, Romance

Oda Kaori (織田かおり) – Calling (single) August 22, 2007
	1. Calling 2. Power in Me 3. Calling (Instrumental) 4. Power in Me (Instrumental)

I believe this was Kaori’s first solo single, with the title track composed by Kajiura Yuki, with the B-side was composed by Motoyama Seiji. This is the same Kaori of FictionJunction KAORI.

Calling is the main track of this single, and was used as the Baccano! ending. Of course, there are all elements of the “Kajiuran”-style present here, especially evident in the background vocals. I adore this ballad though. KAORI (I’m just going to stylize her name the way I would if I was reviewing FictionJunction material) is an immensely strong and talented vocalist considering her age. I love the control she has performing this, and the fact that she has an incredibly powerful voice that stands out as she sings. The bridge and choruses are the major highlights of the song. One of my favourite things about KAORI’s performance is how she carries through each and every phrase with intention, hanging onto the last note and extending it appropriately. Gorgeous, gorgeous piece. I kind of wish that she would perform it more on the FictionJunction tours for more exposure, but I guess it’s not really considered a part of that project. =(

The B-side, Power in Me, is in a completely different style from the title track, with a bit more funk and light R&B feel. As I mentioned earlier, KAORI is a powerful vocalist, but she’s so dangerously talented because she’s very versatile as well. Her voice is like a cameleon, and very adaptable in many situations. The strength in her voice is still evident, although I don’t like this as much. Her tuning is a bit off at times (and so are the background vocals) so there’s a bit of clashing occurring. I enjoy the accenting and emphasis in her phrasing. Her energetic performance is quite addicting, despite the song being only okay. I’m not that big of a fan of the song itself, but I find it difficult to really dislike anything that KAORI lends her voice to.

Like the other FictionJunction vocalists, KAORI is a great vocalist in her own respect. I believe she’s the one with the most solo work outside of the FictionJunction project, but as I just mentioned, I’ll probably end up liking anything she releases (although I am iffy on her English rendition of dream scape, but that’s a story for another day XD). This girl embodies versatility, and she’s surprisingly mature as a singer, despite being one of the youngest members of the FictionJunction project. The single as a whole was pretty good, though nothing I would go nuts over (although I might, because it’s seems like a rare release), but the A-side really stole the show.

Favourites:
Calling

alan – 1st concert -voice of you- in Tokyo 2010.01.24 March 24, 2010

1. Tennyo ~interlude~ (天女) 2. Gunjou no tani (群青の谷) 3. One 4. Beauty 5. Sora Uta (空唄) 6. Lost Child 7. Swear 8. Call my name 9. Sennen no Niji (千年の虹) 10. BALLAD ~Namonaki koi no uta~ (名もなき恋のうた) 11. sign 12. Ashita e no Sanka (明日ヘの讃歌) 13. Nobody knows but me 14. Qing Zang Gao Yuan 15. Shiawase no kane (幸せの鐘) 16. Kuon no kawa (久遠の河) 17. Xin Zhan ~RED CLIFF~ (心•战) 18. Kizuna (絆) 19. Megumi no ame (恵みの雨) 20. my life Encore 21. Together 22. Diamond 23. Natsukashii mirai ~longing future~ (懐かしい未来)

I only recently realized that alan was able to hold her first concert earlier this year, and I immediately decided to watch it. I haven’t been too impressed by alan in the past year unfortunately, but I’m very happy I did decide to take notice, because she is absolutely incredible.

The first part of the concert actually was kind of a dud. The first 10 songs or so were supposed to get the audience pumped up. I really enjoyed Tennyo ~interlude~. alan definitely knows how to make an entrance. Unfortunately, the following songs weren’t as impressive, either because they simply weren’t great tracks to begin with, or alan’s lack of technique while singing it (ahem, Gunjou no tani for example). She struggled vocally through the very early tracks, fighting to stay in tune. In terms of costume, she basically had one outfit, although it was hidden under a white gown to start with. Halfway through Gunjou no tani she removes it and reveals a very cute (and sparkly) outfit. There was one song that really caught my attention, which was the collaboration between alan and Tomoca of Rin’, Sennen no Niji. Both ladies were energetic and delivered a great performance. I was thoroughly impressed. Even though this first part wasn’t as good as it could have been, alan definitely showed that she could rock the stage, even if she was the only vocalist up there. She did cute little dances paying no mind that sometimes it looked even a little silly. Truthfully, it was her natural charisma on the stage that save the performances and was a good set up for what was to follow.

The second part of the concert was marked by a long introduction to sign. Initially I thought it was only going to be the band playing, but then alan makes her appearance in extravagant Tibetan fashion, and sings the second half of the song (although the introduction was extended). I don’t think I ever liked the recording for sign very much, but I was in shock with how well alan pulled off the live. She followed that with a mind-blowing performance of Ashita he no Sanka. This concert is probably the best I’ve seen her perform this song, giving me goosebumps! She had great control from beginning to end. She then sang a great rendition of her own composition, Nobody knows but me. Like sign, I didn’t care much for it when I first heard it, but she definitely changed my mind about that. She sang a short Chinese song in great style next (and again, fantastic technique). It really highlighted her unique vocal talent. Lastly, she closed this section with Shiawase no kane. After some incredibly epic performances, Shiawase no kane seemed a little dull next to all of them, but it was very touching, so I can forgive that. =D (I had to mention all the songs because it was a short section, and they were all memorable. XD)

The third and final change (before the encore), alan came out in a glamorous pink gown (and a giant flower headpiece). I don’t know how she managed to get her hair curled in that time, but she managed it and looked great yet again. She started off with a very intense performance of Kuon no Kawa, followed by the Chinese version of Xīn.Zhàn ~RED CLIFF~ (yes, that’s the Chinese version). I love how alan expresses herself in Chinese. The live arrangement wasn’t as flourishing as the original, but equally as haunting. alan decided to treat us with an erhu solo of Kizuna, and let me take this time to correct myself. I love how she expresses herself on the erhu, and I’m not just talking about the facial expressions (although that is a part of it). There’s a noticeable difference in her performance with the erhu over a singing, and she possesses a certain mastery that surpasses her vocal ability. I was left speechless (for a while – I can’t shut up right now, I realize that. XD) Finally, alan closed her concert with two very technically and musically balanced performances of Megumi no Ame and my life, reaffirming my love for both ballads.

alan earned a well-deserved encore performance (I don’t care if it was planned, some people shouldn’t even have one -_-) and got called out again. She sang Together, another one of her compositions. Very pretty, very touching, as expected. She followed it with her “Ayumi-esque” Diamond (couldn’t help it, reminded me too much of Hamasaki Ayumi). Her final song for this concert was an interactive Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~. She revealed a youth choir to support her, and asked the audience to sing along (even providing the lyrics on the big screen). It was a fantastic ending piece, and I thought it was cute that she thanked everybody during the bridge (including her parents)!

What have I learned from alan’s first concert? First of all, that girl is incredibly grateful to everyone, as she thanked them multiple times throughout the concert, even in the middle of her songs. She is a natural on stage, and it was such a delight to watch her perform. She really connects well with her audience. It was evident that she had a lot of fun performing (she didn’t want to leave the stage at the end of her encore) XD! The venue was a little small, but she rocked the staged regardless of size or turn out. The first half of the concert wasn’t very strong, but it definitely got better as time went on, as she blew me away by her technique and musicality in the latter part of her concert. She’s undoubtedly worth the watch, and immensely talented. I hope she holds many concerts in the future.

Favourites:
Kizuna, Megumi no Ame, Ashita e no Sanka

July 24, 2010
Tsuki: Bah, must review at some point. Aren’t we like what, 5 years old? …..oh. That passed already, didn’t it?
Megumi: Probably. XDDD
Tsuki: XDDDDD LULZ!

And that’s how it happened, folks! LW’s birthday/anniversary is bolded right on our About page, June 19, 2005. Somehow Megumi and I realized we passed the 5 year mark a month late, and then some. XD

In any case, Megumi is off with a life of her own, and I’m still busy unfortunately. I shall be free soon (hopefully) and that means more reviews…in theory. As many of our readers are well aware, I have never been the motivated reviewer of the LW duo, but I will try! I have to admit, our 5th year was kind of lackluster, with school for the both of us, and in my case specifically, a lack of motivation. Both Megumi and I still love music, and still love writing about it, so we hope to get more content up at some point. I have lots of catching up to do, and I look forward to reviewing very soon. I’ll be posting a special 5-year post at some point, I just need a bit of time to pull it together. ;D

Thanks for reading all these years. We appreciated the comments (most of them anyway) and encountered many great opinions. We love that our readers are very respectful, even while disagreeing. It keeps us on our toes. ^_^ Here’s to hopefully, another great 5 years (good luck with that, Tsuki. XD).

- Tsuki

Sakamoto Maaya (坂本真綾) – Shounen Alice Unplugged (InterFM Broadcast) February 6, 2004
	1. tune the rainbow 2. DANIEL (ダニエル) 3. Makiba ALICE! (まきばアリス!) 4. Yoru (夜) 5. KINGFISHER GIRL ~The Song of Wish You Were Here~ 6. Hikari Are (光あれ) 7. Uchuu hikoushi no uta (うちゅうひこうしのうた)

Back in 2004 when Sakamoto refused to do live stage performances of her own songs, she would once in a while grace us with an infrequent live event. This was possibly one of the first full lives I heard from her and I was so impressed. This was done shortly after she released her two albums in 2003. It was broadcasted on the radio station InterFM, and it featured a full band, and of couse, the only and only Kanno Yoko on piano/keyboard. (Just to note, there is a full broadcast that exists with talking and interviews in between, but I’m only going to review the songs).

The broadcast starts off with tune the rainbow, one of my favourite songs by Sakamoto. The unplugged arrangement brings an more endearing quality to the song, and it was already sweet to begin with. I love the light percussion and bass part to this arrangement and it softens the sound. The violin providing the counter-melody is also quite lovely. Next to those two, the guitar and piano mix are the main source of the accompaniment, although I have to say the acoustic guitar enhances the feeling of this song even more. Sakamoto does a wonderful job with the vocals in this rendition and she’s practically spot on in comparison to the recording. The most notable quality, again is that endearing feeling. The original recording has a bit more power and runs at a slightly faster tempo, but I like this lighter version the amount of emotion it carries.

Already with the second song, Sakamoto is giving us some excellent acoustic entertainment. I actually like this version of DANIEL more than the original because it has a fuller sound and not as dry. In contrast to “tune the rainbow”, this live version is more aggressive than the recording and I think I prefer it this way. Sakamoto sings out more to keep up with the accompaniment and does a good job as well. The change of percussion to the bongos(?) really helps keep the drive of the song going, backed with the powerful guitar strumming. (The other instruments are still there, fyi.)

Makiba ALICE! has always been a fun song to listen to, and I was quite interested to hear how they would translate to a fully acoustic song. It’s surprisingly quite good. The amount of editing the finished recording contained made it seem difficult to translate into a live performance. Needless to say, there are some details that couldn’t be fully recreated on this setting, but the performance was still strong. I really like the upbeat quality of this song and the arrangement captures that well. Sakamoto’s vocals are a little bit wilder here, and she misses a few notes once in a while, but overall it’s quite good. I really love the musical interlude, it’s definitely worth listening to just for that.

Yoru was basically carried by electric instruments, and with that in consideration, this acoustic remake is quite amazing. All the instruments are equally as aggressive and definitely prove that acoustic instruments can create amazing sounds as well. Kanno’s excellent piano playing is very evident here. She gets an amazing sound out in the midst of everything and her tone is very rich and full. Sakamoto sounds just as good as she does on the recording as well.

If you wanted a nice acoustic song from Shounen Alice to be performed, KINGFISHER GIRL was definitely a good candidate. If you thought the English “DANIEL” was good, Sakamoto shines even more with this one, holding her notes with more strength and control. I love the lilting character of this song and the violin really brings that out here (that used to be the orchestral countermelody). The mandolin still characters this song more or less, and along with the violin, together they embellish from the original. If there was such a thing as a more sexier version of this song, this would be it.

I was ecstatic when I found out Sakamoto decided to include Hikari Are in her performance list. It’s a cleaner, simpler version overall, but the message is still delivered well. It feels a little empty because the background vocals, other instruments and especially the more prominent string section are all missing, so it definitely gives it more of a raw feeling. Sakamoto has a tendency to sing sharp, particularly when she has to make all those leaps, but she’s quite solid all the way through nonetheless. She does a wonderful job building towards the end starting from the repeated “Hikari are” phrases.

To finish off the program, Sakamoto and Kanno decide to do a piano and vocal duet with Uchuu Hikoushi no Uta. There’s really not to much else say about this song, because they basically sound exactly as they do in the recording, which was sweet, and quite perfect in its own little way.

Case in point, I’m so glad Sakamoto has decided to do more live concerts in recent years. I’m just sad that I happened to miss them all. T_T Also, if you ever get a chance to listen to this broadcast, I say DO IT. DO IT NOW.

Favourites:
Yoru, tune the rainbow

℃-ute – Cutie Queen VOL. 1 (キューティークイーン VOL. 1 ) October 25, 2006
	1. Massara BLUE JEANS (まっさらブルージーンズ) 2. Wakkyanai (Z) (わっきゃない(Z)) 3. Soku Dakishimete (即 抱きしめて) 4. Ookina ai de motenashite (大きな愛でもてなして) 5. TIME CAPSULE (タイムカプセル) 6. EVERYDAY YEAH! Kataomoi (EVERYDAY YEAH! 片想い) 7. As ONE 8. YES! Shiawase (YES! しあわせ) 9. ENDLESS LOVE ~I Love You More!

℃-ute is meant to fill my H!P void, but only in terms of reviews. Megumi usually takes on all the idol groups, but she had some strange aversion to ℃-ute (requested by Goody), so I decided to take them on instead. I’d like to inform all readers, I know nothing about H!P (except for that Gackt + Kago Ai interview, and some random things about Matsuura Aya). I have such a hard time keeping track of members because they keep rotating and leaving, and joining, and graduating, and… you get the idea. I would like to refer to each singer by name, except I probably can’t tell, so it’s easier to refer to them as a collective anyway. I will try to do my best to identify them, but no guarantees.

The album starts off with their debut single Massara BLUE JEANS, and in typical Hello! Project fashion. Granted, I don’t generally listen to H!P stuff, but from what I have seen/heard, this is exactly just another H!P song. I can’t really see how this would garner any interest from potential fans. Focusing a bit more on the song, it’s very high energy (seriously though, why wouldn’t it be?), but what stood out the most here was the poor, shaky singing…and that giant “MASSARA BURUU JIIIINZU” right at the beginning. The singing really didn’t impress me at all. They all sound pretty inexperienced and frankly, toneless. When the 8 of them sing together, the individual faults are better masked, but that’s about the only decent part of the vocals. I kind of liked the bass line right at the beginning too, but that’s really just about it.

Wakkyanai (Z) is a slightly slower paced song (not that slow, but compared to the first track, it’s calmer), but it seems to work better with the girls’ voices. That whole cutesy nature allows them to use their vocals to enhance the nature of the song, so the weirder twisting voice thing that they all seem to like to do isn’t as noticeable, actually it works out quite nicely. This is a seriously cute song though, and doesn’t seem like they were trying too hard or anything. I thought they worked well as a unit here.

Wow, this is a bit of a surprise. If the girls of ℃-ute don’t scream their way through the song, they manage to sound relative decent. The song started off pretty well with the verses. The girl with the deepest tone sounded pretty good there. There is still one of the soloists that is still piercing. She’s the one that jumps out at you when you hit the chorus. She has the shakiest vocals and it sounds like she’ll fall off her note at any second. Not liking the fact that she’s trying to “belt” her way through everything. Musically, this song reminds me of something Amuro Namie would do if she debuted at 13 (think of a super perky version of Super Monkeys). The transitions to the instrumental parts aren’t that strong, but the rest of the song isn’t so bad.

Ookina ai de motenashite is a song I could very much do without. The verses sound ridiculously creepy and probably the least creative thing I’ve heard in a while. The song is written in a range where the girls sound like they’re at the point of straining in order to sing it. Let’s put it this way, I would rather listen to BoA sing “B-O-A” in “NEKO LOVE” than this.

I know I said it would be nice to hear these girls sing something slower so they don’t feel like they need to yell through everything (which gets painful after a while), but for some reason TIME CAPSULE, a mid-tempo track, is equally as painful. Let me clarify, super squeaky girl doesn’t sound as piercing as she usually does, but the tempo of this song does emphasize the poor phrasing. I have no idea why these girls are singing in such a choppy manner, but it’s seriously distasteful. The arrangement was way too heavy for a song like this, and given the type of light vocals the girls use, it doesn’t work that well.

I’m beginning to run out of patience for that nasally, squeaky girl, and it’s unfortunate because she’s heavily featured in Everyday Yeah! Kataomoi. It is really sad, because I think I might have liked this song if not for her. There is phrasing problems littered everywhere throughout this song, though there are moments where it works better than others. The phrasing in the choruses isn’t too bad, but the verses are pretty horrible. The song is nice though, so I’ll give it that. It’s the most bearable (musically) so far.

Don’t get me started with As ONE. Okay, maybe I’m overexaggerating just a little, but super squeaky leads off again and it’s driving me nuts. It’s bad enough that she’s the only one you can here in the choruses because she insists on being piercing and overpowering the rest of the group. That being the said, the other girls should really develop a stronger ability to harmonize in the lower range. They honestly sound like they don’t matter. Not only that, there are some pretty significant cringe-worthy moments when they harmonize. Painful to the ears really.

YES! Shiawase has the best opening so far. I really like the cute little intro, and it wasn’t heavily dominated by synthesizers for once. The brass instruments were a very nice touch. Even though there’s nothing impressive about anybody’s singing here, it’s a lot calmer and controlled surprisingly. Miss Squeaky (I really should learn her name) isn’t as bad this time around. I think Maimi is singing a bit more, and the lower range suits her voice much more than trying to get her to strain in her higher (albeit limited) register.

To finish off this album, we have ENDLESS LOVE ~I Love You More~, which has that typical cheesy, lovesick sound that was popular in the 90s. I’ll give them this, it’s infinitely better than the opening tracks of this album, so I can settle here. It is interesting to hear that they’re trying to expand their range, but most of them can’t handle the higher register. The harmonization is still pretty weak and seriously, not really worth noting. Maimi and the other girl (if somebody could tell me her name, that’d be great), seem to have improved some for this song, but it’d be nice to hear them improve some more on their control and flow.

For my first full H!P album, I think I was successfully turned away from ever wanting to listen to the rest of their discography (although I will). It’s probably just not something I would listen to. I’m not a big fan of Tsunku’s productions to begin with, but if I wanted something cutesy, I’d go find somebody who was more musical and could actually hold a note decently. The album collectively was pretty lukewarm and I can’t see any reason why you would want to listen to ℃-ute instead of Berryz Koubou or any other idol group for that matter. There is nothing particularly special about them. Not only that, based on this album, these girls can’t sing, can’t harmonize and are willing to release about any random H!P reject song they can find. I will say this, Maimi (I think it’s her at least) sounds like she has promise, but needs a lot more training to back up some of that potential. She’s the only one I’m looking forward to improving in the subsequent albums.

Favourites:
ENDLESS LOVE ~I Love You More~

Tamaki Nami (玉置成実) – STEP February 24, 2010
	1. GIVE ME UP 2. Friends! 3. Sayonara Shite Ageru (さよならしてあげる) 4. Uso (嘘) 5. KIMI NO NAMIDA (キミノナミダ) 6. Negai Hoshi (願い星) 7. ZERO no Sora (ゼロの空) 8. Moshimo Negai ga… (もしも願いが・・・) 9. Omoide ni Naru no? (思い出になるの?) 10. Happy Forever 11. in my life 12. Tokyo (東京)

“STEP” is Tamaki Nami’s first album since her label switch from Sony to Universal Music Japan. It also represents a drastic style change, with more focus on bubblegum pop and pop-R&B ballads than her trademark dance-pop sound. Apparently it hasn’t been sitting well with most fans, though nami pulls a couple of surprises here and there.

The biggest shock nami could have given her fans was this remake of GIVE ME UP. I don’t really know why UMJ decided to start Tamaki’s new career off with a cover song. Even though nami doesn’t generally produce terrible cover/remake songs (see “Get Wild”, “Daitan ni Ikimashou” etc.), for a somewhat established artist, a cover song just screams a lack of musical identity. In any case, this is a very popular song to the Japanese public, and has been remade or covered on multiple occasions. It brought Tamaki some initial success as well, despite the change of sound. It is kind of cute to listen to (I really wouldn’t recommend watching the PV though). Unfortunately, the song generally doesn’t strike me as notable or interesting. The verses are tolerable, again because of that cute factor, but the choruses send the cuteness thing over the top to the point where I want to puke. It doesn’t help Tamaki’s case that she’s sound extra, extra nasally and unbearable. I don’t mind the 80′s sound so much, but the high pitched synthesizer in combination with that nasally tone from Tamaki is simply too much.

Friends! made a better impression on me, and I spent a good portion of last summer listening to it because I honestly enjoyed it. All things considered, this song really isn’t that interesting. It’s your typical bubblegum pop tune, and a rather simplistic one at that too (although I’ve never found the work of Masaaki Asada particularly interesting in the past – note: make a secret by BoA). I did find the verses rather charming though, and Tamaki sounds like she’s having a lot of fun singing it. I didn’t think the choruses were as good mostly because you can hear Tamaki straining to hit those higher notes which are clearly out of her natural range. Overall, Tamaki sounds decent, the song is cute and charming for a while, but don’t expect too much beyond that.

We finally get into something that potentially won’t make you want to gouge your eyes out from cute overload. Sayonara shite ageru is a nice mid-tempo ballad, and although I don’t really find the song itself too interesting, Tamaki does a wonderful job showing the different colours of the song. She hits a couple of rough spots with her tuning and holding onto the proper notes, but she sounds much better already in comparison to the previous two tracks. The accompaniment is kind of generic and a little boring. I did like the addition of the strings, but I really wished they didn’t try to push the whole “R&B” sound on Tamaki so much. The looping beat adds a couple notches of boredom to this song. If they tweaked this arrangement a bit and turned into into a moving ballad, I would have probably enjoyed it much more.

I warned you about the lack of progression in this album right? You’ll probably begin to notice this about now because Uso is along the same lines as “Sayonara shite ageru”. In Tamaki’s defense though, the looping beat suits “Uso” much more than it did the former. This song has a nice start to it, but it really lacks any real drive, so it gets tiring to listen to about halfway in. Tamaki’s phrasing in this song isn’t quite as good as the former, so she sounds choppy all the way through. The general range of this song is a little higher as well, and you can hear Tamaki’s thin tone throughout in her attempts to stay in tune and to sing the song. Not really a flattering song at all.

Don’t be surprised if I begin to get repetitive during my review, but Tamaki is choosing to be repetitive herself. KIMI NO NAMIDA is probably the best of the last 3 tracks. For one, the chorus is much more interesting than the others. This song packs a certain punch to it (could be the heavy percussion background). I don’t find the programming overly annoying either. Tamaki’s vocals sound comfortable and with a lot more tone and substance than the other tracks. She’s not trying to twist her voice in some odd manner in order to reach the notes. It all seems to come more naturally for her at this point. This is a solid track overall.

I don’t really get what was so great about Negai hoshi. The programming was very generic and uninteresting. I understand that a lot of the songs featured on this album also follow that pattern, but I just get any sense of musical quality to this song. The melody is pretty dry and dull, then you have the dance-infused bubblegum pop thing going on. This song may be the closest in terms of musical style to her Sony releases, but even I have a limit of Sony’s Tamaki Nami. If I need a throwback, I would rather do something that’s more epic and not so boring.

Now we’re talking. Most of her fans agree that ZERO no Sora is Tamaki’s best song under UMJ so far, and I fully agree. I love the progression of this song. There’s a variety of up and down moments of this song that really keep my interest. Tamaki’s phrasing could use a bit more musicality, and I was hoping she could tackle this more along the lines of “KIMI NO NAMIDA”, but it’s pretty good as it is already. I really like the clear distinction between the background vocals and the main melody. It really helps keep the attention on Tamaki as a soloist. “ZERO no Sora” caught my attention right off the bat, and it still continues to do so even now.

I was stunned by Moshimo negai ga… when it was first released. First of all, I didn’t think this drastic style change was going to work for Tamaki, but it turned out surprisingly well. That being said, there are a lot of reasons why I don’t like this song as much as I would have wanted. There are some nice moments throughout this song, but those are limited and when I’m forced to pick apart this song, I find more than enough to make me not like it as much. First of all, I don’t like the compositions of this composer. The phrases and lines featured in the melody are completely awkward, and this is evident by the emphasis on Tamaki’s struggles to phrase. The verses are are full of phrases that just end up in an ascending manner, which is fine if only Tamaki didn’t accent the end of every phrase and come off of them abruptly. The choruses aren’t too bad, and the best part of the song. I do like that they build intensity. The harmonies are a bit heavy and actually seem create a hollow sound overall, adding no substance to Tamaki’s vocals (the actual vocals are pretty thin to begin with). Don’t get me started on the programming. There’s way too much synthesizer clashing with the simple keyboard line. It comes off a little too mechanical and dull given the way it was laid out. Finally, we get to the bridge, which was probably the worst section of the song. There’s a terrible use of autotuning through it, in addition to the awkward transitions and composition. I have nothing good to say about that section. I didn’t like the outro that much either, and would have prefered a fade-out, but after that bridge, I think I stopped caring. I will say this about the song, it wasn’t a bad first try at this style of Tamaki, and wasn’t a total disaster. If you aren’t picky like me, it can be relatively pleasant to listen to, Too bad though, I am picky and I don’t like it that much.

Clearly Tamaki really wants to drill this musical style into her fans, with the subsequent release of Omoide ni Naru no?. I have to admit, I actually do like this song much more than the former. Vocally, I don’t think it’s much better (if at all) than “Moshimo negai ga…”. Actually, there are more noticeable issues with her tuning. She’s not getting the sound out quick enough, and opting for a more airy tone. This problem also accentuates her problems holding notes, particularly in the higher register. Jeff Miyahara did a good job with the arrangement though, and it isn’t very imposing and overdone. In contrast, the “adlibbing” at the end was totally overdone, and problematic considering Tamaki can’t adlib at all. Overall, this song wasn’t too bad, but like her previous single, it had quite a few issues of its own. It was a much better attempt at this style though.

Happy Forever always got on my nerves. Actually, I don’t mind a very bubblegum pop Tamaki Nami, in fact, I welcome it. Tamaki’s vocals were a little weird though, despite mostly singing in her comfort zone. The melody gets a little strange and leaps around, which Tamaki misses each and every time. I don’t understand why she accents that one high note before the chorus comes in. She evidently strains to reach is and then misses, therefore, accenting an incorrectly note. The song is much along the lines of “Friends!” and is quite cute. I would have preferred it if she actually sang it with better tone, and actually bothered to stay in tune.

Of all the B-side ballads they had to throw on this album, I can’t believe they chose in my life. For those that don’t know, this is the worst B-side in all of her releases. I think it was chosen because it slightly keeps to the musical theme, but it’s a bad song. It’s boring all around. The arrangement is completely uncreative, and the melody is boring. Tamaki attempts to sing this with conviction, but actually, she sounds like a huge mess. Her tone is completely thin throughout, except for those moments where she attempts to use her chest voice, so then it suddenly sounds like an extreme forte (loudness). There is absolutely no flow in her singing what-so-ever, and is clearly out of her range. To top it off, she had to use autotune, which I don’t think I need to say that it’s completely out of place here. Not worth the listen. I would suggest “Kanojo” from her “GIVE ME UP” single (regular edition) instead.

Thankfully, they didn’t decide to end the album with that horrid track, and gave us some redemption with Tokyo. Tamaki sounds pretty good here and it’s a refreshing change. She does have her struggles, but either she’s improved immensely, or she’s simply more comfortable with this song. Either way, it’s great to hear her trying to sing with better technique. I wouldn’t say there’s anything particularly interesting about this song, but it is a pleasant little number. After hearing her struggle through the last couple of tracks, it’s a sigh of relief to hear her end with something decent. There aren’t any surprises that are going to jump out at you, but considering the last few songs had bad surprises, I think I prefer this safe, but enjoyable track.

For once, I didn’t actually enjoy Tamaki’s album release. Generally I do enjoy her larger scale works, even if they’re not the best releases out there, mostly because I like the energy and effort she puts in delivering her songs. I felt that she sort of lacked that spark this time. Maybe she’s trying for something more “mature”, but I don’t think mature should translate into dull. I do think she’s trying to grow as an artist, and she’s not having success all around, which is evident in her vocal troubles. I didn’t really like the H!P-wannabe image she was going for though. She does bubblegum pop well, but I think a 5-year career with Sony before this release should take her out of “idol” status. It’s no wonder this release barely caused any stir for anybody. I don’t mind artists experimenting, but don’t lose your personality in the process. In the past, that’s what drew me in mostly when it came to Tamaki Nami. This album seemed to lack a bit of that energetic person this time around. Overall, I enjoyed some aspects of this album, and hated the others. It’s not as much of a disaster as most people would say, but it’s by no means good either. I wouldn’t listen to this album all the way through, but I do like to put on the good tracks once in a while.

Favourites:
ゼロの空

Amuro Namie – Past<Future December 16, 2009
	1. FAST CAR 2. COPY THAT 3. LOVE GAME 4. Bad Habit 5. Steal my Night 6. FIRST TIMER feat. DOBERMAN INC. 7. WILD 8. Dr. 9. Shut Up 10. MY LOVE 11. The Meaning of Us 12. Defend Love

Sometimes I’m iffy about albums that contain only one lead single to promote the album, but in this case, that didn’t look like it was going to be an issue. Amuro isn’t the type to release something simply to capitalize on success. Though it didn’t seem that WILD/Dr. would have given Past<Future a good boost from a promotional point of view, it was evident Amuro’s new album underwent extensive planning and it worked out perfectly that this album turned out to be great.

FAST CAR seems to be the headliner song for this album’s promotion, and it does a fine job of that. The concept and sound isn’t completely unique or original, but it would be the first time Amuro has done anything of this sort. I love the jazzy feel to the song, but what makes it stand out from something Nakashima Mika has done for years, Amuro infuses it with her usual dance style, therefore not completely straying from what her fans have grown used to. I love the composition of this song, and the melody is very catchy. It’s still a very sexy song, but not in the usual “Queen of Hip-Pop” sexy style that one would expect from Amuro. I love everything about this song, but I have one complaint. Amuro’s vocals are a little too pop (which works at some points and not so much at others). It’s not necessarily a bad thing that she brought a touch of pop to the overall sound, but moments like the scatting where it calls for more jazz than pop, didn’t really catch my full attention. She also misses some of those sweet jazzy moments where she could have really worked the sound a bit more. Other than that, it’s a solid song and I absolutely adore it.

Amuro is really on a roll here with the new genres. The chorus to COPY THAT is very catchy and easily caught my attention the first time I heard it. I have to say though, I really liked the CM cut to this song, simply because it didn’t sound so messy and all over the place, which seems to be the problem with this song. I love parts of this song, but I hate how it was strung together. COPY THAT again, has a great concept and idea behind the whole thing, but unlike “FAST CAR”, it doesn’t have the advantage of strong musical arrangement. Amuro also sounds a bit stiff in her vocal performance here, particularly evident in those vocal runs where she has a succession of notes on one syllable. I’m probably going to get crap for saying this too, I don’t like the outro to this song. Let me explain, I do like it, just not its role for this song. It’s one thing to to include cool sounding things in a song, but it’s not so impressive when it hardly works with the song. The rest of the song was already pretty messy alone, and then they threw on this random outro that made me like it even less.

Of the four new PVs Amuro decided to release in conjunction with this album, I watched the PV to LOVE GAME first. Naturally, when I saw this, I thought it was going to be any typical Amuro Namie album (until I saw the rest). That being said, I think DOUBLE (yes, the singer) did a good job writing this sound. Following the pattern of mighty catchy tunes of Past<Future, I have to admit that I had this song on repeat for an entire night, and then some. There isn’t exactly much variation in the lines though, and Amuro basically stays on a different set of a few notes for each section of the song, so I can’t say the melody is memorable. However, where the melody lacks, the harmonies do bring a nice contrast if you listen for them. The song is mixed so that you can’t hear them as well, but rest assured, they’re there. This makes “LOVE GAME” as a whole, rather catchy. It may not be as unique or interesting as “COPY THAT” or anything else, but I like it for its consistency and lack of… mess.

I was a bit surprised to find that the masterminds behind Bad Habit are the same guys that did “FAST CAR”, because they don’t sound anything alike. This song sounds like it conforms more to what we expect of Amuro. Musically, it’s basically along the lines of “LOVE GAME”, but better. I like the variation in the melody line, even though it’s not much, but what caught my attention the most was the changes in rhythms. It really keeps you on your toes, and you can hear it in Amuro’s vocal performance as well. She works really hard to capture all the proper nuances those rhythms bring, and as a result, is really on top of her game here. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her enunciate those English words as much as she has done here.

Steal my Night has been a hit-or-miss for me, depending on the day I’m listening to it. I can’t say I always like it, but it can be entertaining to indulge in once in a while. I’m not sure what it is, but I often feel like there is way too much going on. It’s very loud, from the rhythmic hand clapping to Amuro’s vocals. She sounds like she’s on belting a little too much throughout, and admittedly, all these loud noises clashing with one another gives me a headache after a while. The song itself is pretty good (including that opening lick), but probably could have used a better arrangement.

If anybody was missing the smooth Amuro Namie from 2002′s SUITE CHIC project, I think they just got their wish granted. If you can make out Amuro’s voice under all the filters and layering in FIRST TIMER feat. DOBERMAN INC., Amuro sounds absolutely smooth. I really love the way she sings those smooth choruses, against the hyperactive accompaniment. It does picks up when it’s supposed to, which provides a bit of interest to the song. I’m not sure how much I like DOBERMAN INC.’s vocal participation in this song though. Granted, I’ve never really liked them to begin with. They definitely do take away from that smooth R&B/hip hop sound when they throw in their random messy rapping, giving the sound an overall rough quality to it. Their style just doesn’t seem to work well with the production quality that T.Kura was aiming for. There is this one part in their rapping that one of the guys does this weird rising intonation thing with his voice (kind of how Koda Kumi sounded like in “That Ain’t Cool”). X_X;

WILD was Amuro’s only single that she released prior to releasing this album, but it gave us a pretty good idea of what musical direction she was headed in. Let’s get things out in the open: I absolutely adore this song. It has a pretty catchy beat, and the arrangement was a pretty good balance. I didn’t feel that one part of the song was overwhelming next to the others. Of course, one of Amuro’s skills are to make just about anything listenable (I don’t really know how she does it). Unfortunately, I can’t say there is too much going on in this song. It’s pretty repetiitive and the melody is more or less monotonous. I can’t even say that the rhythms were particularly interesting to offset the slightly dull melody line either. Musically, there really isn’t much to praise, but I’ll admit to being biased and say that I thoroughly enjoy this song anyway. Amuro is quite good at creating the image that she wants and breathing life into even the dullest of songs (most of the times).

This is where I start to think that Nao’ymt is beginning to get a little too experimental with Amuro, not that it is necessarily a bad thing. Unlike “WILD”, Dr. was never a favourite of mine. I don’t usually mind when the songs are experimental, but I felt like this song didn’t really have any direction. I did like that this song was more lyrical than the other A-side, but arrangement wasn’t particularly good. I love the slow sections of this song, particularly the slow bridge that occurs in the song. Amuro sings very well throughout those sections and draws me in. I’m not so fond of the messy drumming section. I feel like Amuro was trying to build up to it, but didn’t quite get there and it sounds a bit sudden to me. I wouldn’t even call it a nice surprise. Overall, this song is not bad, but I wish it was laid out a bit better than it was.

Shut Up has one of the best choruses featured in this entire album. It is very powerful and dramatic, and Amuro did a wonderful job expressing that. Again, the arrangement is a little iffy, particularly right at the beginning. It went into the chorus a little too quickly and underprepared, so it didn’t really have enough of a suspense to work up to the awesome chorus. After the first chorus though, you get to hear the real full verse, and the “complete” product of the song sounds pretty awesome. The autotuning was probably not needed here, especially when Amuro completely rocked all the other autotune-less sections. That being said, this song is entertaining and great, and it’s great to see Amuro going beyond her smooth, sexy (albeit slightly monotonous) tone that she usually likes to use.

I found it particularly hard to like or dislike MY LOVE. Sometimes I sway one way or the other, and it depends on what I’m paying more attention to. The melody sounds very sweet and enjoyable, but that arrangement was probably not what I would have done with it. It’s a little too loud and overpowering given the way Amuro interprets this song. In fact, it kind of gives it a one-dimensional sound overall, making it boring at times to listen to. It certainly help that there is an attempt at showing contrast between the different vocal parts (e.g. the call-and-answer right before the choruses), but it gets lost in the midst of things. As I said, it is quite enjoyable, but I wouldn’t be looking too much into this song for much musicality.

In contrast to the previous track however, The Meaning of Us offers the listeners the balladeer Amuro that we’ve all been longing to hear since “ALL FOR YOU” back in 2005 (actually, for me it would have been since 2003′s “I Will”). I find it incredibly to find something I don’t like about this song. Amuro delivers a lovely performance and her tender tone and interpretation are just beautiful. Actually, if anything, Amuro is singing with more flow in her voice than she used to. For somebody that hasn’t sung a ballad like this in so many years, I’m surprised that she improved as much as she did. I really like how she carries the notes through to the end of the phrase and gives us a powerful end without dropping her tone the way many singers tend to. She does cut a few of them a little short, but it’s not that noticeable (unless you’re being really picky like me).

Defend Love was supposed to be Part 2 to “Dr.”, and boy, it is much better. I really like the repeating phrase in the programming, as it gives the song a bit more drive. There are some interesting harmonies in the chorus which add to the suspenseful nature of this song. I would say this is indicative of Amuro’s improvement in her musicality and expression of her music. Musically, this isn’t far off from what she usually does, as it still contains a good deal of repetitive notes and phrases, but Amuro has done really well to give it some interesting phrasing and dynamic changes. There is the token rhythmic section thrown in there, but this time it was done tastefully. It definitely enhanced the song. Of course, it was followed by a sweeter, slightly more melodic section which Amuro nailed. “Defend Love” was the best choice to end off the album, and it is undoubtedly one of the best tracks off of this album.

Consider how long Amuro has been doing this, Amuro definitely shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. She’s also certainly putting no doubt in anybody’s mind that her comeback was not simply a fluke. This album turned out surprisingly well, not that I was really doubting her myself. She surpassed all my expectations that I had for her coming into this album. I mentioned a few times that the arrangement of the songs were not as strong as they could have been, or the song would have a clean arrangement but be a bit on the monotonous/simplistic side. However, all things considered, Amuro put out a solid, entertaining album. No matter what material is presented, Amuro never lets the performance of a song go, and she did a fantastic job demonstrating that here.

Favourites:
The Meaning of Us, FAST CAR, Defend Love

BoA – IDENTITY February 10, 2010
	1. This Is Who I Am 2. EASY 3. BUMP BUMP! feat. VERBAL (m-flo) 4. LAZER 5. interlude#1 6. is this love 7. Mamoritai ~White Wishes~ (まもりたい ~White Wishes~) 8. interlude#2 9. Neko Love (ネコラブ; Cat Love) 10. THE END Soshite and… (album ver.) (THE END そして and…) 11. Possibility duet with Miura Daichi 12. fallin’ 13. my all

Truthfully, BoA’s albums hardly ever impress me. The closest she got to that was her American debut, though it was tiring to some extent. When I saw what was going into this product, admittedly, I was curious. It seemed like BoA was finally doing what she wanted, writing six of the above tracks, including four compositions. Now let’s see how her first effort as producer fair.

My first thought about This Is Who I Am was, “Not another ‘I’m going to reinvent myself/This is the real me’ piece of crap”. Boy, how right was I? It starts off very intense and promising, but immediately after the intro, it has the unfortunate chord change that comes out of nowhere, and that is when (unfortunately) BoA comes in too. For her first composition of this album, she reminded me of how she needs help in this department. Among the limited aspects I enjoyed about this song was the jazzy sound (which surprisingly suits BoA quite well, and a major improvement from her “jazz” from DO THE MOTION). Sadly, that pretty much covers the things I did like and this song was dominated by things I didn’t (so many that I had to list them).

- BoA’s singing (technique) is terrible. She’s constantly falling out of tune, and it’s partially because she’s too focused on adlibbing to bother singing properly for the rest of the song.
- That being said, her adlibbing is excessive and overdone, as usual.
- The lyrics are so generic that they’re puke-tastic. Every artist has their staple “Real me” type of song, but in BoA’s case, she has about 409385093850 of them, and this is possibly the worst one so far. She’s seriously lacking in the creativity department here.
- The composition! It starts off decently, and it even sounds like she’s learned to put some breaks between most of her phrases, but then as the song progresses, she starts to wail and adlib endlessly, and that’s when you notice that there is no structure to this song.
- Lastly, when she starts to adlib endlessly to a pile of jibberish, or a whole lot of ‘This Is Who I Am” (at some points I can’t even identify the language she’s trying to sing in).

Sorry, I warned you that was going to be long. “THE END……. soshite, and…” (kidding).

BoA composition No. 2! I seriously thought BoA would have composed all ballads, so EASY was a pleasant surprise. I really like the edgy arrangement, and the programming is pretty cool (thanks Gakushi). The song is kind of fun, and not what I would have expected from somebody who just composed the pile of BS (read above). Lyrically, this isn’t any masterpiece, but it’s somehow better than “This Is Who I Am”. It sounds like it was better planned out. You can really tell that BoA’s trying to milk her newfound comprehension of English, though some of those phrases are ridiculous (like the number of times she repeats “You think it’s very easy”). I’m not sure I would really call this a complete composition. Majority of the song sounds like a giant chant or cheer (not even the entire verse is sung), and most of the musical parts actually is focused on the arrangement, which wasn’t even done by her anyway. Anyway, the song sounds like it’d be fun to watch her perform (seeing as she loves to opt to sing-shout some of her current songs during her tours, so it should work out for her…). This song is cool enough though, and BoA doesn’t sound as monotonous as she usually does. I can see it becoming a guilty pleasure type of song in the near future.

When BUMP BUMP feat. VERBAL (m-flo) was first released, it took a few days to grow on me (especially because the video was kind of tacky and weirded me out just a bit). However, it’s not a bad product from VERBAL, and the melody is cute (I’m sure that’s not the effect they were going for, but I can’t help it). It was also the first Jpop single where I’ve heard BoA sing with any touch of emotion. In comparison to the rest of the album though, she sounds somewhat washed out here. I need BoA to be more aggressive and energetic here in order to really sell this song, but it was decent overall.

Following BUMP BUMP, we get yet another VERBAL creation, LAZER. I think this is better than what I’m used to VERBAL producing, so good for him. He really worked to get a character from BoA, and was pretty successful at that. The verses are the best part of the song. BoA does a good job with interpreting the song for the most part. I’m not totally convinced by the chorus though. BoA’s vocals also sound a bit too weak to pull it off. The lyrics are kind of cheesy, but I guess that’s what happens when you work with one-half of m-flo. This song has been getting a bit criticized for being forgettable, but it’s definitely one of the better tracks in this album. It’s not perfect though. It’s a good product, but this song are a prime example of BoA being overly monotonous, especially those spoken parts. In fact, she reminds me of a bored grocery store announcer (“Clean up in Aisle 9″). The nasally quality is enough to drive anybody up a wall. I still like that BoA did capture the mood of the song, but for some odd reason, she opted to sing completely toneless. There is no resonance or life in her vocals. It may also be part of the reason why the choruses didn’t translate as well. She fails to enunciate her words so there’s a ton of slurring everywhere.

interlude #1 = WASTE. OF. TIME.

is this love is outright boring. It’s nice that BoA’s continuing to pursue that light jazz sound, which I truly think works well her. Her musicality is decent here, but I can’t help feel like she’s just ever-so-slightly bored in comparison to what she was doing earlier. The previous tracks had a certain spunk to them (yes, even “This Is Who I Am”), but this isn’t something entirely out of BoA’s league, and she knows it too. I need a bit more sophistication, or smoothness and sass. BoA makes this sound like just another job. She’s already having some trouble with her lack of tone, so it doesn’t help that she sounds bored too. This song could have turned out quite nicely had it not been for everything I mentioned.

We’ve definitely hit the “pop-ballad section” of the album, because Mamoritai ~White Wishes~ follows. In a complete 180 from is this love, this is BoA singing with tone. Granted, it’s not the cleanest performance, but I like it that much more because she puts everything she’s capable of into the song. For once, she’s phrasing, working with dynamic contrast and building the song. Just to push her a little more, I wish she would take down the belting in certain sections ever-so-slightly, so it doesn’t sound like she’s on the brink of shouting, but that’s more of a picky criticism. It would definitely help her control her vocals a bit better though, as she does sometimes lose control of her tone those notes end up coming off wild. That tricky section from high to low during the pre-chorus was a hit-or-miss for her as well. Sometimes she sounded too strained up high, so she dropped down too low when returning, but kudos for her for correcting it the second time around. Vocally, this is probably one of the best recordings by BoA in a very long time.

interlude #2 = 4 seconds I’ll never get back. =(

Anything you would have thought upon reading the title NEKO LOVE, I ask you to forget it. I guess it’s a bit more upbeat and cutesy than the rest of the songs (relatively speaking), but it’s definitely not bubblegum pop. It’s actually a funky little dance number. I won’t lie though, I don’t love this song (though it surprisingly can get addictive). BoA wrote the lyrics to this song (but one of the ones she didn’t compose). As far as her vocals go, she does accents her phrases nicely, and even her light slightly toneless vocals works well in this case, so it’s not as noticeable. She encounters a problem with singing EVERY phrase with the same diction and intonation though. Recall the comment I made earlier about BoA lacking creativity in her lyrics – it applies here again. As if we needed yet another song that exploits her name as can be heard in the repetitive background lines (repeated to the point that makes me want to vomit) such as, “B. O. A. People know my name”. At least she has some other cute lyrics about cats or something, but she really needs to stop plugging herself. I think that technique is exhausted by now.

I’m not quite sure how THE END soshite and… (album ver.) became longer, because as I recall, it was long enough to begin with (I still wonder why it says “soshite and…” o_O). I’m on the fence with this other BoA composition though. It’s a mix between her endless and/or super repetitive phrases, but has some very nice moments. It isn’t as big of a adlibbing mess as the first track, so it definitely has more structure to the overall song. On the other hand, nice as it can be, it’s quite generic and dull. Actually, it’s nice to hear BoA trying to emote in this song (well, she should because she wrote it), but she didn’t really leave herself much room to grow. The entire song is pretty monotonous (I try to tune out the messy adlibbing, although it is a slight improvement to what I’m used to), and she basically keeps her vocals leveled from beginning to end, adding to the boredom factor.

It’s too bad I think of that unfortunate performance at Billboards Japan whenever Possibility comes on. When I get past that though, it’s easily the best song off of this album (go Nao’ymt, even if you have some weirdo creations). Anyway, I like what was done here for BoA and her duet partner Miura Daichi fits in nicely. They both do very well during their solos, and I even think they brought out the best in one another. I can’t remember the last time I’ve heard BoA sing with so much conviction recently (she did even better here than she did with Mamoritai). She really sings out and it’s noticeable in those parts that she does nail (i.e. the parts in her natural range). I’m a bit bothered by Miura’s harmonization parts, because they’re clearly not in his range adding to the problems with tuning they tend to have when they sing together. The song does become a wail-fest towards the end, and there’s a ton of straining and thinning of their tones in both of their higher registers and when they belt, but luckily, neither moments really last that long (though it does elicit a few cringes from me on occasion). The song overall is sweet, smooth and generally well done, so they do tend to overlook the messier parts of the song.

Fallin’ starts off nicely, and this is BoA’s best effort in terms of composition to date. Every part of this song sounds like there’s a beginning and end to her phrases, which she rarely gets right. I’m quite pleased with the overall product of this track. The vocoder/filter or whatever she’s using is rather distracting. There’s a bit too much of it, though I won’t say the song didn’t need it. Some parts seemed to turn out better because it was present, I’m just not sure majority of the song was enhanced by it. I’m still bothered by her skills as a lyricist though. There’s a definite pattern to how she writes, and it’s not necessarily clever or entertaining to listen to. She’s still going for her excessive repetition of one word or phrase, so while I might have preferred a bit more variety (this applies to all her songs), it didn’t turn out so badly here. She just needs to work on knowing when to cap it so it doesn’t get exhaustive listening to her.

It wasn’t too long ago that I heard another ballad that was full of synthesized accompaniment, oh right, that was track 4. my all is a nice ballad though, and has a certain sweetness to it. I like the amount of emotion BoA is putting into this ballad, even though the composition is painfully generic yet again. Even so, it makes all the difference that she’s singing with emotion even for a not-so-special song, than if she had done it with her usual monotony. I wasn’t fond of the arrangement though, and a simple piano/guitar set would have reduced the cheese factor by about 100 times here. I can’t say much about the track, except that BoA’s singing is pretty well here. Though it’s not something I would listen to often, it’s a sweet way to end the album.

When asked about whether I’m for this album or against it, plain and simple, I’m indifferent. It contained both aspects that I enjoyed, but some of her not-so-glamorous moments were also present in this album. BoA’s first attempt at self-producing wasn’t a total failure. There was definitely some of her own personality shown through most tracks, which is what I’ve been asking her to do year after year. I still don’t think of her as much of an artist to be honest. Some of these tracks really are tasteless, or were subjected to poor arrangement (in the case of some of her compositions). Speaking of her compositions, she’s definitely improving, but they do make up a lot of the weaker tracks which makes me wonder if she should really just leave that sort of thing to composers. “Fallin’” turned out decently and was the only one that sounded like a real song and not a giant mess, but the rest were really borderline or worse. All things considered, I really think she worked hard to produce this, but it didn’t really quite meet expectations. No question, the quality of production came up short. I do appreciate the effort she put forth here, and that’s where I see the biggest improvement. I’d like to see her work on her cleaning up her vocals for the future since her technique isn’t that great and she sounded a bit scratchy throughout. Now that BoA’s proven that she’s capable of actually putting some life into her work (particularly her Jpop work), I hope this was a good learning experience and she continues to put this much effort, if not more, in all her subsequent productions, because even though this album didn’t turn out amazingly, it was still refreshing to hear her deliver a performance for once.

Favourites:
Possibility duet with 三浦大知

alan – 心的東方 July 22, 2009
	1. 天女 2. 愛看得見 3. 飛行誌 4. 細節 5. 加油! 你有ME! feat. Wei Chen 6. 三生世 三生路 7. 明日讚歌 8. 心•战 ~RED CLIFF~ 9. 赤壁 ～大江東去～ 10. Sign 11. 愛就是手

I was eagerly waiting for alan’s first Mandarin studio album after her major debut with Avex, thinking it would be epic and beyond my imagination. I was half correct about that, as it was definitely not what I could imagine. I thought any release in Chinese for alan would be infinitely better than her Japanese material because she could max out her potential musicality in a language she is familiar with. Unfortunately, I quickly realized that it was not meant to be… This album features mostly Chinese versions of her original Japanese releases, and I will be making references to them throughout.

The album starts off with 天女, which is exactly how Voice of Earth began. It was evident that they tried to minimize the Tibetan wailing technique that is a characteristic of alan’s voice with her previous release, so I’m quite happy with the fact that they decided to include this in its original form, as one of alan’s best wails is featured in this song. I particularly enjoy the way each part weaves into one section to the other, and it makes for a nice introduction to the album.

The first full vocal song off of this album is the powerful 愛看得見 (a.k.a. Gunjou no Tani). I have always loved this song for its arrangement and composition. It’s an incredibly moving song, with a continuous driving percussion, sweeping strings and a melody that builds (or maintains) intensity from start to finish. Now anybody who knows me knows that as much as I love this song, I hate the way alan performed it. I found her vocal technique absolutely sloppy throughout, despite the suitable nature of this song to alan’s voice type. I believe this song was written for her specifically (correct me if I’m wrong), but she has all these opportunities to play with the phrasing and colours of her voice to really bring out the character of the song. Instead, she opts to belt as much as she can with her chest voice, which isn’t very successful, and proceeds to fall off every single phrase beyond the first part of the song. She started off very strong, and just spirals downhill from there.

飛行誌 (Sora Uta) turned out so much better than the previous track, and it pleases me. I actually didn’t quite like this song overall when it was first released, but the Chinese version turned out well. alan’s tone of voice is a little heavier than the original and is missing that light lilt that really caught my attention the first time, however, she is very much in control throughout this upbeat number. I thought she did a great job with the interpretation of this song, demonstrating some great musicality.

I’m surprised she alan recorded a Chinese version to more of her B-sides, such as “Kimi omou sora”, or ??. Honestly, the Japanese version is pretty dull and not particularly notable. alan definitely turned that song around for this release, and this is more of what I was expecting from her. She effectively delivers a sweet, musical performance here and convinces me that this song is worth my time.

The first original Chinese song off of this album is a duet with Wei Chen called 加油! 你有ME!. You can expect more typical Cpop music from this track, and true to the title, it’s as much cheese as one should be exposed at a time. It is still enjoyable to some extent, but only in small doses. Wei Chen doesn’t really do anything for me, and in fact, is underwhelming next to alan. alan carries tune with good tone throughout. The song doesn’t really do much to convince me that alan can be a pop star though. She sounds almost bored and unchallenged singing this.

When Voice of Earth left “Sakura MODERN” off the album, I was incredibly disappointed. I thought that song would have fit in perfectly, but that makes me even more appreciative of the presence of its Chinese counterpart, 三生世 三生路. I’ve previously mentioned that alan did a wonderful job with this song. She has superb phrasing the minute she begins to sing and sings with a lot of heart (and not so much chest). She has a beautiful head voice, and uses it to the best of her ability here. Gorgeous song paired with alan’s gorgeous voice – this is how track two should have turned out.

I think everybody anticipated that “Ashita e no sanka” would be one of the first major label Chinese songs alan would release. I have been anticipating this release from early on in alan’s career. alan finally presents us with 明日讚歌, and I have to express my disappointment yet again. I have every reason to believe that this Mandarin version was to be more epic than the Japanese, but alan’s vocals is the exact reason why I cannot stand this song. She struggles with tuning throughout, including being ridiculously flat in the verses and fails to impress me with her lack of control in the choruses where the wails are prominent. alan’s tone is horrible in this version, and it sounds like she’s pushing too hard with her “chest” voice, therefore screwing up the beautiful tone she usually carries in her head voice. An ear piercing rendition of her own song, I suggest all listeners to stay far away from this.

There are so many reasons to skip past the previous track, and one of them being a good Chinese song by our featured vocalist. 心•战 ~RED CLIFF~ is a beautiful, powerful ballad. alan really brought out nuances of this song through the melody. I love the way she builds each phrase and structures them with lovely dynamic contrast. There are moments where it sounds like she’s about to turn out flat again, but she quickly fixes them as she’s singing. The way alan performs the verses is so musical and gorgeous. I could have used just a little bit more from her in the lines leading up to, and including, the chorus. Other than those two minor things, there isn’t much to say about alan’s vocal performance here though. She really mastered this song and I definitely prefer this version of the Japanese because the removal of the wail really put emphasis on the beautiful string interlude towards the end of the song.

I don’t know about anybody else, but I’ve never really liked the intro of 赤壁 ～大江東去～ song for some reason, at least not the fast part. It sounds detached from the rest of the song. It is something I do look over whenever I listen to this though. I personally love the theme to RED CLIFF Pt. II more than the first, particularly this version. (I am one of the people that thought it was dumb that they decided to transpose the song to a lower key for the Japanese release in an attempt to have alan sound more diva.) Back to this song though, alan does a remarkable job with this song. There is no doubt about alan’s strengths as a vocalist, and she really showcases it here. She really shows that she doesn’t need to be singing folk-like Chinese songs to sound amazing. I’m absolutely blown away by her performance here and believe that it is her best to date.

Sign is sung in Tibetan, and is the same track from her Japanese “hitotsu” single. I’m not really sure I like the inclusion of this song for this album and as the second last track to the album. The song feels like it’s more of an interlude, intro or outro due to the repetition. I like the track itself as it is quite unique and has an enigmatic feel to it. The circumstances under which it was used however, doesn’t evoke much emotion from me, and its purpose to this album seems rather pointless.

愛就是手 is one of my favourite songs by alan overall. It doesn’t have her defining vocal wail, it is simply a ballad. That being said, it is one gem that should not be overlooked. I love the composition of this song, and it has one of the sweetest melodies I’ve ever heard. I really think this ballad is truly heartfelt, despite alan sounding a little congested in the recording. Yes, even though I love this ballad, I have a bit of beef with alan’s vocal performance in this version. I’m actually surprised that she delivered the Mandarin version with less musicality in comparison to the Japanese versions. She doesn’t really seem to grasp the moment with this ballad, though I have no doubt in my mind that she’s more than capable of doing so.

I’m really surprised by alan’s debut Chinese album. I was definitely expecting much more from her. Some of the minor issues with Voice of Earth could be passed off as potential language barriers and unfamiliarity, but I don’t think alan really had any excuse as to why this album did not meet expectations. She had basically the same material from her Japanese discography, so quality of songs should not have been a factor. I still alan is an immensely talented musician, she just needs to learn how to translate that talent into good performances and recordings. Avex also needs to stop making her sound like a pop diva because it is not working.

Favourites:
赤壁 ～大江東去～