BENI – Lovebox June 2, 2010
	1. Lovebox Intro 2. Yura Yura (ユラユラ) 3. Sign (サイン) 4. Hitomi Tojite (瞳とじて) 5. Gimme Gimme♥ (ギミギミ♥) 6. Girl’s Night feat. JAMOSA 7. a million jewels 8. Kimi Ja Nakya (君じゃなきゃ) 9. bye bye 10. MOVE 11. break the rules 12. he is mine 13. My Friend (マイ・フレンド) 14. Message 15. Zutto Futari de unplugged version (ずっと二人で)

I’m very behind on these releases! Sorry, guys! Anyways, it’s BENI. She’s been on the LW layout since this album came out. She pretty much needs no introduction at this point in time, and I partially don’t feel like introducing her XD.

Like in Bitter & Sweet, Lovebox has another introduction. The introduction for this album is has a bit of a childish tone to it with the giggling sounds in the background, while the music itself is a very chill, laid-back opening with a nice constant beat. It’s a cute little tune.

The album opens with one of her prereleased tracks, ユラユラ. It has a very typical BENI sound, but it’s still an enjoyable track even if it’s very generic-sounding for it. The song is her usual mid-tempo stuff with a safe melody and enjoyable singing from BENI. Regardless, I still enjoy this track with the constant bass progressions going on in the background of the track, and the fun melody of the song. I quite like the bright, almost “sparkly” arrangement of the song with the piano in the background.

I have a bit of a bias towards Sign since it’s actually available at the karaoke place I usually go to, and I always sing it :P. I had a bit of a indifference to this song when it was first released, but I noted BENI’s improved tone and lovely phrasing at the beginning of this track. Her voice flows really nicely into the verse and she shows a nice control of the lower notes in the verse. I really enjoy the kind of ethereal, repeated piano line in the background of this song. This is entirely a tone piece for BENI, and she performs with a lot of musicality throughout the piece.

瞳とじて is the first new song off the album, and I can’t say that I either like or dislike it. The opening is a little awkward-sounding with the rest of the song as the song itself is very laid-back and smooth, while the opening lines are much more forced and doesn’t really introduce the song very well, although structurally, there’s nothing really wrong with it. The chorus stands out much better within the verses as the transition isn’t quite as unsettling, but I have never really enjoyed the opening of this song. In terms of sound, it’s pretty much the same-old BENI sound. She sounds nice but this particular sound is already getting kind of old.

Coupled with ユラユラ, ギミギミ❤ was the other song and the track I liked a bit better out of the track songs. It has her standard sound with the kind of “sparkly” production with the electronic sounds mixed with bell-like sounds from the percussions. In particular, I enjoy some of the harmonies and the unison singing of her voice in the song. I also enjoy the counting in the verses and BENI’s performance of the song complements the track well.

Although Girl’s Night is another mid-tempo track with the usual electronic stylings, it features another vocalist, JAMOSA. I like how well the dialogue fits into the introduction of the songs. It’s nice to have a song that isn’t as laid-back as this song has a stronger bass line and beats supporting the two singers. BENI sounds her usual self and JAMOSA has an interesting nasally, almost childish quality to her voice which isn’t really that bad but takes a little getting used to especially since it constrasts a lot with BENI’s smoother tone. Despite this, both of them handle the energy of the track well and they build on each others’ voices and neither of them really overpower the other. It’s a nice balance between both their voices although BENI is the better technical singer of the two.

And we’re back to our usual scheduled mid-tempo stuff. a million jewels has a slightly different accompaniment sound in the background and sounds a tinge bit darker because of the sounds they add to background, but the overall feel is still the same as pretty much a lot of the songs on the album so far. BENI’s voice is nice as usual, but doesn’t really have the same kind of energy as it usually does. The vocal end up sounding a bit too bored for my liking and as a result, the song just sounds really dull and flat. Next, please.

Yay, another ballad. 君じゃなきゃ uses strings and piano and lots of typical R&B snapping. BENI’s voice is a lot more subdued than it usually is in this song and sometimes doesn’t really fit into the arrangement as well as it could. As a result, I really don’t feel like this song connects very well with me because of what I feel is a slight disconnect between the way the instrumentals are played and how BENI sings the song. To be quite honest, I’m bored out of my mind.

bye bye is yet another single from BENI. I remember so many BENI fans raving about this song when it first came out, but in the context of this album, it really doesn’t seem to stand out that much for me in terms of its sound. I still enjoy the chorus and how BENI accents the title of the song nicely. Otherwise, the arrangement is pretty much the same old, same old.

Do we actually get something a bit different? MOVE is the more upbeat, aggressive song of the album and has a darker sound with the arrangement and BENI’s slightly more aggressive singing. The arrangement itself feels a bit too subdued at times — it would have been better with a stronger bass and BENI singing a bit less smooth and more accented. As a result, the song sounds a bit too tame for my tastes. I do enjoy parts of the chorus, especially with the plethora of english lines everyone. I think she does okay with the “left side, right side” bit of the lyrics.

I find it hilarious that they set up another different song for this album. break the rules continues with the stronger, more aggressive sound. I actually quite like the stronger percussion beats and synthesizers in this song, especially in the verses where it’s mostly the percussion and BENI’s voice ringing over the accompaniment. The synthesizers and strings get a bit too messy in the chorus, and we get a massive WALL OF SOUND, none of which actually add to the aggressive sound of the song. I’m kind of on the fence on this one.

Seriously, what is that weird noise in the background of the beats in he is mine? Really distracting. Anyways, that aside, the song is another mid-tempo ballad. I quite like the arpeggio piano line that supports the song, and BENI’s subdued singing works this time for this song and builds the more ethereal sound of this song. Some of her phrasing is a bit too linear at times, especially with the choppiness of some of the repeated notes in the melody line which end up a bit too bland. Still, a nice attempt, although the result ends up being a bit more on the bland side.

Although マイ・フレンド is another mid-tempo track, it was nice to get a bit more of an acoustic feel to this song with the guitar and the nice drum accompaniment. This isn’t her usual laid-back stuff, but it has more of a brighter, cheerful feel to it. I particularly like how she sings the “I’ll be there” line. There are a few notes in the chorus which don’t quite hit the right pitch and I particularly find a bit distracting as she kind of half-hits them (and sounding a bit lazy in the process), but otherwise, I quite like the sound of this song.

The final song (not including the bonus track) is Message, a nice piano R&B ballad from BENI. Her phrasing here is much nicer and she makes a better attempt with the dynamics and different nuances of her voice to create a much better musical presentation than she did with 君じゃなきゃ. Overall, I’m really quite pleased with her vocal presentation both sylistically and in terms of her overall tone and sound. The arrangement itself is pretty standard, but what makes this song is the sincerity of BENI’s performance.

ずっと二人で (unplugged version) (the bonus track of the album) was probably the track I was most looking forward to on the album, especially since I’m a bit fan of unplugged and acoustic versions of songs. Unfortunately, the actual result of the song is a bit mixed. I was even a bit shocked at how many people didn’t hear what I heard that I had to double-check with Tsuki to make sure I wasn’t going crazy. Before I get into that, the arrangement of this track stunning. Absolutely stunning. The opening piano and strings just take my heart away and BENI’s tone is absolutely gorgeous and fits so well with the arrangement of the song. Out of the all the songs she’s done on this album so far, BENI’s tone is the best on this album. Now for the thing that urked me so much about this version: BENI’s pitch. The tempo at which BENI is singing just highlights BENI’s shaky pitch throughout this whole track. She basically goes from on-pitch, to flat, to on-pitch, to sharp over and over again and I can really tell she at least trying to keep her voice on pitch in the song. Granted, considering the tempo, it’s rather difficult to keep it in tune all the time, but it’s kind of annoying when she’s in-tune and randomly slides out of tune over and over again.

I can’t say that I liked Lovebox as much as I liked Bitter&Sweet. BENI’s singing ability has improved slightly, especially in terms of her tone throughout some of the songs on the album, but this particular album has far too many similar-sounding mid-tempo R&B tracks, none of which really stood out to me. The upbeat, aggressive tracks were, for the most part, mediocre in my opinion and really it was the ballads that made more of an impression on me this time around, especially with her delivery of both サイン and Message. The album isn’t by any means bad; it just doesn’t really go anywhere new or do anything that much better than what she had on her first album. I still love BENI, but this album never fails to put me to sleep every time I try to listen to it the whole way through. It’s all nice, cute, pleasant, same-sounding and all too safe.

Favourites:
Message

BENI – Bitter & Sweet September 2, 2009
	1. Bitter & Sweet Intro 2. Kiss Kiss Kiss 3. Zutto Futari de (ずっと二人で) 4. Koi Kogarete (恋焦がれて) 5. Dakishimete feat. Dohzi-T (抱きしめて) 6. Anything Goes!! 7. stardust 8. KIRA☆KIRA☆ 9. GO ON 10. Shinjisasete (信じさせて) 11. STAY 12. nice & slow 13. Beautiful World 14. Mou Nido to… (もう二度と…) 15. Kiss Kiss Kiss (DJ HASEBE REMIX)

This is originally supposed to be reviewed by Tsuki because she won a coin flip. I am stealing it. Hi Tsuki! That said, most of BENI’s Avex material was horrible. I could barely sit through her first two albums, while the third one was passable but mostly boring. Ever since she’s moved to Universal, I immediately noted her big improvement from what I heard from the debut and gradual improvement from the third album. This fourth album finally places BENI in a position where she’s actually worth listening to, despite still needing improvements musically and vocally.

The intro to Bitter & Sweet is a nice one and not totally useless when it comes to introducing the album to the midtempo R&B style of the album. It’s nice, and is done around some kind of stormy sounds going on in the background while BENI sings over the background vocals. It’s nice and it does its job.

I’m still a rather big fan of Kiss Kiss Kiss. Despite numerous comments about how this track sounds like whatever other R&B track (which can be said about a lot of the songs on this album), I personally find it a rather addictive midtempo song. It’s pleasant with a kind of smooth melody and a nice piano accompaniment over a heavy beat and snapping in the background. BENI’s tone is quite gorgeous on this track, despite it not being a particularly challenging track melodically for her. Nevertheless, she pulls off the song very well and she inserts quite a bit of energy and emotion to what she sings on this track. Her phrasing in the verses is nice and consistent and this smooth phrasing contrasts well with the choppier rhythms of the chorus. Her singing is quite fitting for this song.

I’m not quite as fond of ずっと二人で since it was the single that appeared after a slew of midtempos and ballads for ballads. It really doesn’t stand out as a song on the album, and I still wonder why it was even a single to begin with. That said, it’s not a terrible song either; it just doesn’t stand out very much. The first thing I thought when I listened to this track was that it was total song to show off her “tone”. This track is even less challenging than the previous track. The range is pretty limited and the tempo of the track is pretty slow. Nevertheless, BENI shows off her improved tone and improved control on this track. Musically, this isn’t the most interesting track, but it does show that BENI has improved technically and emotionally on her vocals. She pulls it off beautifully, despite how bland the actual song is.

Universal really went all out when they decided to stack three of BENI’s singles together at the beginning. Seriously. In any case, 恋焦がれて is yet another midtempo track. This one has a stronger usage of the acoustic guitar and a more frequent beat in the background. It’s nice track like the rest of the bunch. This one has a bit of a dreamy quality, especially with the added background vocals in the chorus. I wasn’t really a big fan of this track when it first came out, but I enjoy it enough to listen to it all the way through.

抱きしめて Feat. 童子-T is the first new track off the album, and it’s more of a laid-back midtempo track with a nice bass beat that keeps the song going forward. Again, BENI sings well and bit more in a lighter manner for this particular song. I find the melody quite catchy despite the track being rather laid-back. I also find it amusing that Dohzi-T randomly interjects throughout the song with random grunts. Seriously, what. And his rapping is terrible and monotone. He sounds like he’s half awake and adds absolutely nothing to the track. He could be replaced by a grunting monkey and I wouldn’t know the difference (err assuming the monkey can speak Japanese).

What is this? An upbeat track? Anything Goes!! uses heavy synthesizer beats over a more emphatic melody for this next track. This track is a less smooth and exercises BENI’s ability to accent consecutive short notes, which she does quite well in the chorus. She still has a bit of a habit of making the melody a bit too smooth at points where it could really use a bit more punch. However, she handles this track well vocally. The melody is pretty addictive, although she does get a bit drowned out by the accompanying music and the random chanting in the background. Who is this guy who keeps yelling?

Hello to second upbeat track in a row. stardust is the track that everyone seems to love. I’m a little less enthusiastic, but I still like it. It has a nice mix of electronic elements and R&B elements. I find that BENI’s voice can be a little bit too light at points of this song where she could have sounded a whole like enthusiastic if she didn’t sound like she was avoiding any prospect of belting. Nevertheless she sounds nice, although her voice can feel really thin at times and some of the effects put on her voice really don’t help her in this case. The song itself is really quite catchy, and I like the little answer and reply before the chorus kicks in. She does a good job with the rhythms in the chorus, although again, her voice is a little too light for the beat-oriented track.

Why was KIRA☆KIRA☆ a recut track again? This is another example of her midtempo tracks off this album. Rinse and repeat formula with slight variations. In any case, it’s still a nice song but not very memorable. She has that same kind of light voice (and effects, sheesh) as she did on stardust, which suits this track a bit more, but it makes her voice a little thin in the chorus. She does sing this track well and she sounds nice despite the song being really repetitive. The melody is pleasant and enjoyable and she does a good job not making the song absolutely dull, which seems to be the case for the majority of the tracks on this album.

You know what’s next? Another midtempo R&B track. Like just about very other midtempo R&B track, it’s a pleasant song. It has more of a focus on a heavy electronic backing with a soft piano and acoustic guitar backing. A constant beat occurs under BENI’s nice vocals. Again, the verses are smooth while the chorus brings in a slight more frantic melody as BENI repeats the title of the track over and over again.

What on earth is that sound at the beginning of 信じさせて? And I don’t mean the piano. Anyway, the sound is kind of annoying, but we get another smooth ballad for her. The sound is really, really distracting though. However, again, BENI’s voice sounds nice, although her performance here is a little more bland and linear than I would have liked from her at this stage. Her voice sounds nice, but a little more variety would be nice. I do hear her trying to add a bit more emotion on this track although in how she does some of the ends of her phrasing and there is some hint of a flow in how she does these phrases. Still, not a very interesting song.

The title of nice & slow pretty much sums up this track. It’s nice. And it’s slow. Obviously the title isn’t talking about the nature of the song, but rather BENI’s attempt at sexing it up on the album without being skanky and it works well enough. There’s a whole bunch of electronic stuff running around in the song. It’s a nice track (oh wait, I already said that) but really not one of my favourite tracks off the album nor is it one that stands out that much for me despite it being her ~sexy~ track on the album and it sometimes puts me to sleep. Ho hum, next.

STAY is next, and it’s another midtempo. Yup. It’s pretty catchy though, and it was one of my early favourites off her singles. Not even the random dude yelling “HEYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!” in the background can distract me to liking this track. BENI’s vocals are nice and the melody “stays” in my mind (Oh hur hur).

I pretty much agree with everyone that Beautiful World is the best track off the album. For one, it actually sounds different from the rest of the songs off the album with some random dude singing. Next, it’s absolutely beautiful and pulls out a bit more belting from BENI. I adore the atmosphere of this track as it has a bit more of a ethereal, dreamy quality to it, while BENI’s singing sounds really nice with the echoes and the male background vocalist. This is one of those moments where even though BENI doesn’t have a strong belting voice, her belting actually works for the song to add a bit more of a dramatic effect to the song. Beautiful track.

もう二度と… is still my favourite ballad out of her first era. It brings out BENI’s improved singing and really shows how much she’s improved since she’s started off. Her tone is beautifully supported and she displays emotion really well through her light voice at the beginning and nice vibrato. Her voice is controlled and soars through the track almost effortlessly. Granted, she’s still improved vocally since this track, she still sounds really nice on this simple ballad, which demonstrates her ability to emote on a simple melody.

I really don’t mind BENI’s remixes. The final track, Kiss Kiss Kiss (DJ HASEBE REMIX) is a cheery remix of the single with acoustic guitar and an addictive bass line. The drums are far more frequent, although the melody itself hasn’t changed, the song sounds a lot more upbeat for this version. It’s a nice remix, though, and I really don’t see a lot of problems with it.

Bitter & Sweet demonstrates BENI’s consistent performance on all the material given to her. Despite a bit of the nitpicking I had with her voice at times, I must really say that she’s really improved from her earlier days. The album itself is nowhere close to being groundbreaking in any way and lacks variety in the overall sound of her music; however, it is a solid, consistent piece of work both musically and vocally. Unfortunately, this may cause her not to stand out that much because her music doesn’t really pop out, but her work is pleasant to listen to and the tone of her voice is quite pretty. Her ability to emote has improved and this ability is displayed through the simplicity of a lot of these tracks. Although the music isn’t complex and doesn’t change much, her singing is what keeps a lot of these tracks interesting and as a result, the album is enjoyable.

Favourites:
Beautiful World