Music Review: Kagrra, / うたかた (Utakata)

1. うたかた (Utakata) [listen] [watch]
2. 「叫び」 (Sakebi) [watch]
3. あの坂を登れば (Ano Saka wo Noboreba)

CDJapan (Limited A / Limited B / Normal) / YesAsia (Limited A / Limited B / Normal)

1. うたかた / Oh, wow. I will say this right now, this is Kagrra,'s best song ever. If I ever have to introduce a potential new fan to Kagrra, and am only allowed one song, Utakata will be the one I pick. I'm convinced that if this track alone can't move you, nothing else Kagrra, produces ever will, for Utakata is the penultimate representation of the band's neo japanesque repertoire. This stunning piece of work entrances and delights the ears and enraptures the heart. It touches that deepest part of my soul and makes me weep at the song's sheer beauty. Really, it's rare for a song to move me to tears like this. Maybe this is what paradise is like. Izumi had written in his diary entry a while ago that this song embodies the beauty, tradition, mystery, and exoticism of Japan from foreigners' eyes. Is Japan paradise? ♥♥♥

2. 「叫び」 / 3. あの坂を登れば / I feel bad lumping the rest of the tracks together. But after Utakata, I don't think I can enjoy any other song to the same degree for a while (I must be bewitched!). Everything else pales and seems unimportant in comparison. If I hadn't been exposed to Utakata, I would still have ranked these two tracks near, if not at the top of my all time favorites list. These are marvelous, solid works in their own right. They're classic Kagrra, songs characterized by pleasing melody, soothing vocals, and that touch of sparkle. Ano Saka wo Noboreba (track 3) is a lighthearted and delightful piece that brightens any day, while Sakebi (track 2) is heavier, rockier, but still upbeat and cheerful. Great, great songs, both of them. ♥

For the first time ever, I'm seriously considering buying all 3 versions of a single. Even if I end up paying almost $50 for only 3 songs and 2 PVs, this really seems worth it. Oh, beloved Kagrra,, look what you make me do.

Rating: Fantastic+

Music Review: ガゼット(the GazettE) / Filth in the beauty

1. Filth in the beauty [watch]
2. Rich Excrement
3. Crucify Sorrow

CDJapan (Optical / Auditory) / HMV (Optical / Auditory) / YesAsia (Optical / Auditory)

1. Filth in the beauty / I've already goshed over this song so much back when the PV first came out that now I'm at a loss as to what to say. Yes, the brilliant fusion of R&B and hard rock kicks ass from Thailand and back (actually, it's probably from Japan and back). The female vocal enhances the song and gives it that extra "omph". Ruki sings in English throughout most of the track, but of course, no one can even tell what he's saying. :D Nevertheless, Filth in the beauty rocks hard and has become one of my favorite Gazette songs of all time. (Someone had suggested that this song is about incest between father and daughter. All I can say to that is: f**king hell!) ♥

2. Rich Excrement / I've already made fun of the song title in a previous post, so let's just skip that part. A street-punk rock song in which Ruki raps through the entire track, Rich Excrement reminds me of previous works like Maximum impulse and Maggots. The track features the same type of call-and-response found in Gazette power songs: Ruki growls out lyrics and the rest of the band roars back in answer. This is a phenomenonal headbanger and will be another hit live song, I can already see it.

3. Crucify Sorrow / I really looked forward to hearing this song in full after listening to the preview. I'm glad to say, it doesn't disappoint. This track is designed to showcase Ruki's rich, dynamic voice. Ruki finally sings instead of screaming and yelling into his microphone and I applaud. For some reason, the bridge section tends to be my favorite part when it comes to Gazette, and this is another one of those songs. Ruki sounds simply exceptional. ♥

Rating: Fantastic

Music Review: アリス九號. / ブループラネット (alice nine. / Blue Planet)

Either due to the bad quality of the original mp3 (128kbps at iTunes Japan), or Shou sounding like he forgot his vocal training over the past year, I can't say I love this song. I dislike the synthesized vocal effect and feel that it just cheapens the production. Honestly, what happened to the magic of alice nine.'s Zekkeishoku album? The two post-Zekkeishoku singles NUMBER SIX. and Blue Planet are mediocre compared to a lot of songs on their full-length album released earlier this year. While this song is quite decent, it can't hold a candle to their early 2006 releases. I think I've begun to hold alice nine. to higher standards. I feel let down.

Rating: Tolerable-Good

Music Review: Ken / Speed

1. Speed [watch]
2. Empty Rooms
3. The Shadow Of Your Smile
4. Speed(karaoke)

CDJapan (w. DVD / CD) / HMV (w. DVD / CD) / YesAsia (w. DVD / CD)

1. Speed / I cannot get over how jarring Ken's singing is in this track. No matter how many times I listen to the song, I just can't adjust to his voice. I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but he sounds off key in many places. As a result, the melody is so unfortunately damaged that I honestly cannot like the song. It's a shame.

2. Empty Rooms / I believe most (if not all) of this song is sung in English, though I can't really understand the lyrics due to Ken's pronunciation. Whenever he sang "empty rooms", I thought he had said "Aunty Ruth" instead. O_o But other than the heavily accented English, this is a great mellow song. It's melodious, soothing and reminds me of smooth jazz music (I love smooth jazz), but is synthetic. This time, I have nothing to complain about Ken's singing. His voice is appropriately fitting. ♥

3. The Shadow Of Your Smile / 4. Speed(karaoke) / Track 3 is a short instrumental piece and features a trancy, New Age-like guitar sound. It is strangely hypnotizing. Track 4 is the karaoke version of Speed. I like it a lot better than the vocal version. I'm sorry Ken, you really sounded awful in that song.

Other than that strangely off key song, Speed, this is a quite nice single. Ken isn't as good as the other L'Arc~en~Ciel individual projects such as HYDE or Creature Creature (yet). But there's definitely great potential.

Rating: Good

Music Review: ガゼット (the GazettE) / NIL

1. THE END
2. Nausea & Shudder
3. Bath Room
4. Maggots
5. 生暖かい雨とざらついた情熱 (Namaatatakai Ame Tozaratsuita Jounetsu)
6. D.L.N
7. SHADOW VI II I [watch]
8. バレッタ (Beretta)
9. Cassis [watch]
10. SILLY GOD DISCO [watch]
11. DISCHARGE
12. 体温 (Taion) [watch]

CDJapan (Limited / Normal) / HMV (Normal: Germany / Japan) / YesAsia (Limited / Normal)

1. THE END / The first track of the album, and it's named "the end"? How interesting. This is more of an instrumental piece that sets the mood for the album (I wouldn't call what Ruki and the rest of the band do singing, in the strictest sense). Dark, mysterious, and very catchy.

2. Nausea & Shudder / This is a heavy song with pretty hard instrumentals yet a great melody. Here, you get the first taste of Ruki's vocal improvement since Gazette's last album, Disorder. If you haven't been following their 2005 singles releases, you might be caught off guard by the vast difference of Ruki's singing. His voice is richer, more powerful, and more dynamic. In this song, he sounds so passionate and has beyond met my expectations. ♥

3. Bath Room / Ahh, this song has an awesome beginning. Once again, it's a relatively heavy piece. I think my favorite part is right after the guitar solo. Ruki restrains his vocals most of time during this track but breaks into intense full voice singing that truly enhances the climax of the song. Solid work.

4. Maggots / Wah, a head banging heavy metal song! I think metal fans can probably appreciate this track better than I can. This song is so very masculine, which reminds me once again that despite the band's beautiful appearance, these are men. Heavy instrumentals, heavy chanting, very hardcore.

5. 生暖かい雨とざらついた情熱 / I think my jaw dropped when I first heard this track. It... sounds like... SWING?! Had I been a better swing dancer (or at least more agile on my feet, because trust me, this song requires serious footwork), I'd break out into a dance to this song. I am so pleasantly surprised by this new style. It really showcases the fun side of the band and shows its willingness to experiment. Bloody cool!

6. D.L.N / Oooh, a ballad! My gosh, the chorus part is absolutely beautiful. The children's voices really complement and enhance Ruki's singing. He puts so much passion, so much fire into his performance. This is a song that tugs on my heartstrings and really makes me feel. Simply fantastic. ♥

7. SHADOW VI II I / Holy crap, this song has an awesome bass line, wow! I normally don't pay as much attention to bass lines because they often don't stand out, but man, it's hard to ignore this one! Reita does amazing work on his bass and really makes this track unique. This is once again a swing-like, completely danceable song. But this suddenly changes about 2/3 through the track (the bridge), the tempo shifts and what the... this song is now funk?! Then just as quickly, it returns to the original swing beat and left me sitting there blinking. This is some serious experimentation. I love it! ♥

8. バレッタ / This is a semi-ballad song, semi, because I think the beat is too fast throughout for it to be a true ballad. This particular track doesn't really stand out for me. It's very nice and might work better had it been a single or even the B-side to a single. But in an album, it gets overshadowed (probably because it's sandwiched between two of my favorite tracks). Meh.

9. Cassis / Nice, another beautiful ballad. The guitar solos featuring Uruha and Aoi freaking kick ass. After seeing the PV, I realized that Ruki plays the guitar too in this song. He even gets a mini guitar solo right after Uruha's solo (well, kind of)! This song once again characterizes my favorite aspect of Ruki's vocals, the rich timbre and the impassioned singing. ♥

10. SILLY GOD DISCO / I really should have seen this coming, since clues have been dropping with 生暖かい雨とざらついた情熱 and SHADOW VI II I, but I was still caught off guard when this track came on. I think I must have jumped off my chair and started leaping about the room. *sweatdrop* Gazette + funky disco = holy crap, this song is too awesome for words. This is such a fun, wacky, wicked piece! Very very sexy, it's just... argh! Too bloody brilliant. Ruki's English is awful and I can't understand a word, but who cares?! ♥

11. DISCHARGE / Hehe, another heavy metal track. This would be a great piece to play during lives because it'd really get the crowd worked up. I can already imagine the headbanging and roaring. The fangirls are going to go wild.

12. 体温 / This is such a dark and harsh song. By harsh, I'm not just talking about the heavy instrumentals, but really mean the emotion conveyed through this piece. It feels so naked and raw, liking stripping away the outer layer and finding what's underneath bleeding and screaming for release. This song really really moves and resonates within me. This is probably the most emotionally powerful song and a wonderful end to this masterpiece album. ♥

Yes, I think this is Gazette's best work so far. Ruki's amazing vocal improvement truly stands out. It's worth every yen of the ¥3600 (actually, it's more than that since I have to pay for shipping).

Rating: Fantastic

Music Review: Kra / 星空列車の汽笛を聞きながら (Hoshizora Ressha no Kiteki wo Kikinagara)

1. 時の列車 (Toki no Ressha) [watch]

2. 街の灯 (Machi no Hi)
3. ﾀﾞｲｱﾘｰ (Diary)
4. 行方知れぬ時 (Yukue Shirenu Toki)
5. 天の川逃避行 (Ama no Gawa Touhikou)

CDJapan / HMV / YesAsia

1. 時の列車 / The melody is absolutely beautiful. The arrangement sounds simple, yet perfectly suitable. Just as I was getting into the track, however, Keiyuu started singing. Keiyuu's voice is dull. It also lacks the finesse and clarity of tone needed to pull this one off. I'm not saying his vocals is bad, just entirely average and therefore uninteresting. This song might have become one of my all-time favorites if only it was done by a better vocalist. Though, I'd like to see Toki no Ressha arranged into an orchestral piece. I'm certain it'd sound freaking amazing. ♥

2. 街の灯 / This is a quite pretty jazz-influenced track. Yet once again, I'm not taken with Keiyuu's vocals. It's entirely too restrained. He needs to sing with a fuller voice and not hold back.

3. ﾀﾞｲｱﾘｰ / 4. 行方知れぬ時 / 5. 天の川逃避行 / See my comments above about the vocals. All of these songs suffer from the same problem. I'm not going to bother typing it out again. I also feel that these songs lack harmonic complexity, as if the band's cutting corners when putting the music together. While it was okay with Toki no Ressha because the gorgeous melody made up for the arrangement simplicity, this simplicity is a defect in these songs.

It's a shame. This otherwise promising mini album is held back by the mediocre vocals. There's a lot of room for arrangement improvement, too. I'm considering not touching Kra's releases again until either Keiyuu improves his singing or the group gets a new vocalist. However, that wouldn't be fair. So instead, I'll give them more chances in the future.

Rating: Tolerable

PV Review: シド / 御手紙 (SID / Otegami)

The setting for this PV is a brothel! My god, scandalous! (Just kidding!)

First of all, let's talk about the music. This is the first time I've heard "Otegami" (the single comes out on the 16th) and I have to say, I'm impressed. The fusion of traditional Japanese melody and Western rock delivery successfully lends the song an aura of exoticism and it sounds even, shall we say... alluring? The music is sweet, coaxing, and seductive. Mao's caressing voice pleasures the ears and touches the inner heart. Definitely another of my SID favorites, I'm very pleased with "Otegami".

The video itself is almost perfect. The red-on-black color scheme and lighting are oh-so-gorgeous. The band members' wardrobe in this PV is tasteful and stylish (okay, maybe except for Mao's pants). [fangirling] Aki, especially, looks amazing. I nearly expired when he licked his finger near the end. Ahh, how you tempt me. [/fangirling]

What's not good in this video, however, is the courtesan (aka that girl with opaque eyes in the kimono). I don't in fact mind her presence, but when she sticks out her tongue, her eyes become mere slits. The image momentarily reminds me of a suicide victim who hanged herself. She'd look a lot more seductive if she'd just sit still and look delicate and NOT make her eyes into slits while sticking out her tongue and/or taking off her kimono.

Rating: Fantastic