alan – my life November 20, 2009

Track Listing

1. reflection ~overture~
2. Swear
3. One
4. Mitsumeteitai
5. Namida (Smooth Jam Mix)
6. Lost Child
7. Butterflies
8. Essence of me
9. Call my name
10. Shiroi Tsubasa
11. Nobody knows but me
12. BALLAD ~Namonaki Koi no Uta~
13. Kuon no Kawa
14. my life

1. reflection ~overture~

Of course, we open up alan’s sophomore album with Reflection which serves just like “Tennyo” of her last album did.  I actually liked the smooth opening that leads into this futuristic arrangement and alan’s filtered vocals.  It’s actually quite awesome, but it ended way too quickly for me and I really wanted more out of this track.

2. Swear

As the era’s final A-side, Swear has had a little change since the single.  Instead of alan instantly coming in with vocals at the first second, the song has a small fade in before alan’s opening.  Now Swear was different as to previous singles because it was more mainstream pop.  Like I said in the review, it’s a refreshing song after all those ballads, still it’s alright.

3. One

Then we start going downhill on this album starting with ONE.  The arrangement feels like something I’ve heard before by a different artist.  alan sounds alright in the album, but the music feels too simple and rather bland to me.  Especially when we all know she’s done way better on her ballads.  I think the only redeeming quality is the nice bass in the song, besides that, it’s not too memorable.

4. Mitsumeteitai

Then we lead ourselves into another ballad track in Mitsumeteitai which begins with a repetitive piano line.  Once again, I’m feeling really bored with this track because it’s so barebones in it’s piano-only arrangement.  After a while an acoustic guitar is thrown in to “try” to make it actually better.  After a while, she actually becomes really nice with her singing those high notes (not the wail).  Ok, so it’s a song that you’ll have to listen to to really get the full experience.

5. Namida (Smooth Jam Mix)

Do you remember Namida,  the b-side from “Megumi no Ame”?  Well, I hardly remembered the original since I basically disliked that entire single.  Now, it actually has a beat, but it’s still layered in balladness.  There’s a little more to it than meets the eye, but I’m not sure if it’s better than the original.

6. Lost Child

So we start picking things up after Namida and enter into a more R&B type setting.  I think alan has found her niche in this style because she’s kind of nice here, but I wished they did more to the song to make it pop up because I’m oddly getting tired of hearing piano on this album.  Still it’s oddly the best track I’ve heard on the album so far.

7. Butterflies

I really like this harp that opened up Butterflies, but as we get into the song if feels like a more cheap version of “Sora Uta” which everyone knows is one of my favorite alan songs.  While it does sound very boring in the verses, she picks up in the bridges because she sings out actually.  Though the the way she sung to get to the chorus was pretty horrible.  Meh.

8. Essence of me

I was really surprised at the change of moods as we went from “Butterflies” to this track.  There’s a nice club feel in the song which added in with the synths and beats.  Sadly, alan is heavily shut out in the song during the verses because of the vocal warping happening here.  It’s so abstract and different from alan that I can’t help but not my head to the song.  It feels like an Ayu remix of all things, except there’s a little bit of wailing (which is the first I’ve heard it on the album).

9. Call my name

Continuing on with this new found liking towards dance/club music Call my name is probably my favorite new track off this album.  It’s exciting and alan is singing really good here.  I’m also noticing the BKGD vocalists here and it’s new, but they’ve been present in some of the other tracks on here.  It’s different and I kind of like it.

10. Shiroi Tsubasa

Thank god the song calmed itself down before entering Shiroi Tsubasa which is yes, another ballad.  More specific, an acoustic ballad.  At least these kind of songs are nice with alan, unlike misono (take notes avex).  Still, I’m not finding the spark that would make this any better than “Liberty” or anything.  Can we say redundant?

11. Nobody knows but me

The only other song on the album that features alan’s signature wail, this was even worse to listen to.  I’m happy that she finally brought out the vocal prowess, but the empty song was a poor choice to give it to.  Another passable track….what’s wrong with alan this time around?

12. BALLAD ~Namonaki Koi no Uta~

It’s unfortunate that one of the better ballads off the album is one that’s simply called BALLAD.  There’s also wailing in this track too and it’s a whole lot better than the last bunch of them.  It’s still maybe a little too simple to be memorable like “RED CLIFF” or “Ashite e no Sanka”, but I think this was a pretty nice song.

13. Kuon no Kawa

Honestly, she should’ve waited a little longer on “Voice of EARTH’s” release because it’s the album best track.  It sounds so different and epic just kind of like “RED CLIFF” was.  It feels like a great song that could tie-in to any Final Fantasy game IMO.  Amazing song for sure!

14. my life

Ending off the album, is the title track my life.  I am so fucking tired of all the ballads on this album that I just want to shoot the director/producer of the album.  Luckily, my life is at least keeps me interested from the start tot the end.  If she had released this as a single, it would’ve been taken really well. 

Tracks Recommended

• Kuon no Kawa
• Essence of me
• Reflection ~overture~

First things first, my life SUCKS when compared to “Voice of EARTH” (which was released earlier this year).  I’m shocked at how this album is so bland and boring after such an amazing debut.  Kuon no Kawa really doesn’t deserve such a punishment like this.  There are little things that really make this listenable like the dance tracks that are on here, but seriously…cut back on the ballads and drop the producer alan, he sucks!

NEWS – color November 20, 2009

Track Listing

1. weeeek
2. STARDUST
3. SUMMER TIME
4. SNOW EXPRESS
5. Forever
6. MOLA
7. Kesenai
8. ordinary
9. Minna ga Iru Sekai wo Hitotsu ni Ai wo Motto Give & Take Shimashou
10. Murarisuto
11. Taiyou no Namida
12. Smile Maker
13. Happy Birthday
14. FLY AGAIN
15. Towairo no Koi (Regular edition only)

1. weeeek

I guess it was appropriate that the guys would begin their 3rd album off with their first single.  I was told that it was written by the boys of GReeeeN and it shows with the synths and poppish sounds that came with the song.  The song though sounds like something to just sing along with the guys of the group and the verses include rapping by the members.  Now, me being a Johnny’s virgin do not approve of this method and a few of the guys have some issues singing.  I can’t saw this is their strong track, but it’s ok.

2. STARDUST

I was surprised that STARDUST was more of a rock track than that synth fest of the last song.  While boybands kind of suffer during rock tracks because the boys don’t play instruments, I can actually say they make it sound right, but there’s something missing here and I can’t nitpick it out.  It sounds like something that Porno Graffitti would release, but with more guys.  It’s quite cool.

3. SUMMER TIME

Released as the era’s 3rd A-side, SUMMER TIME feels like a rejected AAA song to me.  I mean it reminds me exactly of their summer tunes and in the most wrong ways.  The only differences is that there’s no females here so it makes it a little more different right?  It’s a pretty cheesy summer tune so I’ll just pass this over.

4. SNOW EXPRESS

Wait we go from summer to winter like that?  Where’s my Autumn song?  Instead of taking the more cheesier route for a typical winter track, SNOW EXPRESS is actually quite nice mixing acoustic guitar and dance beats and the rapping isn’t totally wacky here either.  It’s right now my favorite track off this album.

5. Forever

Acting as the album’s first ballad.  I’ll admit their vocals aren’t as amazing together like Tohoshinki’s are, but given where they are on labels, this is pretty passable.  The arrangement is also a little typical with R&B and acoustic guitar….it’s been done many times before.

6. MOLA

What in heaven’s name is a MOLA?  I can’t really think about it because well one of the members enters the song under some kind of vocal thing…I’m thinking it’s auto-tune though.  Then again the entire song is like that which is meh.  I’ve been told this was a Yamapi solo so it means a lot right? XD  Even then it’s all in English which is a first for the album and I kind of enjoyed it.

7. Kesenai

The next tune off the album, Kesenai is a chill tune, which almost borderlines a ballad, but the easy listening arrangement sounds kind of nice after that auto-fest in the last track.  Tegoshi is singing majority of the song, but after a while Shige and Ryo come in to fill in necessary gaps in the song while the other two members only come in at the end of the song.  It’s nice to see they were building up to a climax and I liked that about this song.

8. ordinary

Ryo’s solo comes up next in ordinary and I like the guitar line opening this song.  While it’s not exactly the most interesting track, I can say that this song is far from ordinary on this album.  First off the genre is more rock-oriented and that’s awesome.  Also, Ryo’s vocals aren’t bad at all.  Not a bad song and if he goes solo, I’d be interested to follow his music.

9. Minna ga Iru Sekai wo Hitotsu ni Ai wo Motto Give & Take Shimashou

I was kind of excited to hear this for some reason.  It’s kind of how like “weeeek” was.  There’s a lot of guitar and synth present and the energy was quite awesome to hear from the guys.  The verses are radically different with a lot of acoustic guitar and such.  I can picture a cheesy dance to go along with this, I’m prolly not even the only one.

10. Murarisuto

If there was one track that I thought was weird period, Murarisuto feels like a rejected H!P track which is so wrong and it shows the awkwardness with the groups vocals.  A few of them tried to be kawaii in this song and it came it out way creepy for me.

11. Taiyou no Namida

Of all the album, I’ve been waiting for a song that’ll take me by surprise and Taiyou no Namida did exactly that.  Their vocals fit so nicely and the bhangra/RPG-ish arrangement was a great touch.  It just flowed nicely and the since it was built differently and didn’t come off bad, I’m going to say that this is my favorite A-side.

12. Smile Maker

Here we go again with overjoyous pop track.  It’s a little more interesting because once again the members are rapping off in the song and singing fast.  It’s got a cool beat to it and the guys can rap nicely most of the time, but the chorus is probably the best thing about the song. 

13. Happy Birthday

Released as the last single of the era, Happy Birthday is cheese as it comes.  It also feels like they went a little overboard on not filling the song out to its full capacity since a good portion is all about ad-libbing.  It’s even funny to watch the members fail at saying ~birthday~….Ok NEWS, get working on that English.

14. FLY AGAIN

Honestly, FLY AGAIN is pretty bad on my scale.  I just felt it played too safe to its arrangement and felt tacked on last minute.  If the vocals were to be the lifesaving part of the song, it didn’t work because this was even more boring than “Happy Birthday”.  What a bad way to end the album.

15. Towairo no Koi

Luckily, Towairo no Koi ends the regular edition of the album the right way.  Instead of being lame and making another pop track I didn’t need to listen to, they made a ballad out of Towairo no Koi.  For most of the song I enjoying it and then the little acoustic breakdown came in and spiced things up.  I have to say, this was a way nicer song than expected. 

Tracks Recommended

• Taiyou no Namida
• SNOW EXPRESS
• Kesenai
• ordinary
• MOLA

Ok, so I’ve said that there would be no Johnny’s on the site right.  Well, I guess I sort of changed and tried them out.  Though, this will probably be the only group that’ll be featured on the site for now.  NEWS’s 3rd album, color, was pretty nice overall.  Some of the times it makes me wonder why their music sounds rather dated for a Johnny’s group, but w/e some of the songs are great though like Taiyou no Namida and SNOW EXPRESS…best songs for sure..  Good album IMO

angela – Alternative November 20, 2009

Track Listing

1. Alternative
2. Kanata no delight
3. Alternative (off vocal version)
4. Kanata no delight (off vocal version)

1. Alternative

After such an amazing single in “Spiral/Link”, I was honestly expecting something more explosive from angela.  The beginning to me felt too drawn out.  After the beginning it does become more of a dance track, but it feels like an awkward version of Ayu’s “evolution” with the uber fast chorus.  atsuko’s vocals continue to prove she has the strength to do songs like this, but when they are congested and sound messy, it’s definitely taking a strong risk and sadly, I’m not too fond.

2. Kanata no delight

I was more interested in the B-side for the era.  I really loved the strings in the song and since KATSU wasn’t making this song out to be mess central, Kanata no delight was a joy to listen to and would fit as a good anime opening.  Hmmmm….this should’ve been the A-side IMO

 

 

So angela once again begins an era off with a pretty bad A-side but makes up for it with the B-side.  I’m not sure why, but if KATSU was trying to replicate the awesomeness that was “Spiral” then he missed by mashing atsuko’s vocals in the chorus.  Kanata no delight was clearly the better track and even though it doesn’t have the same spark that the last single had it’s not too bad.  Oh well…

KOTOKO – jihad November 19, 2009

Track Listing

1. jihad
2. jihad (Instrumental)

1. jihad

I didn’t even notice this was an actual single release.  Whenever I think of the word jihad, I think of terrorism, but then again I’m probably not the only one that does xD.  I’m actually surprised at how, after “Epsilon no Fune” she releases a new single so soon.  About the song, it’s actually not as energetic as previous releases, but it’s not boring either because KOTOKO gives a strong performance.  The beginning had an Arabic-like opening, but it quickly became a string-based dance track.  Even if it doesn’t make it on a KOTOKO album, this is a pretty sweet tune.

 

 

I really don’t know KOTOKO’s release era’s but jihad is a pretty cool track even though it isn’t fast or long-lasting.  KOTOKO though quietly released this, so w/e at least it’s out.

Guardians 4 / Shugo Chara Egg! – PARTY TIME/Watashi no Tamago November 19, 2009

Track Listing

1. PARTY TIME
2. Watashi no Tamago
3. PARTY TIME (Instrumental)
4. Watashi no Tamago (Instrumental)

1. PARTY TIME

Could it be that I’m in love with a Guardians 4 track?  For the first time, the track doesn’t feel tacky or messed up because of the uneven vocals.  PARTY TIME also features a great amount of pep and synths to back it up.  The thing that gets me is that Yurina isn’t as awkward as she was in previous efforts which is a plus and she learned that having the deeper vocals doesn’t make you sound great when everyone else is higher.  YAY! H!P dance song!

2. Watashi no Tamago

However, the cheese factor starts rising when we get into Shugo Chara Egg!’s track.  Since I really don’t know who’s who in the group, I can’t really judge between the three members here.  What I can say is that, this would be the first H!P winter track released this year.  It’s one of those typical happy and jolly tracks that just will make anyone smile.  To me it’s just another winter track and it doesn’t really sway me into liking or hating it…it’s just there.

 

 

While it’s both Guardians 4 and Shugo Chara Egg!’s third single, I have to say my pick is on Guardians.  PARTY TIME was the excitement I needed after that last H!P release “Kimagure Princess”.  So much fun can be had here and the 4 ladies sound actually together this time.  Shugo could’ve had a better track because Watashi no Tamago just seems typical for me.  Hmmmm is it album time yet?

Mami Kawada – Prophecy November 19, 2009

Track Listing

1. Prophecy
2. a frame
3. Prophecy -instrumental-
4. a frame -instrumental-

1. Prophecy

Was I expecting something jaw-dropping from Prophecy?  Nope, because the singles she’s released after “PSI-missing” have been great songs and Prophecy continues to do a good job at keeping my interest alive with her.  It doesn’t have a real aggressive sound to it, but it’s got a great pop/electronica/anime-ish arrangement here and Mami’s vocals were done pretty well.  Love it!

2. a frame

Unlike her A-sides, her B-sides are usually bigger misses which is unfortunate but makes sense.  a frame has a bit more of a pop/rock sound and Mami’s vocals are somewhat under autotune which makes sense because of her on I’ve Sound.  It’s definitely her best B-side of the era so at least I’m happy with that.

 

 

I’m wondering if Mami’s next release will be her 3rd album because of the A-sides I’ve heard from her, she’s really getting some good tracks like Prophecy.  Unlike her previous efforts, this managed to not have any bad tracks on it which is definitely a good thing. 

LOVE – LOVE.IT November 19, 2009

Track Listing

1. MAGIC
2. STARLIGHT
3. MOONLIGHT
4. RED EYE
5. White Choco
6. LOVE no Theme

1. MAGIC

Dang, I thought we were never going to get anything new from LOVE (Ai Otsuka’s bunny’s name & alternate name for her releases that aren’t her usual sound).  MAGIC is definitely something that’s not usually seen in Otsuka’s music.  With the track being covered in synth love and in a dreamy arrangement, MAGIC is one interesting ride.  It flows so smoothly and Ai’s vocals are quite nice here.

2. STARLIGHT

One can’t deny that STARLIGHT is just as dreamy and free-flowing as MAGIC, but the song feels a bit more like a pop tune than a rather daunting electro song.  I’m actually once again enjoying the song a whole lot since it takes me to another place and Ai’s whispery vocals fit nice.  Let’s not forget that STARLIGHT is amazingly catchy too.

3. MOONLIGHT

MOONLIGHT seems to have more focus on the beats and rhythms used in the song and her voice is more quiet and whispery.  It’s nice, but for some reason her vocals here remind me of Aira’s for some reason, maybe a little cleaner.  The most interesting parts about MOONLIGHT is the chorus where she purposely slides her notes down and up…it’s so strange and random, but it’s so damn good.

4. RED EYE

After 3 songs with the whole space/cosmic/w/e theme going on RED EYE just doesn’t seem to impress me as much as the previous three songs.  You’ll get into the same exact feelings when you listen to this song.  I’m not sure why, but since the song is closer to being a ballad moreso than the others it has that, but it just never clicked with me.

5. White Choco

Yeah, how about we put the Sonic the Hedgehog track near the end…how fitting.  I have to say with all of the songs on this mini-album, White Choco is the most energetic between the six songs.  Then again it is the only tune that features electric guitar.  I was hoping for more tunes with this kind of idea going on but w/e, it makes White Choco more unique.

6. LOVE no Theme

On an album that’s been mostly an ethereal ride, the previously released singles are a bit surprising and a little out of place here.  LOVE no Theme is first up since it was also the first single of the era.  Since it was her 2nd foray into synthpop, I really did love the cute arrangement that’s full of arpeggios and Ai repeating things throughout the song.  The only problem was that the song made little changes to make it sound more iono….better?  I don’t know but it’s still good.

 

 

Did anyone expect Ai to really release such an album this year?  I know she’s been having an otherwise bad year of releases (re-cut single & best-of concept album) but I think these new tracks are somewhat making up for the lack of Otsuka music this year.  LOVE.IT wasn’t too bad actually and I hope she continues a little longer under this moniker, but I’m not holding my breath.

Miliyah Kato – WHY November 18, 2009

Track Listing

1. WHY
2. Destiny
3. You don’t know me
4. WHY (Instrumental)

1. WHY

Is it surprising that Miliyah begins an album testing out new waters?  WHY started out like it would be another meh song from her, but luckily things started to changed when electric guitars start to pop in.  I honestly enjoyed the new style in this track and Miliyah’s vocals are still great to listen to.  She’s on a roll in my opinion.

2. Destiny

The first B-side of the single also had a PV that came with it.  Now this is Miliyah that was well-known before her whole genre twisting.  It’s the usual fare with piano and light synths.  It doesn’t seem to really be anything amazingly new, but it’s nice to know she is still releasing tracks that she’s more noticed for. 

3. You don’t know me

A little more urban than “Destiny”, I was a little more intrigued by the second B-side.  We see Miliyah actually rapping in the song.  Her vocals and lyrics are pretty smooth and while she’s doing a whisper-like vocals, it’s kind of cool.  The only thing that really bothered me was the disc scratching…it kind of ruined the mood for me.  Still, it’s a good track all-around.

 

 

After almost dethroning Perfume on the Oricon charts with that album “Ring”, I was wondering where she’d go next for her first single in the new era.  WHY was what I wasn’t expecting and that made me happy since she can do mid-tempo rock-ish songs.  Not to alienate her R&B fans, both B-sides were back to the usual fare and even though they aren’t as jaw-dropping as WHY they were ok.

Hidemi Uematsu – Dear Lady November 18, 2009

Track Listing

1. Dear Lady
2. BABY

1. Dear Lady

Could it be the first time Hidemi sounds right in a song?  Dear Lady is just like her previous singles, mostly R&B, but this time there’s a main piano melody unlike the previous tracks.  Back to Hidemi, her voice is just so much less nasally as it was in “Jidai” and I can actually enjoy her a lot.  Sometimes she slips into it, but mostly I was impressed with how much better she sounded.

2. BABY

The B-side isn’t like the other ones released, but at the same time I’m again impressed by the stronger vocals and clean ones at that in this song.  BABY is a little bit of a slower R&B track, but Hidemi is using fast lyrics to get by which to me sounds like a big tongue twister, so I couldn’t exactly follow.  Oh well, at least the song was enjoyable IMO.

 

 

This could be the first Hidemi single that I actually like.  Unlike the first two singles her throat-lapsed vocals were fine-tuned and since there was a long wait from “Jidai” to this single, Hidemi scored quite nicely with the single.  Now the problem that might plague her is that her songs are getting kind of similar with one another with the exception of “Trauma”.  Somehow, I think she needs to pull a JASMINE eventually and move into various genres while keeping strong vocals.

Kou Shibasaki – Love Paranoia November 17, 2009

Track Listing

1. lover soul
2. Love Minority
3. Yoku Aru Hanashi ~Mofuku no Onna Hen~
4. Hyakunengo
5. n0w
6. notice of the way it is
7. break a spell
8. Saiai (KOH+)
9. Kimi no Koe
10. Saisei
11. dive
12. Sweet Dream
13. ex
14. Teitaion
15. Taisetsu ni Suru yo
16. Kimi ga Nokoshiteitta Mono
17. Naite Ii (CD+DVD bonus track)

1. lover soul

It’s pretty awesome that Kou begins the album off with the last single released in the era and lover soul is one good song.  It’s a rockin’ pop/rock tune with strong vocals.  Still it’s one of the best of the era completely and probably one of the best singles of the year.

2. Love Minority

I’m guessing Love Minority continues the rockish tone and then the weirdness starts to happen.  It seems Kou was placed under vocoder in the song and mixing it with the rock arrangement was a pretty interesting choice.  It’s not as complete as “lover soul” is but Kou sounds pretty sweet under vocoder and I wonder if she’s going to continue to go towards this.

3. Yoku Aru Hanashi ~Mofuku no Onna Hen~

On this album, Yoku Aru Hanashi is represented as the album’s first A-side of the era and honestly ruined the flow of the album with its heavily lounge-influenced sound.  It’s exciting to get me wrong, but the song feels so weird (haven’t reviewed the single).  While it’s rather a strange genre Kou is trying out, it’s quite upbeat and fun to listen to altogether.  Her vocals aren’t trying to be painful and  liked that so I’m liking this song a whole lot more.

4. Hyakunengo

Then the album twists once again, but this time for a ballad this time.  While the song opens up with a bare piano and Kou singing along.  After a little bit, some rather winter-instruments get added in the song to make it more soothing.  It does shatter the album’s flow entirely, but it’s still a pretty smooth song and Kou’s vocals are quite nice here.

5. n0w

Our next new track n0w is surprisingly a dance track.  It’s kind of like “Yoku Aru Hanashi”, but instead of the use of brass, there’s a whole lot of synths used here and I kind of find myself liking this song a lot.  It’s a bit of disco and when it mixed with Kou’s higher vocals, the song becomes a hot track. 

6. notice of the way it is

As the album’s lone interlude, notice of the way it is is just basically a piano playing a melody, but quickly opens up to a pretty fantasy-like arrangement that made me enjoy it, but I think it would’ve been a whole lot nicer if it was turned into a full song.  Though the song melds into “break a spell” perfectly.

7. break a spell

The previous track kind of goes in mono sounding form before Kou starts to sing the next track.  At first I thought break a spell was going to be another ballad, but it becomes a mid-tempo pop tune and so far I love the energy she’s putting here.  It sounds like a perfect opening to an anime.

8. Saiai (KOH+)

Saiai was a collaboration between Kou and Masaharu Fukuyama.  They’ve collaborated before with the single “KISS Shite” so it’s not surprising to see another KOH+ single.  It’s also the lone collaboration track of the era so I kind of was interested to hear it.  At first, I was wondering where Masaharu was in the song because Kou was singing all of the song by herself.  If I’m correct, I’m guessing Masaharu was playing the guitar parts and done some of the arrangement work which explain his absence to the song.  Still a pretty good song…though not better than “Hyakunengo”.

9. Kimi no Koe

Released as the era’s only digital single, the album seems to be getting back to a solid flow since Kimi no Koe is a mid-tempo ballad.  So far, this would be my favorite ballad since it’s so much more grand and expressive.  It’s sad when a song is more wintry than another track and Kimi no Koe did it over than “Hyakunengo”.  I don’t think there was any problem with the song at all.  Pretty sweet.

10. Saisei

Sadly enough, we get to the disappointing song off the album.  The beginning instantly turned me off because off how shrill she sounded.  The song then opens up into another grand ballad, but the arrangement is like having epileptic seizures because it goes from grand to quiet and back and forth which was odd.  After that the song does get a backbone and tries to be good.  There’s points where I enjoyed it, but her yelling is quite meh here.

11. dive

We get into the B-sides that were added on starting with “Taisetsu ni Suru Yo’s” B-side and even though I haven’t listened to the single yet, I’m enjoying this alot.  dive has a great dance feel to it that reminds me of Nami Tamaki’s happier dance songs and it’s really catchy and flows great.  I’m not sure why, but Kou’s B-sides are typically great songs and I’m happy to see at least one was on here.

12. Sweet Dream

And we have a B-side from “lover soul” making the album.  I don’t know why, but Sweet Dream and “dive” sound great one after another because while this song has a rock feel and the latter is dance, it just feels right.  Her cutesy voice might turn a few people off since it’s a side she doesn’t do a lot on this album, but I thought it was a good cute song from Kou.

13. ex

We go back into new songs with a chill pop song with sitar and flute with ex.  I’m liking the relaxing mood it brings along and Kou’s vocals fit really nicely here.  The best thing I could describe it is, 90’s easy listening/pop music.  To me it’s like mall music…(y’know it’s like you hear it and love it, but as soon as you leave, you forget it).  Thank god I don’t have that here.  I really like this song right now.

14. Teitaion

I’m not entirely sure how to classify Teitaion as a song.  It sounds poppish and maybe a little dance…but the speed changes kind of makes me want to wonder if its a little bit reggae (especially in the slower parts).  It’s alright, but it’s not too memorable and prolly my least favorite of the new tracks.

15. Taisetsu ni Suru yo

As the era’s 3rd A-side, Taisetsu ni Suru yo doesn’t exactly sound just as amazing like the other ballads, but it’s stable on it’s own and I love the piano and Kou’s stable vocals.  Sometimes I find it pretty long.  It’s a pretty tune though I’ll give it that. 

16. Kimi ga Nokoshiteitta Mono

Ending off the CD only version of the album, Kimi ga Nokoshiteitta Mono is a different kind of ballad.  Instead of the dependence of an orchestral sound, this song is just Kou and acoustic guitar.  I really liked the barebones idea of the song and it doesn’t bore me at all because there’s just a lot of beautiful sounds here.  Nice that she saved the best for last…at least for the CD-only cut.

17. Naite Ii

The CD+DVD issue contained an extra track.  I’m not sure what’s the deal if Naite Ii is an old track or brand spanking new, but after the really nice acoustic ballad, this seems kind of unneeded.  Especially with the other similarly constructed ballads, Naite Ii isn’t too interesting.  The only think I can really comment about is Kou’s vocals which are once again pleasant to the ears.

Tracks Recommended

• ex
• Yoku Aru Hanashi ~Mofuku no Onna Hen~
• dive
• Kimi ga Nokoshiteitta Mono
• lover soul

Wow, I definitely enjoyed this album a lot more than I initially thought.  Love Paranoia might look like a pretty long album, but most of the songs will keep your interest and picks you right back up at the danger spots.  A few songs do hit sour notes with Kou’s more higher pitched tone, but the lower the better.  Definitely an album to get. *RECOMMENDED*