access – Best Selection: CD1 Singles Selection July 20, 2008

Track Listing

1. VIRGIN EMOTION
2. JEWELRY ANGEL
3. NAKED DESIRE
4. MOONSHINE DANCE
5. TRY AGAIN
6. Yume wo Mitai Kara
7. MISTY HEARTBREAK
8. SWEET SILENCE
9. DRASTIC MERMAID
10. SCANDALOUS BLUE
11. TEAR’S LIBERATION
12. Only the love survive
13. EDGE
14. REAL AT NIGHT ~Nemurenu Yoru no Mukou ni~
15. Hitomi no Tsubasa
16. Doubt & Trust

1. VIRGIN EMOTION

Ok, this is the first time, that I didn’t like the first track.  Takami is strangely sharp for this song, and sounds so messed up.  The chorus does prevent any more issues.  The guitar sounds cool too, but c’mon, seriously this song sucks still.

2. JEWELRY ANGEL

Didn’t I just listen to this song?  Well, it has the same kind of beginning, but this time Takami sounds right.  This time it’s the chorus that’s a bit strange to my ears.  ~Jury Angle?~ maybe he needs to take some English classes.  I do like the afterchorus, where Daisuke takes over for a bit.

3. NAKED DESIRE

That was a cool guitar opening.  Then we get to Takami’s funky lyrics.  The bridge sounds so cool though with the staccato synths.  This songs screams anthem-y as there is some chanting in it, which bothered me a bit.  Still, it’s definitly a step up from the two tracks before it. 

4. MOONSHINE DANCE

Now this is definitly way better.  Daisuke starts off with a hot synth beat reminescent of a Mortal Kombat movie.  Takami sounds so much better and everything is just real catchy here.  The enthusiasm in the title in the chorus is so good.  It’s so far the best track. Daisuke’s solo = WIN

5. TRY AGAIN

A ballad comes in as track 5, TRY AGAIN.  There’s some tribal instruments trinkling throughout but it’s mostly the normal band instruments.  The strings do give it a more pleasant feel for it.  It’s better than the other songs that are just like this song.

6. Yume wo Mitai Kara

A bit more lively than TRY AGAIN, Yume wo Mitai Kara is mainly a synth/piano pop tune.  The guitar gots some quirky inputs during the verses/bridge which is pretty cool.  Somehow, this song just bores me…It doesn’t have any bam in it. 

7. MISTY HEARTBREAK

I’m kinda of getting bored of the same sounding synths.  Though this song has some of the coolest things going on, especially in the verses.  There’s some very cool stuff from Daisuke and it’s got a steady hot beat.  Takami once again sounds great in this song, probably this is their best song from the past.

8. SWEET SILENCE

The verses in SWEET SILENCE bothered me so much!  Like it’s normal then he speeds through the second part throwing the listener off.  The music is definitly nothing new still.  If it wasn’t a single this would be a filler track, since it doesn’t really peak my interest at all.

9. DRASTIC MERMAID

This continuation of this sound is really making me bored and this song isn’t helping it any.  It’s still the medium-tempo track and doesn’t really bring anything new to the table.  The guitar is pretty cool to listen to though.  Boring track overall.

10. SCANDALOUS BLUE

Taking a sound that’s more familiar to T.M.Revolution’s stuff, SCANDALOUS BLUE sounds very tense and sort of messy right until the chorus where it gets boring again.  It’s a happy track, which is more or less a difference to me, because I’m still not impressed.

11. TEAR’S LIBERATION

Luckily, this is the final track before where things start to change.  It’s still the normal Daisuke treatment of a song, which I can’t really stand anymore.  Though the happy feling does me wanna tap my feet to it.  I think it’s probably one of the better songs off the CD.

12. Only the love survive

Finally, a difference in production.  The song is very space-like in the beginning, while Takami’s vocals sound a tad nasally, but I think there was help with it.  The difference in the synth for me was almost godly, but it wasn’t til the next song where I actually said it.

13. EDGE

I was shocked when I heard this and said to myself “Is this really access?” The effective synth storm found across this song is too damn catchy and Takami sounded perfect angry and he really made the song.  When Daisuke takes his solo, OMG I’m falling in love all over again.  The epitome of an aggressive track is right here.  The lyrics, though strange, do eventually make sense near the end.  If there’s one track that needs to be downloaded from them it’s this one!

14. REAL AT NIGHT ~Nemurenu Yoru no Mukou ni~

 The beginning with the guitar was pretty impressive with some different sounding synths again really made it a dark track.  Then Takami comes in with softer vocals, but it kind of sounds lifeless.  I guess they were trying to take on a slower pop side, but to me, it didn’t work this time.

15. Hitomi no Tsubasa

One of Code Geass’s opening’s, this fared so much better as the slower pop track, because it had so much power in it.  I like how Daisuke plays his solo and how strong Takami is in it.  The lead guitar played so well also.  This song just oozes cool everywhere.

16. Doubt & Trust

Another tie-in with an anime, this time D.Gray-Man’s 3rd opening.  This is actually mostly rock since there’s not much of synths and more of just Daisuke playing regular piano!!! ZOMG!!!  Anyway if you’ve seen D.Gray-Man, then you would know it’s a dark and scary atmosphere.  Takami takes on the verses in a lower register to which he sounds better.  Daisuke singing too?  What’s this world coming to?  Still it’s their most recent single, and IMO a great comeback to the music forefront!

Tracks Recommended

• EDGE
• Doubt & Trust
• MOONSHINE DANCE
• Hitomi no Tsubasa
• MISTY HEARTBREAK

Yeah, this is the worst CD, pretty much from VIRGIN EMOTION straight to Only the love survive was downright boring and unoriginal.  The last few songs definitly kicked them back up though.  I know they were all singles but damn…a lot of them just sounded to similar.

Rina Aiuchi – NAVY BLUE July 20, 2008

 

Track Listing

1. NAVY BLUE
2. Broken Heart
3. NAVY BLUE MAX MAZIK MIX
4. NAVY BLUE d’une source mix
5. NAVY BLUE -instrumental-

1. NAVY BLUE

Hey, it’s a slower track!  NAVY BLUE did make it very memorable as it is devoid of overpowering synths.   A definite change is that there’s guitar and it’s in a ballad mood.  Rina really made the song powerful and it’s what she really needed.  A great song overall.

2. Broken Heart

The B-side starts off with a very strong voice from Rina, then it turns into a latin dance track, which was another surprise on this single.  The song however, lacked something, maybe a more latin flavor, I just thought there was too little going on in the song, it might just be me. 

 

Wow, Rina is showing signs of breaking from the euro-beat stuff with this track which is a pleasan surprise.  Broken Heart was the latin track but I’m kind of happy it didn’t join the album.  NAVY BLUE was the standout track though, with it’s more rock sound to it. GOOD Song!

Rina’s Colors: Navy Blue

Perfume – Linear Motor Girl July 20, 2008

 

Track Listing

1. Linear Motor Girl
2. Foundation
3. Computer Driving

1. Linear Motor Girl

What, a dizzy trip this song is.  Starts up with the ladies singing the title repeatedly, doesn’t really change much though.  The girls lead into this wondrous song with ~Are You Ready?~.  After that it’s just synth happy.  The verses are somewhat strange, ~Heart Virus???~ I mean it’s kind of fitting if they are talking about a female robot or such.  C’mon this song is so repetitive though, it’s kind of numbing to listen the whole way through.  Least favorite of the 3 “major singles” of the era.

2. Foundation

We’re getting to the usual Nakata sounds with Foundation.  However, it seems there was either little to no synthage of their voices until the bridge.  The track is a bit strange, with how slow the song is and how completly different sounding it is to both of the other songs.  How they say ~Foundation~ did bother me a little bit, but I got used to it.  It’s an alright B-side track.

3. Computer Driving

Back to the cutey stuff like “Vitamin Drop”, Computer Driving fills that void so quickly.  It’s so lively and pure fun, and the girls, though monotone, sound pretty good.  The chorus is probably the best part.  Probably, the best track of the single.  BTW, everytime I listen to this, I think of this as a prelude to next single “Computer City” which makes sense huh?

 

 

Perfume’s major debut single, was a triple threat, we got the repetitive dance track, Linear Motor Girl, the strange yet slow dance track, Foundation, and the poppiest tune Computer Driving.  Though not my favorite single from them, it’s an awesome start! 

Kana – Kuuchuu Buranko July 20, 2008

 

Track Listing

1. Kuuchuu Buranko
2. Kedama
3. Tsuki no Tsubasa
4. Hamushi -Tenryuu Shiki-

1. Kuuchuu Buranko

The more clearer rock track, Kuuchuu Buranko has understandable rock flavor in it.  Kana’s wild voice does make it a pill hard to swallow, as it is not perfect.  The chorus is just OMG, it’s good but at the end she does a growl-like scream which knocked me off outta my seat.  Definitly a better track than “Chimame”.

2. Kedama

A faster track, with a very booming bass line at the beginning it really makes a hectic track.  But I was turned off by the fact that she’s very repetitive in the song itself.  I do have to give credit to that guitar solo.  Still, it’s a track worth listening to once.

3. Tsuki no Tsubasa

As a more laid-back track, Tsuki no Tsubasa is actually quite a nice difference from her usual fare of hard rock.  Yes, Kana does need some vocal training, but c’mon the song is such a nice listen, a more halloween-like sound is definitly what she needs to stay in.  The bass is so much in the forefront, what a great thing.   Good track.

4. Hamushi -Tenryuu Shiki-

Continuing the “Shiki” series, Tenryuu is actually an even more beautiful track, having more of a happier nature-like sound.  A violin is played through most of it, while Kana ad-libs also.  This is probably the best Shiki she’s done. 

 

 

Kuuchuu Buranko, the final single of the “Doubutsu-teki Ningen” er, was probably the best single, all of the songs brought some interesting things to the listener.  Kuuchuu Buranko was the usual fare of her rock stuff.  Kedama brought the sense of urgency, but failed cause of its repetitiveness.  Tsuki no Tsubasa was a definite high mark on the single with it’s beautiful arrangement and the Hamushi instrumental, was the longest yet the most strikingly pleasant track on the single. *RECOMMENDED*