abingdon boys school – abingdon boys school July 22, 2008

Track Listing

1. As One
2. HOWLING -INCH UP-
3. Via Dolorosa
4. INNOCENT SORROW
5. DOWN TO YOU
6. Atena
7. stay away
8. Nephilim
9. LOST REASON -feat. MICRO-
10. DESIRE
11. Dress
12. ReBirth + ReVerse

1. As One

Totally, the strongest first track I heard in a while.  As One, is in English and once again shows a very good aggression and it’s a little bit like “Nephilim” mixed with “LOST REASON” which is totally awesome.  The guitars are furious and Takanori showing just as much.  The solo is even cooler with everything going on.  Very strong beginning.

2. HOWLING -INCH UP-

2nd single, HOWLING is still the powerhouse rock track and it fits so much in the album.  Though I don’t know the difference between the album to the single version but it still captures the fierceness of the track.  ~Just HOWLING in the shadows~ still sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it.  Love It!!!

3. Via Dolorosa

Static sounds and piano starts off with this even creepier rock track that puts “Nephilim” in its place.  The verses are soft with piano & strings being heard while Takanori goes through.  Then it gets hard in the 2nd verse.  The song is just filled with more power than ever.  It’s just a great new song.

4. INNOCENT SORROW

Wow, the first single shows up and I was surprised how well it was transitioned from after “Via Dolorosa”.  This is probably the first of the not-surprising rock track.  It’s not that I didn’t like it, its that it’s a bit of a step down from the bombs the previous tracks had.  I did love the anime -tie-in and how it worked for INNOCENT SORROW.

5. DOWN TO YOU

A cool riff starts out this even hard track.  It’s got such a tense feeling in it like “HOWLING” and power also.  The chorus is in English and Japanese and wow, Takanori sounds so great in it.  I love the BKGD singers fit in perfectly with Takanori singing different parts.  This has to be the best new track on the album.

6. Atena

More like “Athena” this song has a pretty fast beat to it and kinda sounds refreshing after all the epic rock track laid out so far.  It’s definitly got a good rock sound to it and sound a bit happy.  I love the drummer in the song keeping such a good beat.  One of the standout tracks of the album.

7. stay away

stay away is to me my least favorite track from the album just because I was least surprised by it.  It just sounds a bit too much for me.  Takanori’s English is a bit hard to follow but it’s understandable.  The chorus Is long though I was caught off guard by that.  The guitar solo, was pretty rad though and I praise it!

8. Nephilim

When it comes to power ballads, Nephilim is the perfect example of one.  Such fire from the band is shown in the song and I was totally blown away by how good it sounded.  a.b.s. has a golden track with this one.  I still don’t know what the title means but all I know is that they rocked hard for this one.

9. LOST REASON -feat. MICRO-

I can’t believe they ruined the track by adding a rapper into it.  LOST REASON was an awesome English rock track from them but having a guy switching it up and rap in both languages totally blew it.  Why they decided to do this, I don’t know but seriously, NEVER DO IT AGAIN!

10. DESIRE

DESIRE was a very unusual track adding in some disc scratching in it.  Takanori’s vocals is also at its best and wow, another full English track, it makes up for “LOST REASON”.  I thought it was futuristic during the guitar solo and heard an awesome bass line.  Another great standout track from them, but people might thing its a little messy but its what makes them stick out.

11. Dress

Dress starts out very solemn with low strings growling in it.  The song however is long though which surprised me.  Like a bunch of the other songs on the album Dress doesn’t really make me surprised but I do like how it gradually grows into the rock sound.  Though it’s a BUCK-TICK remake, I thought they did well, but it’s not very memorable to me.

12. ReBirth + ReVerse

Well, the last track is a long instrumental with piano and other underlying sounds.  I would’ve shorten the song because it really doesn’t lead anywhere.  It does get louder gradually and then it just like stops. This is the ReBirth part.  The ReVerse part is the opposite sounding creating a cool dance beat and continuing with the other sounds.  The piano comes back in and it fits strangely with the beat.  Then it calms for the strings that sound wow.  Then it ends practically. 

Tracks Recommended

• Nephilim
• DOWN TO YOU
• Via Dolorosa
• HOWLING -INCH UP-
• Atena

Can you hold on as I shit my pants at how good this album is.  It’s a rock hard album.  When I first heard about Takanori creating the band I was skeptical because I wasn’t sure if it would’ve sounded like the T.M.Revolution stuff, but was I surprised.  This debut album was a great start for them.  I totally recommend this album everyone!!!

 

Morning Musume – Onna ni Sachi Are July 22, 2008

Track Listing

1. Onna ni Sachi Are
2. Please! Jiyuu no Tobira
3. Onna ni Sachi Are (Instrumental)

1. Onna ni Sachi Are

 A strong dance beat flourishes this track.  Though we there was a change of leaders since Yossy left.  Also this single was the 1st to have the chinese ladies: Junjun and Linlin to be in it.  Everyone sounds pretty good, but it’s a step back from the awesome “Kanashimi Twilight”.  It’s like calculated from some of the earlier songs from them.  Still, its got a good sound to it, so I wont hate on it too much.

2. Please! Jiyuu no Tobira

A more resilient track than “Onna ni Sachi Are”.  There’s more guitar hooks and is also very different from the previous.  This song though is another one of them happy feelgood tracks, which we already have enough of.  I do like the arrangement though.

 

 

This was definitly a step down from the previous single, we got the usual fare of MM stuff.  It just didn’t capture my expectations though the B-side was a nice change from the bubblegum pop I’m used to from them. Obviously, Onna ni Sachi Are will be on the album, so I’m kinda ehhh with it.