alan – Sora Uta November 15, 2008

Track Listing

1. Sora Uta
2. My Stage
3. Sora Uta (Instrumental)
4. My Stage (Instrumental)

1. Sora Uta

Finally we get a change of styles with Sora Uta, a pop track that starts off with medium-mountain notes.  I actually like the strong sound from this track.  Even though not many people enjoy the song, I actually think this is another of the tracks I really enjoy…because I was getting tired of the overload of ballads.  Also she does use English which is not bad actually, definitly a new thing for her and it worked.

2. My Stage

My Stage is basically faster than “Sora Uta” and it sounds like one of those pampered rich songs, you know? Like one of those shopping montages.  Somehow, I’m finding myself actually bored with the overall song.  I’m just kind of lost listening to the song….definitly standout of the discography.

 

 

Sky was the theme for this single and it worked somewhat…I definitly didn’t really get the feeling of the sky with either of the tracks.  Still, Sora Uta is definitly a favorite upbeat track and My Stage was just odd….Let’s finish with the “Air” single next!

Leah Dizon – Love Paradox November 15, 2008

Track Listing

1. Love Paradox
2. Under the Same Sky
3. Love Paradox (Instrumental)
4. Under the Same Sky (Instrumental)

1. Love Paradox

I was really surprised when she started the era with Love Paradox.  There’s some pretty hot beats in the song and even though Leah isn’t the strongest singer of the bunch, she makes up with her slick lyric selection.  She flows through English and Japanese pretty well and it there’s no issues at hand.  Song does sound like something Namie Amuro would do, doesn’t it?

2. Under the Same Sky

I think this was a compliment to the single.  Even though it isn’t so good being on the album, on the single I think it was nice after the hot “Love Paradox”.  The whole R&B ballad does work with the song and it’s very dreamy….I guess I underestimated it on the album.

 

 

Leah’s 4th single overall is definitly a nice listen.  Love Paradox is what she needed to boost her popularity, even if it ultimately fails in the long run.  Under the Same Sky was a nice ballad and probably one of her better tracks.  Good single to me.

Nana Mizuki – GREAT ACTIVITY November 15, 2008

Track Listing

1. Bring it on!
2. Orchestral Fantasia
3. Promise on Christmas
4. MASSIVE WONDERS
5. Take a chance
6. First Calender
7. Last Scene
8. SEVEN
9. Aoi Iro
10. TRY AGAIN
11. SECRET AMBITION
12. Nostalgia
13. Heart-shaped chant
14. chronicle of sky
15. Sing Forever

1. Bring it on!

I didn’t really expect a rock track to open up GREAT ACTIVITY.  Anyway her voice is pretty radical and full of energy which is great.  What really took me in was the great music and the instrumental during the middle.  That was awesome in my opinion.  Great opening track.

2. Orchestral Fantasia

A little more controlled than the last track, Orchestral Fantasia is also a rockin’ song.  There’s strings added in to differentiate between the two tracks.  Now I really like Nana’s deeper voice here and made the song sound pretty epic.  I love her ad-libbing and it totally made me love the song even more.  Some of the times I don’t like how she breathes after sing because it’s kind of squeaky.

3. Promise on Christmas

*sigh*  We get into the christmas ballad.  To be honest, this was pretty boring, even by Nana standards.  The song doesn’t really lead anywhere to interesting and Nana doesn’t try to be sound powerful like what I’d expect to be.  It’s just a forgetful song here.

4. MASSIVE WONDERS

One of the single tracks, MASSIVE WONDERS is very energetic and full of dance beats and I know it’s not my place to say it but, is very GUNDAM-like.  Nana sounds very powerful and her control over her vocals is phenomanal at least in my opinion, definitly a strong A-side.

5. Take a chance

Once again in the GUNDAM field of songs, Take a chance is more focused on the synths.  Anyways, I love the synth a lot this time and even though the chorus is a little repetitive, it’s still a good track.  Another of track that’s on my favorites. 

6. First Calender

Even though I’ve been praising the album so far, we finally come up to something that seems really bland.  Sounds really cheesy and sounds like one of those happy anime openings.  I have no idea why that I think of this, but I did notice Nana’s seiyuu voice doing its job.  Still I was turned off from it.

7. Last Scene

Thank gosh for our next ballad.  It’s still a little underwhelming comparing to other ballads, but this one is pretty good with it’s simple outlook.  There’s some points where I do cringe on some of her notes (mostly her higher ones).  Still a way better ballad than “Promise on Christmas”.

8. SEVEN

SEVEN opens up like a ballad but it quickly turns into another track that could be anime-based.  The mix of traditional Japanese sounds, guitar, and fast percussion really sticks out in my mind.  I have to say that this is one of my favorites from the album personally.  Better than “Astrogation”?  Probably not, but it’s surely damn close.  Oh yea, Naruto totally sounds awesome with this track IMO.

9. Aoi Iro

Aoi Iro to me passes me by pretty quickly.  There’s a cool guitar riff all around the song and it’s basically fun pop/rock stuff and I found it catchy.  Nana however, doesn’t really stand out to me in the song.  My least favorite of the A-sides and I wonder if the other A-side would’ve been a better choice. 

10. TRY AGAIN

It starts off a little different with a twinkly synth passage and then the brass and guitars pop in.  Maybe it’s me, but this shows off when not to sing.  Nana tries to combine both her mature voice and her seiyuu voice and this did not work into her favor as she seemed nasally here.  It didn’t help that the song was really happy…

11. SECRET AMBITION

Another lead track.  SECRET AMBITION seems to be missing something.  I don’t know why, but this didn’t leave a mark as much as “MASSIVE WONDERS” did.  It also does seem like a GUNDAM track, but this track just failed to stand out to the rest of the album.

12. Nostalgia

I wonder if Nostalgia is relating to her past stuff.  Nostalgia is definitly pop/rock and somehow I like the song a lot.  There’s a lightness to it and that right there makes it stand out.  Even the guitar also makes appearances and plays along to the melody of the chorus which is awesome.  It’s downside?  Very short track not even hitting 3 minutes.

13. Heart-shaped chant

The only B-side on the album come up next and I was so turned off by Nana singing in the opening.  It was like really flat and ear-piercing.  Now I can’t classify this if this is a ballad and pop song, but I’m leaning more towards the pop side.  There’s some interesting string moments as well.  Is this supposed to remind me of the medieval era?  It does for some reason.

14. chronicle of sky

We return to the energetic dance side and chronicle of sky isn’t too surprising.  It’s the closest to “Astrogation” but falls short of being anything really good.  It’s another pretty happy track and the synth/guitar mixed has been done before and came out right.  This one just seems fillerish to me.

15. Sing Forever

As typical as it seems we end the album with a ballad.  I actually think it’s my favorite of the ballads on the album.  There’s actually some beautiful piano melodies and strings as well.  The only problem is the song is almost 6 minutes which can really make this song drag on too long. 

Tracks Recommended

•  SEVEN
• MASSIVE WONDERS
• Take a chance
• Nostalgia
• Sing Forever

I’m not gonna fully say this album was the best, but it’s a good listen.  Some of the songs were upbeat which is my style and Nana mostly hit it right….maybe except for 2-3 songs.  Ballads aren’t hey style but if she put enough effort they can come out right.  Other than that, I’m sticking with the high-energy ones.

Kanon Wakeshima – Suna no Oshiro November 15, 2008

Track Listing

1. Suna no Oshiro
2. skip turn step♪
3. Suna no Oshiro (instrumental) (limited only)
4. skip turn step♪ (instrumental) (limited only)
5. Suna no Oshiro -orgel version-

1. Suna no Oshiro

Another high-quality dark song from Kanon.  We start off with a pretty fast cello opening and then we hear Kanon’s semi-whispering the verses and then this evil low sound opens the track up.  My problems with the song is of course the length because seriously she need longer tracks.  She’s so mysterious and her singing here is a lot more creepier than in “still doll”.  It also does showcase her more this time and honestly her singing is nice while her music is haunting and nice.  Good track overall.

2. skip turn step♪

I wasn’t sure what to think of her B-side because it’s so bouncy and lively.  The strings plays an important part being the beat and melody.  Kanon decided to make it more poppy which definitly is a plus for me because it’s telling us that she’s can change styles.  When I say the title, I was like waltz style?  I’m not too particular on this side of string music so when “Baroque” is used I’m quite lost, but Waltz is more of my intelligence.  It’s also the longest track so far in her discography which is great!

3. Suna no Oshiro -orgel version-

The wind-up starts us off with this version of Suna no Oshiro.  Honestly, I didn’t really connect with this as much as “still doll’s” version because the orgel actually made it sound like a lullaby instead of being so dark and creepy.  Hey, at least there’s a version for it right?

 

 

So, this single was really good.  Suna no Oshiro was darkness and strings balled into a song even though it was too short IMO. skip turn step♪ however, beat this single up with it’s different style and longer time hahaha.  I actually also am impressed at the instrumental of the A-side as well, awesomeness.  The orgel version was a little disappointing but isn’t too bad.  Can’t wait for the next one.