Track Listing
-
Kaerimichi wo Nakushite
-
I Pass By ~Darksmoke Version~
1. Kaerimichi wo Nakushite
After her last single “X/Last Melody”, we needed to get back into the mainstay with her songs and clearly, Kaerimichi wo Nakushite is another ballad to but in Chihiro’s collection of really nice ballads. Her voice sounds so nice with the song. I know it’s not at the same caliber as it was in “Gekkou”, but that’s simply because she had surgery so her voice is a bit different now compared to then. The arrangement is a bit simple with strings and piano, and then adding percussion in the 2nd verse. I didn’t think there’d be a punch to it, but the final run through the chorus blew me away and really showed that Chihiro is one of the best balladeers…so much force from Chihiro is a good thing.
2. I Pass By ~Darksmoke Version~
Oddly enough, our B-side is an acoustic version of an upcoming track. Also nice to note that it’s all in English and even Chihiro’s more raw vocals are interesting at first, this isn’t a sound that I’d like her to follow with her next single, “Kagerou”. To me, it shows more problems than it did in “Kaerimichi wo Nakushite”. Less sound equals to my faults in my opinion and this song is one to really show that idea off. Chihiro’s English is pretty meh here as well…not the best B-side she’s released as of recent.
Chihiro’s 3rd single of the era (I’m counting “Hotaru”) is a step down from her last release simply because of the B-side. Kaerimichi wo Nakushite was a nice A-side, even though “Hotaru” is still the better ballad of the current era, but I do like her voice here….That is until the B-side started up. If it wasn’t her awkward vocals that threw the song off, the dry arrangement and badly spoken English partook in the fail of the track….I’m sorry, but just get the A-side.
