Stereopony – Tsukiakari no Michishirube November 3, 2009

Track Listing

1. Tsukiakari no Michishirube
2. Daidai Iro
3. fuzz
4. Tsukiakari no Michishirube ~Instrumental~
5. Tsukiakari no Michishirube ~Opening Edition~ (DARKER THAN BLACK Edition bonus track)

1. Tsukiakari no Michishirube

When I heard that Stereopony’s next A-side was going to be tied in with DARKER THAN BLACK, I was wondering if we were gonna get something as epic as “Hitohira no Hanabira” or “Namida no Mukou”, but we didn’t really.  The song is a bit more lighthearted but that’s not too bad because it’s less stress for AIMI to push her vocals out.  It’s still a pretty good track from the trio and I love the guitar riffs that I keep hearing.

2. Daidai Iro

A little more to their previous releases, but still lively, Daidai Iro is another song I really liked from first listen.  It’s got a great Western feel to it and AIMI and NOHANA being the guitarist/bassist was a good combo for sure.  It did feel a little short but this song is still really good. 

3. fuzz

However, fuzz gets the role of shortest song because it’s only 2:13 in length.  It sounds pretty hectic and loud from them.  There’s just a lot of SHIHO featured here and she gets to show off her drumming skills in a great way.  Now if the song was a bit longer and more from AIMI, I think we could’ve had a great song, but whatever…take what we can get huh?

 

 

Stereopony is on a roll with their releases.  Tsukiakari no Michishirube is definitely one of their better singles of course.  This is since both the title track and Daidai Iro are catchy songs period.  fuzz would’ve been good if it wasn’t for the short length…other than that the hard sound that carried was pretty shweet too.

Mika Nakashima – Nagareboshi November 3, 2009

Track Listing

1. Nagareboshi
2. Memory feat. DAISHI DANCE
3. Nagareboshi (Instrumental)
4. Memory feat. DAISHI DANCE (Instrumental)

1. Nagareboshi

If it actually means something Nagareboshi is probably the best A-side she’s released so far in the current era.  It’s also the era’s only ballad right now and I actually enjoy this.  It seems to take on some of “ORION’s” grandness in its arrangement and it worked, also adding a small touch of winter in the process.  I have to say Mika did the song very well and I’m seeing a quick jump up on singles.

2. Memory feat. DAISHI DANCE

The B-side originally appeared on DAISHI DANCE’s album, “Spectacle.” which was released last month.  If you guess what this would remind you of, think of Mika’s and DAISHI’s last collaboration on “SAKURA ~Hanagasumi~ and you get what this sounds like pretty quickly.  I enjoyed the mix of piano and club beats that fill the song and it gives a good nostalgic feel to her old music.

 

 

Why yes, Nagareboshi is Mika’s best single she’s had since “ORION”.  None of the tracks sounded like anything too similar and they both have identities of their own.  Even though Memory was well-known before “CANDY GIRL’s” release it was nicer that it was left off that meh single and put on our “winter” single.  Pretty great single actually.

alan – Swear November 3, 2009

Track Listing

1. Swear
2. Beauty
3. Swear (Instrumental)
4. Beauty (Instrumental)

1. Swear

I’m so happy that Swear isn’t a ballad.  I was starting to lose faith in alan after her last single, but hearing a more poppish style from her is a great idea.  Even though her voice isn’t extravagant as most people would say in songs like “Gunjou no Tani” or “Sora Uta”, she isn’t doing too bad here.  It’s a lighthearted pop tune and honestly it doesn’t exactly fit in her releases, but it’s a nice song either way.

2. Beauty

The B-side however reminds me of one of her older B-sides, “Sakura Modern”.  It starts with a melody that makes it sound Chinese, but at the same time Beauty has this mix of winter and spring with its flowing arrangement and alan’s pretty single.  I’d say this is one of the best B-sides I’ve heard from alan in a while (then again, when was the last B-side?  Oh yeah.  “Namida” from “Megumi no Ame”)

 

 

alan ends off the “my life” era with a pretty nice single.  It’s nice that we finally get a new B-side rather than a rearranged version or other things.  Swear’s pop side shows off alan in a cute way while Beauty does show off her Chinese side of her like her early B-sides and I liked it.  I’d say this is the best single of the era.

T.M.Revolution – Out Of Orbit ~Triple ZERO~ November 3, 2009

Track Listing

1. Out Of Orbit ~Triple ZERO~
2. Juggling
3. LIGHT MY FIRE ~ private mix

1. Out Of Orbit ~Triple ZERO~

From Out Of Orbit’s first seconds, I knew we were dealing with a new sound from Daisuke and it’s finally time that he gave up on those cheap synths he was using with all his previous acts.  It really sounds like something that would have a PV in space (luckily, it did) and thus sounded epicly made.  I was also happy to have Takanori’s vocals in super expression mode because he does it so well this way.  I also noticed the guitars are a lot more stronger in sound too….hmmm new direction I hope because I love this song!

2. Juggling

So for the B-side for Out Of Orbit, Juggling is a rather interesting song to have actually be added on.  It has that same force that made the previous song so good, but then again it comes to me as a little boring and less energetic because of the tunes tempo.  I really like the chorus where Takanori harmonizes with the BKGD vocals pretty nicely.  Still, I’m not too big a fan of the song.

 

 

Takanori and Daisuke started to gain my respect starting with this single.  Daisuke is starting to utilize something new in his synth and letting the guitar speak more than his keyboarding.  Takanori is also becoming better as a singer with his strong vibrato now taking over.  I have to say this is a whole lot better than “BOARDING”.