Rina Aiuchi – HANABI July 26, 2010

Track Listing

1. HANABI
2. Garden
3. HANABI -instrumental-
4. Garden -instrumental-

1. HANABI

While it hasn’t been too long since we’ve seen a ballad A-side from Rina, HANABI actually sounds relatively good (especially given her last few albums been sounding).  The arrangement sounds amazingly powerful that has a mix of guitars, piano, and strings.  It’s always a great thing to see and Rina’s vocals don’t sound thin as they usually are which is another plus.  Could it be Rina’s best ballad since “Nemurenu You ni”?  I think so.

2. Garden

The B-side is also a ballad which isn’t as surprising I guess, but it kind of sounds like a nostalgic run-through to her other ballad that’s well known, “Kaze no Nai Umi de Dakishimete”.  It’s alright, but it doesn’t hold as strong of a candle as “HANABI” did, but I did like the music box segments. 

 

 

After having such a bad single with “MAGIC”, I think she came back quite nicely with HANABI which is a pretty strong ballad from her (and that’s saying a lot because her ballads aren’t at this calibur).  That’s why we have Garden which just comes off as a bit plain, but still a nice listen.  Let’s hope she doesn’t rush this era like she did with “THANX”.

S/mileage – ◯◯ Ganbaranakutemo Eenende!!

Track Listing

1. ◯◯ Ganbaranakutemo Eenende!!
2. ◯◯ Ganbaranakutemo Iin da yo!!
3. Smile Bijin
4. ◯◯ Ganbaranakutemo Eenende!! (Instrumental)

1. ◯◯ Ganbaranakutemo Eenende!!

I really don’t know what to think of Ganbaranakutemo Eenende!!, it sounds really off the sidewalk for them because of how wildly weird it is.  I mean putting in sounds like random boings and other weird stuff and such just kind of puts me off.  I’ll be blunt, I hate the song, it’s so damn annoying and the girls sound their worst in this song.  It’s just a very bad mix of everything I don’t like about idol groups and here’s the titular example.

2. ◯◯ Ganbaranakutemo Iin da yo!!

Which brings us to the second version of the song, which roughly means the same exact thing as the main attraction.  It’s still the same bizarre arrangement that continues to bother me to no end, but there’s different lyrics which still doesn’t make too much of a difference because it still annoys me to no end.  I’m sorry but this is just adding salt to the wound.

3. Smile Bijin

At least the B-side is actually listenable and doesn’t make me want to cry.  The arrangement kind of takes from the synth style from “Yumemiru 15sai” and I thought that was good and the girls for the most part toned it down a little bit as well.  While it is a bit B-side-ish (I mean in a H!P way), it’s still not that bad of a song.

 

 

S/mileage really screwed up with this single.  While Smile Bijin is the only remotely good thing about the single the rest is just pure garbage to my ears.  I don’t think I’ve heard anything this annoying or messy in so long from H!P and it bothers me that it had to be this group to have gotten such treatment.  I’m sorry but this easily ranks on my least favorite H!P songs.