Kaori Mochida – NIU August 26, 2010

Track Listing

1. Bolero
2. Pocket
3. Haruiro
4. Morning
5. mind sound
6. sora
7. Kimi no Tomodachi
8. Night Cats
9. Ai no Hana
10. green
11. Kuchibue
12. NIU

1. Bolero

I was wondering if it was going to be true that the song was going to be stylized and I was happy it was actually.  I liked that the album began smoothly with Bolero since it shows off something calming and rather sweet.  Now I’m hearing male vocals singing along with Kaori which is different but nice.  It’s an interesting way to kick off the album, but nice one.

2. Pocket

My problem I had with Kaori’s debut album was that her music wasn’t really stretching out from a soft pop side which sucked.  Pocket kind of goes back to those days, but the simplicity when compared to the last song is nice enough to make it stand out.  It’s a good piano/acoustic tune for people that enjoy this side and the solo was a nice touch to give it a more soothing feel.

3. Haruiro

I really thought the opening for Haruiro was really cool since it was a full orchestra.  The sad thing is that this song sounds so much like a damn lullaby that it does make me fall asleep even though its style in waltz is pretty good.  I think it could be good on a day where I’d be more awake XD

4. Morning

I guess that’s why we have Morning which is a pretty long song over 6 minutes.  In comparison to “Haruiro” it does seem to work after it because while the former track has a sleepy feel to it, Morning actually feels like the sun is rising and things are beginning to move around.  Her vocals has had better days though, but I don’t find them too scratched up like they were in “Acacia”.  I actually am fond of this tune now.

5. mind sound

There’s something that just doesn’t click with me when we enter our next song.  I mean so far on the album, this is the most simplest yet with only acoustic guitar and light percussion.  It’s not that that bothers me though.  It’s Kaori this time around and the way her vocals were produced on here kind of made me cringe a little bit.  At least it’s not for all of the song so it’s just those few parts where it’s rough.  It’s her cute song though so I can’t blame totally.  Otherwise she pulled this song nicely and after a while I can see why it’s just cute.

6. sora

I was kind of surprised to hear sora.  This song is definitely should be played outside of headphones because the slight electronic buzz and shit really hurts my ears.  It’s like a school food punishment song but without the band and with Kaori’s vocals.  In my opinion the song could’ve been good without the damn electronic shit going on, but it’s good when you’re paying attention to the piano, the repeated rhythm, and Kaori’s soft vocals.

7. Kimi no Tomodachi

As the album’s longest song, Kimi no Tomodachi is just like her previous songs…you know, softly sung, the arrangement is just as light and such.  The good thing though that seperates it from her other songs is that it builds itself through the entire song and shows off Kaori’s vocals way better than most of the other songs.  I actually think of Cirque du Soleil when the later parts with the accordion pop up to add more spice…it’s so different and yet done so nicely.  It’s probably my favorite track off the album.

8. Night Cats

Night Cats sounded like it was going to be a jazzy tune and boy was I right on target.  It’s pretty sly-sounding and I think the song is entirely in English (well at least I hope it is because Kaori’s pronunciation is kind of crap here).  No blame there and at least her vocals sound cool in a jazz setting.  No complaints here.

9. Ai no Hana

Why wasn’t Ai no Hana right after “Bolero” eh?  I mean they both sound somewhat similar in an odd way.  After that it seems that the song goes in a different direction however.  It sounds almost like Kaori is trying to be a R&B artist.  It’s like 90′s R&B but light and fluffy which is cool to hear.  Then it seems like it goes back to the slight jazzy sound in the chorus.  Ai no Hana fits Kaori’s vocals like a glove and seemed so perfect.  Even her ad-libbing at the end was to die for!

10. green

As the lone A-side preceding the album, green sucks on this album altogether.  I mean after all the different styles we got on NIU, it just seems green is the throwaway track because it seems a bit too simple of a song on here.  Like it stays on ultra ballad mode it seems until at least the middle of the song where it opens it to strings and drums but even then, it’s like wouldn’t it better off on “moka”?  It’s just that plain and it shows moreso here.

11. Kuchibue

I thought it was even worse putting another plain ballad after “green”.  It’s just a bit of a deja vu moment since I thought the beginning of the track before was pretty boring and it happened again here.  At least it gets to more instruments faster and there’s a toy piano played here as well which caught me off guard.  There’s even a whistle solo, which is cool too.  Though I was like that was fast because by that time, it’s almost near the end of the song…I’d say it’s a condensed but better song than “green”.

12. NIU

As the album title (strange one at that, I wonder what’s the explanation for it).  NIU starts off with a nice oboe solo before keyboard comes in and gives this rather interesting arrangement.  I’m happy that it’s not a boring ballad, but a lot of it sounds like ad-libbing especially at first time in the bridge with the whole repeating thing going.  It’s an absurd little tune, but it did make me smile at the end so that’s good!

Tracks Recommended

• Kimi no Tomodachi
• Morning
• Ai no Hana
• Bolero
• NIU

Song of Avoidance

• sora

I was preparing for the worst after “green/Acacia” since that single was just a bomb and neither songs really showed improvement (well Acacia was before “moka” so that is forgotten).  For the most part, NIU is a much better album to listen to since it wasn’t sleep-inducing for the most part.  Now I know I disliked green alot but sora is there because it hurts to listen to it….OMG so evil.  Still besides those two, the other songs are nice enough to not sound like each other and is worth a listen ^_^

Yui Sakakibara – BLOODY TUNE

Track Listing

1. BLOODY TUNE
2. Gregorio (L×T mix)
3. Gensou no Shiro
4. Refrain
5. Miss.Brand-new day
6. Fairchild
7. Idol Revolution
8. My Dear HERO
9. = Suki
10. Love☆Jet!
11. summer day
12. STAR LEGEND
13. Tsuki Tenshi
14. ONENESS!
15. HONEY ~dance remix~

1. BLOODY TUNE

LOL at the opening to the album.  I wasn’t expecting a pretty creepy intro like this one.  At least once the conversation goes away the song becomes this mix of pop/rock, synthy, and brass-like instrumentation.  I like the excitement of the song and it does keep its dark roots intact for a lot of the song.  As for Yui’s vocals, they aren’t her darkside vocals, but it’s in the middle and it sound rather like she’s being sexy and it worked for me. 

2. Gregorio (L×T mix)

I wonder where the original version of Gregorio is because this song is kickass and especially is immensely darker than “BLOODY TUNE”.  I was surprised at how energetic the song was and how loud everything was.  Yui is using her deeper set of vocals and I was blown away by her power in the song.  I have to admit that I never really expected to get this way without being under her “PHANTASM” moniker, but I was happy with this song!

3. Gensou no Shiro

I was wondering what we were gonna get next after such a hard track and it seems we switch styles around for Gensou no Shiro.  I like that it toned things down and paid more attention to the use of synths with the electric guitar.  It might come off as an anime-like kind of song, but it’s kind of vocally better and more easier on the ears.  It’s better than the average Yui song at least ^_^

4. Refrain

As fast as it’s gone through the album so far, we end up listening to our first ballad from the album.  I did feel that things felt a bit odd after going through three energetic songs and completely taking a breather in this song.  I think it would’ve fared better without the percussion used in the song, but for the most part, it’s not a bad ballad, but could use some tinkering and some vocal enhancing.

5. Miss.Brand-new day

I was wondering when we were going to start to hear some vocal oddities and with Miss.Brand-new day Yui starts off the song kind of vocally shrill.  At least the arrangement saves the day since it’s like “Gensou no Shiro” in the way that it mixes guitars and synths together.  If it wasn’t for her squeakyness, I would have enjoyed the song a whole lot, but it’s just kind of OK.

6. Fairchild

Man, it seems Yui’s album is faring a whole lot better already because the arrangements have so much more effort put into them.  Fairchild might not stand out (especially since it’s after “Miss.Brand-new day”).  Sadly, the chorus just went nowhere for me and sounded a little plain, but damn I love the guitar solos throughout this song.

7. Idol Revolution

Oh boy, the inside of my stomach started to twist when I saw the title because only one thing is for certain in a song like this.  Yui overloads her genki-style and taps into her seiyuu voice which kills me in a lot of ways.  At least the vocals match the style of the song which is a plus because it’s fun, cute, and filled with pop/rock goodness.  It’s just her vocals are impossible to swallow in one listen.

8. My Dear HERO

The same thing applies with this song except it’s more focused on the guitars than the synths.  It’s hard to take Yui serious as a singer when she slaps on these uber cute songs on albums (even moreso since…c’mon just look at the art cover!).  There’s just something wrong when these songs kind of ruin the initial thought process on the album.  They don’t fit and they don’t sound real good vocally.

9. = Suki

There is a limit to when things start to get horrific for Yui and = Suki would be that song.  I mean it’s a bit lighter than “My Dear HERO”, but her vocals really hit rock bottom and I can barely keep myself from punching things listening to it.  Not even the music could save this easily deletable song.

10. Love☆Jet!

I was expecting another failure of a song out of this, but I was surprised it’s one of the better songs off the album since Yui’s vocals aren’t pitchy and it’s kind of rockin’ in a good way, but not like “Gregorio” rockin’.  I feel like after all that failing, there’s some sliver of hope left for Yui’s album XD

11. summer day

At least she is going back to sounding rather normal.  summer day is a mid-tempo summer tune and it sounds good, even though it’s one of the more simpler songs in the arrangement department.  Her vocals are at the right amount of cute which is great too.  Maybe she excels at these songs perhaps?

12. STAR LEGEND

I wonder why Yui is trying to sing cute but then becomes epic again.  It’s really just like how “Unmei no Revolution” began with a slow start and then getting extremely quiet to loud in 3 seconds before the main arrangement begins.  It’s just a happier version sounding “Miss.Brand-new day”.  Nothing new hear, but it’s a nice song.

13. Tsuki Tenshi

Oh hey, another ballad…sweet.  I liked the fact this sounded like a full-on ballad with piano, strings, and guitars.  It gets even better at the chorus since things open up and more instrumentation is added.  It’s definitely the better of the two ballads on the album which is good because she hasn’t done very well in her singles!

14. ONENESS!

Is oneness even a word in the dictionary?  I don’t know why but it just looks wrong to me.  Anywho, I was really surprised that after the ballad, ONENESS! is an electro-like tune with most of the song’s arrangement under synth.  It also sounds like a fun song to perform live since there’s places to shout with the song.  Random song to have finish to main part of the album, but it’s good to hear she’s keeping it good.

15. HONEY ~dance remix~

So ending the album altogether is a remix of HONEY which was her title track to her second studio album.  I’ve never really gotten around to hear the original so I can’t compare.  It’s also the longest song off the album being near 7 minutes.  I’m not sure what to think since it clearly doesn’t fit on the album, but at least the energy is good.  Sadly, I don’t hear any true Yui lyrics in this one, but the mix has a lot of different areas to it which is cool…but was it really needed?

Tracks Recommended

• Gregorio (L×T mix)
• Love☆Jet!
• Tsuki Tenshi
• BLOODY TUNE
• Gensou no Shiro

Song of Avoidance

• = Suki

Wow, Out of all the albums I’ve reviewed from Yui Sakakibara (minus “END PROPHECY”) this is her best album yet.  I think 5pb. actually put some effort into this album and it shows even though I was hoping they’d stick to the covers theme and all.  My problem with the album is all in the middle of the album, tracks 7 through 10 were terrible!  I mean Yui’s sickingly cute songs never fit on her albums and it shows, but there’s less which is godly.  All the other songs had something really nice about them.  Can she keep this up?