Track Listing

1. Alternative
2. Kanata no delight
3. Alternative (off vocal version)
4. Kanata no delight (off vocal version)

1. Alternative

After such an amazing single in “Spiral/Link”, I was honestly expecting something more explosive from angela.  The beginning to me felt too drawn out.  After the beginning it does become more of a dance track, but it feels like an awkward version of Ayu’s “evolution” with the uber fast chorus.  atsuko’s vocals continue to prove she has the strength to do songs like this, but when they are congested and sound messy, it’s definitely taking a strong risk and sadly, I’m not too fond.

2. Kanata no delight

I was more interested in the B-side for the era.  I really loved the strings in the song and since KATSU wasn’t making this song out to be mess central, Kanata no delight was a joy to listen to and would fit as a good anime opening.  Hmmmm….this should’ve been the A-side IMO

So angela once again begins an era off with a pretty bad A-side but makes up for it with the B-side.  I’m not sure why, but if KATSU was trying to replicate the awesomeness that was “Spiral” then he missed by mashing atsuko’s vocals in the chorus.  Kanata no delight was clearly the better track and even though it doesn’t have the same spark that the last single had it’s not too bad.  Oh well…

Track Listing

1. Galactic material
2. Spiral
3. Beautiful fighter
4. Hikari, Sagase Nakutemo
5. Mangetsu All Night
6. SONGS
7. Fine!
8. Koko ni Iru yo
9. innocence
10. Beginning
11. My story
12. Panorama

1. Galactic material

I didn’t think angela was going to begin Land Ho! with such an epic song.  Galactic material opens up with an epic strings opening before getting into the brassy arrangement.  The song feels like it was in space, but add in a bit of peppyness and we get this track.  atsuko’s vocals are pretty steady, but I don’t exactly like how she pronounces the title during the chorus…it just sounded weird…At least it end on this low string before getting into…

2. Spiral

One of their best songs.  Spiral as the last A-side of the era totally blew me away with how KATSU and atsuko worked the entire track.  It does seem like they incorporated a little more electronica and a little more of atsuko’s vibrato with Spiral and I quite liked it as the progressive sound moved on by.  It’s still an amazing song and one of my favorites of the year.

3. Beautiful fighter

Sadly, it doesn’t make up for how bad Beautiful fighter turned out.  Beginning the era off as the first A-side, Beautiful fighter does come off as an edgier and darker “Spiral” but atsuko’s vocals were just too out of place and unusual in this track.  I also felt the energy level was a bit lower and placed the song into boredom.  I do like KATSU’s arrangement, it’s just atsuko’s singing that made it bleh.

4. Hikari, Sagase Nakutemo

We go back into the new songs starting with Hikari, Sagase Nakutemo and it starts with a strange instrumental before KATSU comes in with the guitar part.  So far this is slower than the previous songs which is good and atsuko’s voice is back into a comfortable position, it’s just that once again the song doesn’t provide with enough energy to make the song sound long-lasting. 

5. Mangetsu All Night

That’s why I’m happy to see this track pop-up next.  The song goes back into the fun-sounding pop/rock that started the album off right.  atsuko is already showing more interest into the song and her tone is a bit more cutesy. but when the chorus pops up it goes back to the heavy vibrato side to her vocals and it oddly works for me.  I think it’s pretty catchy, thx KATSU.

6. SONGS

SONGS first starts off ballad-like with atsuko singing pretty nicely before KATSU comes in and gets the synths in place within the song.  It’s still more of a pop/ballad mix which is a little strange as far as tempos and arrangements go.  That’s why I think it’s one of their better songs as the mix fits rather nicely.  Vocally, it’s atsuko best so far.

7. Fine!

At this point of the album, I was pleasantly surprised to hear an acoustic track on here.  atsuko’s singing is pretty quick-paced and her voice is softer than normal which gave the song an extra boost of interest from me.  That it until she’s basically wailing in the chorus.  Then KATSU throws us for a loop when he adds a sitar solo…it’s a very strange, yet relaxing track and being so varied stands out on the album.

8. Koko ni Iru yo

I’m starting to miss their aggressive songs now by the time I get to Koko ni Iru yo.  It’s a little more together and faster, but it still sounds like more of a pop song than anything.  I do like the song as it’s more normal-paced and nothing could really compare to this so I liked it.  Even atsuko lightened up on that vibrato a little bit.

9. innocence

Oh yea, the song that sampled Nami Tamaki’s “Sunrize” opening…innocence was my favorite off the “Yakusoku” single which by the way (LULZ at the A-side not being on here).  Anyways, innocence once again is a little bit like “Spiral” (but this came out beforehand).  The mix of strings and guitar and a particularly cool sound from the duo.  I still like the song a lot.

10. Beginning

If it wasn’t for “Beautiful fighter”, I would’ve said this has the darkest opening as it’s gloomy and full of crying strings.  Then atsuko comes in and the mood is rather changed and sounds more like a moody & hopeful song.  They just got it right with Beginning since KATSU’s arrangement worked with atsuko’s vocals and they are actually really nice in the song.

11. My story

Coming from “Beautiful fighter”, My story was already better than the A-side.  It’s rather a more traditional tune since it includes instruments that usually come with that and mixed in with the dance style and we get My story.  atsuko does create some awkward notes here and there and sometimes cover the music, but it’s still a nice enough song.

12. Panorama

Ending off the album, Panorama sounds like it’s going back to “Galactic material” almost, just without the whole brass craze.  I like the synths that were used here and atsuko’s vocals now sound like she could’ve been part of Kalafina in some parts of the song.  I think it’s the layering that made it happen.  It’s a fitting ending to the album and it’s quite nice.

Tracks Recommended

• Spiral
• Galactic material
• Fine!
• Beginning
• SONGS

For my first angela album…this was actually surprising to hear that most of the songs were more upbeat and in pop nature than what was released single-wise.  Land Ho! might not have the theme pat-down (if there was any to begin with) but mostly this is a strong album.  atsuko does have some singing obstacles in a few songs, but thx to KATSU’s work, that problem is mostly non-existant.  Hopefully they keep releasing strong tracks for future releases.

Track Listing

1. Spiral
2. Link
3. Spiral (off vocal version)
4. Link (off vocal version)

1. Spiral

This was the reason I got into the duo in the first place.  Spiral is one amazing track and beats out every other track they’ve released in the era.  KATSU did a great job with the arrangement of the song and atsuko’s vocals are perfect and very fitting.  Her vibrato might be wild, but they made the song more cooler.  I’m a little taken aback at how good this is and already is one my top favorite songs.

2. Link

So it’s easy to say that Link was a bit underwhelming when compare to “Spiral”.  Actually, Link is a total opposite as it’s a ballad instead of a hybrid of dance and rock.  Well, it’s a ballad up until the chorus where the music explodes into this nice orchestration of strings and KATSU on guitar.  It’s a little more complex, so I can admire the work that was put into it.

angela did save the best for last for sure.  Spiral/Link is a great single if you want to start with this duo.  Link is a bit serious in the arrangement and meaning (i think) and could have been a cool PV since it’s a double A-side.  Spiral though was the instant shiner here and the energy in the song was amazing…*RECOMMENDED*

Track Listing

1. Yakusoku
2. innocence
3. Shangri-La
4. Yakusoku (off vocal version)
5. innocence (off vocal version)
6. Shangri-La (off vocal version)

1. Yakusoku

I’m actually surprised that angela went for a ballad as their next A-side.  I really like how calm and then powerful atsuko can get with her voice when the arrangement call for either.  I can’t blame KATSU either because he made a pretty sweet arrangement as well.  Way to go!

2. innocence

OMG, the beginning of this song is so ripped off from Nami Tamaki’s “Sunrize”…After that though, the song becomes more of what I’m used to by angela.  It’s a bit like rock but with strings in it as well to make it more epic.  I think KATSU’s guitar solo was just amazing here, he never seems to not surprise me whenever he plays guitar.  Pretty good B-side.

3. Shangri-La

Shangri-La is actually not a new track of theres.  It’s actually the same song from their 5th single of the same name.  It’s on here because the single is a tribute to Soukyuu no Fafnir so it’s understandable that the opening theme would be on the single itself.  Understanding that, the song does have an opening kind of sound and since it’s a recut track, you can hear that atsuko sounds kind of meh in the song and the arrangement is a little messy, but it’s nice to see the track make a return.

angela’s 2nd single of the “Land Ho!” era was actually a lot better than “Beautiful fighter” since Yakusoku was a sweet ballad and innocence was more of the sound they were going closer with.  Shangri-La was  nice treat for the fans of the anime, but it sounds dated actually so it was the worst song off the single, but it’s not terrible…

Track Listing

1. Beautiful fighter
2. My story
3. Darling
4. Beautiful fighter (off vocal ver.)
5. My story (off vocal ver.)
6. Darling (off vocal ver.)

1. Beautiful fighter

angela…Oh angela…Beautiful fighter once again never seem to surprise me with their songs and Beautiful fighter is one of those songs that makes you say, if you heard their other stuff this won’t surprise you one bit.  I’m not the biggest fan of atsuko’s vocals here because a good portion of the time she’s sounding very hoarse and other times she sounds heavenly….I just don’t like the mix of the two and atsuko’s vocal crazy ass vibrato does not help this song one bit either.  Yeesh…

2. My story

The first B-side is actually quite calmer than the last one and in some cases this is the better song off the song.  That is until the dance beats come in and take over for the song.  atsuko also fixed her problems found in the first track, though she still wavers her vocals way too much and that can be a distraction from the music.  I love how they added traditional Japanese elements in the song which made it stand out moreso.  This should’ve been the A-side.  Gotta say KATSU’s solo was pretty cool too.

3. Darling

The surprise of the single is the second B-side where it features no synths at all.  Just atsuko and KATSU playing acoustically.  At first I was expecting something different, but I was pleasantly surprised at what I got.  Especially with the chorale joining in the chorus and I wonder if KATSU was singing as well.  This was just a nice way to end the single off IMO.

If you look at this single it went from horrible to awesome.  I really question the reason they really needed to have Beautiful fighter as an A-side because it was just horrid.  My story and Darling would’ve been way better choices.  My story did the guitar/synth combo well and acoustically driven Darling was just a nice treat.  I hope they get things right on the next single.