Haruka Shimotsuki – Griotte no Nemuri Hime November 4, 2009

Track Listing

1. Horobiru no Kotowari
2. Kienai Uta
3. Erabareta Tami
4. Ohime-sama to Doukeshi
5. Madara no Kuni
6. Hitori Yume
7. Sora Watashi
8. Tsunagari no Hana
9. Owari no Toki e
10. Hane ni Sugaru Mono
11. Kooru Sekai
12. Gyaku Mawaru no Inochi
13. FEL FEARY WEL.

1. Horobiru no Kotowari

Opening up Haruka’s album, Horobiru no Kotowari has a very calm opening mix of strings and the chorale singing.  It’s like something that would fit the Kingdom Hearts series because of it’s moving passages and simply nice sound.  Oddly enough it’s the only song that Haruka doesn’t sing in which is a surprise I guess.

2. Kienai Uta

What I’ve already knew about Haruka was that she was once part of Sound Horizon and did previous folkish albums as well.  Kienai Uta is definitely a folk song at its heart.  Haruka’s vocals are borderline nice to almost shrill, but here it’s not too bad and she’s not conjuring up her seiyuu voice.  After the first chorus the song becomes almost a little sad with the crying from the violin.  I can say I was impressed by the song.

3. Erabareta Tami

Our next track reminds me of the opening song with the chorale singing and the almost mysterious piano playing.  After that long opening, the song begins to open up even more and become a serious folk tune when compared to “Kienai Uta”.  It still flows nicely and Haruka still sounds nice here too. 

4. Ohime-sama to Doukeshi

I really loved the strings that opened up this song.  It’s was fancy and felt emotional and felt strong all-around.  Then the accordion comes in with Haruka in her “cute” vocals and it becomes a bit like a dance-like song.  There’s a good amount of catchy clapping rhythms.  I just couldn’t really stand Haruka’s singing here though unfortunately, but I do love the arrangement.  Cute flute moment = WIN

5. Madara no Kuni

I’m not sure if the flow of the album is great, but Madara no Kuni is definitely something I’d expect Sound Horizon (REVO) would have done.  It just sounds epic with the chorale opening here.  It’s even more interesting that there’s an actual band playing in the song giving it the more loud sound Haruka songs haven’t really had.  About Haruka, she sounds amazing here.  She fits the rock-ish setting nicely and makes the song very memorable.

6. Hitori Yume

I felt surreal when I listened to Hitori Yume.  The arrangement is very empty except the inclusion of piano and distant soothing sounds.  It seems to be the sad song off the album and I can tell why because it does emanate that feeling throughout.  It might not be as memorable as other tracks, but it’s nice for what it is.  Then again 7 minutes is enough to not garner another full listen.

7. Sora Watashi

We get to go back to the folk songs with Sora Watashi.  It seems that kids are singing the opening lines and their voice aren’t the most prettiest things here.  Once again the song is a bit more serious than other folk songs she’s done, but I don’t really find anything much to write about.  It’s just not that memorable I guess.

8. Tsunagari no Hana

Even though the album was going down a bit from quality, Tsunagari no Hana brought back up pretty firmly.  With a great choice of instruments, Haruka could do know wrong (or her producer for that matter).  Including much needed brass and Haruka sounding stronger I couldn’t help but like this.  Thank god for this tune.

9. Owari no Toki e

Owari no Toki e sounds more like a normal pop song on the album.  There’s just something that felt missing here.  I’m not sure but I was quite uninterested with it until the electric guitar.  Once the guitar and chorus happened I felt like I was listening to another anime theme like “Asu e no Kizuna” from HIMEKA.  It has that typical anime-like chorus, but sadly it’s the best thing from the song.

10. Hane ni Sugaru Mono

The dark pounding piano chords that open Hane ni Sugaru Mono was a great to start for this song.  Though I’m already getting a little bored of hearing the chorale begin the tunes.  Still, Hane ni Sugaru Mono is a very dark tune.  While the song has a very ominous feel and Haruka is whispering through the verses before coming out strongly in the bridge.  It’s something new and refreshing after some meh tracks.

11. Kooru Sekai

I’m not really feeling that Kooru Sekai had to be after such a dark track because Kooru Sekai is quite the opposite.  I’d like to call it the normal ballad.  It doesn’t really create any feelings for me towards me so it just flys by me.  It could’ve been better, but this is OK at best.

12. Gyaku Mawaru no Inochi

Another chorale opening?  Really?  Gyaku Mawaru no Inochi tries to replicate as another epic song off the album and some points it’s true.  I love the pipe organ here in the song and the mixing of Haruka’s singing and the BKGD’s point-on singing.  It was interesting having two vocal parts happening simultaneously so this was a pretty good tune.

13. FEL FEARY WEL.

The ending of the album begins with waves crashing upon shore like some other tracks I know have done in the past.  Haruka comes in singing with a simple arrangement consisting of xylophone and piano.  It’s a rather fairytale-like song with how it’s made to sound.  I like how the song sort of transitions because of a water drop into a more forlorning tune.  I liked how this ended the album.

Tracks Recommended

• Hane ni Sugaru Mono
• Madara no Kuni
• Kienai Uta
• Gyaku Mawaru no Inochi

Haruka’s 4th studio album is something different from what I usually listen to.  Griotte no Nemuri Hime is a nice album because it shows that Haruka can do songs without making all the songs into folk.  It’s weird some of the songs are a bit boring and long, but there’s times she has genius moments with her arranger and I’m not sure why she didn’t stick with em.  Alright album overall for me.

Haruka Shimotsuki – break time October 2, 2009

Track Listing

1. break time
2. Owari no Nai Tabi
3. break time -Inst Ver.-
4. Owari no Nai Tabi -Inst Ver.-
5. Frost Moon Cafe -CD Shiten- (bonus track)

1. break time

If you noticed, I’m not too involved with Haruka Shimotsuki’s music except for the songs she did on the “VOLKSLEID” series.  break time for me sounds a bit simple and vocally a bit better than her songs off the vocal collection.  It’s a pop tune, but there’s a lot of strings playing and it seems a little simple for me.  It’s rather an interesting tune, but still doesn’t hold the excitement like “Koikaze Tayori” did.

2. Owari no Nai Tabi

The B-side of the single, Owari no Nai Tabi to me sounds like a vocal track that could’ve been tied into the Animal Crossing series.  I mean it does have the light airy sound and with bits and pieces of accordion strung out, you could see what I mean.  I do like the folkish arrangement and Haruka is sounding once again, a lot better than before.

3. Frost Moon Cafe -CD Shiten-

Though the bigger WTF, was this track which lasts over 31 minutes long.  The reasoning of this is becuase is that it’s basically a conversation between Haruka and other people of the anime tie-in.  You hear “break time” playing around in the background as well which does make this whole thing a little more bearable.  After a while, this acoustic melody starts playing and Haruka returns…basically this whole thing was different for me.  Near the end, they start playing “Owari no Nai Tabi” as well making for a nice finish.

 

 

I don’t know where “break time” fits in with her discography or if it’s even going to be on “Girotte no Nemurihime” but break time was alright.  I haven’t listened to Haruka for awhile, but I can say she’s gotten better singing and both vocal tunes show that.  The Frost Moon Cafe shtick was nice or the people who can understand the language enough…but for me it flew by me and it’s long too.  Still it’s a nice enough single for me.