Track Listing
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Koi no Vacance
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Southpaw
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Nagisa no “……”
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Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro
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Osaka Rhapsody
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Matsu wa
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Samashii Nettaigyo
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Kakemeguru Seishun
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Nagisa no Sinbad
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Koi no Indian Ningyou
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Suki yo Captain
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Sentimental Boy
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Oatsuraemuki no Destiny
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Give Me Up
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Jounetsu no Hana (PASSION FLOWER)
1. Koi no Vacance
The first song off this album is also the only A-side of the era. Koi no Vacance is still bothersome to me, but I love the whole surf sound it has. It sounds better since the single review, but I still kind of dislike the girls singing maybe it’ll get better as this album goes on.
2. Southpaw
Southpaw has a pretty hectic opening, but after that we finally get a good song. I notice that Tsuji and Ai are both singing in a lower tone than they were in “Koi no Vacance” and I was happy with the progress they were doing here. The speedy song definitly is one of the early favorites of mine. Though I don’t know why they fail at saying Southpaw…they say it like ~saucepau~ Yea….
3. Nagisa no “……”
Totally different from the later track. Nagisa no “…….” is something I would’ve expected from H!P. It’s quite girly and it reminds me of something Koharu would be singing…yea pretty bad assumption right? Cheesy 90′s track but funny hearing from Aibon and Nono.
4. Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro
Surprisingly, they stick in a ballad early on the album and it actually showcased some pretty great vocals from the gals. The song is made of strings and a quiet acoustic guitar melody. It’s so dreamy and the duo made a great stride to sound good together. Pretty track
5. Osaka Rhapsody
Why does Osaka Rhapsody remind me of Russian music? It must because of the use of accordion and the music is definitly something Russian. It’s so random and yet it kind of fits them with the stuff they’ve been pulling off so far. The girls once again go into a deeper tone and seriously it’s so fun and different for H!P. Great song!
6. Matsu wa
Matsu wa brings out the return of the icky cute vocals from the girls. At least they sound together, but I found myself disliking the songs otherwise bouncy sound. It just seems too laidback to make an impression on me. Maybe I’ll like it once I give it a listen later.
7. Samashii Nettaigyo
Oh hey, there’s synth in this track. Honestly, this is another great track even though their vocals are kinda icky. I can see their are trying to act sexy in the song and in some parts it worked, but other times it felt wrong and unneeded. I do love the brass in the song giving the track some excitement.
8. Kakemeguru Seishun
Then we get IMO the worst song off the album because the girls sound terribly off from each other and one of them is overpowering the other in a bad way. The guitar solos were a nice touch, but it didn’t save the song from being half-assed and rep
9. Nagisa no Sinbad
Wait, didn’t I review this on MoMosu’s album, “COVER YOU?” Well, either way, this song also tried to portray the gals as sexii, but this time I just felt it was tacked on and their vocals were also just as bad as it was in the last track. What’s up with that ~SEKUSHIIII~ I mean that was funny. Luckily it’s a pretty short track.
10. Koi no Indian Ningyou
Of course they were stereotyping here. The song has some stuff that actually sound like Native American music, but then shaved it off for the rocking chorus. The verses is what kept me into the song because it just sounded nice, but when they get into the chorus…the girls yelling/singing was annoying to no end. Good try though.
12. Suki yo Captain
Why is the album getting worse? Suki yo Captain once again starts out with pretty horrid vocals…Y’know what this is the same thing I thought of “Koi no Indian Ningyou”, bad chorus vocals but really catchy verses. Sadly the music is the failing part as well because it’s just too light and laidback. WTH…
12. Sentimental Boy
At least we return to something more upbeat…Luckily I enjoyed the whole 80′s New Wave sound this song had. I actually consider this a J-tek track because there’s so much synth and a lot of good things about that. The girls aren’t under vocoder which does make it stand out to me. Even this track stands out from the album as well. Awesome track.
14. Oatsuraemuki no Destiny
They tried again for a little bit with this 80′s style synth but this one kind of lacked interest for me. There’s a lot of interesting things other than the arrangement, like whistles, and guitar chords. It’s a little random, but with the girl’s off vocals the song kind of failed for me.
14. Give Me Up
Unlike, Nami Tamaki’s take. w’s is more faithful to the original. Now I think the former’s is more exciting, but Aibon and Nono’s take is pretty good as well because they actually made the song sound fun and cute with the whole song. Even the arrangement is pretty nice and funky. Another awesome fun song.
15. Jounetsu no Hana (PASSION FLOWER)
Ending the album off is Jounetsu no Hana which is surprisingly poppy and definitly catchy. What I notice is the song’s different tempo speeds they were going at and the cool guitar riffs. The BKGD vocals were a surprise and they didn’t detract from the song ending the album in a fun way.
Tracks Recommended
Song of Avoidance
w’s first album is actually a cover album surprise, surprise. The first half of the album had pretty great tracks that do feature the best vocals of Aibon and Nono. As we went towards the middle things started to get pretty bad vocally and musically. At least they redeemed themselves toward the end with the fun songs…Now, I hope their final album is better than this!
