Track Listing

1. Hoshiimono
2. Coin Locker Boy
3. M/elody (Acoustic Version)
4. Hoshiimono (Instrumental)

1. Hoshiimono

As far as her era has been stretched, Hoshiimono sounds almost simplistic and easy to follow.  Hoshiimono feels like an acoustic version but I do love the additions of strings and drums.  It might be an easily made arrangement but what Shion was given made this song a whole lot better.  Pretty cool tune.

2. Coin Locker Boy

However, I was happy with the B-side of the single.  Coin Lockers Boy goes back to the more energetic side to Shion’s genre and I loved the addition of a band song that reminded me of “Candy kicks” with is catchy passages and its fun sound.  Her vocals to me are still a little weird for me, but it’s nothing too unbearable.  I’d still rather see Shion working on her singing though.

3. M/elody (Acoustic Version)

While we never got to see an acoustic version of “Sky chord”, we do get back to acoustic rearrangements and M/elody was pretty nice to have gotten the nod.  It continues to show the lighthearted pop sound that Shion’s been giving since she debuted.  Anyways, this is going to be like what YUI is doing and the acoustic track will be mostly better than the original.

Shion is continuing to show progress with every release she puts out.  Hoshiimono is just Shion at her basic roots and I’m happy she went to a more acoustic sound for the A-side.  Coin Locker Boy also gives out the more fun side to her and goes back to just rocking out.  The acoustic version of M/elody was a nice touch to the single and I’m happy with the results.

Track Listing

1. tAttoo
2. Back to the day
3. DAHLIA (you’re my universe version)

1. tAttoo

I’m liking that Nanase is returning to more edgy stuff but at the same time tAttoo has a pop sound as well to it.  While “REBORN” was exactly like this, this feels better executed and Nanase is back to showing off her energy in a great way.  I love how she sounds in the song being all cool and kickass as she usually is.  Definitely a great song to make-up for the lackluster “REBORN”.

2. Back to the day

I love the opening to Back to the day for sure.  It reminds me of her classic songs, but then as she enters the verses the song changes directions into a more lighthearted pop/rock song.  It isn’t as wild as “tAttoo” or old tracks before her return to the music scene, but it’s actually catchy and probably is one of the better B-sides she’s had.

3. DAHLIA (you’re my universe version)

If you’ve noticed, DAHLIA was originally a B-side on “Ai no Uta -Magenta Rain-”.  Since then (5 years ago), it’s gotten rearranged and resung for this single.  It still has a lot of stuff retained from its original release, but the song has a stronger backbone and the guitar returns to fill it out a bit more.  There also seems to be some sitar here as well which surprised me.  I thought the new touches were great for this ballad and could be one of her bests.

To make up for “REBORN”, I thought tAttoo was a great single to come after it.  tAttoo and Back to the day gave Nanase another chance to release something catchy and fierce while the new version of DAHLIA was a nice ending to the single.  Let’s hope it doesn’t take forever for her to release her next single.

Track Listing

1. Nakumonka
2. Orion
3. Nakumonka -instrumental-

1. Nakumonka

Nakumonka sadly ends the A-sides of the era in a very disappointing way.  I mean did we really need another ballad from the trio…Does “Futari” and “YELL” fill that gap fine enough?  Oh well, I actually don’t find anything about Nakumonka to make it stand out besides the songs melancholic feel (which once again, been proved with previous A-sides in the era.  So much for ending nicely for the era huh?

2. Orion

I’m not sure why the J-pop world is hopping on to name their songs Orion after Mika started it.  Not that I don’t mind right now but let’s just hope it doesn’t become a wildfire like “Ai no Uta” did.  Now ikimono-gakari’s Orion does remind me of their previous B-side “Omoide no Sukima” in which the song has a bit of harmonica before turning itself into a ballad tune.  At least that made it different to said song.  Still, a another ballad song isn’t the direction I didn’t want this song to go and I’m once again bored and not liking the song.

ikimono-gakari finishes their era in a very boring manner.  Nakumonka and Orion just doesn’t live up to their more memorable songs of the current and last era.  It just seems their lacking something this era besides “Joyful” and “Hotaru no Hikari”.  I wished they pick up and hopefully have great tracks lined up for the album next.

Track Listing

1. Let it Go
2. Happy Days
3. Let it Go (instrumental)
4. Happy Days (instrumental)

1. Let it Go

I didn’t expect Yuna Ito’s new A-side to be so free-sounding as it is here.  Let it Go does sound like western mainstream music, but that’s not a bad thing.  Yuna’s vocals are strong, but not like “Koi wa groovyx2″.  I hear a little bit of folk here too, but it sounds fresh from her as well.  Not a bad A-side to start off a new era.

2. Happy Days

Unfortunately, the B-side comes off as a little dry when compared to other songs.  It still carries that western feel like “Let it Go”, but it seems to be a little calmer and the song is a little more condenscending and happy which is nice and the addition of the strings/synth solo was a nice touch but beyond that I couldn’t find enough redeeming qualities.

Wow, it has been a while since “DREAM” was released huh?  Well, Let it Go was a nice single to start the new era.  It also seems like Yuna is wanting to even out and get more upbeat songs when compared to ballads.  It’s alright, but right now it just seems like an average release.

Track Listing

1. ORANGE★NIGHT
2. CALL MY NAME
3. Dakishimete
4. ORANGE★NIGHT -instrumental-

1. ORANGE★NIGHT

Finally, after a while of not so good A-sides, we get an actually catchy one in ORANGE★NIGHT.  While it does retain the pop/rock sound that was back in “PLAYGIRL”, it’s actually more catchier and not as demanding in the vocals as previous songs were.  Rina’s vocals are still not perfect in the arrangement and seems too wrong here.  Still, it’s one of her best A-sides in a while.

2. CALL MY NAME

The first B-side of the single, CALL MY NAME is a ballad track, but with traces of rock and synth to add some style to it.  At first I ignored it because there wasn’t really anything special about it, but hearing it again, it’s actually a better track suited for Rina.  She doesn’t sound terribly out of place, nor as thin on “ORANGE★NIGHT”.  After a while though, the song becomes rather monotonous and unmemorable, but still is a good B-side.

3. Dakishimete

Sadly, the worst track has to be Dakishimete.  It seemed to strip even more instruments and left us with an R&B track.  It feels stretched out too long and doesn’t exactly move itself along as it should.  I’ll admit that Dakishimete probably is the best of Rina’s vocals on the single, but the arrangement is a huge borefest.

Rina’s 2nd single of the era is rather unimpressive on me.  ORANGE★NIGHT is pretty good, but her voice isn’t suited for this style of music and we’ve known that for quite a while.  CALL MY NAME and Dakishimete are poor tries at being worthy at being at the top of Rina’s ballads and fell flat.  I hope things change soon…

Track Listing

1. Hide & Seek
2. Full Moon
3. CAN’T SLEEP, CAN’T EAT, I’M SICK
4. It’s all about you
5. FUNKY TOWN
6. Step With It!
7. Hello
8. Should I Love Him?
9. Top Secret
10. Violet Sauce (Spicy)
11. Baby Don’t Cry
12. Pink Key

1. Hide & Seek

Haha, I loved the marching band opening to this song for sure.  It’s one of those songs that’ll grab your attention at first listen and it did it very well.  Namie is showing off her skillz in the song as well since she’s being filtered in the verses and brought back in the chorus.  The song just oozes awesomeness and makes for one of the best opening tracks ever.

2. Full Moon

Let’s begin Full Moon with a gong being hit.  This track continues the more interesting R&B elements that Namie has been getting better at since this style back on “Queen of Hip-Pop”.  It’s just got this really catchy flow to it and has even a dark touch here hence the full moon title.  Mixed of Halloween and H&P?  INTERESTING!

3. CAN’T SLEEP, CAN’T EAT, I’M SICK

As the era’s 2nd single, CSCEIS is oddly enough not that good of a track when compared with the album’s first two songs for some reason.  Trust me, I really do like the song, but it just lacked the interest the other two tracks had and if you haven’t listened to the single before this, you might actually pass this song up.  I still enjoy the saxes in the song, but still not as jaw-dropping as the first two.

4. It’s all about you

Is it bad that I think It’s all about you is just really messy all around?  I can tell it’s trying to be a cohesive song, but with the faux-pas rock arrangement and messy flow, it’s really hard to follow and not scratch your head whenever it’s played.  Definitely not the track to really have been made an album track really…

5. FUNKY TOWN

I’m not sure why, but FUNKY TOWN is a lot worse than most of her album tracks on here and was a poor choice (IMO) to have been made a single and last single at that.  It seems to be like a heavy beat version of like “Hide & Seek”, but still not the best song here…

6. Step With It!

I think that’s why I liked this song a little bit more.  It still carries itself like “FUNKY TOWN” did and the vocals are a bit congested in the chorus, but Namie sounded really nice.  Even though it’s not as good as the other tracks, it’s got its moments.

7. Hello

I got the hahas from the phone ringing in the background with Namie asking ~hello?~.  After that laughable moment, the song bets a dance beat and becomes one of Namie’s classy dance tracks.  It’s not as vocally all over the place as one would seem.  I’ve actually noticed Namie’s love for the auto-tune here, but it’s not overloaded so I’m happy about that.

8. Should I Love Him?

Finally, we get to the album’s ballad track.  It seems to be the album’s only slow song as well which is a disappointing fact.  Should I Love Him? doesn’t really stand out on the album and doesn’t really showcase anything truly rememorable.  Even then, Namie’s English has failed her since she says the chorus like ~sugar, love him~… talk about pooooor.

9. Top Secret

Thank god we have this track to makeup for that boring song.  Top Secret is probably my secret obsession over Namie.  I mean the lyrics are downright raunchy (but not to the point of “WANT ME, WANT ME”).  I mean it’s still pretty suggestive though, just not enough to ban it LOL.  I love the heavy beats and lot of bass parts too.  I still think singing fast doesn’t make a song that good, but here it’s passable and the main focus is the awesome chorus hook and the ~tonight, i’ll taste you~ lines.  Even the middle was sly and sexy and ^_^

10. Violet Sauce (Spicy)

So we get a new version of the secondary A-side from “White Light/Violet Sauce”.  This new version has a more sly hook going on and oddly feels like it ties-in with “Full Moon” for some weird reason.  It feels a lot more angrier and aggressive than what I remember from the original and I love the beats as well.  Ok, I’ll admit I can never remember the original as much as I remember the new version.

11. Baby Don’t Cry

As we near the ending of the album, Baby Don’t Cry comes in.  I thought the more pop-ladened sound of the 3rd A-side release was something fresh and deviated from the more sultry songs she was releasing.  I still think the best thing about the song is the thumping beat that came along with it, but the rest of the song is also really cool too. 

12. Pink Key

Ending off the album is definitely not surprising Pink Key.  The beginning instantly reminded me of “Dr.” with the march-like sound and the quick singing.  Sadly, the song didn’t really stand out for me because of its arrangement sounding somewhat like “Baby Don’t Cry” but more happier.  It’s alright, and it did make for a good album closer, but it’s just not my cup of tea.

Tracks Recommended

• Top Secret
• Hide & Seek
• Violet Sauce (Spicy)
• Full Moon
• Baby Don’t Cry

Namie’s 7th album proves that she’s still kicking and can make some hot songs.  Sadly, some of the new songs showed somewhat of a mishap and that’s her cramming lyrics into one line…it’s not right girl.  I want to know why “White Light” was ommited from the album…(was it cuz of it’s holiday tie?)  Either way, I’m surprised there was only one slow song on this album as well.  I hope she fixes it up by her 8th…

Track Listing

1. Nyanderful!
2. Cross the Rainbow
3. Nyanderful! (Karaoke)
4. Cross the Rainbow (Karaoke)

1. Nyanderful!

Right from the title, I knew I was going to be embarassed to even listen to Nyanderful! (which you haven’t caught on is a play-on-words.)  I can also say that I’m not too fond of Yui’s seiyuu vocals here as well even though I’m pretty sure she wasn’t meaning to do that.  Her vocals just are too cute for me and squeaky too.  Even the happy arrangement didn’t help out either…

2. Cross the Rainbow

I was also afraid to listen to the B-side because of the title as well.  It’s just as poppy as the previous but with more emphasis of the electric guitar so the song becomes more pop/rock than Nyanderful!’s giggly cute sound.  Yui also fixed up her vocals for this track as well and not using the cute-cute vocals that bother me so.  That is, until the chorus comes up and strips that away.  A bit better than the previous, but certainly not that good.

Yui is really going to wrong direction for me.  I simply don’t like the cutesy type that Yui has been showing off at all.  Nyanderful!/Cross the Rainbow might be at someone’s liking but this just doesn’t cut it for me.  She needs more PHANTASM singles IMO.

Track Listing

1. Datengoku Sensen
2. Takarajima
3. Datengoku Sensen (instrumental)
4. Takarajima (instrumental)

1. Datengoku Sensen

Hmmm….why does the song start out all jazzy and full of swagger before stemming out to be a mix of a string waltz mixed with a dance beat?  I really love how dramatic the song is with Arika.  Her vocals sound a whole lot more together than their last effort (Poison).  She’s got some pipes on her and with her good this song is I’m totally blown away.  Pretty kickass song IMO.

2. Takarajima

Even better was the single’s B-side which IMO, fits the cover a whole lot more than “Datengoku Sensen” would.  The opening is so smooth and mysterious and creepy like treasure hunting through some Egyptian cave.  Now Arika in the song is singing really heavenly through the verses and then the chorus brings out Arika under some kind of filter, strange but awesome.  Even weird is that they either coincedentally or not placed the “Crystal Theme” from Final Fantasy midway.  I love that idea for some reason…have to say the song is WAYYYY better than Datengoku Sensen.

So it seems I can understand why I like ALIPRO’s albums more than their albums.  It seems that singles are released by Victor which explains the great arrangements and somehow better everything.  The albums are released by Tokuma Japan (Perfume’s company) but I can’t understand why the production value is lesser than Victor’s….hmmm strange huh?  Datengoku Sensen is a really nice single even though Takarajima should’ve been the A-side since it’s so much more better IMO.

Track Listing

1. LONELY NIGHT

1. LONELY NIGHT

I was surprised to hear that LONELY NIGHT wasn’t as strong a song like “CHILDHOOD’S END” was.  First off the track is more combined towards dance and electronica and not more rockish and wild.  It’s still a pretty good track though because it’s just as catchy and JIN is under vocoder big time here.  Might bring in new fans I’ll bet.

While it does suck that LONELY NIGHT doesn’t contain a B-side, but the leading track is a whole lot different than their debut and that might or might not be a good thing.  It’s good they are doing something new, but at the same time, CHILDHOOD’S END rocked hard so iono..

Track Listing

1. Scarlet Bomb!
2. Love Wind
3. Scarlet Bomb! (off vocal)
4. Love Wind (off vocal)

1. Scarlet Bomb!

I have to say, I wasn’t too big of a fan when Aki released “Made in WONDER”.  Luckily, she won me back over with Scarlet Bomb! which unlike the last single is just pure J-rock.  There’s a little more BKGD vocals here, but I really do like Aki’s vocals in the song.  There’s a lot of energy with arrangement and it’s hard and I like that.

2. Love Wind

Love Wind seems to be more like a mixture of “Scarlet Bomb!” and “Made in WONDER”, odd styling right?  Well, it doesn’t exactly help that it sounds like a summer tune (when it’s already Autumn).  It’s pop music at it’s typicalness, so clearly I’m not too big a fan of this track.

When’s that album due out Aki?  Anyway, Scarlet Bomb! was actually a pretty cool track to have.  I love how rockin’ it sounds with Aki’s vocals and she should stick with this more often.  Love Wind though was more anime-ish and poppy and kind of cheesy all-around too.  Not the best B-side she’s had.