ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D – IN MY WORLD August 23, 2011

Track Listing

1. IN MY WORLD
2. D×H×C×T
3. IN MY WORLD -Ao no Honoo EDITION-
4. IN MY WORLD -TV SIZE OPENING VER.-
5. IN MY WORLD -INSTRUMENTAL-
6. D×H×C×T -INSTRUMENTAL-

1. IN MY WORLD

I still think it was an odd choice to begin reviewing ROOKiEZ with “Song for…” so it’s nice that IN MY WORLD brings things back alive with IN MY WORLD which has such a great progressive rock feel and I’m loving SHiNNOSUKE’s vocals a LOT more than I did back than in their last single.  Yeah, this is sounding very good right now!

2. D×H×C×T

If I thought “IN MY WORLD” was rocking I wasn’t expecting the B-side to take a step higher and be even more fun to listen to.  To me this track totally has FLOW vibes spinning throughout including the rapping and the loud chorus.  It’s funny to have that parallel going on since it made me love the song a lot more and seriously SHiNNOSUKE sounds like KOHSHI lol.  Good B-side for sure!  Then again the chorus with the auto-tune is a bit…odd.

3. IN MY WORLD -Ao no Honoo EDITION-

Well there is a short opening version of the tune after this track, but this is just basically IN MY WORLD with a bit of talking before it fully begins so it only really adds 20 seconds to the song.  Otherwise it’s still the same song but with one of the characters of the anime having spoken pieces throughout the song…kind of lame but ehhh an excuse to hear IN MY WORLD again.

 

 

So I’m now wondering if the band will release an album next seeing as this is their 4th single released in their debut era.  IN MY WORLD and D×H×C×T are both very strong tracks to hear since it shows the band’s colors and strong rock nature.  Yeah the third track is a bit unusual to add but whatever…Still a much better single overall than their last one.

AKB48 – Flying Get

Track Listing

1. Flying Get
2. Dakishimechaikenai (Undergirls)
3. Seishun to Kizukanai Mama (Type-A only)
4. Ice no Kuchizuke (Type-B only)
5. Yasai Uranai (Theater Edition only)
6. Flying Get off vocal ver.
7. Dakishimechaikenai off vocal ver.
8. Seishun to Kizukanai Mama off vocal ver.
9. Ice no Kuchizuke off vocal ver.
10. Yasai Uranai off vocal ver.

1. Flying Get

I’m pretty surprised that Flying Ghetto isn’t as poor like the previous couple of singles the group has released.  I mean it’s still not at the level of “RIVER” or “Beginner” since this is still pretty happy and lighthearted but the fact that there’s a lot of brass involved makes up for that.  To me the vocals seem cluttered and the importance is clearly not on tone quality but when you have so many girls involved it kind of gets thrown out the window as seen here.  It’s a spazzy but fun lil tune from the group.

2. Dakishimechaikenai

On all the editions of the single the Undergirls get a tune and oddly enough it isn’t as fun like “Flying Get” but at least the vocals sound better for some reason.  I like the breezy idol arrangement as well but it sounds like something I’ve heard from “Koko ni Ita Koto” and it just kind of comes of as uninteresting and rather bland…poor Undergirls…

3. Seishun to Kizukanai Mama

Ahhh AKB taking it slow for the Type-A, Seishun to Kizukanai Mama is amongst the better ballads AKB has released and that’s just pretty awesome.  I mean also it’s exactly like their other ballads so I guess I should be biting my tongue there.  Of the 5 songs however, the best vocals are heard here since there’s not a lot of vocal screw-ups and it has an amazing chorus.  Good stuffs!

4. Ice no Kuchizuke

I feel the way for this song like I do for “Ponytail to Chouchou”.  For some reason when I listen to this the song feels like a mixture of a summer song and a winter song (the latter is really early timing huh?).  The vocals also sound relatively good but then again only 6 of the girls are singing in the tune which is funny since they are more of the popular members right now.  After a while the arrangement becomes more wintry and a little Christmas-y…wth AKB it’s too early to deal with a song like that XD

5. Yasai Uranai

It’s awesome that I think that the theater version of the single contains something that sounds so much fun!  I feel the latin style of the tune quite strongly and the ladies sound great as well!  I feel Yasai Uranai sounds more together and not as wild but featuring a lot of the same instruments like “Flying Get”…maybe this should’ve been the A-side after all!!!

 

 

As the third single of the era, Flying Get does make up for the rather uninteresting A-sides of the era so far.  Yeah, the A-side has brass and a lively arrangement and while might not be drop dead amazing, I’d listen to this often but Yasai Uranai handled the fun factor much much better and surpasses a lot of songs they’ve released.  I haven’t really heard a wintry song from AKB (even though it’s a six-member party fest) but Ice no Kuchizuke was also quite good.  Seishun to Kizukanai Mama works out as well even though it sounds like any other AKB ballad out there…but it’s a good one!  The only true fault is the Undergirls’ tune since it just was bland and cheezy IMO…hmmm