Rie fu & the fu – BIGGER PICTURE November 28, 2012

Track Listing

1. OMG
2. BIGGER PICTURE
3. LUCKY DAY
4. UNTOLD
5. PRE-LOVE SONG
6. FREE MONEY
7. THE LOOK
8. GOMI
9. JUST LIKE THE MOON
10. SILENCE

1. OMG

When I start up the album, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into and it seems with OMG it’s light stuff and almost too simple in a way since it feels like it’s done as a live recording in a studio.  I am also surprised to hear Rie fu singing in English for most of it since I’m more used to Japanese from her.  It has a certain oldies sound going which is cool too..there’s just something missing…like a heavier bass…and lord cowbells?

2. BIGGER PICTURE

Being a little bit more funky, the title track BIGGER PICTURE is more of the same of what I said in “OMG” but more of it.  The way Rie sings is kind of cool and uncertain at the same time.  Then this kind of in your face blast of sound takes over…I suppose its guitar right?  It’s unique on the album, I can’t deny that but once again needs a bit more power behind it.

3. LUCKY DAY

LUCKY DAY kind of sounds like old Rie fu slightly with majority of the arrangement done by the acoustic guitar which is a pleasant change from the previous tracks.  Plus it’s nice hearing Rie fu singing in Japanese…this actually was a pretty good track and reminds me of the old Rie.

4. UNTOLD

I liked the opening line Rie fu sings at the intro for UNTOLD.  I’m liking her vocals in this song since she’s more confident and actually kind of belting some of the notes as well as hitting some high notes that are just so pretty.  For as simple as the song is, I really paid a lot of attention on Rie fu who shined a lot here!

5. PRE-LOVE SONG

With how well I enjoyed “UNTOLD”, PRE-LOVE SONG also kind of says a lot since Rie fu tells a pretty story with such a minimal arrangement which is a bit of a shocker.  I just love the vocals here, but some of the weird instrumentation like the shaker is a bit unnecessary to me.  I just wanna hear Rie plz.

6. FREE MONEY

Moving to the second half of the album, FREE MONEY opens with a strings intro before a edgier and gritty sound moves in giving this kind of Western showdown feel (at least that’s what I thought).  Rie fu then joins in and her vocals are pretty much filtered for most (if not all) for the tune.  It’s a bit unusual on the album, but not bad.

7. THE LOOK

Why do I feel like when I listen to this song, I think of Kill Bill?  It must that longing feel of the song and the kind of dated feel.  I don’t remember much of the song besides the guitar arrangement and Rie fu in the chorus doing that ~so don’t give me the look~ that’s about it >.>  Then again it’s a pretty short song too.

8. GOMI

I think this is the first time I heard synths in a song on the album.  GOMI sounds like it could’ve fit on “URBAN ROMANTIC” for some reason.  I think it’s the piano and the mood of the song as well.  The chorus though kind of gets weird and a bit TOO fuzzy plus during those parts, Rie is once again filtered.  It’s just not working out.

9. JUST LIKE THE MOON

I feel like simplistic suits Rie a lot more than trying to be something else.  JUST LIKE THE MOON fits into my thoughts since it’s slower and Rie isn’t too filtered but layered here which works somewhat better here.  Like the first two tracks off the album, the tune sounds like oldies (50’s).  Not a bad song actually ^_^

10. SILENCE

Ending the album, SILENCE like the other ballads on the album is a really nice and quiet track from Rie.  It also shares the whole story-telling in the lyrics like “PRE-LOVE SONG”.  It does build-up more at the halfway point which is great.  Not a bad way to close the album, but I’m happy we’re finished lol.

Tracks Recommended

• LUCKY DAY
• UNTOLD
• JUST LIKE THE MOON

Song of Avoidance

• GOMI

I really wished I could be more happier about this album, but good lord was this album boring as hell.  The fact that Rie fu went for such an unplugged setting for BIGGER PICTURE really didn’t work to her favor despite her vocals are still lovely!  This album just lacked effort IMO…blech…

Miliyah Kato – TRUE LOVERS

Track Listing

1. HEART BEAT
2. Kon’ya wa Boogie Back feat. Shota Shimizu & SHUN
3. LOVERS part II feat. Wakadanna
4. Nemurenu Yoru no Sei de
5. True
6. With U
7. Baby Love
8. Heartbreaker
9. AIAIAI
10. All I Want Is You
11. ROMAN (Album ver.)
12. Itoshi Hito
13. Yuushatachi
14. UGLY
15. HEART BEAT (English Version) (bonus track)

1. HEART BEAT

Kicking off the album, we start things off with Miliyah’s 5th A-side released in the era!  I think it was a wise choice because the intro of the song sounds right as well.  It’s a nice track though since Miliyah brings the atmosphere into a brighter dance style quickly.  It’s definitely grown on me since the single review for sure and it’s a great way to start things off.

2. Kon’ya wa Boogie Back feat. Shota Shimizu & SHUN

Our first album track is interestingly a cover of a Scha Dara Parr feat. Kenji Ozawa (yeah a 1994 song of course).  From the title, I was kind of expecting something funky at the start, but the song opens up lightly and then gains a hip-hop beat.  Shota and SHUN are regulated to be the rappers of the song (I’m not used to Shota rapping, but it kind of works and he sings along with Miliyah).  Overall the song itself is a bit meh for me and kind of stays at the same pace the entire time.  For being a well-known song, I’m surprised.

3. LOVERS part II feat. Wakadanna

We move onto the 6th single released with LOVERS II and I’m still kind of torn with this song because of Wakadanna’s presence.  Miliyah’s performance is just spot on and she sounds so damn good in this song for sure!  Sadly, with the rappers presense the song just loses a lot of points because his sections are just annoying and really doesn’t fit the mood of the track at all.

4. Nemurenu Yoru no Sei de

A bunch of new tracks come up next starting with Nemurenu Yoru no Sei de which starts up following “LOVERS part II” but then shifts into this mid-tempo dance track which is a nice taste since I’ve really wanted something like this on the album.  It’s sounds like it’s a mysterious song for sure and I love that about it.  It’s definitely an early favorite for me!

5. True

We slow things back down again with our next track True which is Miliyah’s first true ballad.  It opens quietly with piano, some strings and Miliyah’s softly sung vocals.  After a while, the song gains a beat which somewhat helps the song, but I feel slightly bored with this song since Miliyah has other songs that are similar in her collection.

6. With U

I feared With U was going to fare the same fate as “True” because it starts up with strings and piano.  Luckily the song moves away from that by having the acoustic/synth mix with a cool beat and a bit more of a hook.  It feels like the song is trying to have a bit more grand, but it’s like locked in a state of leaving us a bit disappointed with no climax.  It’s not bad, but the song could’ve had more going on.

7. Baby Love

Miliyah gets a bit urban with our next track Baby Love and while it still kind of sits in the same position as the prevous songs have shown, at least the arrangement is a little more exciting.  After a while though, the song does  kind of fizzle out and I’m left forgetting how it goes.

8. Heartbreaker

~muh babyyyy, muh babyyyy, muh babyyyy~ This song at the beginning just screamed repetitive for sure!  I kind of like the unique air of Heartbreaker for some reason, plus the tongue clacking is kind of interesting.  It does prevent it from being a mindless and bland R&B track which is a great thing for this album at this point! 

9. AIAIAI

The 4th A-side comes in next and AIAIAI is still kind of the oddball single on the album IMO.  I mean she tackles the song right and she sounds amazing in the song, but something about the arrangement is so unusual to me.  It might be the sparkly feel and the chorus feeling a bit underwhelming.  I think I can get behind it, but I need more time with it (as if I needed any more to begin with lol).

10. All I Want Is You

As the album’s shortest song (under 4 minutes LOL).  All I Want Is You brings back to more of that normal Miliyah-ness that I’ve come to listen to since the “Ring” era.  It just doesn’t really tickle my fancy and doesn’t bring anything new to the table besides the kind of somber setting.  As it moves forward the song sounds a lot more intriguing but by that time the song starts to finish and fades out…I just wish the song felt like the ending the entire time.

11. ROMAN (Album ver.)

Strange that ROMAN is the only song on the album that has really changed but I don’t really hear much of a change to be honest so it must’ve been something really minor.  Maybe the arrangement had some extra work I don’t know.  ROMAN was pretty interesting as an A-side because it mixed R&B with a little bit of rock as well and I kind of liked that about it.  I mean it’s not a WTF as “WHY” was but it’s a good song overall.

12. Itoshi Hito

*yawn*, I feel like she’s really not stepping out with the ballads here since Itoshi Hito is quite boring and almost sits in the same place as “True”.  I actually will say that this bores me even more than the latter since the arrangement is really plain and the snapping is a bit to the book.  Just meh…

13. Yuushatachi

Then we get to the first single released (wait…where’s “DESIRE” or “BABY!BABY!BABY!” hmmm).  After all the meh tracks, Yuushatachi is actually a breath of air for me.  I know I wasn’t too thrilled about it way back when it was released as an A-side, but this song is kind of cute and Miliyah doesn’t sound too bad here.  One of the better tracks oddly enough.

14. UGLY

Strange that Miliyah ends the album with a song titled UGLY LOL.  I like the acoustic guitar being the primary instrument here since it’s light and kind of adds this bright atmosphere to a sad track it seems.  It’s pretty charming of a song and ends the album on a good note ^_^

15. HEART BEAT (English Version)

So the album’s bonus track is the English version of HEART BEAT was released as a digital single prior to the album and oddly enough I’m surprised this was a bonus since now it makes the album start and close the album with the same song!  Miliyah sounds good doing English but she has some slips of course…still not bad.

Tracks Recommended

• Nemurenu Yoru no Sei de
• HEART BEAT
• All I Want Is You
• UGLY
• ROMAN (Album ver.)

Song of Avoidance

• Itoshi Hito

It’s really strange coming into this album with such a stretched out era (6 singles + the two singles she collaborated with Shota Shimizu with) and with TRUE LOVERS, she kind of dropped the ballad with this one.  It just seems like this album was lacking something big time when compared to her last album, “HEAVEN” and I just can’t seem to point out what that is.  She’s got great vocals which is the best thing about the album, but the arrangements felt very stagnant and a bit too safe (with a couple of exceptions).  I don’t know…it just wasn’t a good album for me.