Track Listing
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Next Stage
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Ano Saka no Ue Made,
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Next Stage (Instrumental)
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Ano Saka no Ue Made, (Instrumental)
1. Next Stage
After the last couple of strange singles, UUG returns a month later with Next Stage and it starts really nice with strings and some lines from the girls. Then after that intro, the song jumps to a bouncier nature and it just has a lot better things going on than in “SAKURA DRIVE” or “Respectokyo”. This is probably my favorite primary A-side yet!
2. Ano Saka no Ue Made,
The other A-side is actually got a lot going for it. Most of it is a ballad though so it really sticks out in the ladies’ discography (plus it’s nice to see Akari lead once again). Some of the arrangement though goes into this quick electro beat but then it calms down once again. I have to say that I kind of liked the song a lot!
This is probably the group’s best single ever since they switched to T-PALETTE. It’s actually kind of safe, but it’s done quite well! Next Stage started off slowly, but picked up quickly and became quite sweet. Ano Saka no Ue Made, is actually quite sentimental and they sounded much better here as well. With another single on the way, I wonder if they’re gonna pull more single like they did in the first era.