Track Listing
- Hai to Diamond
- Go City Go
- Hooke no Housoku
- Koisuru Ginga (Reg A edition only)
- WORKER Sanka (Reg B edition only)
- Oh! Cantare (Reg C edition only)
- Hai to Diamond (Instrumental)
- Go City Go (Instrumental)
- Hooke no Housoku (Instrumental)
- Koisuru Ginga (Instrumental)
- WORKER Sanka (Instrumental)
- Oh! Cantare (Instrumental)
1. Hai to Diamond
Of course, with the first track, the first thing we hear is Momohime’s talkbox, but the song turns into kind of the disco-funk style that I’m starting to grow tired off since a lot of H!P has been doing that in the last few years. Though it seems its BEYOOOOONDS’ time to tackle the style I suppose. I’m happy that I do hear all 11 members with at least a solo line or even some duet lines which work for me. Wasn’t expecting the group to have rap lines before Honoka’s keyboard solo in the bridge though. The last chorus though was nice and hearing Kurumi have the ad-libbing was nice and different from just hearing Yuhane belt out…hmmm. It’s not too bad, but I’m growing a little tired of this style.
2. Go City Go
With the next track, this feels so poppy and kind of oddball for the group, but I would’ve expected this to be a B-side for CHICA#TETSU (also because the PV is set on a train >.>). There’s something about it though that BEYOOOOONDS hasn’t done yet since it’s kind of peppy and maybe a little city pop about it. I did notice Utano quite a bit in the song, funny enough but I think the members got their spotlight. I don’t know, this song didn’t really stick out to me.
3. Hooke no Housoku
The last of the A-sides felt strangely familiar as if they’ve done this kind of track before like both “Nippon no D.N.A.!” and “Motomeyo…Unmei no Tabibitozan”. Not quite sure if I’m here for the lessons with the dialogue from Miyo here. We’re back to the disco-funk vibes again, but it is less frenetic than “Hai to Diamond”. I wasn’t expecting the song’s chorus to be as upbeat and bright though, seemed odd to me. Though I will say, I did like the solo lines especially from Kokoro in the 2nd verse, that was nice. Still, the song is kind of forgettable too…
4. Koisuru Ginga
As we enter the B-sides, Koisuru Ginga is the oldest of the 6 songs off the single (performed earlier in tours even before Reina left the group). I really like orchestral and grandiose opening to the song as it just has an adventurous groove to it. I mean to be fair, the song did debut on a special performance where an actual orchestra played with the group. The wondrous feeling continues throughout the song and I actually kind of enjoyed most of the way through. Once it hits the bridge, it kind of gets a little weird with the backup singers and the tonal change of the song to a ballad-like section. This song just reminds me of something like Super Mario Galaxy music lol.
5. WORKER Sanka
The next track, I guess BEYOOOOONDS is another kind of funky tracks like “Hai to Diamond” but the arrangement has an interesting flair to it that isn’t a bit generic like “Hai to Diamond” is. There’s something maybe a little 90s about the track to but that’s just me. I also really like the saxophone in the arrangement and the little bits of tropical that I get from it. Even the bridge solo was pretty cool. I actually could see myself liking this song more and more and probably the best off the single IMO.
6. Oh! Cantare
The last track off the single, Oh! Cantare might be the oddest track of the single (maybe “Koisuru Ginga” is). It just sounds really different for BEYOOOOONDS because it has this mid-tempo groove and Miyo actually has a good stretch of solo in the beginning. Though I’m not sure what the chorus is trying to be here, as if it has a kind of ABBA groove to it. I do like the full arrangement, but I don’t know if the song was last on me but it could be good for an encore in a live or something, especially since Honoka is on the piano lol.
Wow, BEYOOOOONDS has reached their first member leaving in Reina Ichioka (who left to health issues, but not really stating what that was). Kind of sad considering she was the one that chose to become a member in a new group when the idea began. As this is the 2nd single for a new album era, it has been dragging almost. Also this is potentially Yuhane Yamazaki’s last single too as she is to be graduating soon too…so this is kind of a turning point for the group, maybe…I feel like their growth as a group is kind of stagnating (mostly because of the odd way they were brought together, to the long lengths between releases (also factoring the pandemic), and the fact that OCHA NORMA has been kind of stepping on them since they debuted. This single is definitely not one that’ll stand out for me. Only Koisuru Ginga and WORKER Sanka stood out for me, while the rest was just kind of bleh or not of my taste this time around. I’m really hoping H!P puts a burner to get this group more active…
Kurayami Monogatari 