day after tomorrow – day alone July 8, 2014

Track Listing

1. Kimi to Aeta Kiseki
2. God bless me!
3. Setsunasa wo Kono Mune no Naka ni
4. Nanatsu Hoshi wo Kazoetara
5. lost angel
6. Where so ever
7. Honestly
8. Tsuishin
9. Yuri no Hana
10. Meisou
11. Soshite Boku ni Dekiru Koto
12. more than a million miles

1. Kimi to Aeta Kiseki

What a great way to begin this album off.  As the 2nd A-side released, Kimi to Aeta Kiseki was and still is a classic from day after tomorrow for me.  This song basically took what made them great and just made it a really cool track.  I really enjoyed misono’s performance in this song and this is kind of before she decided that wailing was the best thing to do.  Kimi to Aeta Kiseki, great song and one of my all-time favorite dat songs!

2. God bless me!

As the first new track, God bless me! starts off really strong with a guitar-based arrangement that sounds like it would’ve been amazing to hear live.  It’s nice to see Daisuke to lay off a bit and let misono and Masato take a more profound role.  That being said, it does feel like it could’ve used bass to fill in the spaces the song has.  Overall, it’s a nice track, but the previous track stumps it heavily!

3. Setsunasa wo Kono Mune no Naka ni

As one of the B-sides from “Kimi to Aeta Kiseki” I’ve always thought Setsunasa wo Kono Mune no Naka ni was a rather boring song from the group despite being a mid-tempo ballad.  misono tried her best to make the song a bit more exciting, but the arrangement was just dragging most of the time…just wasn’t that great.

4. Nanatsu Hoshi wo Kazoetara

Moving on, we have our next brand new song and it’s different after the last two tracks by taking a more frantic sound.  There’s something about it that makes it so unique and the percussion seems to be more in the front than the rest of the arrangement.  It’s an odd song that’s for sure and I don’t know how long I’ll take it because there’s not a lot of levels to it…but it’s different.

5. lost angel

Then we get into the first A-side released with lost angel and I remember thinking it was beautiful before Misato strikes the guitar chords and then the tune instantly started to feel boggled and dragged almost everywhere else.  I wish I could like it more, but when the later A-sides basically bomb this…it’s not quite good.  As a ballad, I enjoyed it more than “Setsunasa wo Kono Mune no Naka ni”.  Actually, it’s rather not all that bad, but still day after tomorrow’s strong suits aren’t ballads.

6. Where so ever

I was surprised the guys in the trio actually sung in this track for a little bit…I wasn’t expecting such a thing.  I honestly loved hearing misono singing in a deeper tone.  She sounded really strong and the song was also a pretty awesome affair.  Almost sounding similar to the other songs I love on this album ironically.  Might not be an exploding track, but the more serious tone really worked here.  Probably my favorite of the new songs!

7. Honestly

I don’t know why, but dat just can’t pull off ballad for some reason.  Honestly is a simple one with acoustic guitar and piano for a good portion of it.  It’s also strange to hear misono actually try to sing pleasantly in a ballad (because she kills nearly every ballad she’s done as a solo artist).  I was surprised Daisuke was really nowhere to be found and I actually thought it made the song better XD.  Though making the song fade out?  Ballads should NEVER use fade out >.>.  Still, not bad!

8. Tsuishin

Moving to the other B-side from “Kimi to Aeta Kiseki”, Tsuishin did remind me of previous song they’ve done in the last album so I was less than impressed with this song.  Coming to it now on this album, Tsuishin tries to be like the top-hitters, but honestly doesn’t come close.  I can never remember its chorus and there’s not a lot of things that stick out besides Masato’s guitar licks.

9. Yuri no Hana

As the 3rd and final single the trio released together, Yuri no Hana is a bit like “Tsuishin” of course but I actually felt it was more on the level of “Kimi to Aeta Kiseki” because of the similarities and strong vocals from misono.  It moved smoothly and those lines before going into the musical breaks was clever!  Add on a pretty nice guitar solo from Misato and you have this song.  I really enjoyed it!

10. Meisou

Then we get to the final new track and Meisou starts off like “lost angel” with the pretty intro and verses.  misono is also singing again in a deeper tone which is also a welcome always.  Unfortunately, it never really picks up for me and the chorus drags like crazy.  I do like the oriental strings though, that was cute to include but otherwise I just didn’t find this memorable.

11. Soshite Boku ni Dekiru Koto

I wasn’t surprised that the last two tracks of the album would’ve made it because both had pretty big tie-ins.  The first should be memorable for most games as it was the theme for Tales of Symphonia!  This song is a classic for them too, it’s such a unique song but so very day after tomorrow!  I really enjoyed the anison feel, with Daisuke’s synths and Misato’s riffs.  Might not be the most energetic, but it was just epic!

12. more than a million miles

Ending the album was the tie-in to The Day After Tomorrow (y’know the Jake Gyllenhaal movie).  Funny how that worked for the group huh?  Being the album’s longest track at 6 minutes, more than a million miles seems to really not fit the album because it took a more serious tone and the arrangement doesn’t seem as dat-centric as you’d expect.  Though it quite worked as the final song of the album (especially considering what happens after this album).  It’s a pretty dramatic ballad and misono handled it very well…great closing!

Tracks Recommended

• Kimi to Aeta Kiseki
• Soshite Boku ni Dekiru Koto
• Yuri no Hana
• Where so ever
• more than a million miles

Song of Avoidance

• Setsunasa wo Kono Mune no Naka ni

I honestly believed that day alone is the best album the group was released, so how disappointed I was to learn that the trio would split up in 2005 and go their seperate ways.  Well, a year later we’d see misono reappear as a solo artist and Daisuke Suzuki would return in 2008 with a new trio, GIRL NEXT DOOR.  I feel like day after tomorrow was such a unique group with a lot to offer, but missed it by disbanding.  day alone showed a LOT of potential for what they could’ve done had they pushed on but eh.  Still, a worthy album!  Oh yeah, dat did release 3 best-ofs afterwards (2/3 are so obsolete to get though >.>).

day after tomorrow – Yuri no Hana September 29, 2010

Track Listing

1. Yuri no Hana
2. Yuri no Hana -Instrumental-

1. Yuri no Hana

Hmmm, why does this sound like a continuation of “Kimi to Aeta Kiseki”?  I don’t know why, but somehow I still enjoy this song just as much as the last single.  I mean we are now getting into how misono sounds today with her uber vibrato and the like.  It’s also a bit nice that the song is a bit slower, but not by much.  For such a song, it left a good impact on me and it one of my favorite dat songs.

 

 

It’s just so odd that Yuri no Hana would turn out to be the band’s final single before misono leaves into her solo career and Daisuke leaves to end up forming GIRL NEXT DOOR.  It’s a bit of a bittersweet single since Yuri no Hana was a pretty great song from the trio…but I guess things must end huh?

day after tomorrow – Kimi to Aeta Kiseki April 20, 2010

Track Listing

1. Kimi to Aeta Kiseki
2. Tsuishin
3. Setsunasa wa Kono Mune no Naka ni
4. Kimi to Aeta Kiseki -Instrumental-
5. Tsuishin -Instrumental-
6. Setsunasa wa Kono Mune no Naka ni -Instrumental-

1. Kimi to Aeta Kiseki

It’s been a while since an A-side has impressed me from dat, but with Kimi to Aeta Kiseki pulled me back in right from the start with the opening lines and opening instrumental.  It is a surprise there’s less going on vocally from misono since she isn’t exactly wailing her mouth across.  The chorus though is just all kinds of catchy and one of the coolest riffs from the band!   Great song!

2. Tsuishin

The first B-side of the single definitely reminds me of something off their last album “primary colors”.  Then again some of it sounds a bit like their next single which is a little preceding I guess.  Compared to the first song, this is a bit more boring and a little less exciting.  I guess it’s better than some of the older songs, but I’m not totally for it.

3. Setsunasa wa Kono Mune no Naka ni

It seems by this single that it goes from the most exciting to the least and with Setsunasa wa Kono Mune no Naka ni, it’s definitely like that.  It’s a little bit more to the point than “Tsuishin” but it feels like it’s dragging itself across the entire length.  Not saying that misono is giving a good performance or anything, but the songs slow moving arrangement did not really make it worthwhile

 

 

As we near the end of the band’s life, Kimi to Aeta Kiseki just shadows the problem within.  I mean the A-side is excellent and could be one the bands best song within the time they were togeher.  Tsuishin and Setsunasa were just too bleh for me to leave much of an impression.  Oh well…

day after tomorrow – lost angel August 10, 2009

Track Listing

1. lost angel
2. Soshite Boku ni Dekiru Koto
3. more than a million miles
4. lost angel -Instrumental-
5. Soshite Boku ni Dekiru Koto -Instrumental-
6. more than a million miles -Instrumental-

1. lost angel

lost angel began pretty differently than their previous efforts with strings and a darker touch than normal dat.  That is before Misato (guitarist) comes in with a harder drive than normal.  Even misono gives a pretty good performance as well and Daisuke plays 2nd fiddle in the song.  Then after a while it seems like the song isn’t really going anywhere and has the same rhythms going on.  Yeah, I really started to get tired of it pretty quickly.

2. Soshite Boku ni Dekiru Koto

However, Soshite Boku ni Dekiru Koto is leagues better than “lost angel”.  For one thing it’s tie-in with the Tales… series is already one good point for them since “Starry Heavens” was also a tie-in through the series.  I really love Misato’s guitar riffs all over the song and could be one of his best tracks.  Even Daisuke (keyboardist) plays a bit more broader here and mixed with misono, they really made an epic track to begin the era off.  Makes me wonder why this wasn’t the A-side in the first place. 

3. more than a million miles

Oh the lulz factor.  This track had a tie-in to the movie “Day After Tomorrow” and hey what’s the name of the band?  Already from the start you can feel the melancholic sound and oddly enough an acoustic one at that.  Everyone knows misono can’t do ballads, especially as of late, but I really like this track and misono isn’t horrible which is a first.  Best ballad of misono, probably.

 

 

dat begins their final era with lost angel, but seriously the title track is pretty meh and overshadowed by both of its fellow B-sides.  Soshite Boku ni Dekiru Koto is catchy, spunky and full of dat power which is great and is one of their best B-sides.  more than a million miles was also great and showed off misono in a ballad in a good light.  Pretty good way to begin the era (minus the A-side)

misono – Tales with misono-BEST June 10, 2009

Track Listing

1. Starry Heavens
2. Soshite Boku ni Dekiru Koto
3. VS
4. Lovely♥Cat’s Eye
5. Ninin Sankyaku
6. Tales… (bonus track)

1. Starry Heavens

We begin this mini-album with a dat track which kind of beats the purpose of a “just-only misono” song.  I continue to not find anything that’s really special about this song, but I guess since it is the bands most well-known track, I can’t argue with that.  misono does sound pretty good overall and I quite like the fact that she isn’t screaming her head off.

2. Soshite Boku ni Dekiru Koto

Oddly enough this was my first song that I ever heard from day after tomorrow and misono, so I’ve easily fell in love with it.  Why it wasn’t an A-side surprises me (which by the way this was a B-side from “lost angel).  Now this is a pretty sweet track borderlining epic because misono is just right for the song and I love the guitar riffs in the verses and the after chorus.  I have to say one of my favorite songs from them.

3. VS

Then we leave dat for misono’s solo songs and VS is up first.  Everyone states that there hasn’t been anything quite that good in misono’s career since this song, which is actually false because there’s others.  VS was a pretty nice debut overall and she sang it with pretty good vocals compared to “end=START” which I’ll agree her vocals are not as good as they are here.  I really like this track and its accompanying PV.

3. Lovely♥Cat’s Eye

Whee, the cat song comes up next and I really don’t see how this track got a tie-in through the Tales series.  Like “VS”, this track has some very exciting moments and I love the chorus to death since it’s all loud and all the various cat moments made the song even better.  I do hear some guys voice in the background during the 2nd bridge…I never heard that…well whichever, this song is still good.

5. Ninin Sankyaku

The only song to actually have Tales in the PV, Ninin Sankyaku was a breath of fresh air in the second era because this was just damn good and I was happy to hear something epic.  I really love the after-chorus where she’s backed away from the microphone, that was just too cool misono!  Still, this track was just a great song to represent the games and it shows.

6. Tales…

OH!, here as a bonus is a new track from misono…Though as I listen along to the song it actually screams day after tomorrow especially comparing the arrangement against “Ninin Sankyaku”  Actually, looking at it, it might be an unused song from the group because misono does sound a bit younger and the song sounds a little aged.  The song though sounds like a mix of the mehness of “Starry Heavens” and guitar moments of “Soshite Boku ni Dekiru Koto”.  That’s not good thing either, since the track is pretty boring still.  Oh well, but I really do think it’s an unreleased dat track.

 

 

misono’s first best-of doesn’t exactly scream NEED TO BUY, but it’s a good collection of songs from the Tales series.  I do think misono’s solo stuff outshines the dat stuff and that shows that misono is doing better sounding off as a solo artist rather than being in a group….(imagine if misono was still in dat, it’d be like GND).  The new track was different, but y’know give credit where it’s due….it’s a dat track xD

day after tomorrow – primary colors February 23, 2009

Track Listing

1. Starry Heavens
2. Time Machine de Tsuredashite
3. Fitness
4. Show Time
5. Itazura na KISS
6. CURRENT
7. Shoujo no Mama de Ita Ano Koro
8. regret
9. wind flower ~spring ephemeral~
10. Dear Friends
11. These Days
12. It’s My Way
13. Hotarubi

1. Starry Heavens

If we have to, begin the album with the most well-known track.  I still don’t see where the whole, awesomeness factor comes in.  I fount the song to be just a little on the boring side and doesn’t have a big surprise in it at all until the guitar solo.  Definitly could’ve began the album more louder.

2. Time Machine de Tsuredashite

Our first new track off the album is probably more along the lines of what I wanted this album to start with.  We actually hear the guys get some singing parts which is good because misono definitly needed some backup.  It’s funny they put in a censored beep.  I was like what the hell is that about, haha.  It’s quite catchy, but the arrangement could’ve been more exciting.  Good track though.

3. Fitness

My prayers were answered with Fitness which did sound pretty cool right from the start.  Even though there isn’t anything exactly groundbreaking at this point.  It’s the usual fare of the combination of synths and guitar.  misono sounds a little dead in the song right up to the chorus.  I guess this is just a filler track for the album.

4. Show Time

I still laugh hard during the song’s first lines.  It’s so hectic and just them having fun with the song.  On the single, it sounded pretty different and so random and it continues to be so damn random on here as well.  The chorus is nicely done by misono and the band using arpeggios…though the transitioning between the bridge/chorus/after chorus is very questionable, it still has a cute charm to it.

5. Itazura na KISS

You know what, IMO this is dat’s best in their entire discography.  The main thing I remember about this song is how much I’d love to karaoke with it once Inuyasha ended.  Just like the previous track, they are having tons of fun for this song and c’mon the riffs are just so cool here.  I think misono sounds really cool here too and doesn’t rely heavily on that crazy vibrato.

6. CURRENT

Returning from the same single “Itazura na KISS” was from, CURRENT was the more serious one.  Once again it seems that it’d be a bit better had it been left on the single.  It’s just like the other tracks, but once again it’s used to split the happy songs, so CURRENT did its job right. 

7. Shoujo no Mama de Ita Ano Koro

Is it coincedence that I’m starting to feel the same just like I did with GND’s debut album?  Like how the songs are starting to sound the same and not enough difference between the songs.  Shoujou no Mama de Ita Ano Koro proves that theory because NOTHING makes it stand out at all.  The chorus reminds me of “CURRENT” which is a bad thing because that track was right before it…the solo though was nice though.

8. regret

See, regret is something this album needed.  It’s what we’d call a rock ballad because the synth aren’t as important as the other instruments this time, such a great change of sound.  I think misono sounds jsut right with this song and if she wanted to, she could cover it in her solo career.  I have no idea why she hasn’t yet, it’s the best of the new tracks.

9. wind flower ~spring ephemeral~

However, the last new track on the album sounds like the return of a more fierce “CURRENT” which is what I really wanted and I got it through this pretty sweet track.  misono is pretty loud and the guitar wailing  just somehow attributed to this songs great power.  I thought it sounded a bit American, but in a good way. 

10. Dear Friends

I’m still surprised at how wintry it starts off and things pick up so quickly for the chorus and dies down again for the verses.  It has a very topsy-turvy arrangement and the guitar riffs are so cool and are very reminescent to a future track of theirs.  What saved the song from bein just another one of their typicals was a stronger presence of actual piano.  Cool!

11. These Days

Why, oh why, did you have to add this song on the album.  There’s a few good things to point out and it’s mostly for piano inclusion, but the song is suffering from the boring syndrome.  It does sound like something that should’ve been on their first full album, but on here it seems like it wasn’t produced fully enough.

12. It’s My Way

Even though the song is a secondary A-side, I thought this was a bit more meh.  I mean with the songs beforehand having a very similar arrangement, come closer to the end, this song is just made worse by inclusion on this album at a very late time.  There’s nothing special here anymore….Best left on the single for sure. 

13. Hotarubi

Hotarubi is a very appropriate song, to finally end the album up.  It just has ending properties that signals the closure.  The single was a good idea, but it kind of was weird paring up with “Show Time”.  At least it makes sense now, so I can appreciate it more than before

Tracks Recommended

• Itazura na KISS
• regret
• wind flower ~spring ephemeral~
• Dear Friends
• Hotarubi

Song of Avoidance

• It’s My Way

dat’s sophomore album, is a minor step-up from their 1st full-album.  I found that a lot of the tracks were very similar to one each other, but it’s nice to know that there was equality between the singles and new tracks (even though it was heavy with single tracks).  I did miss the fact there was no piano-only ballad though, but we’ll see with their final album.

day after tomorrow – Hotarubi/Show Time January 26, 2009

Track Listing

1. Hotarubi
2. Show Time
3. Hotarubi (instrumental)
4. Show Time (instrumental)

1. Hotarubi

I think what made this song stand out was the long string opening.  The song is the usual fare of dat, which is synths and guitar riffs controlling the song.  The song can be considered a ballad since it’s slow moving and even though the song is pretty forgettable, it made a pretty good A-side.

2. Show Time

~1 2 3 got a hajimaru boyfriend…”  It’s definitly a playful track representing the other A-side.  Even though the song sort of parallels “Itazura na Kiss” the lyrics are pretty funny especially in and around the chorus where the rhythms of misono show and it’s really good.  There’s still better tracks that they’ve put out that’s this upbeat.

 

 

dat finally finished this era off with what could be the meh one.  It’s not bad, but at the same time it wasn’t really anything new that we heard previous this.  Hotarubi was the rock ballad and Show Time was the more upbeat coupling.  Useless single though as both tracks are on their album.

day after tomorrow – Dear Friends/It’s My Way December 30, 2008

Track Listing

1. Dear Friends
2. It’s My Way
3. Starry Heavens (Orchestra Version)
4. Dear Friends (Instrumental)
5. It’s My Time (Instrumental)
6. Starry Heavens (Orchestra Version) (Instrumental)

1. Dear Friends

I’m hearing jingle bells again…I really don’t like where it was going until the tempo sped up instantly in the chorus and then slowed down again when the verses started.  The guitar riffs reminded me of their other track “Soshite Boku ni Dekiru Koto” and some of GND’s stuff.  I still like the other than that.  Definitly wasn’t a song I was expecting from the title.

2. It’s My Way

I would’ve thought that this’d be the ballad, but I was wrong once again.  It’s more of the same pop/rock found in the song.  misono sounds a little nasally, but it’s usual. There’s less going on and a bit more simplistic in arrangement, but still a good song from GND….I mean dat. xD   

3. Starry Heavens (Orchestra Version)

I wish misono resang this because it’s just awkward having no changes in vocals but add strings.  Even then it isn’t a full orchestra version because there’s still guitar.  No synths though, just those two things and drums.  That’s not really a full change.  Even then, I’m still not fully into “Starry Heavens”.  I do love the guitar solo with the strings, however.

 

 

dat….where’s our album?  This double A-side was definitly the upbeat one and the one that really is similar to GND’s stuff which I blame the keyboardist for making it all sound the same.  Anyway without the assumption, this is a good single overall

day after tomorrow – moon gate November 26, 2008

Track Listing

1. Starry Heavens
2. Neverland
3. These Days

1. Starry Heavens

I guess for gamers, this is dat’s most memorable track.  It was the theme for Tales of Symphonia and well you guessed it it’s full of energy.  Now, it isn’t as catchy as other tracks, but how the song sounded overall was great.  I mean I’m still wondering why this was the most memorable track from them, it isn’t exactly anything to brag about.  misono sounds quite nasally throughout and it definitly isn’t at the top of favorites.

2. Neverland

So that’s how misono came up with the title of her debut album.  It starts out with quite an impace and sounds pretty regal than the song turns into a track were the synths are more in front than the other sounds.  The sad thing is that the song is pretty monotonous with misono doing the vocals.  The chorus just seemed to drag on by.  The verses were definitly better and after a while the chorus does become catchy.

3. These Days

Ugh, this song definitly the worst on the single.  I mean it’s the slowest of the three but is the most boring of them as well.  misono tries hard to be exciting, but with everything coming at a slow pace, it just wasn’t enough.  The ~whoa’s~ were also too much for the song and it annoyed me to no end.

 

 

Wow, after hearing all that praise for Starry Heavens, I thought I would’ve liked it.  Instead, the song isn’t a song people should be raving about because it just wasn’t as memorable as last single’s “DAY STAR” was.  Neverland is the best of the three, but not too high on my favorites.  It also is another track that doesn’t make it on “Primary Colors” and only is seen on there “Complete best”.  These Days will also baffle me and in not a good way…I’d pass this single up

day after tomorrow – DAY STAR October 7, 2008

Track Listing

1. CURRENT
2. Itazura na KISS
3. Smartly

1. CURRENT

I was surprised that this song was so good.  misono’s up and down-ing the chorus was definitly a feat for her and it sound so bad.  As usual the guitar riffs and mixture of rock and pop really works for them.  Against the other upbeat tracks however, it comes off as a little stale and maybe a little boring but on the single it’s a good 1st track.

2. Itazura na KISS

Their most recognizable track comes through this song as it was a tie-in for the anmie Inuyasha.  Another upbeat track but focuses more on the synth this time rather than the guitar.  This is the track that really made me like them a lot since this song is very catchy and hard to get out of your heart.  misono has great energy throughout and her vocals are powerful for a song like this.  I think this was their supposed A-side for the single, since this does have a PV for it.  ONe of their bests of their career together.

3. Smartly

Three upbeat tracks on one single?  I think this track is more calmer than the two before and musically it’s a good guitar driven track.  Once again, misono delivers with some power and her voice isn’t so bad.  Though how she says ~Smarrrr-telll-eeee~ Yea, it’s not good.  Other than the random bad English, it was pretty good

 

 

For the first entry for the “primary colors” era this was downright surprising.  All three tracks are wildly upbeat and has some of the catchiest guitar and synth riffs.  CURRENT does become a little on the bland side once songs like “Yuri no Hana” and “Kimi to Aeta Kiseki” come out.  Itazura na KISS would be the best track off the album with it’s playfulness and yet interesting music.  Smartly is the odd one out of the bunch because like one of the next tracks on the next single, it doesn’t appear on the album and only appears on their “Complete Best” album which is weird.  Together, it’s a high quality single.