Track Listing
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Can you hear me?
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Kaze no Gotoku -B.B.B. ver.-
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HOME
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Futari de Hitori / The Journey
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ANIMAL feat. Yoko Yazawa
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Kimi Gokoro
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LIGHTS -Album ver.-
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GO★ -Album ver.-
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CLOSER -English ver.-
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Hello Hello Goodbye
1. Can you hear me?
Being the intro track into the album, Can you hear me? introduces us quite nicely with Joe singing in his native tongue of English and he sounds great even with the simple rock arrangement it has. I wouldn’t have minded if he made this into a full song since it has a great melody and builds up really good.
2. Kaze no Gotoku -B.B.B. ver-
Being the second and final single released in the era, Kaze no Gotoku is such a powerhouse of a song and great because of its tie-in to Gintama. I still do think Joe’s lower and deep vocals are a bit off the wall at first, but I think it gave the tune a bit of a stronger and angsty drive to it. I’ll be honest though, since it’s a new version, I have no idea what the difference between this and the single version is…but I’m guessing it’s the fact that guitars play a more bolder role perhaps? I don’t know, but I really don’t hear much of a difference. It’s so hard to choose which A-side I liked more though x.x
3. HOME
Getting into new songs, HOME for me reminds me of some of the B-sides of the era since it’s Joe at his basic rock standards. Yes, he’s also at his normal range in his vocals but that’s cool. Then we get into the chorus and it just falls flat because it feels like there needed to be more guitars and the like. It’s simple, but it can be catchy at various points!
4. Futari de Hitori / The Journey
While it isn’t a dual-titled with two different songs going on, Futari de Hitori kind of continues to show more of a rocker side to Joe’s music and I’m kind of liking this. I think the only thing that brings the song is the kind of draggy chorus, but it’s still nothing to worry about since the rest of the song is great for me.
5. ANIMAL feat. Yoko Yazawa
First off, I have no idea who this Y0ko Yazawa is, but whatever. ANIMAL is surprisingly a darker song for Joe to do because there’s yelling, low vocals and a pretty powerful chorus. I like the chorus for sure…oh wait…Yoko is a gal?!? I don’t know why but I was amused when Joe introduces her before her section of the song because she really puts that angst to use. I ended up really liking this song, just because it just had a lot of power to it and it was great to hear a collaborator do just as good.
6. Kimi Gokoro
After quite a bit of rock songs, I’m kind of surprised that Kimi Gokoro is back to the guitar/synth stuff but with more focus on the synths. Unfortunately, Joe is under quite a bit of auto-tune and it’s kind of annoying that most of the problems occured in the verses since it was just all over the place. I did love the chorus though so it made up for the meh-ness of the verses. Different and kind of random on the album, but still good.
7. LIGHTS -Album ver.-
Huh? How can there be an album version of a song that hasn’t been released in his main discography? I’m pretty sure it’s on a VA or something. LIGHTS actually sounds pretty good since it’s like an anime-ish song but at the same time brings out great vocals from Joe. I mean yeah on the album it kind of pales of the originality, but it’s simple and good enough for me.
8. GO★ -Album ver.-
Likewise with “Kaze no Gotoku”, I don’t really hear the differences between the album and single versions of the song. I really liked Joe’s quick singing in the song and the uber catchy chorus as well. Still it’s one of the better songs I’ve heard from him ever since starting with his music.
9. CLOSER -English ver.-
If anyone paid attention, Joe Inoue struck gold with CLOSER, which was his 2nd single and a tie-in for the Naruto series. Given I never listened to the original, CLOSER in English was a smart choice and I think this song definitely fits the Naruto shtick because there’s a mix of rock and synths that just flow seamlessly together. It’s catchy, but to me it still kind of under the singles of this era.
10. Hello Hello Goodbye
Ending the album, Hello Hello Goodbye is the only song that has no guitars present, so that means it’s synth and auto-tune loves. Though being in both languages, it’s like really an odd and kind of cheesy song to listen because of basically most of Joe’s English lines. It feels long for being just 2:20, but c’mon really this song kind of is yikes on a stick.
Tracks Recommended
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Kaze no Gotoku -B.B.B. ver.-
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ANIMAL feat. Yoko Yazawa
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GO★ -Album ver.-
Song of Avoidance
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Hello Hello Goodbye
As DOS ANGELES is Joe’s third album, I felt that it was oddly way too short for me with just 10 tracks, but more like 9 because of the opener and closer songs being so sh0rt. Still it’s not that bad, but maybe a tad safe for him…I do like his vocals alot and I can see him pulling a great album eventually.