WEAVER – Handmade March 14, 2013

Track Listing

1. Perfomance
2. Shall we dance
3. Kaze no Fune ~Bug’s ship~
4. Reach out
5. blue bird
6. Artist
7. Kimi ga Ita Natsu no Sora
8. Futari wa Yuki no You ni
9. Gizensha no Koe
10. Free will
11. The sun and clouds

1. Performance

It’s really cool that WEAVER begun their album with an introduction as bright and upbeat as this.  There’s a lot of Yuji in this track and he’s such an amazing pianist that it just helped this track on a great level as he’s playful and fast at the same time.  Yeah this was an impressive way to start the album off.

2. Shall we dance

The same upbeat and joyous arrangement slides into our first vocal track on the album and I once again easily drawn into Yuji’s arrangement and he sounds quite lively!  It’s like “Performance” but with actual vocals which I’m more than happy with…what a great track this is!

3. Kaze no Fune ~Bug’s ship~

Into our next track, Kaze no Fune kind of reminds me of the “Calm Lands” from FFX-2 with its piano melody and essentially happy nature.  It’s not as bouncy as “Shall we dance” so I do kind of like the slight switch in styles here.  Plus Yuji’s vocals are nice to listen to, flowing around the track like that!  It’s quite an impressive tune from the trio.

4. Reach out

I was slightly tricked with the intro for Reach out because I thought this would take a break on the happy-go-lucky arrangements, but Reach out becomes another song that kind of bases its sound on the more happier sounds, but there’s strings present to kind of break the monotony which is a surprise for me.  Still, I would like a break from the happy piano Yuji!

5. blue bird

>.>  It just doesn’t stop huh?  I will say the song has a certain clapping rhythm that would be nice to follow along.  It’s definitely one of those songs that’s perfectly suited for the season of Spring and all, but after the previous tracks, this is just coming off as plain and vanilla for me.

6. Artist

Finally, it seems like Artist is trying to cut back on the light-hearted sound with something a bit more driven and edgy (in WEAVER terms that’s not very much).  I actually could’ve seen this song being released as a single because it just has A-side properties!  I actually quite like this song a lot more than I would’ve initially though.  Good job here!

7. Kimi ga Ita Natsu no Sora

It seems like WEAVER keeps toning the album down a bit because our next song is even less happy-go-lucky.  My problem here is that it just moves by without leaving too much of an impression on me lol.  The song isn’t terrible though but it might be the filler song of the album…at least that’s what I get from this.

8. Futari wa Yuki no You ni

With the next track, the forgettable songs continue with Futari wa Yuki no You ni.  The song is what if they made the piano slow its ass down and made Yuji sing a lot more.  I like that it is a bit melancholic so it kind of stands out on the album, but it’s still kind of a boring song that really doesn’t go anywhere for me…not even the chorus did very much for me.  Yeah this was pretty boring of a song.

9. Gizensha no Koe

As the only digital single to represent the album (strange…no “Egao no Aizu”?), Gizensha no Koe was a surprise to have been included but then again nice too.  I will say that after the last couple of songs we did need a pick-me-up.  Against the other songs on the album this isn’t the strongest either, but it’s catchy and Yuji doesn’t seem to overrule the song either.  It’s just a nice combination of the band together.  I actually can see myself loving it down the road.

10. Free will

Oh hey chanting intro!  Free will reminds a lot of stuff from “Jubilation” with the amount of strings and the floaty-ness of the song as well since it gives the song some identity on the album and I enjoy that a lot!  It does kind of remind me of a certain song from Sakanaction (“Identity” ironically).  It’s a nice track overall and it definitely brought my interest back up for the finale.

11. The sun and clouds

I LOVE the strings introduction into the album’s final track a lot and even past that, the song sounds really strong and doesn’t really fade away.  Yuji also sounds pretty soothing and since the song isn’t a happy fest, this felt like a breath of fresh air!  Definitely a pretty song to end the album with for sure!

Tracks Recommended

• Shall we dance
• Artist
• Free will
• Kaze no Fune ~Bug’s ship~
• The sun and clouds

Song of Avoidance

• Futari wa Yuki no You ni

Would you believe that for a band that’s been around since 2009, this is their first studio album?  WEAVER took long enough and finally released Handmade!  The album is OK, but they need to spice things up and not let Yuji carry the songs with his piano…makes the songs very similar to one another…let the other members do something man xD.  This might be a problem in the future if they keep going because I felt the same here as I felt with their last mini-album, “Jubilation”.  Though there are stand out tracks…which is good!  Still I hope they do something more with their music in the future.

WEAVER – Egao no Aizu December 27, 2011

Track Listing

1. Egao no Aizu
2. 66 Banme no Kisha ni Notte
3. Nakitai Kurai Shiawase ni Nareru yo
4. Egao no Aizu Yuji Sugimoto (Piano Instrumental Ver.)
5. Egao no Aizu (Instrumental Ver.)

1. Egao no Aizu

Coming off from “Jubilation” with a tired feeling from it, Egao no Aizu is kind of a refreshing kind of song since it’s positive and has a nice bright feeling that comes from Yuji’s vocals and piano feel mixed with the brass lines that are found within.  I don’t know why though but whenever Yuji’s singing, it sounds tired and weak for some reason or another.  This is kind of random like NICO’s “Te wo Tatake” but not as hook-worthy.

2. 66 Banme no Kisha ni Notte

The first B-side though is a little more of what I was expecting to hear from WEAVER and it’s actually kind of nice despite being 6 minutes long hahah.  It’s relaxing of a song to be honest and it fits the piano melody even more than the rest of the things that are going on!  It is weird that it kind of ends suddenly and goes into this instrumental part that goes to the end.  It’s easily the best of the three songs though.

3. Nakitai Kurai Shiawase ni Nareru yo

The second B-side is a bit more slower and piano-based (moreso than “66 Banme”.  I will say that I enjoy hearing a lighter song from the band since it showcases Yuji a little better as a singer here.  It’s a bit basic to my ears and sounds like some of the songs from “Jubilation” but this is pretty sweet of a song.

 

 

I’m surprised this is only WEAVER’s second single released (they’re more known for digital releases and mini-albums.  Egao no Aizu is an alright single for the most part.  The only song that really stood out was 66 Banme no Kisha ni Notte but that was because it was a little different than their normal.  Egao no Aizu follows it with it’s rather happy-go-lucky mood and the usage of a lot of brass.  As for Nakitai Kurai Shiawase ni Nareru yo, it’s a bit tame and just a little too reminescent of past songs for me.  All in all this single is going to take a while to get used to but it’s not terrible.

WEAVER – Jubilation August 24, 2011

Track Listing

1. Shine
2. Haruiro Graffiti
3. Kimi no Tomodachi
4. Letter
5. “A” “I” wo Atsumete
6. Kibou no Tomoshibi
7. Maken na! (bonus track)
8. Shine (Piano instrumental version)
9. Haruiro Graffiti (Piano instrumental version)
10. Kimi no Tomodachi (Piano instrumental version)
11. Letter (Piano instrumental version)
12. “A” “I” wo Atsumete (Piano instrumental version)
13. Kibou no Tomoshibi (Piano instrumental version)

1. Shine

I love the art cover for Jubilation and Shine fits the cover perfectly because it’s upbeat and free-flowing and I love the fact WEAVER includes strings and piano along with their pop/rock style.  Yuji sounds really nice I must  say and the fact there’s no member that plays guitar intrigues me a lot even from the first song.  I’d say this is a great way to begin the mini-album.

2. Haruiro Graffiti

Being a slightly more lighter song than “Shine”, Haruiro Graffiti comes next and I found myself enjoying this quite a bit simply because Yuji and everyone else is taking is a bit lighter.  After a little bit the song gains some momentum and it’s like a happier “Shine” which is a good sign for me.  I noticed the other two members sing in the chorus but it seems they do this a lot.  Not as memorable as the first track but it’s still nice!

3. Kimi no Tomodachi

Released as the first digital single of this era, Kimi no Tomodachi is pretty much a ballad in style and that’s a good thing because I was curious to how Yuji would sound in such a setting.  Let’s just say that his soft vocals sound great and even as it grows into the chorus, it’s strong and he doesn’t overpower the spring-like atmosphere of the tune. 

4. Letter

Letter is definitely their quickest and most upbeat of the 7 songs and that’s pretty good because I was hoping they would pull something out like this, not saying the previous songs are bad but I wanted to hear this.  There is a lot of drums though in the song which does take over the song after a while but I really like the bright feel of the song and Yuji did great keeping up.  This is probably my favorite song off the mini…or is it “Shine”?

5. “A” “I” wo Atsumete

Yep the other digital single released is also on the mini and is also a ballad even moreso than “Kimi no Tomodachi”.  It’s a sweet song to listen to and once again Yuji’s soft vocals sound great and it grows into the chorus…hmmmm does that sound rather familiar?  It’s alright but sounds rather much like the other digital single just a bit slower.

6. Kibou no Tomoshibi

After all that, I think Kibou no Tomoshibi sounds nice and stands out from the other songs by actually having a different mood placed in it.  Unlike the bright songs on the album this sounds like a song for the night and it sounds really nice all around.  I mean even the bells were a nice addition to the song and gave a stronger glow.  I’d say it made a great closing…but…

7. Maken na!

I didn’t really expect a bonus track to be on the mini more or less the only track that doesn’t have a “piano instrumental version” as well.  Then again I don’t think it needed it because the song was essentially Yuji all over with the other members providing backup vocals.  The song with the least going on, but it’s vocally quite comforting.

 

 

It’s kind of interesting that I thought WEAVER was gonna be more hardcore than I thought before listening to Jubilation but they’re actually more light and reserved than that thought.  The only thing I might come across as a negative is that their music might become sameish but if they keep doing songs like Maken na! and Kibou no Tomoshibi they’ll be alright.