Tokyo-Nights: For the Week [03.18.09]
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For the Week is your weekly look into the newest releases in Japanese music. Every week I take a listen to as much as I can and choose what I feel is the best or most passable new material. You can expect around 2-5 singles and 1-3 albums to be featured per column depending on the volume of releases for the week. This column isn't about me trying to make opinions for you, just lead you in the direction of what I think were the better efforts of the week.
This is the week of 03.18.2009 and it is only marginally better than last week.
FAVORITE SINGLES:
Amuro Namie – WILD/Dr.
KREVA – Ao
FOR THE WEAK:
Nishino Kana – Tookutemo feat. WISE
Honorable Mention:
Midori - SWING
Amuro Namie – WILD/Dr.
Amuro Namie is truly a woman who needs no introduction. She has been making music longer than Koda Kumi, Utada Hikaru and Hamasaki Ayumi. Even through horrific family tragedy, motherhood and divorce she has continued to remain a trend-setting role model in Japan. In 2008 there was an Amuro boom when the Triple A “60s70s80s” and following compilation “BEST FICTION” was released. Well into 2009 Namie shows she has no plans on slowing down with the release of the double A-side single “WILD/Dr.” The first track “WILD” is a dance track we've come to expect from her from the past two years. Namie nails every aspect of a good dance track. It has effective and easy to remember lyrics, an addicting beat and near flawless production. If you ever find yourself needing a song to add to a play list for the gym, “WILD” would be a perfect addition. The second track is definitely the main attraction in this double feature. “Dr.” succeeds where so many other pop songs fail. It shows that a pop song can be layered with serious depth in composition and lyrics and still be mainstream enough to gain the airplay it rightfully deserves. The song is nearly six minutes long but never overstays it's welcome. It's hard to choose which of the many parts of the song is my favorite but if I had to decide it would likely be the brilliant use of the bolero. I do not choose this because it is the best part of the song, I choose it due to the fact it takes what could have been an extremely cheesy moment that ultimately ruins the song and turns it into one of the many effective layers working together to craft one of this years best songs.
KREVA – Ao
KREVA has always seemed to be one of the rappers who has been on the periphery of the Japanese music scene. He has done some great collaborations with many high profile artists as well as having released some very solid solo works. I'm very glad to see his newest single “Ao” is a fair representation of his music. Not perfect but far from bad. For the most part I would have to say that KREVA sounds better when he is collaborating or remixing a song. The first track on the single “Seikou” is a cool track that is pretty simple and nice. The chorus had gotten stuck in my head after only listening to the preview when it first came out and I still really enjoy it even if it is a bit on the repetitive side. The track after this is “I Wanna Know You” which starts off with a rather annoying “Whoa” sung by KREVA through a vocoder. It's not his best but I wouldn't write it off as an overall bad song. It's a bit too simple and too repetitive but luckily the third track of the single makes up for it. “Umarete Kite Arigatou feat. Sakaiyuu” is the slowest song on the single. Unfortunately the rip that has been floating around of the single leaves out by far the most promising sounding track “So Sexy” due to some technical difficulties. I will be sure to update this portion if and when the song is available.
For the Weak: Nishino Kana – Tookutemo feat. WISE
Let me preface this brief review by saying Nishino Kana just doesn't have that great of a voice. I haven't really followed her at all but to be completely honest I wouldn't be surprised if people found her voice to be quite grating. Seeing as this week was pretty slow and the single isn't god awful I decided to add it to the column. I listened to it on accident when I mistakenly saw the name “WISE” and downloaded it before I read that it wasn't his collaboration with Hiromi. The title track “Tookutemo feat. WISE” is your average ballad featuring an MC which seems to happen much more often nowadays. It's sweet but ultimately insubstantial. The second track is a fun rendition of Cyndi Lauper's legendary song “GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN.” The third track “Saturday☆Night feat.GIORGIO13” is a slower song that is …never mind, I'm done trying to expand on shallow fluff like this. If you are looking for some okay Japanese music you can put on in the background when you are doing something else, this is passable, but don't come looking for anything else. For the WISE fans out there that gave this a try, I'm sorry, and I promise a much better collaboration will be coming your way April first with “Furimukanaide feat. Hiromi.”
FAVORITE ALBUMS:
DREAMS COME TRUE – DO YOU DREAMS COME TRUE?
BoA – BoA
Honorable mention:
Yoshii Kazuya - VOLT
m-flo - inside -WORKS BEST 3
Sowelu - THE BEST 2002-2009
DREAMS COME TRUE – DO YOU DREAMS COME TRUE?
DREAMS COME TRUE is a band that will forever be remembered as having been deeply rooted into Japanese culture. Being able to still reach the #1 spot on the charts after 20 years is a feat not many bands could ever dream of attaining. It is the distinctive voice of Yoshida Miwa coupled with the classic compositions of Nakamura Masato that make this duo the fifth highest selling Japanese artist of all time. Their fifteenth studio album “DO YOU DREAMS COME TRUE?” was released on the day of their 20th anniversary and I can honestly say that it does not let down in the slightest. For those of you who, like me, were late getting into DCT you will be able to get their second best album “THE SOUL 2” as apart of the 2CD version of this album and enjoy some of their older hits as well as their new ones. The album begins with “a song for you ~opening theme of dydct?~" which is a beautiful and brief introduction to one of the most enjoyable albums I've heard in a long while (and no, I am not exaggerating.) The second track is “MERRY-LIFE-GOES-ROUND” the duo's 44th single. There is something undeniably likable about this track. Maybe it's the way that they work the twang of a banjo or the ever uplifting lyrics into the song, there is something inherently endearing about the song as a whole. One of the more standout tracks on the album is the fifth song, “Aamou!!” I find it a tad hard to explain this one, there's brass and some percussion that pervades the entire song which really makes it seem like you could hear it at some eclectic music club. The next track “Daikkirai Demo Arigatou” will be familiar to Aoyama Thelma fans seeing as DCT wrote it as her fourth single. Their version of the song is a much slower and drawn out version. While I don't think it sounds quite as good as Thelma's version (seeing as it was written for her) it still remains one of my favorite ballads in this more mature sounding rendition. “TRUE, BABY TRUE. - EXTENDED VERSION -” the eighth track on the album is another great song that gives off a very “classic” feel to it. The chorus is one that really picks you up if you're feeling down and takes you on a very pleasant ride. Three songs later you will be treated to “GOOD BYE MY SCHOOL DAYS” which, in a previous column I described as being the quintessential graduation song. Even after weeks of repeated listening the song has yet to get old and is still as enjoyable as the very first time I heard it. Rounding off the album is the aptly titled “a love song” which is a nice track that winds down the album with a feeling that is both quaint and sweet. Listen to DO YOU DREAMS COME TRUE, let Yoshida Miwa's voice comfort and serenade you while Nakamura Masato's compositions enrapture you.
BoA – BoA
Another week another English debut by an asian artist. There are many differences between the albums of BoA and Utada. Utada favored the R&B/Hip-Hop style while BoA chose to make a dance centric club album. Utada wrote all her own lyrics while BoA handed the pen off to more qualified song writers. Utada worked with a single producer while BoA had the help of a variety of producers. The list goes on and on but my ultimate conclusion in this argument is that BoA released a much better, more polished US effort than Utada did. Though I honestly feel that due to the lack of promotion for BoA the average American listeners won't have the privilege of comparing the two. The album starts out strong with the intensely addictive if not slightly repetitive track “I Did It For Love(featuring Sean Garrett)” This song sets the stage to a very dance able album with heavy use of the vocoder. Track 3 “Did Ya” is the track that shows just how much BoA's English has grown over the course of recording the album. If one did not know BoA wasn't a native speaker in the first place I doubt they'd be able to tell through this song. “Eat You Up,” track 5 of the album is where BoA's English career began. While being surrounded by an array of much better songs it still carries a sense of nostalgic excitement many fans had when it was first announced. Hands down the standout song on the album is track number seven “Touched.” Effective use of a music box in dance music is something I haven't come across often so it definitely stood out when it began. The usage of the music box adds a bit of a dark undertone to the otherwise upbeat song. I'd say while her English isn't as good as in “Did Ya,” it's damn close. The dark mood gets amplified with the next track “Scream” which offers a much more predatory and aggressive BoA than we could have ever glimpsed in her Asian music. “Hypnotic Dancefloor” concludes the album almost as strongly as it began. As BoA sings how she's going to “Dance for her life” and “Burn it up on this hypnotic dancefloor” she gives off this feeling of finality that really seals the album as a complete package. In her self titled American debut BoA has released what for me has been her most cohesive and enjoyable album to date. Not a single track gives me that “must skip” feeling. For those of you who agree with me and want to hear what a sophomore effort by BoA would sound like please, please, PLEASE support her by buying the US version of her album and whoring it out to your friends. I have a feeling it'll take a lot of work for BoA to reach the success we all know she deserves with this album.
Next week: Hamasaki Ayumi takes it to the NEXT LEVEL
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Ernest
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I am looking for music for my blog. What you suggest? http://miradasdesdejerusalen.blogspot.com/ |
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