Stephanie - Stephanie

Artist: Stephanie
Album/Single: Stephanie
Release Date: March 5, 2008

1. 君がいる限り (Kimi ga iru kagiri)
That opening note is simply amazing. Already a trademark for Stephanie, she delivers a heartfelt ballad, which served as her debut number as well. Her verses were a little mechanical, but I loved the way she delivered the choruses. She also has a good hold of her dynamics here, but maybe a gradual crescendo couldn’t hurt, as opposed to her sudden burst of loudness. Also, I feel her bridge could have used more dynamic contrast from her choruses, but overall it was a good debut for her, and quite a lovely song.

2. Friends
Most of Stephanie’s songs featured her trademark high register, but what I like from this song (and many others to follow) was that they left it out, not making it tiresome. Stephanie tackles the pop-rock genre easily. It also helps her that this song isn’t particularly difficult to sing, especially not somebody of her calibre. I really enjoy the simplicity of this song, but I think Stephanie could have incorporated more of a fuller tone in this song instead of sinking into the typical pop-rock sound because it makes her sound like she’s yelling throughout this song instead. The song itself is pretty good, but Stephanie is probably more capable of a better performance than the one given here (though it wasn’t necessarily terrible or anything of the sort).

3. Life
This song has a very wintery feel, especially right at the beginning (as it came from the “Winter Gold” single). Much like the former track, it’s another pop-rock song, but more pop than rock this time. I actually prefer this over “Friends” as Stephanie is doing exactly what she didn’t in “Friends”. Her singing is much better her, and she’s certainly singing with more tone. This also allows her to nail the melody which has many suddenly leaps to higher notes. The final result of this song is something that’s a lot of fun to listen to.

4. ANGEL GIRL
Yet another B-side to follow, but I’m not quite as fond of this one as “Life”. I don’t like the “I’ll be your girl” lines, because not only are they repetitive, they’re also irritating to listen to. The choruses are the best part of the song. She does manage to throw in a very nice high note right at the end of the bridge, but I can’t say the same for the adlibbing towards the end. Though it’s not horrible, it’s not the most exciting thing out there either (and admittedly, the lyrics are leaning too much on the cheesy side).

5. Fallin’
Stephanie really is soaking up all this pop-rock business here. It suits her quite well, but she needs to get away from giving toneless and unidirectional performances whenever she gets a chance with songs like this one. She has quite the voice, but doesn’t really use it during moments like these. As for the song, it’s sung entirely in English, and she is pretty good with enunciating. I really like the opening of the choruses, but the mechanical performance really dashes any musicality this song might have had.

6. Shiny Days!
Stephanie just hit a new level of cheesy-ness. I generally like my dose of pop, but I can’t say that this type of song is suitable for her. As I’ve stated, she isn’t the most musical performer at this stage, so this song is dangerous to handle because she’s letting the song carry her through instead of the other way around.

7. Smile and Turn Away
Not one of the better songs off of this album. The melody seems very choppy and lacks flow. It feels like each phrase doesn’t flow well to the next. The accompaniment does a better job linking up the rest of the song, but otherwise, nothing else here to take note of, other than Stephanie’s mechanical performance yet again.

8. Beyond Myself
When I heard this, I couldn’t help but think, “Finally, something different and interesting”. Stephanie delivers a more musical performance here, making it not so tiring to listen to. She could make use of some accenting on certain beats in order to help move the song along, and a little more dynamic contrast, but it was a good effort nonetheless (despite the bridge being surprisingly awkward).

9. Truth
I was wondering when the next ballad was going to show up, so here it is. I really like how this song starts off, and then it leads into a very haunting the chorus. I love the instrumental interludes the most. Stephanie has a good idea of the dynamic contrast required here, so if she could apply this to her other songs, I’d be giving her the thumbs up. The song itself is very pretty, and makes good use of Stephanie’s register.

10. To.Be.Me.
Of all the pop-rock tunes on this album, this has the most awkward verses, but the best choruses. Stephanie doesn’t sound much different from either the verses or choruses though, which is a bit unfortunate. There isn’t much else to say here that I haven’t already said.

11. Winter Gold
This is a really cute upbeat winter pop tune. Stephanie sounds like she had a lot of fun recording this, and it really shows. There is some good dynamic contrast throughout, and even though she’s borderline yelling here, it’s quite a nice winter song. The addition of strings to the accompaniment really give this song another flavour.

12. because of you
My personal favourite of Stephanie’s. This is yet another powerful ballad, much like the opening track, but I prefer the gentle style of this melody over the other. The choruses are very majestic and beautiful. Stephanie uses more colours of her voice in this song than any other. Although the accompaniment isn’t as good as it could have been, it does the job. Well done, Stephanie.

Overall -
Favourite Track: because of you
Stephanie’s career definitely got off to a slow start, especially with the singles leading up to her debut album. She needs to work on not being so mechanical when she sings, especially when she has consecutive, repetitive notes, because it gets boring to listen to. She could also use some more dynamics in her performances and should stray from the usual, soft singing in the verses and a sudden burst of volume in the choruses as well. The material on this album suited her well (for the most part) and was pretty solid, making for a good debut. She just needs to continue work hard because she definitely has the potential to develop into a great vocalist.

Fukuhara Miho - Step☆Out EP

Artist: 福原美穂 (Fukuhara Miho)
Album: Step☆Out EP
Release Date: October 11, 2006

1. 恋はリズム (Koi wa Rhythm) -Believe My Way-
The opening track for Fukuhara Miho’s indies EP is an upbeat pop song with a strong brass and a catchy guitar riff in the background. The accompaniment for this song is excellent as it keep a very catchy, and upbeat sound to the overall song. Fukuhara shows up her excellent vocals in this song as well (although I find the version on the “CHANGE” single seems to have a crisper sound and Fukuhara sounds more energetic on it). The song can get rather repetitive after awhile, but Fukuhara pull the song off with her strong, well supported vocals. I personally would have like to see a bit more vocal variety, but she sings well throughout, although there’s not much progression in the song. The song is still a strong opening track that shows off some fun mix of strong, soulful vocals with a strong accompaniment. The last note seems a little bit questionable — I would have preferred a belted note over the breathy thin note she produced.

2. KISS THE SKY
The next song starts off with a tacky synth progression. I don’t particularly like it because it sounds a bit dated, but either way it doesn’t sound bad. Fukuhara here starts off with a softer side of her voice, and she continues her near perfect English accent (although she doesn’t quite pull off the English ‘r’ at times). I don’t particularly like the accompaniment of this song, although the melody is quite nice. I enjoy how Fukuhara does not show off her belting in this song as the previous song was mostly belting; it makes a nice contrast to hear a lighter side for most of the song. As for the song itself, it’s not that interesting and the production is kind of cheesy sounding although there are points where I like it.

3. Release
The next song is a ballad, although the production seems a little bit weird as the vocals don’t blend that well into the accompaniment music. While the accompaniment is nice, and the vocals are well done, there a bit of an alienation between the two parts of the song. Fukuhara’s vocals don’t quite fit into the music and it feels like an amateur production. Nevertheless, Fukuhara sings quite well in this song. The accompaniment is nothing extraordinary, and I even find it a little bit dreary.

4. Hard to handle
I love Fukuhara’s vocals here. They’re full of energy and sass. The accompaniment has some rather catchy guitar riffs and the song is rather catchy to listen to. This song is entirely in English, and you can’t hear an accent at all, possibly because this is a cover (and Fukuhara has probably listened to this song to death and learned the pronunciations). Either way, a really catchy track and a very good cover.

5. 絶え間なく (Taemanaku)
Fukuhara closes with a Japanese ballad, and I adore it. Her voice here is gorgeous as she sings in a lighter, subtle manner. It really shows off her tone nicely without having her belt. Fukuhara’s vocals just float through the notes effortlessly, but with plenty of emotion. The arrangement is quite nice (although typical), but it works well with Fukuhara’s vocals. A very pretty song to end off the mini-album.

Overall -
Favourite Track: 恋はリズム -Believe My Way-
My reactions to Fukuhara Miho’s indies mini-album is a bit mixed. While I didn’t find some of the music all that amazing, one thing that Fukuhara has is amazing vocals. Throughout the five tracks, she demonstrates what she can do with her vocals from belting to subtle, light singing. If you enjoy good vocalists, I would suggest you check out her major debut single from SONY: “CHANGE”. This release itself is not a bad one, but Fukuhara’s already done better.

KOKIA - trip trip

Artist: KOKIA
Album: trip trip
Release Date: January 23, 2002

1. 調和
Two and a half years later, KOKIA comes out with a new album, and her vocal improvement is immediately clear from the first note she sings. She leaves her childish voice behind, and adopts a powerful, more mature voice. KOKIA’s voice grabs my attention immediately and leaves me breathless. Her vocal style is somewhat more traditional, and it works. This song uses changes of time signature (although mostly in triple time) in its composition, as well as key signature changes. Repetitive, but breathtaking. An impressive opening track.

2. 次会う時は (Tsugi Au Toki Wa)
Following the unique opening track comes (what seems like)a more mainstream acoustic guitar ballad. KOKIA’s vocal improvements are more clear in this style, and I’m loving her vocals. There’s a bit of a harmonic added over the acoustic guitar and a little bit of piano. The song opens up in a simple manner, but it’s charming. About halfway through, KOKIA changes back to a similar singing style as the opening track, and it’s rather interesting, and the accompaniment builds up as she adds more and more vocal oddities to the track. KOKIA then reduces it again as the accompaniment settles down.

3. Say Hi!!
The next song again opens up with guitar, but it’s upbeat, yet a little bit light. The accompaniment (and beat) seems subdued, and brings the focus more on KOKIA’s vocals. The result is a pleasant, almost summery tone to this track. KOKIA’s vocals match the dreamy quality of this song, and starts the chorus with English lyrics (of which I have no idea what she’s talking about aside from random phrases — I hear saying “doughnuts” at some point, but it doesn’t have anything to do with what she was talking about XD). The song is a bit too subdued for my tastes, however, and there’s isn’t much to listen to after awhile. However, there’s something dreamy and charming about this fairly simple song.

4. The rule of universe
The next track starts off with a light piano solo with weird sounds in the background. The opening is subdued, but kind of haunting and KOKIA opens with emotion and conviction as she sings in English. I adore the small dynamic crescendos and decrescendos she does in her excellently phrased phrases. The arrangement of the song tends to drag a bit after awhile, but KOKIA singing is excellent throughout the song. Too bad the song itself gets a little tedious after the first chorus.

5. Princess ÉHIME
The next song is a little bit different. It features a syncopated rhythm in the background, with odd little sounds everywhere. It lacks the usual accompaniment, but it manages to be rather interesting. KOKIA begins the song with whispered sing-speak that is rather creepy over the ambient background. It’s not all that exciting, but I LOVE it nevertheless. It’s just very unique sounding, and the section where she says “time to take a bath” includes immensely dissonant progressions and chords. It’s unfortunately a little long for its repetitive composition, so it gets kind of old after several minutes of listening to it.

6. 天使 (Tenshi)
The next is definitely more poppier, and it has a light but agressive melody at the beginning. KOKIA sings it lightly,but she does so with emphasis. The choppiness of her vocals at the beginning help make the melody seem rather catchy at the beginning. Although the accompaniment is her usual piano at the beginning, the chorus bursts out with electric guitar and a fuller voice from KOKIA. The song is definitely a bit typical sounding (aside from KOKIA’s voice, which is rather unique), but she does it well. The accompaniment supports her vocals well, and it was well arranged. KOKIA’s vocals are excellent over the dramatic accompaniment.

7. ぴんくの象 (Pinku no Zou)
Right from the beginning, I fell in love with this song. It has a bit of a middle eastern sound to it in the background with the general vocal stylings. The rhythm of it is absolutely infectious, and KOKIA adopts her cute voice in this song. It’s a rather interesting combination of sounds with the bongo-like percussion. I adore how KOKIA presents her voice in this song. It’s sassy and immensely amusing. The percussion in this song is rather complex at times.

8. Hello passing days
KOKIA continues with a light pop song to contrast with the oddities from the previous track, and again she is wonderful. The next song has a gorgeous piano accompaniment to complement KOKIA’s light, floating vocals. While this track is gorgeous, sometimes I feel as if thre is something lacking in KOKIA’s presentation. I personally would of liked a fuller vibrato sound at points in this song. Either way, this song is pleasant. Also, the higher pitched vocals in the chorus seem a little bit pinched, and I don’t enjoy the sound of it over KOKIA’s normal voice; there’s not much blend in between, and her head voice here sounds a little bit off.

9. 花 (Hana)
This next song has some short pizzicato notes in the background of the introduction, with picked guitar at the beginning. KOKIA, again, uses her softer voice in this song. The song starts off rather poppy sounding, and it’s quite pretty. The first surprising change in the song is in the chorus, where is adopts more of a middle eastern-sounding melody, and it’s gorgeous. This song is both pretty and haunting, and KOKIA pulls it off excellently. The accompaniment is rather simplistic, but very well done.

10. 人間ってそんなものね (Ningentte Sonna Mono Ne)
人間ってそんなものね has the similar echo effect added to KOKIA’s vocals (which we see a lot in this album so far). This track is back to the more typical sound, and it doesn’t seem to interest me much in terms of its sound. However, it is not a bad song at all. It’s rather pleasant to listen to with the usual larger note leaps in the chorus, and a more linear verse. The melody is quite nice, but nothing out of the ordinary.

11. 足音
This is yet another light pop song with some harmonica instrument in the background over the the guitar background of this song. Again, another pleasant song but nothing particularly unique in this song other than the use of the harmonica. The melody and arrangement is pretty typical of KOKIA at this point in time. It’s a nice song, although nothing terribly outstanding.

12. tomoni
The next song goes back to a similar style as the first track of this album, and I love it. There’s something spellbinding about KOKIA’s vocals when she sings like this. She makes it sound so easy and effortless, and I love the general atmosphere of this song; it works well with the power and control KOKIA has over her vocals. Brilliant.

13. a gift
I’ve always found dialogue to be rather cheesy. Sorry, KOKIA, but it doesn’t work. Beyond that, the final track is a very relaxing song as KOKIA goes back to a bit of a kid-like voice over the strings. KOKIA’s vocals go a little flat at parts of this song, and it’s kind of disapointing to hear her have such a poor vocal performance. A poor ending to a good album.

Overall -
Favourite Track: 調和
KOKIA’s second album is excellent. It definitely shows off some of KOKIA’s strengths: her creativity, her excellent songwriting, her powerful vocals. There are some highly creative pieces in this album, a lot of which I was highly impressed. Some of the more generic songs are very pleasant to listen to, althugh I feel as if they sometimes pulled the quality of the album down by being a bit too predictable, and I found them a little bit hard to get through at times when compared to her more unique tunes. Either way, this is a strong effort from KOKIA.

Kuraki Mai - ONE LIFE

Artist: 倉木麻衣 (Kuraki Mai)
Album/Single: ONE LIFE
Release Date: January 1, 2008

1. One Life
Kuraki’s latest album starts off with a very stylish light R&B-influenced pop tune. She was definitely on the mark with this song. I don’t think I’ve heard Kuraki sing with so much flair and emotion in a long time, but it’s definitely refreshing. Kuraki is putting on her best vocals here, and she hits the top notes quite nicely throughout. I’m not to fond of the ending, as it seems rather out of place, but overall it’s a great track to start off with.

2. I Like it Like that
I really love the accompaniment to this song. It’s simple, but the programming is step up from the dry and dull stuff she used to use. I’m not sure that I like the melody as much as the rest of the song, but it’s not all that bad either. I don’t like the airy voice she uses during the bridge of the song, and the key change was a little rough around the spots, although she quickly gets back on track. A very slick type of song, but there isn’t much movement throughout.

3. one for me
Kuraki is trying very hard to include a nice vibrato throughout this song, though there are times where it makes her sound more shaky than serve its purpose. I don’t have much to comment on this song except that the keyboard accompaniment is nice, but otherwise, it’s a fairly generic song (it’s a little too early for that).

4. Born to be Free
I’m not sure how I feel about this song as well. It’s not particularly interesting, and Kuraki is back to her monotonous self here. She carries absolutely no power in her singing and her typical breathy tone doesn’t work well in this song (not that the song itself is all that great anyway). The chorus is pretty annoying, as is the rest of the song.

5. 白い雪 (Shiroi Yuki)
I always love Kuraki’s winter songs, and this one is no exception. The keyboard accompaniment here is simply lovely. This is the type of song that suits Kuraki’s light tone the most, and she has a warmth as she sings this. She is, however, slightly flat at times, particularly at the held notes. I also feel that she’s struggling with the tempo a bit at the beginning, as it feels very rushed. When she gets into the second verse, it’s much better and a bit of a breather for her.

6. Silent love ~open my heart~
Another pretty ballad to follow up the previous track. The melody flows a bit better in this song than “Shiroi Yuki”, but the drawback is that it is much more generic. I like the accompaniment of the piece though, and the arrangement is quite lovely. Kuraki is singing with her shaky vibrato again, which makes her sound unconfident in her part. She improves by the end of the song, as she begins to sing out, especially during the bridge. Unfortunately, as I said, the song is somewhat generic, and I get bored of it easily.

7. everything
My immediate reaction to this song was that this was a complete revisit to her music back around the millenium. Anybody who is a Kuraki fan, or has heard all her music will feel that the melody is a very familiar style for Kuraki. The accompaniment and programming are quite different though, and not heavily focused on the dry beats she used to use. After 8 years, Kuraki finally mastered this sound.

8. Season of love
The light guitar picking is a really nice addition to this song, giving the song a dramatic feel to it. I love the emotion and phrasing Kuraki includes. The programming, once again, is a throwback to her early works, but the melody demonstrates a veteran in the business. The only thing that irritates me is the unpolished vocals from Kuraki, especially when she sings “Seasons of love” prior to the chorus. Her vocals in the chorus seem very rough around the edges.

9. secret roses
Again, with the picked guitar, while it’s very lovely, this song and the previous are too much in the same style. I prefer the accompanimen to this song, but the melody in this song is a step down. The guitar is very lovely, and definitely the highlight of the song. The melody here isn’t as well-defined though, and certainly not the focus of the song.

10. Wonderland
Kuraki decides to show us a bit of funk here, and to spice things up a little bit. Her smooth voice works very well with the song. I can’t help but feel that the programming makes it sound more generic than it needed to be though. The bass line is pretty awesome throughout, especially in the verses. Unfortunately, the choruses aren’t anything particularly special so admittedly, I eventually lost interest.

11. BE WITH U
Kuraki produces a very happy song towards the end of the album. Excluding the bonus track, this makes a very good closing track. It’s upbeat, fun and cute, and Kuraki sounds like she’s having a lot of fun singing the song. The choruses sound a little overdone, but otherwise, it is a fairly strong pop tune.

12. Over The Rainbow (Bonus Track)
Ever heard of a jazzy version of this classic ‘Wizard of Oz’ number? I sure haven’t, so I was kind of surprised. The opening didn’t sound like it was leading into it, but once it settles in, you’ll find that it’s quite nice. Kuraki’s English has improved significantly. I love the laidback feel Kuraki gave this song, and the instrumental solos sound great too. Kuraki does come off a little one-dimensional, but overall, it turned out rather nicely.

Overall -
Favourite Track: One Life
For Kuraki’s latest work, and her first album since she’s left GIZA studios, I have to say it was quite the surprise. It seems that Kuraki is taking a more active role in her music career and delivering much more interesting material. The variety was much better here than any of her previous albums, and majority of the songs have a certain refinement that all her GIZA albums lacked. Despite Kuraki losing popularity, it feels like she will only get better from here.

AnyBand - AnyBand

Artist: AnyBand
Single: AnyBand
Release Date: November 8, 2007

1. TPL (Talk, Play, Love)
The opening of this song starts off with a gentle piano opening, then goes into an upbeat part of the song. BoA comes in with a slightly linear melody, and she sounds kind of bored in the process. The rapping about a minute into the song brightens up the song with the rappers’ energy throughout the short solo, which I enjoyed. The chorus is slightly annoying with “Anywhere you go. Anywhere you go. Anywhere you go. I’ll be there (ANYWHERE YOU WANNA GO.)” as the opening few lines. It’s sung over and over again. The opening piano appears in the background and it adds a nice, soothing touch to the rest of the monotonous song. BoA doesn’t sound all that interested until the bridge where she oddly starts to sing out. I don’t particularly enjoy the melody, but the accompaniment with the mix of a little bit of synth and piano is kind of nice.

2. Promise U
BoA opens this next song a lot better and actually makes this song much more enjoyable to listen to. The male vocalist is even better when he comes in (perhaps because I was never much of a fan of BoA’s voice, but I digress). He has even more energy than BoA has. From there, the two blend together extremely well through the somewhat generic-sounding melody. Either way, the two vocalists together create an excellent pop song. The harmonies against each other are very nice, and they make the generic melody appealing. Again, the rapping comes in later in the song, and he’s very rhythmic and adds to the song nicely (although he’s less energetic than in the previous song). There’s one part of the song where they have a male vocalist sing in falsetto while BoA sings normally under it. It sounds rather awkward, actually. Either way, the rest of the song sounds quite nice, despite the really awkward ending. The accompaniment isn’t anything original; it has strings, piano, and guitar, all playing in some typical pop arrangement, although the piano has moments where it shines.

3. TPL (Talk, Play, Love) (Instrumental)

4. Promise U (Instrumental)

Overall -
Favourite Track: Promise U
AnyBand, formed to promote a Samsung product, is made up of BoA, someone from DBSK and Epik High, and a jazz pianist (Jin Bora) is an interesting combination. While I didn’t enjoy the first track of the album that much (mostly due to the monotone singing), the second track was quite a pleasant listen, and I enjoyed it very much. Not a bad single.

YUI - I LOVED YESTERDAY

Artist: YUI
Album: I LOVED YESTERDAY
Release Date: April 9, 2008

1. Laugh Away
YUI opens with an excellent song. It’s typical of YUI, but it’s still an awesome song. It’s very energetic, and rather catchy. The fast passages in the chorus, the little repetitive interval changes in the end of the chorus, and the ongoing acoustic guitar accompaniment: I love all of it. The song is cute, energetic, fun and just so full of joy. While it’s nothing particularly new, it’s still a fun song to listen to. The “never mind” bridge is an interesting addition to the song, and somewhat unexpected.

2. My Generation
YUI moves into some quicker electric guitar riffs in this next song. Again, the melody here is really fun to listen to, and quite memorable like much of her melodies are. I enjoy the little electric guitar response that happens in the chorus after she sings some of the lines. Again, another well-composed pop song and YUI continues to sing with plenty of energy.

3. Find Me
Find me goes with a more laid-back sound to contrast with the previous song. There’s some rather cute acoustic guitar going-ons in the background of the verses that I quite like. This is a little less interesting than the previous two tracks due to its sound, but it’s not a bad song.

4. No Way
This small interlude is quite fun and has a stronger electric guitar and bass presence to make it more rock-influenced than some of her other songs. YUI sings in this, as well. The interlude is short, but fun.

5. Namidairo
YUI brings out a ballad for the album. To be honest, I’ve never been an big fan of her ballads, but YUI isn’t bad and it plays its role in the album as the single-ballad. I don’t particularly find this song all that interesting, but the melody is nice enough, and again YUI sings it with emotion. She’s not a great vocalist, but she knows how to sing her songs with the vocal constraints she has.

6. Daydreamer
The next song has a strong electric guitar presence, and sits on the border of pop-rock-esque music. YUI sings out in this song and, again, sounds decent enough. I enjoy the electric guitar solos in the song, especially the line that is found post-chorus. It gets a little repetitive after awhile, though.

7. Love is all
Again, YUI brings back a midtempo upbeat song, with another dramatic chorus. YUI sounds extremely strained in the chorus, but she brings out the energy well in it regardless. The chorus here seems more explosive than some of the other choruses she’s had so far (but perhaps that’s my imagination). In any case, I enjoy the chorus quite a bit even if she doesn’t sing it all that well.

8. I will love you
YUI follows the previous midtempo upbeat song with a midtempo somewhat-upbeat song (errr yeah XD). The opening is quite nice, and she has a more laid-back tone in this song in comparison to the previous song. The melody seems to drag on after awhile, however, and it doesn’t really go anywhere after that.

9. We will go
I enjoy the mix of the quick percussion rhythm with the weird flourishes in the guitar in the background. It’s quite interesting. The melody it quite standard for YUI, but I enjoy the energy in her vocals. I enjoy the accompaniment, but the verses fall flat in this song. Fortunately, the chorus is catchy enough to keep my attention in this song. Seriously, what happened in the bridge? In any case, YUI was smart to keep this song three minutes considering the repetitive nature of this song. I’m kind of undecided whether or not I enjoy this song.

10. OH YEAH
Now this song is fun. It’s lighter than the previous song, but it has heavier use of the drums (without the snare sound) as its primary percussion. The little background vocalists going “Woohooo” are absolutely adorable. YUI sings with the same amount of energy, and the melody is quite cute overall.

11. My friend
The second ballad comes in. The accompaniment is quite nice with a mix of strings and the guitar. Unfortunately, I don’t particularly like the melody in this song at all. I find it quite dull and uneventful. It’s not a bad song, again, but also not that interesting. The weird instrumentation in front of the chorus is kind of weird, however, and kind of amusing.

12. LOVE & TRUTH
More ballads. The opening is quite pretty, but once the chorus starts, I want to cry. Seriously, how linear can the melody possibly be? She’s also mumbling through the verse. It probably doesn’t help that YUI sounds like she immensely bored. Four minutes that I would honestly skip.

13. Am I wrong?
YUI comes back with her laid-back acoustic guitar sound, and it works better. She no longer sounds like she’s dying, and I enjoy the softer tone she has at parts of this song rather than her forced tone. The song is a nice ending to the album, and a nice recovery from LOVE & TRUTH.

Overall -
Favourite Track: My Generation
YUI’s most recent album is a massive disappointment as a YUI fan. This is probably my least favourite YUI album thus far as I find it rather boring. I didn’t enjoy that many tracks on this album at all, and none of the ballads stuck out at all. Many of the upbeat songs are decent, but unmemorable. Not impressed at all, aside from perhaps a few tracks that I genuinely enjoyed.

Ishikawa Chiaki - Boku wa Mada Nanimo Shiranai.

Artist: 石川知亜紀 (Ishikawa Chiaki)
Album: 僕はまだ何も知らない。 (Boku wa Mada Nanimo Shiranai.)
Release Date: August 22, 2007

1. Vermillion
I lost the sound of this song from the moment it plays. It has a bit of an odd sound to it, but it fits Ishikawa’s unique vocals very well. The accompaniment is strong with the sweeping strings, and the occasional staccato notes it plays. The dramatic sound of this song is an awesome opening to the album, and it shows off some of the unique nuances of Ishikawa’s voice. I find that Ishikawa’s vocals could be a bit more dramatic to match the rest of the song as she sounds a little bit too subdued in comparison. The song is also a little long as it gets a bit repetitive after awhile, but I adore the sound of the chorus.

2. ロストイノセント (Lost Innocent)
This next song is a little bit more softer in terms of its accompaniment in the verses. There’s very little accompaniment is it has minimal piano and acoustic guitar playing in the background. However, Ishikawa sounds amazing over the minimalistic accompaniment of the verse. The accompaniment for the chorus is a bit fuller as Ishikawa starts to sing out. The melody in the chorus is just stunning. I adore the violin solo in the middle of this song, and some of the lower string stuff the song ends off with.

3. アンインストール (Uninstall)
This song is gorgeous and addictive, and an instant stuck-in-your-head kind of song. It opens with an odd kind of echoed vocals that seems kind of out of place from the rest of the song. In any case, the upbeat, haunting song that follows makes you forget the awkward opening as it is both melodic, catchy, and haunting all at the same time. Ishikawa sings with power and conviction throughout the song.

4. ミスリード (Mislead)
The next song has a bit more of a dance feel to it with the disco-like synths in the background, mixed with a bit of a rock sound with the presence of a quiet, but heavy bass guitar. The melody is far from either genre, however, as it continue the same type of melody previous heard. The epic sound of Ishikawa’s vocals adds another edge to this unique song. The lighter sound of the accompaniment helps to highlight Ishikawa’s amazing vocals throughout the song. When Ishikawa’s vocals disappear for a few seconds, the song feels really awkwardly empty and lacking, though. However, Ishikawa’s vocals here are bewitching, and captures my attention throughout the trance-like song.

5. 美しければそれでいい～Full Size Remix (Utsukushi Kereba Sore de ii)
The next song goes back to the typical Ishikawa sound with the strong strings accompaniment. It starts a bit slowly with broken chords being played in the background. Then, the more upbeat sound comes in. The sound of the melody is starting to get a bit repetitive, but I enjoy the accompaniment for this song; it’s very well done overall.

6. 涙 (Namida)
Ishikawa comes out with something a little bit different in the next song: a ballad. She pulls it off beautifully from the first note she sings. The simple piano accompaniment complements Ishikawa’s passionate vocals. Ishikawa, being the main focus of the song, resonates beautifully over the simple accompaniment.

7. 僕の空に季節はずれの雪が降る (Boku no Sora ni Kisetsu Hazure no Yuki ga Furu)
The next song starts off with the title of the song sung in a somewhat slow manner. Then, a more upbeat guitar accompaniment comes in and the song picks up. The song here is upbeat, but kind of in a subdued manner. The song is in the same genre as the music in her previous album: it’s pretty, but it lacks pulse to make the song lively. Nice melody, but poor execution.

8. house
The melody here is gorgeous. The verses are a bit linear, and more subdued, while the chorus soars with grander leaps into her higher range. The verses are a bit whispered, but they sound quite nice over the beautiful accompaniment. The chorus, in contrast, has more of an epic sound to it, even if Ishikawa only adds a little bit of power in her voice. I adore the melody for the chorus, even if it is a little bit short, and would benefit from a stronger vocal from Ishikawa.

9. little Bird
This next song is another pretty song. Ishikawa’s vocals soar through this song. The accompaniment is minimalist, with only a harp-like instrument in the background with some string instruments (perhaps only one or two). There’s a great echo effect added to this song, so that it sounds like she’s singing in a giant room. The melody gets a little boring after awhile, especially since she sings it over and over for five minutes, but it’s still rather pretty.I enjoy the violin playing a counter-melody in the latter part of the song.

10. 水槽の中のテトラ (Suisou no Naka no TETRA)
The next song is an odd upbeat song with accordion at the beginning. The little synths in the background sound like little glass xylophone playing in the background, which adds a little ethereal sound to it, with the accordion adding a bit of a folk-like sound to it. I’m not a big fan of this song for I find it somewhat boring, but it’s not bad. It’s definitely not work the five minutes, though.

11. アイルキスユー (I’ll Kiss You)
The echoed voice returns here. This song has an organ in the background, and again all the sounds have a slight echo to the sound, including the background vocals. It seems to drag on a bit for my own tastes, especially since I’ve already heard something similar to this a few minutes ago. It’s a bit boring for the ending song, but it’s pretty enough. Not my choice for an ending track, though.

Overall -
Favourite Track: アンインストール (Uninstall)
Ishikawa Chiaki’s second solo effort is pretty good. While it lacks some variety, Ishikawa Chiaki’s vocals are much stronger on this album. She shows much more energy in this album, and as a result is much more interesting than her previous effort. One probblem that I personally found in this album is that the songs were sometimes too long for their own good for they tend to be a bit repetitive. Either way, I enjoy Ishikawa Chiaki’s voice so much that sometimes I mostly don’t mind at all. However, some people mightfind it kind of grating after awhile. While the previous album had some prettier songs, this album showed off more of Ishikawa’s vocal power and skill.

Aoyama Thelma - DIARY

Artist: 青山テルマ (Aoyama Thelma)
Album: DIARY
Release Date: March 3, 2008

1. My Beginning
Aoyama’s debut album starts off with a pretty little piano introduction with herself speaking over it.

2. そばにいるね (Soba ni iru ne) feat. SoulJa
The piano introduction matches with this next song with some nice subdued vocals. The melody is rather linear, but Aoyama puts enough pulse in the melody to make it vaguely interesting. The rapping that SoulJa provides matches in tone as it is also almost whispered. The piano in the background continues to play in the background, and it is quite nice to listen to. The melody here isn’t all that interesting, but the song is rhythmic enough to keep me interested. Aoyama seems a little bit bored at times of the song, and I thought this song would have benefited from a bit of dynamic changes that it lacked. Nevertheless, the accompaniment is soft, but quite nice to listen to.

3. ONE WAY
I adore this next song. Aoyama comes back with plenty of energy in this song, and I adore the rhythmic feel of this song with all the “Nananana” vocal lines in the song. While the song doesn’t have much of a musical progression, the song is rather addictive to listen to, especially after the slightly boring opening song. The bridge is sung with a lot of attitude, and Aoyama pulls it off excellently. Aoyama’s vocals here are solid and well supported throughout, although sometimes a bit forced.

4. My dear friend
This next song starts off a bit awkwardly with some strained vocal lines that don’t quite fit into the verse it poorly transitions into. From there, the melody continues to feel unmelodious, forced, and awkward to listen to. The melody never really settles into the song, and it sticks out like a sore thumb in the song. While Aoyama sings with energy, this song is rather mediocre and lacks a decent working melody.

5. Last Letter
From the previous painful song, to another ballad. This song begins a lot stronger than the previous track, and the melody here flows much better. It’s a rather nice ballad though. I quite like the melody for the chorus, though. It immediate caught my attention with the first line. I like the broken chords (not quite, but when the each note in the chord is at a time to form the entire chord) the piano plays in the background. The vocals here are nice strong, and, again, Aoyama sings with some variety, and I enjoy her ad libbing near the end. The pinched vocals that Aoyama ends with are kind of awkward, though.

6. リズム (RHYTHM)
The opening for this song is rather interesting with the staccato notes on the first and third beat of the song . IT adds a nice pulse when they add a stronger bass to the basic beat of the song. Over it, there is a small piano broken chord playing constantly in the background. Aside from that, there’s nothing particularly new in this song. It has a nice, flowing melody and excellent vocals from Aoyama. There isn’t much change in this song as it more or less goes on for awhile in the same manner. The overall base of this song is kind of catchy, however.

7. GOOD TIME REMIX feat. MIKU from YA-KYIM
This is a midtempo with plenty of pulse and accent in the song. However, the lack of accompaniment is kind of disturbing, and the melody is more or less the same throughout with the same types of leaps and melodic progressions throughout. It gets kind of grating after awhile especially since there’s really nothing in this song to listen to. Yeah, I get that you’re singing about having a good time. Especially since you sing about it every other bar. MIKU’s rap is a nice change from the rest of the song, but it soon becomes very monotone (as rap usually is to me…). Then it fades off into obscurity. Whatever, next.

8. HIGHER
“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s roll! Let’s roll!” Interesting. In any case, this next upbeat song has a stronger synth-like background, although it’s still kind of bare. At least the melody is quite catchy here. Again, Aoyama sings well with plenty of energy. I get a little bored by the time the second verse comes around, but, thankfully, there’s the chorus. I enjoy its shorter, faster changing notes in the chorus. The end of the chorus is a little weird, however. It kind of ends suddenly with a weird flourish of sound. At least Aoyama sings well.

9. Paradise
I quite like this song. Aoyama opens with some strong vocals with a bit of an interesting accented melody line in her notes before the fun acoustic guitar comes in. I enjoy this song a bit more than some of her previous music. At points there’s a little muffled guitar playing, and I adore the bass line that drives the song forward. This is a fun, light song.

10. This Day feat. Dohzi-T
This opens with a cute little piccolo flute opening, which is adorable and bouncy. Unfortunately, the verses here fall flat and there’s into much in them. The chorus is a bit more memorable melody-wise. Dohzi-T, please stop rapping. You’re making the song worse, unfortunately. In any case, the rapping man has absolutely no pulse in his part of the song. At least Aoyama sounds interesting in this song, but the melody does her no justice, so this song ends up being rather boring and pointless (aside from the cute piccolo! XD Quiet, it amuses me D: ).

11. このままで (Kono Mama de)
My first thought when listening to this song: gorgeous. While it opens with one of those stupid speaking lines, the opening line is immensely passionately sung. The accompaniment in this song is gorgeous, and works well with Aoyama’s passionate vocals. This is an excellent vocal song from Aoyama.

12. あなたに会えてよかった (Anata ni Aete Yokatta)
This next songs starts off with some nice acoustic guitar accompaniment, some gorgeous vocals from Aoyama and some… snapping. Yes, snapping. In any case, it’s quite nice, but kind of dull after awhile.

13. ママへ (Mama e)
Aoyama opens this song with a bit of a brighter melody (and a bit of a THIS-IS-AN-ENDING-OF-SOMETHING sound… mixed with the mom-you’re-awesome theme). It probably has to do with the Mother thing in the title, especially since… it’s for her mother. In any case, the little post-chorus vocals in the background are kind of cute, and it also kind of amuses me. The melody of this song is quite nice, and flows nicely. The stronger presence of the strings in the chorus is quite nice, but nothing outstanding.

14. DIARY
The album ends off with the title track of this album, closing with the piano it opened with. The piano here is a bit more rigid in sound and sticks more to chords than the opening track, however. Aoyama, again, displays excellent skills as a vocalist here. It doesn’t really stand out from the onslaught of ballads that followed it, but it’s nice a bad song, either. The melody is nice, the accompaniment is quite strong and Aoyama sings well throughout.

Overall -
Favourite Track: ONE WAY
To my disapointment, this album was far more ordinary than I thought it would be, and probably wasn’t worth all the hype. In any case, Aoyama isn’t a bad singer. In fact, her vocal skills are quite superior to many singers. Her vocals are well-supported, and she is quite musical in her vocal presentation. She knows how to put plenty of energy in all her music, she gives plenty of pulse on the onbeats, and she has a good vocal variety throughout the album. The downfall of this album, however, is the material. Four ballad songs to end off the album? Probably the worse part of the album, despite the fact that none of the ending songs are actually mediocre. The album, itself, is not mediocre, but it’s not outstanding either. The album is just ordinary.

Tsuki’s List: The Ultimate Work-Out Songs

I can’t sleep, so I decided to put out the ultimate song list for exercising purposes. Alright, the ultimate is a slight exaggeration, but they may provide you with some amusement (and hopefully motivation) when/if you exercise.

• Amuro Namie - ALARM
  It’s amazing how this song can top two lists. One of Amuro’s fiercest songs ever, the heavy bass and loud beats definitely push you forward. There’s no signs of slowing down when it comes to this song.
• Amuro Namie - WHAT A FEELING
  Once again, good drive, and nothing short of what you expect from Amuro. Why does Amuro appear so often otherthanwe’rebiased? My question to you is, how can you NOT listen to her when you work out?
• BoA - 抱きしめる (Dakishimeru)
  My favourite (you’ll never hear me say that about this song in any other context) at the moment. Although the bass line is known to be incredibly annoying to my ears, it’s one of the songs from BoA that I like to listen in this situation. Her energy here is a good to feed off on.
• Nakashima Mika - SAKURA~Hanagasumi~ DAISHI DANCE MIX
  From the very nice and energetic opening, to the last bits of the song, this remix of the lovely ballad showcases the chord progression more clearly and the “dance” styled mix gives it more momentum, and will make any work out feel like 6 minutes shorter than it really is.
• Angela Aki - On & On
  With a song title like that, how can you resist the very nature of this song? Angela’s typical motivational music really comes in handy, especially during those very lazy days.

I’ll add more later, because I’m too tired to think at the moment. XP

KOKIA - songbird

Artist: KOKIA
Album: songbird
Release Date: July 16, 1999

1. 私は歌う小鳥です
The opening track for KOKIA’s debut album starts off with a beautiful a capella part, where KOKIA sings with control and with a quiet power. A single piano line is added a little bit later to accompany KOKIA’s solo line. The melody line is repetitive, but overall the song has a very calming effect. The whistling ends the song perfectly, although it sounds a tad sharp.

2. そよ風が草原をなでるように
The continue the acoustic feel of the previous song, this next song starts off with a single acoustic guitar, with a simple melody sung by KOKIA. KOKIA’s voice is light, and slightly childish sounding; however, she sings well over the gentle accompaniment, which has instruments that eventually add themselves to the song. I find it interesting that KOKIA decides on a key change about halfway through the song, but considering the repetitive nature of the song, it was a just decision to add a bit of change to the song. She does this quite a number of times during the song. I personally think she could have benefited from a shorter song (since this song is five minutes in length). The English bridge of the song comes in just in time, though.

3. I catch a cold
This next song has an upbeat children’s song sound to it. From KOKIA’s childish tone, to the simple bouncy piano accompaniment. This song is simple, but really cute. I love how there’s a little stumble in the piano before KOKIA sneezes. The little stumbles in the piano line are really cute and fits the song really well. This song is quirky and charming, and KOKIA portrays the childish sound of the song very well.

4. 白い雪
To contrast with the bright, happy sound of the previous song, KOKIA pulls off a more dramatic sound here in the same tone of voice. She does extremely well with this song as she doesn’t sing it the same way through the whole way. The tiny nuances in the way she presents this song is very well done from some sudden piano or forte parts of her vocal line. KOKIA presents this song with emotion, although sometimes I wish she could have a vibrato (yes, I’m obsessed with vibrato XD). The accompaniment is, again, very simple and mainly comprises of acoustic guitar. The song is a bit too repetitive at times, but I really like what KOKIA does with this song vocally, even if she isn’t entirely singing out.

5. River
I like the arpeggio-like piano accompaniment in this song. It has the progression of what a “water” piece of music typically sounds like, with an added percussion and acoustic guitar. KOKIA’s voice here is a bit fuller as she actually holds her notes. The melody isn’t all that interesting after awhile, but the song is rather pretty and calming to listen to. The background vocals are a nice addition to the song, though.

6. 昼下がりの時
昼下がりの時 has a brighter sound than the previous track with shorter notes. Again, KOKIA’s music is quite light and minimalistic. However, her voice seems a little on the weaker side in parts of this song as she seems a little under the note at points of the song, especially some of the higher notes. On some of the other higher notes, she supports them fully and hits them well. It seems a bit inconsistent. In either way, I find this song a bit on the boring side as it’s repetitive without being particularly catchy. It’s still a pretty song, though.

7. You
KOKIA continues with the same general sound, and I’m getting a little bored. The song isn’t all that interesting until she gets to the chorus and sings some higher notes with nice leaps in the melody. I find KOKIA sounds a little bored and mechanical in the verses, but the chorus is a bit better. The accompaniment has some light, rather subdued string movements, but nothing in the song is really all that interesting at this point.

8. Live Alone
Again with the same basic sound. The melody here is a bit prettier, though, and KOKIA does a bit more vocally with the melody rather than singing it straight through. The simple piano accompaniment, with the background vocals are quite nice to listen to, although I think the piano sounds a bit stiff here. However, KOKIA’s vocals have a nice echo effect added to them and it sounds quite pretty. The interesting thing about this song is about halfway through where the song changes into a more upbeat song with stronger accents (and generally shorter notes) on the accompaniment. This is unexpected, but a nice change in the song before it changes back into its previous mode. KOKIA’s vocals have an angelic quality in this song.

9. ありがとう…
I grew up with Sammi Cheng’s Cantonese version of this song, so I kind of have a preference to this song. It was interesting hearing the original for the first time. I kind of find the acoustic guitar puts a bit too much emphasis on the beat in this song and it gets a little distracting. I do, however, adore the melody for this song.

10. エリカ
The next song doesn’t have as full of an accompaniment as the previous song, but the melody is equally as amazing. KOKIA sings out a bit more in this next song with a bit more of a dramatic melody. There’s nothing particularly interesting in the accompaniment, but the melody and KOKIA’s vocals make up for the lack of much accompaniment. Although KOKIA has a bit of a childish tone, she hits the notes well and she sings with emotional throughout the piece.

11. 愛しているから (Sincerely Version)
This is such a perfect ending song for this album. It has the same laid-back, minimalistic accompaniment as most of the other songs. KOKIA’s melody is also simple, but there something charming about it. I really adore how she says 愛しているから (Aishiteiru Kara), and あなたの気持ち (Anata no Kimochi) (they’re the same melodically). This song is absolutely gorgeous in its composition and its presentation. KOKIA sings with sincerity (hur hur) and excellent pitch throughout the song.

Overall -
Favourite Track: I catch a cold, 愛しているから (Sincerely Version)
KOKIA’s debut album is quite pretty and ideal if one is looking for some soft, relaxing music. However, if one decide to listen to this actively, one will find that the album can get a little boring after awhile. After all, KOKIA doesn’t have that much variety in terms of her sound on this album; however, she does have some unique tracks. I catch a cold is one of the stand-out tracks on this album as it is adorable, amusing and creative. The album is quite a solid album, but it suffers from some repetitive melodies that most will find rather boring. Nevertheless, KOKIA shows some of her potential as a songwriter as as a vocalist in this album, and needless to say, I’m interested in her later albums.