So! Rule, the upcoming theme of the live action Dragon Ball Z movie, leaked in full. I must say that after efforts like “Mirrorcle World” and “STEP you,” “Rule” is surprisingly mediocre. The verses are alright, and the bridges are slick, but the choruses are pretty messy.  Ayu’s singing, or rather yelling all over the place.  Whereas I enjoyed that in “Mirrorcle World,” here it does little to improve the song. Despite featuring a refreshing change of pace in the rock instrumental (something Ayu’s been in dire need of), I can’t really recommend this song to anyone besides rock fans or Ayu lovers.

That said, I can’t wait for the other A-side on Ayu’s upcoming single.  A dancey pop tune is just what the doctor ordered!

84% B

~Tracklist~
01. Mirrorcle World (Original Mix)
02. Life (Original Mix)
03. YOU (10th Anniversary version)
04. Depend on you (10th Anniversary version)
05. Mirrorcle World (Instrumental)
06. Life (Instrumental)
07. YOU (10th Anniversary version -Instrumental-)
08. Depend on you (10th Anniversary version -Instrumental-)

~Single Review~
On April 8, 2008, Ayumi Hamasaki released her 43rd single “Mirrorcle World” in celebration of the 10th anniversary of her debut. The lead track, “Mirrorcle World (Original Mix)” has already reached the top five on Japan’s largest mobile downloads chart, Chaku-Uta. Although the NINKI ranking (a popularity poll) was not very high for “Mirrorcle World,” the song’s download success suggests that physical sales will still be high for the single. Already, sales have been good, mirroring the charting pattern of her own single, “glitter / fated.”

Read The Rest of the Review

Head on over to http://vidal.jp/ and skip the first screen, then head to the video / collaboration section. Once you’re there, you’ll be able to choose which PV you wish to watch. Once rips have been created, I will post youtube links here.

These are great PVs with great style direction; highly recommended.

New Look

Rock Steady

~Track Listing~
01. Fuyu no Maboroshi
02. Koi Ichiya

~Single Review~
Acid Black Cherry released their single, “Fuyu no Maboroshi” on January 16, 2008. Most likely, the song will snatch the group the envious number one ranking on the Oricon chart. Although the single’s sales were strong, they were quite low for a number one single; if the single had been released another week, it may not have gotten number one. That does not mean “Fuyu no Maboroshi” is not good, however.

Quite the opposite, actually: “Fuyu no Maboroshi” is hard rock expertly mixed with orchestrated strings. Although it starts slow, once the rock hits, the song does not let up. Once the rock enteres in, the result is an epic sounding piece that sounds reflective, dramatic, and emotional all at once. Despite the song being dominated by rock after the first verse and bridge, the melody shines through in the strings. The over all vocal effects and layering are quite excellent as well, fitting quite well in the discordant yet organized atmosphere. Although the production sounds older, it works well mainly because of the rock. The song may be hard rock, but it has unity, organization, vocal power, and a memorable melody. “Fuyu no Maboroshi” is exactly what J-rock should be: well-done rock that is accessible for the general public because of its pure musical strength.

“Koi Ichiya” begins with a futuristic intro that paradoxically, sounds like it has dated production. The use of keyboard and synthetic effects continue throughout the song, even when rock flows in, front and center. “Koi Ichiya” has a lot more energy than “Fuyu no Maboroshi” and while it a solid melody and decent production, the song does not have the same coherence as “Fuyu no Maboroshi.” Still, “Koi Ichiya” is quite impressive for a B-side because Acid Black Cherry mixes a variety of elements together to create good music.

As I reviewer, I must put a warning on this single; even if “Fuyu no Maboroshi” is great music, the fact remains it’s rock. If you can’t stand the thought of J-rock, you might as well pass it by. However, if you don’t mind rock, you’ll probably like “Fuyu no Maboroshi:” there’s enough to the single to make endearing besides the just plain rock.

93% A

60s Themed CM – “New Look”

Watch a HQ version here.

70s Themed CM – “Rock Steady”

Watch a HQ version here.

~Single Information~
Teamed up with Vidal Sassoon hair products, Namie Amuro is releasing a triple A-side on March 12th featuring musical styles from various decades: the 60s, the 70s, and the 80s (source). “New Look” features 60s pop, sampling one the Supreme’s most memorable hits, “Baby Love,” which is also one of Namie Amuro’s personal favorites. The song was produced by T.Kura & michico and exemplifies the bubblegum pop of the 1960s with a message about following style trends (source).

The next A-side, “Rock Steady” features 70s dance music with samples from Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady.” The song is produced by Muro & michiko, known for their work on Namie Amuro’s own Suite Chic. According to sources, this song strove to emphasize not only the 1970s funky dance, but also the empowerment of women that occurred at that time(source).

The final A-side, “What a Feelin’,” has not had its CM released to the public, but is known to be 80s music sampling Irene Cara’s “What a Feeling” and produced by Osawa Shinichi and michico. This is Namie Amuro’s first time working with Osawa Shinichi, which has resulted in a sound that embodies what popular music in the 1980s were all about: electronic dance(source).

In each of these three songs, Namie Amuro is taking old hits and making them into new, relevant J-pop. Popular trends from these decades being modernized will also play into the fashion CMs, which borrow footage from each of the PVs for each of the songs.

The planning and execution of this campaign are enormous in scale; the shooting for the 60s’ “New Look” PV was confirmed to have occurred in June of 2007, which suggests this campaign has been in planning for over eight months (source). Additionally, early efforts by the Vissal Sassoon ad campaign are huge, with use of widespread commercials, billboards, and more. Considering the scope of this effort and the success of Amuro’s most recent album, “PLAY,” this single is poised to be a success.

~Track Listings~
CD only (3 songs)
1. NEW LOOK
2. ROCK STEADY
3. What a feelin’
Price: 1,260 yen
Item #: AVCD-31394

DVD (From CD+DVD Version)
1. NEW LOOK (MUSIC VIDEO)
2. ROCK STEADY (MUSIC VIDEO)
3. What a feelin’ (MUSIC VIDEO)
Price: 2,000 yen
Item #: AVCD-31393/B

Thanks to NATE for the info, and catslaughing for translating the news articles.

Namie Amuro’s Official Site
Vidal Sassoon’s Website

「夢の途中」/e2「TOKIMEKI☆DooBeeDoo」- WaT

~Track Listing~
01. Yume no Tochuu (夢の途中)
02. Tokimeki☆doobeedoo by e2
03. Yume no Tochuu (夢の途中) (Instrument)
04 Tokimeki☆doobeedoo (Instrument)

~Single Review~
After releasing their own solo singles, the boys of WaT have gotten back together to release the rather unremarkable single, “Yume no Tochuu / Tokimeki☆doobeedoo.” The single has peaked at number two on the daily charts and should be able to make a top three position. But charting well doesn’t mean WaT’s latest is amazing.

“Yume no Tochuu” features violins, piano, guitar and a mild beat. WaT’s voices are high and sweet as ever in this mid-tempo song, but that only makes the verses drag. Their voices, along with the background music of the verses, is very insubstantial. The choruses easily solve this problem, using a wider variety of instruments besides piano and guitar, as well as through the accompaniment by background vocals. The song also features a good, endearing crescendo, but that doesn’t hide the fact that “Yume no Tochuu” sounds like mid-tempo pop all the way through that lacks real feeling.

“TOKIMEKI☆DooBeeDoo” starts out with a distinct 90s J-pop sound because of the questionable use of synthetic beat. This feeling persists through the verses, but is eliminated in the bridges and in the choruses, which add-in better effects to improve the song’s sound. “TOKIMEKI☆DooBeeDoo” is catchy, but over the top at times with its cute hooks and the use of “I love you.” Even poppier than “Yume no Tochuu,” “TOKIMEKI☆DooBeeDoo” is fast, juvenile pop with decent hooks, nothing else; considering WaT has done this style better in “Ready Go!,” “TOKIMEKI☆DooBeeDoo” cannot be recommended.

WaT is a capable duo, and perhaps both Eiji Wentz and Teppei Koike and are capable soloists as well. Here, however, they have not done well as they have creating a single that lacks their usual flair. Of course, the usual WaT sound and vocals are there, but “Yume no Tochuu / Tokimeki☆doobeedoo” lacks WaT’s usual polish. If this single is meant to foreshadow their next few singles, I’m quite afraid.

74% C

~Track List~
01. I Don’t Wanna Know

~Single Review~
Kana Nishino, a new Sony artist will be releasing her debut single, “I” on February 20, 2008. However, preceding that release, Kana Nishino released “I Don’t Wanna Know,” an English download exclusive to iTunes US. The song is essentially the English version to “I.”

“I Don’t Wanna Know” is an interesting song that borders on discordant at times. The vocals and lyrics aren’t especially strong; Kana Nishino is hard to understand as her pronunciation is Engrish at best. This means that you can’t understand much other than the chorus and the bridge. And her vocals don’t exactly soar above the rest of the rock track, letting the words mix into the music too much at times. Those problems are not present in the Japanese version of the song, so it is the superior version. Still, the hook “I don’t wanna know” is catchy and memorable, and the instrumental’s rock guitar riff base is great. The track is synthetic, rock, and dark all at once. Over all, “I Don’t Wanna Know” is probably regular J-pop single filler, but displays a nice new sound from a debut artist.

82% B

『I』西野 カナ (Nishino Kana)

The PV is particularly strong for a debut artist, with excellent effects and a dark, underwater setting. Despite a lack of choreography or dancing, the PV features a great wardrobe, great imagery and good direction: nary a moment is boring. When you mix captivating visuals with well produced sound, you come out with a a well rounded PV. “I” is a great debut, probably one of the best since JYONGRI’s “Possession.” Although Kana Nishino’s vocals aren’t particularly strong, the rock riffs and synthetic instrumentation work well with the layering to create a good song. “I” may be difficult to love first listen as it features harder, somewhat discordant rock, but the production and arrangement work well in the end.

Kana Nishino is an artist to look out for. Her debut single, “I,” will be released February 20, 2008. I’ll be sure to review the single around it’s release.

The Single Information / Cover:

~Track Listing~
01. I
02. In Stereo
03. Just a friend

You can visit her official website here.

A big thanks to moviebuffwwc for the tracklisting and Lemonlime for the news.

Stephanie certainly has rocked it up in her latest song, “Friends.” Much like her B-sides, this song depends on guitar riffs and ignores Stephanie’s whistle notes in favor of a fast paced song. Although the PV isn’t amazing, the differentiation of shots and the motion does help mix things up a bit (it is shot all in one room). Over all, not too bad at all.

Sorry about the video getting taken down. In the future, please comment if that happens.

~Track Listing~
01. BE FREE
02. Namidazora

~Single Review~
GReeeeN released their fifth single on January 16, 2007. The lead A-side, “BE FREE” experienced great download success before the physical release of the single, topping Chaku-Uta downloads easily. Building off of the success of their hit, “Ai Uta,” and their previous song, “Hito,” “BE FREE / Namidazora” focused on GReeeeN’s unique sound.

“BE FREE” is the stronger of the two tracks on the single. Even though the vocals aren’t strong (GReeeeN is not a vocal powerhouse, so if you are looking for an amazing vocal performance look elsewhere) the production and composition on the song is topnotch. The combination of keyboards with the melody during the intro that persist throughout the whole song create a memorable tune. And despite weak vocals, the hook, “BE FREE” is suprisingly strong because of synthetic editing of voices. Because of these factors, “BE FREE” has amazing moments that allow it to become a great ringtone, but as a full song, some moments weigh done the brilliant ones. The vocals are stylistic at best. The good thing is, that’s all that I can say is bad about “BE FREE.” It’s well-done, it’s just a pity to see the weakness be the group itself.

While “BE FREE” was mid-tempo, “Namidazora” is a slow ballad. The chorus sounds much more strained because of the poor vocals, and the verses deteriorate to rapping. Despite excellent composition, the production on this track isn’t as good as “BE FREE’s;” without vocal editing and with rapping, “Namidazora” isn’t a memorable, emotive ballad even if it has great composition and keyboards. The extro is nice, but not enough to make “Namidazora” sound great or better than “BE FREE.”

With GReeeeN, the only glaring flaw to find is their vocals. They aren’t as strong as say FUNKY MONKEY BABYS’, but GReeeeN’s composition is better. What can GReeeeN do to resolve that problem? They’ve done about all they can here on this single: rapping and vocal editing. Because of the way the music industry works, GReeeeN makes more money singing their own songs than hiring other people to sing them, so they’ve done all they can. If they can continue with vocal editing and hip vocals, they should be able to maintain popularity. “BE FREE” should atone to that, as it is a solid pop song that doesn’t rely on its vocals.

91% A-