Wednesday 26 October 2011

Maeda Yuuka to take a walk off down Obscurity Avenue

As far as S/mlieage goes I am a casual fan at best. However, this news screwed with my brain too you'll be glad to know. For a group that was on top of the world at the beggining of the year, really promising to be big, S/mileage is really no longer the same group. They are certainly progressing but at a mad pace. Like a car driving too fast down an uneven country road. (I should really stop using such ridiculous similes.) If I, a dedicated Hello! Project fan, can barely keep up then how are the general public expected to cope. Don't get me wrong. I am not blaming the girls. I just feel things could of been handled differently. Also, they are going to graduate Yuuka on Hogmany?! What a bum-note to leave the year on.

Back to Yuuka. During her years in Hello! Project she has really grown in to a great idol. Although she was never my favourite I can easily recognise her strenght as a S/mileage member. Although Sakitty still holds the vocal crown Yuuka is now the best singer in S/mileage (I think). I have always been impressed at how such a young girl held her own in High-King alongside 4 other amazing idols. I sincerely wish Yuuka the best of luck with her schooling and I hope she does well in her exams so that she can do the university course she is interested in, whatever that may be.  がんばて!!! 


Friday 21 October 2011

A Review of Morning Musume's new album '12 Smart'

It seems that I am unforgivably late with this review but in my defence I have been in London visiting relatives and taking advantage of their large house. I think the most simple way to do this in a track by track format and so that is what I shall do!!

For a start, the cover is actually fairly nice even though the angel theme seems slightly random. The girls look great (even if Gaki-san looks a bit moody compared to everyone else) and the photoshop people have done an alright job for once. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, Hello! Project covers have come a very long way since the sinister floating heads of Second Morning.

Now, to the music!!


1. Give me 愛
Overall, a good way to open the album. The song is fairly reminiscent of '09 emo-musume and some part of my brain wants to compare it to Naichau Kamo. In that comparison Give me Love comes out as the weaker contender but is still a pleasant song and the vocals are great, even if they are fairly AiReinaRiho dominated.

2. Only You
Still in my opinion one of the best Momusu tracks so far this year. It is interesting musically and I think the lyrics do their job well even if they are not the most innovative. 

3. シルバーの腕時計
I like the combination of Reina and Riho for this song because they both have the right attitude for this 'cool' sounding song. Also great rap sections from Gaki and Aika. Usually idol's rapping makes me cringe but this was well done. I normally don't think much of Reina's voice but she sounds great here. The use of piano is nice aswell.

4. 好きだな君が
Some may say this is a Perfume rip-off and maybe it is but within Morning Musume and maybe even Hello! Project as a whole it is a fresh sound. Sayumi and Mizuki do a great job with the sweet, sugary sound of the track and I look forward to seeing what the choreography will be like. Brillant song, thoumbs up!

5. 怪傑ポジティブA
Very fun song, every Morning Musume album needs one. The line distribution is fairly varied here and it is great hearing the kyuukies improve vocally. A energetic memorable song.

6. この愛を重ねて
This song is pleasant enough to the ear. However, it never really goes anywhere. I have got to say, I was hoping for something more exciting when I heard this album would have a Ai/Risa duet. That said, the girls sound beautiful and I hope Risa gets plenty of Ai's lines in future concerts, she never stops improving.


7. この地球の平和を本気で願ってるんだよ!
Catchy song, great vocals, a very Momusu sounding song. I don't actually have much to say on this one.

8. 彼と一緒にお店がしたい!
This song has given us a taste of what post-Ai Morning Musume might be like. Sayu and Reina are upfront for this number almost everyone gets a line or two. This track sounds different from other Momusu singles of recent years which is nice and refreshing.


9. My Way~女子校花道~Pop-rock in a similar vein to 'Buono!' I am not feeling this track too much at the moment but I reckon it will be amazing live.


10. 乙女のタイミング
Poor Aika always gets left with the dull songs doesn't she. This particular song sounds like a ending for a shoujo anime, not a Morning Musume track. Also, it's interesting that they have put the whole shunned circle (by this I mean in terms of lines) in one song.

11. OK YEAH!
I love this! This album's 'SONGS'. Highly recomended!


12. まじですかスカ!
The Kyuukie's debut single and an amazingly genki, ska inspired treat in the same vein as classic Momusu tune 'Koko ni Iruzee'. Won't it be wonderful to look back on this single in a few years time and see how the group has changed. Because I think it will have changed a lot.

12 Smart is a great album for any Morning Musume fan to own. It is rich with variety and a huge step up for 'Fantasy Juuichi'. It may not reach the heights of '10 MY ME' but it is pretty damn close!!!

The regular edition can be bought here:  12, smart / Morning Musume 

 And the limited here:  12, smart / Morning Musume

Wednesday 5 October 2011

Hello! Project : A (Semi-) Outsider's View

 This might sound a bit weird but every time I see a comment on a Hello! Project related YouTube video written by someone who has simply stumbled across the video and has no prior knowledge of H!P I feel slightly excited. "That person might be a new fan" is what I think to myself. (Only when it is a positive comment obviously.) Because of this I decided to find out what an outsider's view on Hello! Project would be. Naturally I went to someone I can trust (kind of), my younger sister. I should say that my sister is not a complete outsider to idol music. She has some knowledge of H!P and could name quite a few songs by Morning Musume and maybe a couple by other groups. However, she is still vague enough on the subject to give a realistic, honest viewpoint. So, wrote down on a sheet of paper the names of the main current H!P acts and asked her to write down a few words about each. Here are the results of this experiment!

Morning Musume
"Morning Musume’s music is usually quite up-beat and cheerful, and sometimes a wee bit strange."

This gives me the impression that it is the upbeat tunes like The Peace, Sexy Boy and Maji Desu ka Ska that people think of when they think of Momusu. I know for a face that my sister could hum along to most of the singles 2007 onwards but I suppose without knowing the lyrics even Naichau Kamo sounds fairly upbeat.



Berryz Koubou
"Berryz Koubou are usually more romantic. Their songs are more similar than Morning Musume’s."

When she says "romantic" I reckon my sister in refrencing more recent material but who knows maybe it's just the Risako pout that leads her to this conclusion.






C-ute
"C-ute is very up-beat, fast-pacing and dance-like."

I can agree here C-ute are famous for their dancing and that wouldn't be if it wasn't for upbeat songs like Kiss me Aishiteru. About a two years ago when my H!P fandom was still in it's early stages I had Tokkaiko Junjou on repeat quite a lot. My sister and I were (and still are!) very impressed with C-ute's dancing.





Buono!
"Buono’s songs are usually romantic and soft, or up-beat and cheerful."

I definately see where she is coming from here. Unfortunately I can't think of much to say on the matter.







S/mileage
"S/mileage are quite new to the world but so far their songs have been fast, happy and catchy."

I had "Ganbaranakutemo Eenende!!" stuck in my head the other day. She is right, most of S/mileage's songs are amazingly catchy. Sadly Tachiagaru has not really struck a note with me yet let alone a chord!





Mano Erina
Mano Erina sings very smiley, cheerful music usually. It is not always fast-paced but it is usually cheerful.

This makes me think. I like Manoeri's releases but I wish they'd give her a single with a bit more depth. I'm sure she could handle it.
Also, I like the use of the adjective smiley as a way to describe music. Nice.




I think this just goes to show, if you open your mind you can find something in everything.