…but just right! Or so the scattered fans of AAA would (and are) say if they were Goldilocks.
AAA’s hit it on the head with their latest single 唇からロマンチカ [Kuchibiru kara ROMANTICA]/ That’s Right – a double A(AA)-side tied in with the drama Delicious Gakuin (which I have still yet to watch!).
Um, yes. I’ll stop with the corniness.
What? Please, there was no better title.
Oh, yes. I do realize I’m over two months late on this post. Actually, if possible, I didn’t want to even touch this topic until I got my package.
I finally got it. <3
So here’s a frank reminder (and a warning that the following will be picture-heavy)…
Nishikawa Takanori, better known as T.M.Revolution, has been working in the Japanese music industry for over 15 years, and in the mainstream market for 11 of them. Throughout these years, he’s done visual kei, and more recognizably, the blend of electro-pop and rock originated by Asakura Daisuke that his powerful voice works so well with.
But after 10 years, Nishikawa has set aside the name to work with his side project, abingdon boys school. While the name first surfaced on the LOVE for NANA compilation album back in 2005, it was a year later when we learned it was actually a full band instead of another stage name.
Nishikawa’s strong voice has always combined wonderfully with the electronic pop-rock he has worked with, but of course, there were those who wanted him to lean more towards rock with less of the pop. While they got their wish… who knew it could be so addictive?
Okay, so I was wrong, and there is a video for 嘉陽愛子’s 勇気のチカラ [Kayou Aiko's Yuuki no Chikara]. And it’s a nice little video, certainly nothing like what that single cover or the music would lead one to believe. (Though that would’ve been an interesting video itself. Maybe a holdup at a gas station and Kayou defeats the robbers by using her gas pump of rainbows, hearts, bubbles, and justice? Nah.)
The video is nothing special to speak of, and just features Kayou playing with the camera and flying sakura petals in front of a church, then playing about inside of the church, and lip-syncing . But it also gives her a different image than her voice and the song would lead you to expect.
Let me put off the dream a bit further for more members of pop groups gone solo for a bit. After a decently successful first solo single and album, 橘慶太 [Tachibana Keita] has left w-inds. behind for a second go with this single, FRIEND!
Nothing against the boy, I promise you. It’s just that I’ve actually yet to listen to his solo single/album combo despite having given his latest single/album combo with w-inds. a thorough listen. I’ll get around to it… someday.
Lately though, I haven’t been too fond of Keita’s voice. I don’t know why. I absolutely loved it back in 2003, and I can’t deny having the opportunity to hear him grow and mature has been a treat.
But this particular song sort of grates on my ears. Well, not the stanzas. The stanzas sound good, though he sounds like he’s always trying to reach higher notes than he should be doing. The bridge is okay too, despite his raising volume. But the chorus is just too much. Keita’s voice was not made for wailing. Especially not lines like “OH! FRIEND//MY FRIEEEEEEEEEEEEEND”. There are other ways to inject power into your voice, Tachibana. As it is, the chorus comes across as a bad attempt at karaoke-ing the song. Which really shouldn’t happen, since it’s an original song.
I mean, yes, I give Keita some credit for sounding as good as he does without the help of synthesizers – but he’s also got to know where to stop. It’s a bit sad to admit that the instrumental’s a much better listen than the actual song.
The first of the B-sides, 桜想ふ [Sakura Soufu], is slower and a better listen as far as Keita’s vocals go, even when he wails out the ending of the choruses. I was pleasantly surprised to hear his vocals rising and falling so smoothly. The piano has a bigger part in the song, but the guitar still claims its spot like in every one of his solo songs so far.
少年 [Shounen], the second B-side, is exactly what I’m looking for in Keita’s solo works. With more of a rock sound while never completely losing the acoustic guitar, some variety in tempo, and a much better demonstration of his vocal control, he sounds grown-up without being boring. It doesn’t have quite the quality of an A-side, but I definitely expect this song on his next solo album, assuming I listen to that.
So far Keita’s solo efforts have been doing decently on the Oricon charts – but what I really want to hear him singing with less acoustic pieces. I don’t care what, I just want some variety like with Shounen. There are far too many acoustic singers – piano or guitar – on the Japanese market right now. Unfortunately, it seems the only way I’ll get that is listening to him back with his pretty-boy props fellow boyband compatriots in w-inds., Ryohei and Ryuichi.
While HINOI TEAM’s fate is left up in the air after Keika’s sudden announcement of wanting to return to school, 樋井明日香 [Hinoi Asuka] herself snuck in and released a solo single for the first time in three years. Her last two singles were bubblegum pop and an edgier rock-styled song, and featured a girl eager to shine.
After two years with HINOI TEAM, though, Asuka’s matured and ready to show it. Her producers, however, took the easy way out in doing it and gave her the pop ballad 明日への光 [Asu e no Hikari] .
Also the ending theme song to anime Seto no Hanayome, the song isn’t really a pop ballad, just a slower pop song. But it’s also considerably different from what Asuka was doing until recently. As with most ballads (or just slow songs), the focus is on her vocals. But the music, which stays light-hearted and takes an easy-going pace, is nice to listen to as well. I sort of wish the piano had more of a presence instead of just being mixed into everything, but it’s okay as it is.
VOICES, the first B-side, maintains a similar tempo though it’s more R&B in nature. I really think this sort of song suits Asuka’s voice – she sounds gorgeous in everything, though there’s a slight volume struggle between her and the music for the bridge. What I do love, though, is the guitar piece. It suddenly jumps out after the second chorus, but blends seamlessly into the music to give it an extra bit of power.
The second B-side, 君がいた場所 [Kimi ga Ita Basho], has lyrics written by Asuka – less of a surprise these days, but still an accomplishment. It’s a softer song than the other two on the disc, and Asuka handles it with an amazing versatility. After two years of para-para, it’s a bit hard to remember that she’s able to do a lot of other styles, but I don’t see anyone forgetting that after this.
What interests me most about this single is how the title and Asuka’s name correlate, especially as this is her first single in a while. It’s probably just a coincidence, but if this is the sort of road she’s going to take with her solo career, I can’t see anything but approval.
Lately I’ve found myself even more amused by the complaints at Koda Kumi and AAA’s release streaks.
Except this isn’t the first time avex has done it.
Let’s take a look at classic girl group dream. Composed of three girls, (Matsumuro Mai, Hasebe Yu, and Tachibana Kana), they seem to be a staple of Japanese pop in the 21st Century. We won’t even touch its 8/7-member reincarnation for the moment.
They surfaced as the result of an audition at the beginning of 2000, as Eurobeat was at its peak and Komuro Tetsuya’s electronic rave music fad was beginning to die down. During the course of their 3-member career, they released 3 albums (4 if you count the best-of album) and 13 singles in 2-and-a-half years.
Yes, you read that right. 7 singles for their first album, 5 singles for their second, and then they cranked out one last one that was really just a track from their first album with different lyrics for Mai’s graduation. Complain that AAA’s sophomore album had 8 singles and 10 old songs out of 13, but it’s really not that far off from dream’s first album – 7 singles and 11 old songs out of 17. Then take into consideration that one of the new tracks is an interlude, so it’s only 5 new songs, and then looking at it as we can since it’s 6 years since the album was released, their last single was recut from the first album, the only major difference being the lyrics.
dream and AAA probably also had the same amount of training when they first debuted – decent vocals, decent dancing, though AAA was clearly much better off in the latter aspect.
So what makes AAA a reason to give up on avex, while 3-nin dream is heralded as one of the company’s golden ideas? Is it the extra members? The boy-and-girl concept? The amount of tracks on their singles (usually 2, only rarely and recently more)?
Actually, I’m not sure why I even started comparing them to AAA so heavily. This was just supposed to be a post letting you know dream-related posts were coming up and commenting on how fast dream came and went, though they had an average lifespan for a girl group. See how off-topic my mind gets?
