Single, Dance
Although the releases from last week (and several weeks previous) don't really show it, I'm a sucker for dance music. Even so, this single is so weird for me, because "Okay" would normally fall into my "Meh, it's dance music" pile that I listen to but don't feel like promoting. But despite all my attempts to chuck this single into that pile, it seems to climb back out of it's own damn volition. Although the music itself is fine, the thing about this single that really catches my attention is MAA's voice. It's much lower than most female singers in Japan, and it has this lazy quality that makes it seem as though she's saying "Yeah, I'm a good singer. Whatever." Normally that would cause me to fly to Japan and chuck things at people's heads, but I find it infectious with "Okay." The title track is good, but I really prefer "F.B" out of the two. (Although it has this barfing sound at the end that always ruins the song for me. If I can skip past that, though, I'm solid.) The final track, "Tomorrow @ Your Kingdom," is very minimalistic and starts to approach techno, which is really great for me. Overall, the music is solid, but the most standout part of this single is MAA's voice and I'm interested to hear more.
Single, Pop/Reggae
I found this album very refreshing. Although I really love the laid back, easy style that I heard all last week, I was starting to get bored of "laid back." Okay, okay, okay. "Hotarubi" is laid back. But it also has plenty of energy, and there's such minimal instrumentation on each song that it brightens the laid back feel like a squeeze of lemon in your water. The light reggae feeling (and I emphasize the word "light") gives the music a Carribean feeling without making you want to smoke a joint and shoot your brains out because you're listening to island music. Both "Hotarubi" and "Bucket List" and very easy to listen to, and I just can't pick which I like better. The instrumental of "Hotarubi" is even more minimalistic, but good. It's hard to say what the world is coming to when I say something like that, but I can only assume that it's a generally positive direction. Worth a listen if you want a little lemon in your water after last week's picks.
Single, Pop
I. Cannot. Believe. That. I. Am. Writing. About. This. Single. I saw it on the list and thought, "Well, there's a waste of bandwidth. At least I'll be able to skip it after one track." I mean, it has a girl on the front in a Playboy bunny outfit. The group name is Milky Bunny. It's the epitome of what I don't want to like in Japanese music: over-Westernized and grasping at a cuteness that it will never achieve because it has no idea what the hell it's doing. But the music was actually...pretty good. Unlike AKB48, there's no trace of "over-voice" (i.e., 6,000 tiny Japanese girls singing together), and the singer has a surprisingly good voice. Although the title track is a little strained in places, it's essentially a classic rock-feeling piece that's fun and upbeat. The better song is "Song For..." which is really pretty and simple, despite it's horribly cliched name. Even the instrumentals are good! Although this isn't my favorite single of the pack, and the songs aren't necessarily all that memorable or amazing, I feel that I needed to relate my surprise and shock at finding my preconceptions challenged. Try this single out. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Single, Electronic Rock
Ah, Sakanaction. The makers of "Aruku Around." I love these guys. When I saw them on my list this week I was happy and relieved because I knew there would be at least one good CD. As always this is a disc full of electronic rock that just blows the mind. The title track, with it's title so long that I usually just reduce it to "Bach," is energetic and desperate sounding. There's a great use of chorals, and it's interesting to hear the piano against the strongly electronic sound that Sakanaction has. (I find it jarring, but it makes sense in the context of the PV, which you should watch if you have any interest in being my friend.) "Years" is slow and intense, with great use of a stuttering sound in the electronic elements. "Right Dance" (single remix isn't linked, but you'll get the idea) has awesome opening drums and an interesting vibe that plays back to the 80s but still sounds fresh and updated. My favorite part about Sakanaction is how they keep the synth interesting so that it contributes to the priece raher than simply adding it to the back of the music like so many other bands. I know, I know - they're electro rock and that's their M.O. Well some genres should get credit just for being smart about how they make music, okay?
Single, Rock
This is a good single, but I was somehow expecting more from it. I was really taken back by how good "SELECTION" was, and this single just seems weak in comparison. Don't get me wrong: "Re:Make" is good (and I love the PV, which you need to check out via their Facebook page; just trust me) and it's sort of Panic At The Disco vocals is really interesting to hear out of a Japanese band. "NO SCARED" is far and away the harder of the two A-sides, and also a great song with more screamed vocals. But when you hold these songs up to "Kanzen Kanaku Dreamer" and "Answer Is Near," there's just no comparison. I wish that I could pin down the reason for you, but I'm not sure what it is myself. Maybe it's that "Re:Make" and "NO SCARED" feel less polished? I don't know that it's that, either. All I know is that I would listen to "Kanzen" and "Answer" until they evaporated from exhaustion, but "Re:Make" and "NO SCARED" just don't get that kind of commitment from me. Don't get me wrong: this is a really great single (except for "Rock,Scissors,Paper" - blugh amatuerish blugh), but it's just not where I was expecting ONE OK ROCK to be.
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