Okay, well, now that that's out of the way, let's get onto what was good!
Single, Pop
I cannot express how much I love "Kidoairaku Plus Ai." I've listened to it and it's instrumental nine times each since Thursday, watched the PV countless times, and have started singing it to my son. I've looked up the lyrics, I've translated an interview with Kaela, and I'm thinking of doing a lyrics translation as well, all because of this song. I'm trying to memorize it for karaoke, even though there isn't a Japanese karaoke place within 100 hundred miles. This song has single-handedly reversed my opinion of Kaela's music, much the way that "ENDLESS NIGHT" turned around my opinion of HALCALI. "Kidoairaku Plus Ai" is a pop-rock song with way more emphasis on the rock. It has a great synth presence that makes the song sound really unique, and the quick tempo and repetitive guitar and bass lines create a great feeling that's a mix between sprinting and long-distance running. (I think I finally understand what interviewers mean when they say that a song has a "scampering" feeling.) The distorted "Get Ready" line just makes me squee every time I hear it, and it's in the song three damn times. It's wonderful and beautiful and fun and I wish that I could have it on endless loop in my head. The instrumental is essentially identical to the original because of the synth version of Kaela's voice that's under her regular voice in the original version. Normally having a song repeat on a single would bother me, but remember how I want this song on endless loop? My only problem with the single is the B-side, "Hoshi no Tane." It's not bad - actually, it's really good: it has a much cuter, poppier sound than "Kidoairaku Plus Ai" but still has fun synth and adds some very endearing piano - but I dislike it on the single because it interrupts to the flow of all the "Kidoairaku Plus Ai" madness. I actually wish this song was on a completely different single so that I could listen to it and love it for what it is, without just seeing it as a break from "Kidoairaku Plus Ai" that I don't want. But if you aren't as fanatically in love with the first track as I am, you'll probably love the single as a whole - it's great, and the instrumentals are actually good instead of horrible filler like on most singles. This is one that's worth the money.
Single, Alternative Rock
This is LAMA's first single, and I already want another one. The style is elctro-pop-rock that's airy and cool without being cerebral or atmospheric. It's very approachable, and has a lot of energy. This isn't music that you could sleep to; this is music for a party. "Spell" is a party-opener with a very light tone combined with a really fast tempo, and it's catchy without sticking in your head like yesterday's gum on a shoe. "one day" is a party-pre-closer, telling your friends that they should get another drink soon because it's crossed your mind that you should kick them out in...maybe another couple hours. The vocals are very high pitched, but the mixing has them leveled down lower than vocals usually are, which helps take the edge off and gives it more of a techno feel that I'm very okay with. The "Spell" remix takes the techno feeling to the next level by throwing every noise on the synthesizer at the song. Some of that's cool, and some isn't as cool. But being as how it's the only song on the single that's on the weaker side and it's only a remix, I don't think it counts heavily against the single as a whole. Definitely check this one out.
Album, Rock
Was was first introduced to NoGod during during a GK AA, and although I liked their song "Kamikaze," they didn't really catch my attention. Happily, they got it back this week! Sadly, it took them half their album to do it. The album opens with "Kamikaze," and I was surprised to find that I was happy to hear it again, as though it was a friend I hadn't seen in a few weeks. Unfortunately, after that the album hits a rough patch: "Kowaremono" isn't very memorable or interesting, "downer's high!" has a weird (but definitely memorable) choral aspect to their backup vocals, "Yasashisa no Imi" is the obligatory boring-ass ballad. "Raise a Flag" is next, and it gets my hopes up a little, but it still sounds pretty generic and just a little too happy. It's not until the next track, "Aishitekure," that the music gets really good. The album gets moving from there, and the quality is high enough that you can get lost in the music at that point. This is hard, no-frills rock with a very slight 80s vibe. There's some really strong work on the bass, and the shredding on the guitar is solid and frequently pushed to the forefront. I particularly like "Aishitekure" because of the desperate sound that it has (and because that's just a cool title) and "Tenba, Sore wo Iku ga Gotoku" for being a great song despite having no lyrics. I can't recommend buying it, I'm afraid, since half of it isn't really that good, but at least it helped NoGod recapture my attention.
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