8/3/11 Releases (Part 2): Kimura Kaela, LAMA, NoGod

Before I go on with the reviews, I want to pass along a tidbit of knowledge that I learned this week: S/milage makes terrible, horrible music. So horrible that I don't even want to review it. Seriously, this group has no excuses for itself.

Okay, well, now that that's out of the way, let's get onto what was good!

Kimura Kaela, "Kodoairaku Plus Ai"
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.

LAMA, "Spell"
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.

NoGod, "Genjitsu"
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.

TsuShiMaMiRe - GIVING BLOOD - Giving Their All

You may remember that I mentioned TsuShiMaMiRe in my review of POLYSICS' "Oh! No! It's Heavy POLYSICK!" as being similar to POLYSICS but not electric. That was based on my recollections of them from their 2005 show in Seattle, as well as my recollections of the CD I bought at the live. ("Pregnant Fantasy," by the way.) At the time, they were a bizarre fusion of cuteness, hard rock, manic sounds, heavy bass, school girl vocals, unrefined sound, and death metal screaming. Although I was thrown off by them at first, they grew on me like a fungus. (In a good way. Maybe a wish-granting fungus.) When I heard that they were releasing their first major album, I was stoked but also a little worried that they'd changed since I'd last heard them. I mean, you can't go major without going mainstream, can you?

Sadly, no, you can't. But TsuShiMaMiRe is still far enough off mainstream that you could consider them on the bank or, at worst, just getting their toes wet. "Giving Blood" is everything I wanted: all new songs, great vocals, strong bass, bizarre style combinations, cuteness, panicky tension.

I made myself promise that I wouldn't use the word "weird" when describing any of the songs because I didn't want to be repetitive, but you do need to realize that they're all weird, just at varying degrees. "Utsubyou" is classic TsuShiMaMiRe with Mari's wailing lyrics and Yayoi's crazy intense bass; "Sonata do Alarm" moves all over the place, going from upbeat with a pop-punk feel to surreal to desperate; "French Toast Rendezvous" is hard with a melodious chorus; "Doing Nothing" is desperate and tense with the drums and bass leveled way up and the vocals muffled and leveled way down. "Neko ha Hontou ha Yasashii Ikimono Ja Nai" is memorable for Mari's meowing. "Grapefruit Girl" and "Bryan" tend toward more mainstream with a straightforward pop-punk sound. My favorite songs were "Ramsheep" and "Kenketsu Song," which both start very chill and almost jazz-bluesy, then get harder and scarier over time, with "Kenketsu Song" including sections of Mari all but screaming and finally ending with her voice shaky and afraid.

Speaking of Mari, her voice is just as insane as it was six years ago. There are a lot of vocalists in the world, but I don't know of many that have the control and nuance that Mari does. She can pull off tooth-meltingly cute or death metal screaming, and I know of at least one song where she does both back and forth with no pause for several seconds, several times over the course of a song. (The quality is bad on the link, but you'll get the idea.) She's also good at emoting with her voice: she's just as good at happy and excited as she is at afraid, angry, nervous, desolate, and confused. Although it's clear that she probably hasn't been formally trained, I think she's got enough talent to make up for it.

Overall, the music is gruff and cute and unpretentious and rough around the edges, and I love it just the way it is. Although TsuShiMaMiRe tended a bit more toward plain-old punk on this album, there's still plenty of quirkiness to go around. I highly doubt that many of you reading this will love the album the way that I do, and you might not even like it, but you'd be remiss if you didn't at least give it a try.

"Grapefruit Girl"

POLYSICS - Oh! No! It's Heavy POLYSICK! - Oh! Yes!

POLYSICS is a band that, even if you've never heard their music before, you'll recognize them if you know much of anything about Japanese music. The music industry landscape is about as bland in Japan as it is in America, with little done to brand bands and distinguish them visually (or aurally, unfortunately). In a sea of faces, most artist just disappear. But not POLYSICS - Oh! No! - whose visual style stands out like vivid color against the black and white Japanese industry in the same way that Lady Gaga's does in America.

And their music is just as distinctive as their visual style. With heavy use of electronic elements and enough 8-bit sound that they should have appeared on the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack, they stand out from the crowd already. But they don't just settle into the electropop outcast group. Instead, they refuse to join that crowd either, playing music so energetic that it toes the line of being difficult to listen to...without crossing the line. POLYSICS is what would happen if Perfume got hit with Joker gas. Or, alternately, what would happen if if Tsushimamire went electric. The quality of the performance is also very high - Hayashi has almost superhuman control over his voice, the instrumentation is totally solid, and it's clear that the band worked really hard on their English pronunciation, which is always a plus in my book.

I like every track on this album - they'd all be great for dancing to, great for listening to while driving too fast, great for music-fighting your neighbors who keep their damn sub against the shared wall, great for nerdy moshing and head-banging. I'm especially fond of "Let's Daba Daba" and "Don't Cry" which are catchy as hell but, unlike other catchy songs, don't stick in your mind like dog crap to the bottom of a shoe. "Jump Up and Clash" is nice for being closer to normal - something to play if you want to prove to friends that Japanese music can be both bizarre and awesome. "Cough Cough" and "Heavy POLYSICK" are great instrumentals, and "Subliminal CHA-CHA-CHA" has a great off-kilter beat that keeps up the tension with some speaking between verses that's cute and quirky. (*nerd squee start* These mini conversations also remind me a lot of "Ieru Ka Na, Baby?" by Suzukisan of "Pokemon" fame. They even have the 2-Guys-1-Girl combo like Suzukisan! *nerd squee end*)

My one complaint is that the album feels slightly flat in places, like they're missing something from their instrumentation. It's nothing huge, but it does take a little away from an otherwise amazing musical experience. I'm hoping that this is just because they recently lost a member and are still trying to balance the music between three people. But even if it's not, I still plan on getting all their subsequent music. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it sure as hell is mine.

androp - door - Straight into my heart

As much as I don't like "Kiss Me," that's how much I do like "door." I've never heard anything by androp before (except when I reviewed their "Mirror Dance" PV), and I didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. Music throughout the album is alternative rock, with fun and upbeat tracks at the beginning of the album fading to soft chill songs at the end. Each song is slightly unique, and the band doesn't shy away from trying different techniques: from the echo effects in "Alpha" to the tempo changes in "Amanojaku" to the lyrics pauses in "Puppet" to the loose sound of "Youth"... I could literally name something different and ear-catching about each song, but none of them comes off as if it's trying to be avant-garde, none of them are pretentious, none of them goes over the top with it's quest to be different from the other songs, and all of them are very easy and fun to listen to. I loved it all (except maybe that weird switch into ballad style in the middle of "Puppet" - what was that about?) and my one complaint is that it's too short. At only 8 tracks it's almost too short to be a real grown-up album. Still, the tracks mesh together well and take you smoothly from one set of feelings to another. If more rock albums could do this, I wouldn't need to tell you which ones to listen to. Definitely give "door" a try.

Day 29 - Sakanaction, STRAIGHTENER, UPLIFT SPICE, JYJ

Catching up! Woo!

Sakanaction - kikUUiki
I love this album. There's so much going on with it; so many different pieces and parts all working together, rock with synth, pushing the boundaries of the genre. I know it sounds cheezy, but it's true: "kikUUiki" is unique the way that Noanowa's "Magical Circus" is unique. It's not the kind of music you're likely to run into on a regular basis, and that's both a good thing (because it's so refreshing) and a bad thing (because all the music in the world made you feel this way). Sakanaction knows how to keep up the tension in their music while also keeping up the groove. These songs demand that you move to them, and won't take "no" for an answer. Both the vocal tracks and the instrumentals are well-composed: the music doesn't need lyrics to make it interesting, and the vocals don't need the music to be strong. I got into Sakanaction with the "Aruku Around" PV, so I'm naturally biased toward ite, but all the tracks on this album are so good that I could pick any of them as my favorite.

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STRAIGHTENER - CREATURES
I was really excited to hear this album, but also a little afraid. I loved "STOUT" so much that I wanted to hear "Creatures" to affirm that I love Straightener, but was afraid that it could never live up to "STOUT." And "Creatures" is definitely different from "STOUT," but there are similarities, too. What I liked about "STOUT" is still there in "Creatures" - strong and creative use of the bass, awesome drumming, strong vocals, solid guitar, amazing energy and tension in the music - but where "STOUT" is a breathless run with only a stop or two, "Creatures" is more slow-paced and even tempered. "STOUT" is an album to listen to while you're driving down the road as fast as you can to parts unknown; "Creatures" is an album to listen to when it's cold and cloudy outside and warm and still inside and all you want is a good book, good soup, and good music. All my anxiety about Straightener is gone after listening to "Creatures;" they're just as good as I had hoped.

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UPLIFT SPICE - Memento
Considering how well I liked the rest of Loki's list, I was sure I would like "Memento." And I do! But I would actually say that it's my least favorite of his top 5. UPLIFT SPICE rocks - there's no question of that - but their music lacks the depth that I'm looking for. Maybe they don't quite have the right interplay between instruments, or maybe they don't have strong enough drumming, or maybe they don't have strong enough guitar or bass, but something makes the music sound a little flat and hollow. As a result, none of their tracks in particular stuck with me. I still think they have great replay value, and I still like them - it's so nice to have good girl rockt! - but they're just not as good as 9mm Parabellum Bullet or Straightener or Noanowa or Kalafina. Also, Loki's assessment about the singer's voice is 100% dead on: her voice is really too high. Although I got used to it over the course of the album, it was certainly a shock when I first heard it. She seemed screechy, but I realized later that it's only because I'm not used to hearing a soprano singing rock at the top of her range. Alto would suit the sound a little better, but I guess UPLIFT SPICE has to work with what they've got.

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JYJ - The...
Meh. Just meh. I was hoping for a lot more out of this single, since it's the JYJ, the Korean hip hop gods that descended to we mere mortals from the fangirl Nirvana that is the legendary Tohoshinki. But the songs were boring! Just typical, run of the mill, could-have-been-done-by-some-guy-in-his-basement boring. I think I've shown that, although hip hop isn't my favorite genre, I can give it a fair shake. I like Kuroki Meisa. I like JASMINE. But "The..." is just blah. There are only two tracks worth anything in my opinion: "Get Ready (Caramel Pod Remix)" and "Get Ready (THANKSGIVING LIVE IN DOME ver.)." Even they aren't great, but they do rise above the monotony and are probably worth a second listen. Of course, the regular version of "Get Ready" is just as boring and unaccountable as the other three tracks, so I have to say I'm not too impressed with JYJ as of yet. Sorry fangirls - no converts here.

Day 27 - Kalafina - Red Moon

Lord almighty, did I miss three days in a row??? Life!!!! *shakes fist at the heavens*

The only way I can describe this album is "epic." No, not in the internet parlance way that just means "awesome, dude!" but in the classical way that means "heroic; majestic; impressively great." The styles and instrumentation completely change between songs, from Midnight Syndicate meets Trans-Siberian Orchestra title track "Red Moon," to the Spanish-flavored "Hikari no Senritsu," to the electronic "fantasia," to the "Arabian Nights" feel of "Yami no Uta"... You guys, I don't think I've heard this many kinds of styles since Bennie K's "The World," and on "Red Moon" they're frankly more solidly performed. And instrumentation! Instruments are heard include but certainly are not limited to real strings, tubular bells, xylophone, flute, piano, and more Indian instruments than I could competently name. Add the great variety and well-composed music to the strong vocal performance, and you have an amazing album. Much like many of the albums that I've been impressed by on this blog, I doubt that this is everyone's cup of tea. But you'd have to be crazy not to recognize that this is great music. My only complaint is that it's pretty hard to groove to. But, on the other hand, great to dance to! Love, love, love.

Day 22- Furukawa Miki - Very

I'm in love! Again! Furukawa Miki mixes us up an ice cream sundae of elctropop (deliciously close to trance techno in many cases) with girl rock sprinkles on top and it's a beautiful thing. This album has solid beats, great vocals, and good variety, but it never goes over the top: everything's kept basic and minimalistic, the vocals and instrumentation all working together flawlessly to create great music. Each elements is dependent on the others to complete the song: even the vocals contribute musically, rather than using the music as the vehicle to get lyrics out. Miki's voice is surprisingly versatile, moving from cute and a little poppy in tracks like "Kingyou" and "Saihate" to languid and adult in the more rock-focused tracks like "Bridge to Heaven" and "Amore." Especially if you like techno or electropop, this album is a must. (Sadly, I couldn't find any PVs for this album, so you'll have to find out how awesome it is for yourself!)

Day 20 - JASMINE - GOLD

I'm so much more impressed by the album selections than I was the singles selections! "GOLD" is wonderful, like no other hip hop I've ever heard. In his review of the album, Jaylee says that "'GOLD' really does everything it can to raise the bar not just for J-Urban music but for Japanese music overall." I read that and had a hard time believing it, or that I'd be able to tell. I mean, I'm a pretty plebeian when it comes to music; you've probably noticed that a lot of my reviews are "This is good because I like it!" and "This is bad because I don't like it!" I try to not to be facile about my choices, but I don't really know a lot about how music is created and produced, so my likes and dislikes are all that I have to go on. That said, this is definitely a different kind of hip hop than I'm used to. Good different. JASMINE works in so many different, interesting things - from uncommon instruments to melding in different genres - that the music is far from the boring sugar pop that you get from Nishino Kana or Koda Kumi. Every track has something to recommend it: "L.I.P.S." is a sexy song that doesn't go into the "gross" range like a lot of American music has been doing for two decades, and is a bad habit that Japanese music is picking up recently. "Bad Girl" mixes in a strong rock feeling, even using electric guitars, to give it a much harder sound than bass alone could. "dear my friend" uses all kinds of uncommon instruments like harpsichord and sitar. But even if none of that does anything for you, the vocal quality is unmatched. JASMINE sings so sincerely and passionately that she makes you sit up and listen. Even if you don't like hip hop - hell, especially if you don't like hip hop! - you'll probably love "GOLD."


JASMINE(ジャスミン)　「This Is Not A Game」 [PV]
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Day 19 - ICONIQ - CHANGE MYSELF

Thank god I was wrong yesterday. "CHANGE MYSELF" is a delightful album from track one. My husband and I listened to it literally 5 or 6 times in a row - we heard it come to an end and loop, and decided that we didn't mind listening to it again. We decided this at least 4 times. When I listened to it myself, to take a closer listen to the tracks for this review, I was sure I'd find something about the album that would change my mind - some annoying little bit of instrumentation or some annoying musical trick or just flat boringness. But none of those happened. I could have played it again and been happy.

The essence of what makes this album good is that it sounds fresh. I know that's a word that gets tossed around a lot in the music industry, especially the Japanese music industry, and it seems to have all kinds of meanings: "novel," "interesting," or simply "new." And although those words apply here, that's not the "fresh" I'm talking about. I mean fresh in the same sense as in "a breath of fresh air" or "fresh cut grass." Each song is poppy and electronic and light, and it should sound like every other album of pop out there but it somehow doesn't. It sounds like dew on budding flowers, or dappled sunshine on grass, or falling autumn leaves, or new fallen snow. I don't mean to wax poetic here, but it really is tough for me to use regular words to describe the sound of the album. It's otherworldly. It flows between pop styles, each song light as a bubble, even the ones with strong bass. My favorite is probably "CHANGE MYSELF," but every song has merit. There are no mediocre tracks, and certainly no bad ones. The best thing I can suggest is to listen to it. Just like Noanowa, it might not be your favorite style, but you'd have to be crazy or lying to claim that it's bad.



(Sorry for the partial PV. I can't get a full version from Youku to load on the blog for some reason!)

Day 16 - Fukuhara Miho - Regrets of Love

*Gah! Another assignment that comes with more than one disc! Just like with Superfly's "Wildflower," I have no intention to reviewing a million tracks if I don't have to. My original assignments were to review all the Top 5 GK albums and singles, and Jaylee specifically listed the mini-album as his pick for #5, so that's what I'm reviewing.

If this album sets the tone for Jaylee's Top 5, I'm excited for the next four days. This album is gorgeous. As can be assumed from the title, the songs are fairly soft and sad, but rather than being just-another-R&B album, "Regrets of Love" is truly wonderful music. Each song has lean instrumentation, instead focusing on Miho's voice; most tracks have no more than a drum machine and some synth strings and piano to back her up, letting her voice shine out and carry the song. It's the best choice she could have made - it would be a crime to smother that voice with any music, good or bad. (It even has the power to completely mitigate the annoyingness of Chara's voice! That's practically a superpower!) She's expressive and hits every song exactly on target - every single song will give you goosebumps. I don't think I could pick a favorite if I tried.

Day 15 - Noanowa - Magical Circus

When GK reviewed "Magical Circus", I listened to it, but to be honest I only remembered "lalala-uh-uh-yeah!" because it has such a memorable quality. Because I'd been able to ignore the rest of the album, I assumed that I didn't like it and until now had not listened to it again.

I owe Noanowa an apology for not giving them a second change until now. "Magical Circus" is absolutely delightful, and I understand why both Zer0 and Loki put it on their Top 5 lists for 2010. The album features gorgeous music with a cute twist here and unique flair there. They use several different kinds of instruments, including handbells and cellos, and different backup vocal styles including choir and a capella. The main vocals are sung by Yukko, whose childlike voice imbues each song with a delightful sense of wonder. It's hard to pin Noanowa to a genre, so I won't try; instead, I found the inventiveness of the music similar to that of Shiina Ringo, like Noanowa was going for "Ringo lite" (and fully succeeded).

The opening tracks are cute and upbeat, like the opening songs for shojo anime, combining simple cuteness with musical playfulness in terms of both composition and instrumentation that keeps the tracks fresh. Then atmosphere of the album changes with "Tsunaide," which is considerably quieter and calmer than the tracks before it, and the transformation completes with "Squonk no Namida," which is upbeat but more mature than the tracks before it, as though it was written for "Cowboy Bebop" rather than a shojo. From here the album continues with it's more mature feeling, each song musically intense in a way that will make your heart beat faster.

The album is magical all the way through, and no matter what Jaylee says, is something that I could easily listen to any track from without hesitation. Did I like every little bit of this album? No - there were some parts that hit a bit of a pet-peevy nerve (especially those damn synth strings that tried to ruin "Tsunaide" and "Neverland!"), but no song is worth skipping or removing from a playlist. And although it may not be everyone's cup of tea, no one could claim that it's bad music. This one is worthy of the #1 album status that GK gave it, and well worth your time and money.

Day 10 - Triple Feature Tuesday #2

alan x Fukui Kei - Ai ha Chikara
I was not expecting what I got from this single in the least. First of all, it's a one-song single, which is pretty uncommon in and of itself. Then, the music starts. Uh... What? I strive to listen and write across the genres of Japanese music, but I didn't expect to encounter this grand, operatic style at any point during my activities for this blog. I guess it just goes to show that even when you think nothing about Japan will ever surprise you, they have another surprise. The style is truly operatic and classical, sort of like "Time to Say Goodbye" from Andrea Bocchelli - very strong vocals from both singers, and solid music throughout, apparently played by a full orchestra. In addition to very clearly not synthesized violins, there were also upright basses, brass, and harps parts. Although it wasn't what I was expecting, it the song is still very good; however, you'll have to decide for yourself whether it's worth the buy, because this music is not up everyone's alley. (Then again, what is?)

Goto Maki - Gloria
This is an absolutely great album. I was surprised by it - I had assumed (from her name, what a shock) that she was another pop singer like Nishino Kana. Instead, the album is light on the pop and heavy on the rock, though it's not heavy rock. The only song that I'm not in love with is "Ashiato" (the only true pop song), but that's not to say that it's a bad song. Actually it's a good song, but when compared with everything else on the album, it just doesn't shine quite as bright. It would make a lovely A-side for some single; even as the "worst" song on the album, it's still that good. In terms of what I liked best, though, I think it's a tie between "Koi Ichiya" and "Fake." Or maybe a tie between those two and "Hanataba." Or maybe a tie between those three and "Age Kyoku." Did I mention there are only five tracks? Seriously - this album is solid all the way through, and every song is good enough that it could stand on its own. My only real critique would be that she's a little heavy on the chimes, but they only appear for two songs, so I don't know that the critique would be fair. Worth both a listen and a buy.



Monkey Majik - "Sakura"
Although I don't know a lot about them, I've pretty much decided that Monkey Majik is (for me, at least) the Japanese equivalent of Foo Fighters or System of a Down. No, not musically! I mean, I have never yet heard a song of theirs that I didn't like. "Sakura" is no exception. The title song is a ballad with piano, strings, acoustic and electric guitar... But it isn't whiny, which is my chief problem with the Japanese music industry's obsession with ballads. (Dear Japanese Music Execs: I know X Japan proved that ballads can be awesome. But that doesn't mean everyone's ballads are awesome.) The cherry on top is the PV - a must see. Although it's not my favorite (that would be "Change" feat. the Yoshida Brothers), it continues to prove that Monkey Majik can do no wrong. "With you" is also good - acoustic meets synth in a genre that I am having trouble pinning down. Listen to it. You'll know what I'm aiming at. The only track that I'm less than thrilled with is the acoustic version of "Sakura" on track 3, and that's no fault of Monkey Majik's: the song is still just as good acoustic. I just happen to feel that acoustic versions tend to be CD filler. I'm not sad that I got to hear it acoustic, and I would be quite happy if to hear the acoustic version live. But putting two slightly different versions of the same song on a single is just not cool. Save it for a "rare collections" disc or something. It's better marketing, anyway!

Day 4 - HALCALI - ENDLESS NIGHT

I'm completely in love with this single. It's the best I've heard so far: the music is bassy, synthy, and chill, and all four tracks are good. And when I say "all four," I really am including the instrumental tracks. That's right: the music is good enough to stand up on it's own, even without lyrics. I was shocked by this single from the first note, because the last (and, incidentally, the first) thing I heard from HALCALI was "Rouman Hokou," which is a mess, no matter how you slice it. (I even hate the PV.) I could listen to this entire single on endless loop all day, and I don't think I'd get tired of it. Okay, maybe throw in a single rotation of "LOVE is." and "YEAH YEAH YEAH" from MiChi to break it up. But then back to "ENDLESS NIGHT." Although I haven't heard the other selections for GK's top 5 singles or albums, I'll go out on a limb and say right now that this is my #1. Seriously - if there's a better single or album than this, I'll die of music-gasm before I can write about it. Big kudos to HALCALI: with "ENDLESS NIGHT" you've taken me from wishing you'd disappear off the face of the planet to actually looking forward to your next CD.