REVIEWS: This week I'm reviewing 3 pretty good singles: GIRL NEXT DOOR's Drive Away / Shiawase no Jouken; Porno Graffitti's Love,too Death,too; and Koda Kumi's Taboo.
Drive Away / Shiawase no Jouken GIRL NEXT DOOR
GIRL NEXT DOOR's second single is a double A-side, both songs being upbeat, pop numbers.
Drive Away is the standout track on this single for me, pretty much because both songs sound very similar and Drive Away is just a lot more catchier. The chorus really makes Drive Away stand out from Shiawase no Jouken. It is very catchy, especially the "drive away" bit and the song in general just has a really uplifting feeling. I had a problem with their debut single not quite being able to distinguish itself between rock and pop/dance. This single clears that all up, both songs are very up tempo, dancey ... very pop.
My issue with this single is that the second A-side, Shiawase no Jouken, is very similar to the first track. It's almost an extension of Drive Away - If you did a nice transitioning, they could be the same song. The problem with this is that neither track really distinguishes itself enough. I personally had trouble remembering what each song specifically sounded like shortly after listening, despite being able to recall the general sound of the single. It's all one big mush of dance/pop.
I do like this pop style GIRL NEXT DOOR is going with but some variation between the two songs would have been nice. Perhaps a rockier tune for the second to compliment Drive Away's pop style? Why have a double a-side if both songs offer you exactly the same thing? Still both songs are fun and reasonably decent tracks.
Rating: Drive Away 7.5/10 - Shiwase no Jouken 6.5/10
Drive Away is the standout track on this single for me, pretty much because both songs sound very similar and Drive Away is just a lot more catchier. The chorus really makes Drive Away stand out from Shiawase no Jouken. It is very catchy, especially the "drive away" bit and the song in general just has a really uplifting feeling. I had a problem with their debut single not quite being able to distinguish itself between rock and pop/dance. This single clears that all up, both songs are very up tempo, dancey ... very pop.
My issue with this single is that the second A-side, Shiawase no Jouken, is very similar to the first track. It's almost an extension of Drive Away - If you did a nice transitioning, they could be the same song. The problem with this is that neither track really distinguishes itself enough. I personally had trouble remembering what each song specifically sounded like shortly after listening, despite being able to recall the general sound of the single. It's all one big mush of dance/pop.
I do like this pop style GIRL NEXT DOOR is going with but some variation between the two songs would have been nice. Perhaps a rockier tune for the second to compliment Drive Away's pop style? Why have a double a-side if both songs offer you exactly the same thing? Still both songs are fun and reasonably decent tracks.
Rating: Drive Away 7.5/10 - Shiwase no Jouken 6.5/10
Love,too Death,too Porno Graffitti
Porno Graffitti's 26th single adopts a jazz/rock kind of style ... whatever it is, I really enjoy it!
Love, too Death too is just an undeniably catchy, fun tune. It has a really interesting arrangement with inspirations from jazz styles plus their typical rock sounds and even some orchestral strings. I'm not really a regular listener of Porno Graffitti's stuff so at first I found Okano's vocals slightly off putting (he has a unique voice) but I got over that pretty quickly and actually really enjoy them now (the same thing happened when I reviewed Gift lol). The chorus is obviously the highlight in this song, the "Love, too Death too" line is the song's hook and it's repeated a lot but never gets tiring. The verses have a great style to them and the instrumental sections are a joy to listen to. The bridge towards the end of the song is also another highlight for me, it has a great melody and sets up for a cool guitar instrumental.
All in all, just a really refreshingly unique track from Porno Graffitti. The boys have 2 BEST albums released in a couple of weeks BEST ACE and BEST JOKER ... I'll have to check them out.
Rating: 8.5/10
Love, too Death too is just an undeniably catchy, fun tune. It has a really interesting arrangement with inspirations from jazz styles plus their typical rock sounds and even some orchestral strings. I'm not really a regular listener of Porno Graffitti's stuff so at first I found Okano's vocals slightly off putting (he has a unique voice) but I got over that pretty quickly and actually really enjoy them now (the same thing happened when I reviewed Gift lol). The chorus is obviously the highlight in this song, the "Love, too Death too" line is the song's hook and it's repeated a lot but never gets tiring. The verses have a great style to them and the instrumental sections are a joy to listen to. The bridge towards the end of the song is also another highlight for me, it has a great melody and sets up for a cool guitar instrumental.
All in all, just a really refreshingly unique track from Porno Graffitti. The boys have 2 BEST albums released in a couple of weeks BEST ACE and BEST JOKER ... I'll have to check them out.
Rating: 8.5/10
Taboo Koda Kumi
This single has been a LONG time coming but it was definitely worth the wait. Koda's Taboo sees her return to the funky, dance tracks that she has been so popular with in the past.
I've loved this song ever since the previews and I'm a fan of Kuu-chan's stuff in general, especially her past two albums. Despite hearing this song, probably a month or so ago and listening to it over and over (and over) again, I still haven't got sick of it. It's such a great song; The chorus is catchy, the verses are catchy, the beat is infectious... What more can I say? I definitely prefer this style for Koda, her voice suits and excells in this genre. The random English throughout is a nice touch, even though a lot of it is hard to decipher without lyrics (ahh Engrish^_^ ~!)
Taboo is everything that a Koda song should be (more of this, please!) and it's already in the mail, heading to me right this moment.
Rating: 9.5/10
I've loved this song ever since the previews and I'm a fan of Kuu-chan's stuff in general, especially her past two albums. Despite hearing this song, probably a month or so ago and listening to it over and over (and over) again, I still haven't got sick of it. It's such a great song; The chorus is catchy, the verses are catchy, the beat is infectious... What more can I say? I definitely prefer this style for Koda, her voice suits and excells in this genre. The random English throughout is a nice touch, even though a lot of it is hard to decipher without lyrics (ahh Engrish^_^ ~!)
Taboo is everything that a Koda song should be (more of this, please!) and it's already in the mail, heading to me right this moment.
Rating: 9.5/10
Posts
2 comments - Join the discussion!:
D:
I've not bought my Kuu single yet (because the first press was some lottery thing which I didn't need) so I'm pretty darn jealous!
GND's second single was... a step down to say the least. It sounded like a vague shadow of the first single. Not a good sign.
Porno's Love too Death too is interesting but I cannot tolerate that lead's voice! He is so... old sounding. I'm just picky I guess.
lol don't be too jealous. It prob won't arrive until late next week (takes so long!! ARGH!)
Regarding GND, I wasn't really thrilled with their first single so this one is pretty much on par for me. All in all it's ok but not great. They need to step up. PG's Okana does have a very unique voice, true :p It is kinda old sounding now that you mention it. I can still tolerate it, but.
Post a Comment