Punk+LoliGoth = hANGRY & ANGRY

REVIEW: When the hANGRY&ANGRY news dropped a little over a month ago, so did all our mouths - what in God's name was going on?! We didn't really know but we knew we frekin loved it! (well most of us). Over the past month we've been enticed and teased with small clips and PV shots but now finally we have the album in its full glory. So does it live up to everyone's almost unrealistic expectations?

Kill Me Kiss Me, the title track of hANGRY&ANGRY's first album, is a song we all heard when the group was first announced and one we have likely replayed over and over again this past month (I know I have). Personally I think it's the perfect song to start the album out with. It's different and unique from anything H!P has done but it isn't as far off the mainstream path as some of the other tracks.
The song has a great rock vibe to it; The instrumental is really wonderful with an awesome beat. One of the best points of this song is how it builds towards the chorus, it really begins to pump you up and the chorus rocks! The girl's vocals are also pretty good - I really like how Yossie and Rika's voices are so different that they compliment each other well. There are a number of vocalization effects in this song which are done very well and add to the atmosphere.

Angelia opens with a haunting synth instrumental and the whole track is like some scorned lolita love song - it's creepily awesome. This track has a LOT of vocalization in it, especially in the chorus, but it works surprisingly well and the 'angelia' sections are very catchy. The track is produced impeccably, it sounds very cool and the mood is great. Rika's voice suits the song nicely, it would have been great as a solo - but I adore Yossie so Angelia rocks, regardless. The instrumental section with the ringing bells just adds to that spooky feeling the song gives and that whole section of the song is awesome.

GIZA GIZA is a synth-rock track and opens with an awesome little intro leading into a cool instrumental. The vocals on this track are very crisp and perhaps the best on the album, with both girls sounding terrific. The emotion in their voices is very apparent, especially in the verses and they shine in this song. The chorus is a total winner for me; It's just really catchy and great to listen to to. I love the antithesis of the fast paced chorus and the song's slightly slower verses - it allows for lift and growth in the song. GIZA GIZA also has a vocal bridge, which further shows off the girl's vocal abilitiest, followed by a cool instrumental. A great track and one of my favourites on the album.

Romantic ni Violence is as ballad as this album gets and the chorus still rocks out heaps, but the first verse is very sweet and pure. This song, like Kill Me Kiss Me has an awesome build up leading into the chorus with the instrumental ever so gradually picking its pace. The pre-chorus bridge has some cool vocal effects and it makes for one of the highlights of the track for me. The chorus as I said earlier is very rocky and the "Romantic ni Violence" line is repeated throughout making it easy to catch onto. The track is one of the more upbeat, fun numbers on the album.

The album closes with the mid-tempo WALLFLOWER, opening with one of the more creepier intros the album offers. The opening is decieving though, as the song eventually ends up being a very happy-go-lucky affair with some fun synth effects and a general joyous feeling. The choruses have some horrid Engrish in them lol, I'm not even sure what they're saying... (I'm a bright flower, yeah! ... ?) It's not my favourite track on the album, infact it's probably my least favourite and the song isn't that bad, which just goes to show how awesome this album is.

Kill Me Kiss Me is a totally different affair for a H!P act and something I generally feel H!P has needed for a while. I wish H!P would be more willing to branch out into this more mainstream, appealing sound even if it is not rock, but something that would appeal to a more general audience. It just feels like a much higher quality, professional album compared to recent H!P stuff. Unfortunately it took some crazy fashion label tie-in to create something like this, when really H!P should and could have had a group like hANGRY&ANGRY as a stand alone unit.
My only gripe with this album is that, being a mini album, it is over in 20minutes. FAR TOO SHORT!!! This group NEEDS to continue!

Rating: 9.5/10