Monday, November 19, 2012

[Singles Review] Go to the top, Force, DEEPNESS


I feel like doing an individual post for one single review would be too short so why not combine them so that it would look like it's very long and make it seem like I did actual hard work?

Today we will be reviewing three singles that are very distinct from one another -- a mother's comeback single, a redundant recut single, and a single that could have revived someone's career but didn't.

Don't worry, this is not a comparison post so keep your pants on.




Koda Kumi makes a banging comeback which indeed went to the top to become her first #1 single in 3 years. However, over the years her track record has shown that the singles that do NOT get #1 are usually better. May I introduce you to Alive / Physical thing?

So the main track starts off with some electronic sounding shit followed by some rock shit going on. I didn't like it as much at first, but now I only find it average. I find that the arrangement just sounds so basic and you kinda get bored somewhere in the middle. It's a little like ayumi hamasawho?'s You & Me where the second verse starts and you're like "It's not ended YET?".

I do dig that little dubstep break down in the bridge though. Just listen to it and close your eyes and you can see Kuu herself shutting shit everywhere down with those dance moves.

Then again, like I said, the song never really goes anywhere and I feel like the beats could be more hard-hitting than it is. Like to the point where it slaps you in the face so hard that it causes your wig to fall off at the same time like BOOM

darling, on the other hand, I love it! Maybe because before listening to it I read that this song was inspired by how much loOooOooOve she's felt from her new family ever since giving birth that you can hear the warmness even from her vocals itself and it makes you so warm and fuzzy inside knowing how happy she is :D

Ok that was cheesy as fuck, but I tell it like it is bitches. The song sounds soothing to the ears especially in the beginning where it was only her voice and the acoustic guitar. Of course many people find this a really meh song still (you people are EMOTIONLESS loljk), but I would say it's like a b-side sounding version of You're So Beautiful, which I also love. So overall I think it makes a great b-side and should never end up anywhere near her albums (unless it's a b-side compilation which I am STILL waiting for).

Since this is the first remix I'll be reviewing, I generally hate these club-sounding remixes so if I actually like one it means that it's VERY good according to my tastes so don't mind me. Different strokes for different folks, y'all! So I heard the DJ AKi ASY remix of Go to the top and it's only average. That's my review of the remix which is shorter than the disclaimer. Tbh I stopped paying attention to the song halfway through so that pretty much sums up what I think about it.

Overall as a comeback single from Koda Kumi I don't think it's a strong single at all, and it's amusing how some fans really don't like the single so they're instead gonna regard the winter ballad single as her actual comeback single instead. I don't think so, buddy. Either way, I'm still glad that she's releasing new material because with her BFF ayumi hamasaki dropping a bomb every month on the charts she best step up her game to maintain her title of being a release whore.

5/10





Desperate much? Within just 2 months since the release of her album Force, Shiho decided to release a recut single which is also titled Force! I know. But obviously when you see her releasing something like that I'm sure she's absolutely stoked about letting us hear all the song rejects that she probably worked so hard on that she doesn't want them to go to waste. And I was right.

I've already mentioned it in my review of the album that the title track is amazeballs, so if anything, this song alone would've made this a pretty kickass recut single already.

The second track which is an unreleased song, Owari Naki Game, is more or less the love child of 919 and Force. Similar arrangement and the melody actually reminds me a little bit of Nitty Gritty too, so I can see why this didn't make it into the main album tracklist. But call it rehashed, recycled, retarded, or whatever. I like it, but I don't love it. The song doesn't really have a climax which automatically makes it really weak and just falls flat as a whole, but I guess at the very least it makes good background music.

The third and last track, Toumei Ningen is another unreleased song featuring more laidback, smooth vocals which can soothe the savage breast. It sure soothed MY savage breasts. I do not know why I had to say that; just thought it was funny. But I would replace Shuuen with this in the main album tracklist anytime of the day to be honest.

I've already made it known to the world that I absolutely loved Force as an album, and I am so glad that Shiho didn't decide to dump all these songs just to make the album longer because it being an 11-track album was perfect. Are the songs good? Yes. But it's nothing worth writing home about, so I still don't think it's a single worth getting. I'm quite sure the selling point of this release is the DVD more than the actual CD actually.


6/10




I've said it once and I'll say it again - MISIA is starting to bore the crap out of me, because all she's offered for the past few single releases is ballad after ballad after a god damn ballad. But for once in a freakin' long time, I'm starting to see some hope in her.

I fell in love with DEEPNESS since the very first day I heard it, and I still do. MISIA has managed to combine strings, piano, and 'em R&B elements into a whole new level of epic. The melody compliments the arrangement, but I have to say that we all get it, MISIA - you can sing. So please stop singing songs where all you're doing is wailing and dragging notes till they're really LOOOOOOONG because it sounds whiny after a while. But other than that, I have no other complaints about DEEPNESS.

But then I heard the b-side, Koi Gram and I was like NOT AGAIN. I'm not even going to comment further about this song and it should just crash and burn. Okay, but I'm not gonna lie and say that it's better than some other bullshit songs she's made in the past.

I do dig DEEPNESS (GOMI'S LAIR CLUB MIX) though, but of course MISIA doesn't disappoint with a lot of her remixes. The other remix and the last track on the single is HEAL THE WORLD (GOMI'S UNITY OF LOVE REMIX) and meh, that on the other hand is pretty bullshit just like the name of the remix itself.

DEEPNESS as a whole is a good song, but the single is filled with quite a lot of crap, so I'm not that sad that it flopped. The only good songs are DEEPNESS itself and the remix, and that's about it. She has another single coming up in December, but I have a reaaally bad sense that it's going to disappoint me again, so I might not even be reviewing that at all.


5/10

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