I’ve been a really free man for the past week, leading a rather hikkikomori-like lifestyle for the past few days. The only time I went out was on Wednesday for a barbecue. The rest of the time was spent in front of my 2 screens.
To kill some boredom, I decided to explore some artistes which I had never tuned in to before. And so, I chanced upon Nakanomori Band’s newest album, Electric Girl.
I’ve tried writing music album reviews in the past, and I suck at it. I am unable to fully express my feelings and thoughts for each song into words. It gets more difficult when the whole album’s awesome and I end up praising all the songs with the same words. That’s pretty pointless, in my opinion. Hence, this time, I have decided to just focus on a few songs which I really like.
Before I begin, please note that I have never listened to any of Nakanomori Band’s songs before this album, and I am totally basing my opinions from a new listener’s point of view. Also, this is my first time listening to a female Japanese band.
My favourite song in Electric Girl would have to be 雪 (Yuki).
The tune is really smooth, the lyrics are simple yet poetic, and out of the 14 songs in the album, I feel that Yuki brought out the most of the vocal’s potential. The vocalist, Ayako’s voice wasn’t smooth, and felt a little like those rock singers with slightly coarse voices. However, I felt that brought out the sexiness in her voice. And, erm…. I have not idea what else to say. Just listen to it. I got hooked after a few listens, and before I knew it, I was looping this song even through my sleep.
Another song that caught my interest 99ラブバルーン (99 Luft Balloons(?)).
99ラブバルーン
The tune was taken from the original song with the same name, 99 Luft Balloons. When I first listened to this song, I was reminded of my history lessons about the Cold War. Read up more about it in the link above.
星になった君へ (Hoshi ni natta Kimi he) was one of the better ballads on the album, in my opinion.
星になった君へ
Similarly to Yuki, I felt that the Ayako’s voice gave a tinging sensation which felt really comfortable. The tune was decent. As for the lyrics, I have not gotten the chance to look through it yet.
Surprisingly, I liked more of the slower songs on their album, rather than their fast songs. The only fast-paced tune that I loved was 恋の花火師 (Koi no Hanabishi) .
恋の花火師
The song had a energetic festive feel, like those Japanese matsuris with all the food and game stores. When the song was playing for the first time, my mind actually envisioned a scene where a young couple at a matsuri were standing beside each other gazing at the fireworks in the matsuri, holding hands. Maybe I was thinking too much. Haha.
Besides these few songs, the rest of the songs are actually rather good, except for some songs which sounded trashy. Trashy songs normally don’t make it past the first minute of play. Overall, this album is a worthy listen, but it’s release date made it rather difficult to fully bloom it’s potential. With other great albums such as Asian Kungfu Generation’s World World World, and Tsubaki’s 覚醒ワールド, it falls a little behind. Still, if you’re looking for something that has been recently released and has a nice mix of Jpop and Jrock, this would suit the criteria.
After this album, I will probably be looking out for future Nakanomori Band releases.
Oh and before I forget. Ayako’s pretty hawt =)
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