Sometimes Jrock can be a little too much for me, but try listening to a few artists:
Gackt (Mirror, 12gatsu no Love Song, Mind Forest, Mizerable, album Diabolos)
HYDE (Does some great songs in English like CAPE OF STORMS and SECRET LETTERS)
Malice Mizer (Band that Gackt used to sing in, some of their songs like Illuminati are interesting)
MUCC (My favorite Jrock band that has improved a LOT over the years especially vocally.. check out their album Hoyoku)
+D’espairs Ray+ (Another Jrock band I find interesting, a little more intense though)
Miyavi (Very improved over the years, check out Kimi ni Negai Wo and Senor Senora Senorita)

I know even less about regular male Jpop. Their high pitched voices usually turn me off. Here are some songs I enjoy though:
SMAP – Sekai ni hitotsu dake no hana
NEWS – Hadashi no Cinderella Boy
Tohoshinki (Known as TVXQ/DBSK in Korea)
Kinki Kids – Ai no Katamari

Also check out m-flo and their collaborations with other artists.

I prefer male vocalists in other countries. There are a few Korean singers I like:
DBSK/TVXQ (Free Your Mind, Rising Sun, TRI-Angle, Mirotic)
Shinhwa (Brand New)
Need to listen to some more

If anyone has any recommendations for me (I could use some), please leave a comment =)

Flower – 10/10

Flower is how a Jpop singer wants to handle rock. It’s fun, upbeat, inspirational, and has its own unique style to it. I love how the synth sounds are used, and their particular tone. The song also relies a lot on sound effects during the verses along with acoustic guitar. The electric guitar picks up towards the chorus. Then a fun guitar solo is added in the bridge and more climax is added by stopping the main instrumentals for a few lines. I don’t personally love the song but I’m having a hard time finding any major flaws! Tomiko’s voice sounds great.

Utopia – 9/10
Utopia is the most B-side sounding song on the album in my opinion. It reminds me of Kou Shibasaki’s songs, with this particular singing style, sound effects, and percussion/movement. Tomiko’s voice doesn’t sound as great here and she doesn’t get to show off much strength. I don’t like the chorus, which takes a very “cute” turn with the sparkly sounds. Fortunately, it’s able to hold my attention for quite a while (It has a fun bridge) and is probably better than most B-sides out there.

manacles – 10/10
I love the tone to which this song starts out. It sounds sort of like a secret agent song with the bass guitar. The verses continue with a similar melody, adding in a piano and synths. The song is able to build a lot of momentum, and the chorus is very well harmonized with all the instruments and sounds. Everything sounds great mixed togther, which is how a good song should sound. Tomiko’s voice sounds much stronger here than in Utopia. This song is very addicting and fun, and I really enjoy the whole instrumental.

Brave – 10/10
Brave is as epic inspirational as you can get. It begins with a flute, guitar, and piano playing in the background as Tomiko sings. The chorus gets much louder and electric guitars are added. I love the melody that she sings to and her vocals sound great especially when hitting some hard notes. Like manacles, the instruments and sounds blend together so well. After the first chorus, a drumbeat is added. I would call the bridge an interlude instead, because it is quite long and without any singing. Although the transitions aren’t as smooth as they could have been, Brave is still an amazing song and very unique.

Yumeji – 9.5/10
Yumeji is the only real ballad on the album. It begins slow, holding an electric guitar note vibrating in the background as piano enters. I think the mix of instrumentals are very interesting. There are synths with guitars with piano/violin. My first impression of the chorus is that I don’t love how Tomiko sings it, and I don’t love the melody either. She sounds very nasaly on the high notes. The second verse sounds much more unified instrumentally than the first. Yumeji for me is one of those rare songs where I enjoy the verses more than the chorus. For me, her voice sort of ruins it which is a shame because the instrumentals are gorgeous as the song goes on. I also see somewhat of an organization problem like I said before — I can’t really tell what sort of genre the song is supposed to be or what sort of ’sound’ she’s trying to get at here.

carry out – 9/10
Carry out opens with some really awesome Indian instruments which unfortunately don’t appear much in the song afterwards, and when they do, it sounds a little awkward. After this opening, a whole bunch of loud synths are added going back and forth over and over from a low to high note. The verse begins and Tomiko’s voice is very digitalized. The chorus doesn’t really fit the original tone of the song — starting sort of dark and exotic and becoming very upbeat and cute like a normal rock song. It switches back and forth between personas. Because of confusion problems like this, the song is down by .5, but it is still a good song.

Senkou – 10/10
Senkou is a very dark rock song starting out loud with electric guitars and adding in a piano melody that reminds me of “farewell” from her first album. The verse is relatively short, and opens up into the chorus which sounds very much like the opening. This is a well done rock song like Flower, though sad instead of happy. It gets a lot more serious in the second verse with some loud drums beating. The bridge adds a lot of synths and violins in the background which sound great. The ending of the song is very dramatic with a lot of noise from the electric guitar. I don’t love this but it’s just a part of many rock songs.

message. – 8.5/10
“This song was written by Tomiko herself but it’s similar to Tokyo Biyori and not very interesting. Just another typical pop rock song. I really liked the beginning with the acoustic guitars, but unfortunately the chorus wasn’t very exciting.”

Tokyo Biyori. – 9.5/10
“Tokyo Biyori is a mid-tempo and upbeat pop-rock song. The chorus is probably the only exciting part of the song. The verses are a little bland. The song to me really isn’t too interesting, but it’s not a bad song and it’s actually well done. The guitar solo is great and makes the song seem a lot more summery. I like the ending too.”

Refrain – 9.5/10
Refrain is an inspirational rock song much like Brave. I love the opening and use of the cello. The melody makes me want to rock back and forth in my seat and hold someone’s hand =P The chorus adds in the full instrumental and Tomiko’s vocals sound very nice, especially on the longer notes. However, like always I have to point out when someone can’t speak English well. For me, I can’t stand the opening “are you ready to fly” where she can’t say two of the words (guess which?). This isn’t the only reason why the song’s not a 10. It just feels like something’s missing.. some excitement or climax. But anyways it’s pretty amazing for a B-side!

Van is a purely instrumental track and a nice way to end the album. It sounds very in tune with nature and contains instrumentals similar to Brave and Refrain.

Quality of A-sides: A

Quality of B-sides: A

Album Flow: A

Singing: A

Final Score – 95% A
Van. is an extremely strong release by Tomiko Van, especially after her debut album which was a lot of slow songs and pretty boring. Van is very upbeat and has a very interesting blend of rock and pop. All of the songs are great by themselves, though there are a few that could have been improved as always. What I’m worried about is why she chose to put a period on the album’s title… does that mean she’s not going to release anything else in the future? I think DAI is getting back together

Together Again – 10/10
Together Again opens with a very touching piano melody followed by full orchestra. mink’s voice as usual is beautiful and angelic. The electric guitars used lightly in the verse are very nice. It sounds very emotional. The song really picks up speed as it reaches the chorus, adding in drumbeats and the full instrumentals. I love the English lyrics and the melody which are very touching. The second chorus adds more violins, vocals, and guitars to the background which are just gorgeous. She really lets loose in the bridge with strong vocals and a beautiful orchestra. I love the quick key change at the end. Like many of mink’s ballads, this is just amazing and very memorable.

Why Don’t You – 10/10
This is one of my favorite mink songs. It opens with the sounds of the sea, and then a relaxing guitar melody. mink begins singing with a guitar and beachy drums. The chorus melody is fun, addicting, and very memorable. Violins are added in more throughout the song. I love the bridge as well which builds a lot of climax for the song, and the instrumental ending. I wish mink would sing more songs like this. The song has a great summer tone and is somewhat fast-paced. As always, mink’s voice is gorgeous.

I’d Forget to Breathe – 9.5/10
I’d forget to breathe opens with a guitar melody and English lyrics. It has a similar relaxing tone to Why Don’t You, and is almost kind of jazzy. The chorus adds some lovely background vocals, but the instrumentals are basically the same and very simple throughout. I really like the lyrics (now that I can understand them!) and the melody is enjoyable. As usual, mink’s voice brings up the songs grade for what might have been a boring song had anyone else sung it.

Blessing You – 9.5/10
Blessing You is more upbeat and almost poppy, with a lot of synths. It reminds me of an upbeat jazzy old school Jpop number. The background vocals are really involved in the chorus and other parts of the song. I don’t love them much, it sounds like guys are singing too and they can’t say “with” right. I think they kind of subtract away from mink’s voice and after a while I can’t stand the chorus. I think it would have been a better song if mink sang it alone. The synths are also kind of corny. Ok, but you know what, I’m not going to let my personal opinion get too much in the way…

Final Score – 98% A+

Daikirai Demo Arigatou – 10/10
Daikirai Demo Arigatou opens with a very memorable melody that really draws me in the song. Thelma’s voice sounds very nice in the first verse, and the song has a very nice tone. The instrumentals are very nice – guitar, R&B beat, soft violins and the melody is very sweet and somewhat sad. The verse then adds more “cute” sound effects and a piano. This two part verse (or two part chorus?) is kind of long, and I almost thought for a while that I was at the chorus. But the real chorus is very powerful and more dramatic than her last 2 singles. The background vocals and instrumentals are stellar. The song’s organization is very interesting, and sort of weird… as it is a 3 part song instead of 2 parts. They turned the momentum-generating part of the verse that’s usually right before the chorus into it’s own section. The song wraps up very beautiful and it’s overall very well done in almost every aspect.

You’re My Only Shinin’ Star – 9.5/10
This is another R&B ballad with very nice instrumentals and it has a lot of energy. The chorus melody is actually very beautiful and the song is much higher quality than most B-sides. The chorus uses a very cool synthy sound that makes the song sound very unique. I think I enjoy it just as much as Daikirai Demo Arigatou.

Walk – 9/10
My first impression is that I think Walk overdoes the sound effects, which consist of the majority of the instrumentals. The verses are very interesting, but the chorus is very memorable. Thelma sings with a very 70′s flare. Too bad that the instrumentals are low quality or I would have thought this would make a much stronger song.

Final Score – 95% A

Mamoritai Mono – 9/10
Mamoritai Mono begins with Thelma singing very sweetly, then opens with an R&B beat and violins. Thelma sounds nice singing to the beat and its very relaxing. The instrumentals don’t change much throughout the song and I can barely hear the violins in the background — they’re sort of boring and make the song sound lazy especially as the chorus ends. In my opinion this isn’t a good use of an orchestra (it might even be fake). The chorus is a repeat of the beginning melody and it’s not very climactic or interesting. The violins continue on for the bridge, which is entirely boring and not special. Though when Thelma starts singing in the bridge, she sounds very nice. But overall, the song sounds very similar throughout and it’s not very memorable. Thelma doesn’t get to show much range of her voice, the instrumentals are horrible and at times Thelma’s voice blends into them too much. The song is very similar to her previous single, Nando Mo, but I like this one less.

MADONNA – 9.5/10
MADONNA is so much more interesting! It begins with a cool beat and exotic instruments. As Thelma starts singing, synths are added now and then in the background which I think help the song move on easier. The exotic sounds continue on throughout the song. The chorus is beautiful with the synths and much better for Thelma’s voice than Mamoritai Mono. Everything harmonizes very well. I don’t like the bridge much with Thelma saying “All my females gotta get down”, it didn’t do much for the song. Overall I like it better than the A-side.

Final Score – 87% B

Megumi no Ame – 9.5/10
Alan’s water themed song begins with a sweet piano opening with erhu (traditional Chinese instrument). alan begins singing very nicely with the piano, and the song then gains momentum for the chorus. The chorus adds guitars and more sound effects. The song is very emotional and touching, however I do not really enjoy the melody nor is it very memorable. alan explodes with a climatic ending to the so adding more background vocals and singing stronger. The song is pretty much a traditional Jpop ballad with unique instrumentals, but there is nothing else much interesting about it. The only parts of the song that I really like are the instrumental only parts which includes the last minute. I think alan did the best she could with a song that should have had a more memorable melody.

Namida – 9/10
Namida is also a sad and beautiful ballad like Megumi no Ame. The song begins with a lot of sound effects which get on my nerves a bit (triangle, water drop, soft piano, …). Fortunately, the chorus of Namida is much more interesting than Megumi no Ame. If only we could have combined this melody with the instruments from before! This song definitely is lower quality in terms of instrumentals, but is still very touching.

Final Score – 92% A-

Album Review

Best Album of 2008 - Diary (Aoyama Thelma)

Here is my pick for the best album of the year!  There is no doubt that Thelma has an amazing voice and is a very talented singer.  She uses her talents to the best of her ability in this album, and it really shines.  From addicting upbeat R&B like One Way and emotional ballads like Kono Mama De and Diary, Diary is strong in every category of music, and all of the songs are of the highest quality.  This is one of the strongest performances I’ve heard all year, and best debuts ever!

Runner Up - GUILTY (Hamasaki Ayumi)

I’m not an Ayumi fan, but this album truly blew me away.  All of the songs are spectacular in themselves, and together it sounds so strong and emotional.  Ayumi is strong in every category — ballads, rock, experimental, upbeat — and it transitions so nicely.  I never get bored from these songs.  This album really gives me a favorable view of the diva!

Stephanie (Stephanie)

I really enjoyed Stephanie’s debut album, as I loved all of her singles.  Stephanie’s ballads are so beautiful, and her rock songs so fun!  However, I could tell a lot of the new songs were produced with a low budget, and so the entire middle part of the album is a bit of a drag.  Either way, this album is still a must-listen!

Path of Independence (Hirahara Ayaka)

This album just came out, so barely made my list =) Luckily, I’ve been able to listen to the songs a few times.  So far, I adore this album.  Ayaka has a brilliant voice, and the songs are wonderfully orchestrated.  Her ballads are emotional and plain gorgeous.  Her rock songs are just as fun!  The album has a great theme to it, and it sounds so majestic.  

Fairy Dance (KOKIA)

This album was truly a treat.  I always love KOKIA’s singing, especially when she does it to more folk tunes.  Fairy Dance had songs in both English and Japanese, and though it was short (probably technically a mini-album), it was enjoyable.  The album used a lot of Irish instruments and melodies and it was just so fun.

Color Change! (Crystal Kay)

I wasn’t expecting much from this album, but it really surprised me.  The singles were OK but not GREAT.  So many of the new songs on this album blew away the A-sides.  Crystal Kay expanded her range of songs from R&B, which is mostly what she’d been doing recently, to include pop rock like some of her older albums.  Overall this album was really fun and every track stood out.

Other Albums:

Every Little Thing – Door

Hoshimura Mai – MY LIFE

Ito Yuna – WISH

Kato Miliyah – TOKYO STAR

Koda Kumi – Kingdom

Nakashima Mika – VOICE

Tomiko Van – Van.

Best Songs of 2008

1. Ayumi Hamasaki – Untitled ~For Her~

This is one of those ballads that you can instantly make an emotional connection with, and is just so classic.  The song really feels like it’s telling a story, even though I cannot understand it, reaches a great climax in the bridge, then ends softly reminiscent of the opening.  It’s brilliantly orchestrated and written.

2. JYONGRI – Kissing Me

Kissing Me and a fun and enjoyable classically influenced song.  Though the beat is a bit loud and thumpy in the beginning, it transitions nicely into JYONGRI singing.  The singing is wonderful, synths are great, and chorus addicting.  My favorite part has to be the ending, which is in English.  Amazing song!

3. alan – Sora Uta

Sora Uta was a great song and alan is an amazing artist.  Her songs always have some exotic or traditional feel to them, and this song is no exception.  Sora Uta has emotional verses, a fast paced addicting chorus, and techno-ish bridge.  It’s such a unique song and wonderfully produced.

4. Kato Miliyah – SAYONARA Baby

I knew I’d love this song when I first listened to it.  It is the perfect pace with great instrumentals that really carry momentum throughout the song.  I love the synths and how much their presence is felt in the song, yet they are never overpowering.  Miliyah’s voice is very strong as usual.

5. alan – Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~

This song took a while to grow on me, but I love it.  It’s so emotional and upbeat and well, I just love traditionally influenced songs.  The song’s ending is spectacular, though it takes a while to get there (I listen to the PV version though, it’s shorter).  This song will make you very happy.

6. Koda Kumi – TABOO

Koda Kumi rocked us with the techno hip hop song, TABOO! Although it is very simple in organization and instrumentation, small additions like a “whoo!” throughout the song really make it in my opinion. This is my favorite Koda Kumi song of the year and one of her best singles in a long time.

7. Crystal Kay – Kaerimichi

I haven’t heard any nice Jpoppy ballads like this in a while, so Kaerimichi really was a treat.  Crystal Kay’s voice has the perfect tone to sing the song, and like Untitled ~for her~, it gains a lot of climax as it goes on and then ends softly (yet so beautifully!).  This is another great traditionally influenced song.

8. Shimatani Hitomi – Nakirai Nara

Usually I think Hitomi’s ballads are boring, but this one definitely was not!  It does start out a bit slow, but adds in some brilliant instrumentals which really kick it off and hold your attention (unlike her older ballads..).  I really felt emotional from listening to this song.

9. JUJU – Sora

Sora is one of the most romantic Jpop ballads I’ve ever listened to.  It sounds very Italian!  It’s so hard not to feel emotional while listening to it.  JUJU has such a beautiful voice.  The song is a bit long and takes a while to gain momentum, but I enjoy every second of it.  

10. alan – Hitotsu

Here’s alan’s first heart-warming ballad.  alan uses the tone of her voice as an advantage for this song, as only her high pitched voice can sing it right!  The erhu sounds beautiful, and overall the song has a wonderful feel to it — so emotional.

Honorable Mentions:

alan – Red Cliff ~Shin Sen~

alan – Kaze no Tegami

Aoyama Thelma – DIARY

Fukui Mai – Lucky

Fukui Mai – Ai no Uta

Hirahara Ayaka – Akane

Koda Kumi – Amai Wana

Takenaka Eri – Kaerinai Natsu to Kienai Ano Melody

Tanimura Nana – SEXY SENIORITA

When I first starting writing reviews, my grading was probably too harsh and polarized, which I went and fixed when the blog was opened.  However, gradually I’ve been giving higher scores to things I probably wouldn’t have given such high scores too.  I frequently go back and change grades, and some albums have really gone back and forth over and over such as Shimatani Hitomi’s crossover.  I originally had it 93%, then changed it to 96%, then went back today and gave it 94%.  While the album was well done, I don’t think it’s quite reached the 95% mark.

Other albums such as JYONGRI’s Love Forever and Kato Miliyah’s TOKYO STAR had to be gone back to and changed a lot.  I believe Love Forever went from 92% to 89% after changing Lullaby For You from a 10/10 to 9.5/10.  I probably gave it that 10/10 feeling like her album needed another high scoring song, even though I personally don’t feel it quite deserved it.

I had REALLY graded Miliyah’s TOKYO STAR too leniently.  Many of the A-sides had some problems like being too long, or being boring, etc. and I still gave them 9.5′s or 9′s.  I went back and fixed this.  The grade went from around a 93% to 88%.

I will try not to become so corrupt in my grading next time =)

Lights (album version) – 10/10
Lights begins with a simple piano melody, and Eri begins singing 30 seconds into the song.  It starts out very slow yet we get to hear Eri’s very emotional and powerful voice.  The chorus opens rather suddenly as more percussion is added and violins pick up.  The chorus adds many synths and the violins take over the melody (instead of piano).  The vocal layering sounds wonderful and sounds great with the synths.  The chorus ends with a return to the piano.  This time the verse is shorter, which is good because I don’t want to sit through a minute of it again.  I love the bridge where the instrumentals really deliver a lot of climax to the song.  I like how the song is classified as maybe experimental or electronic, yet doesn’t give up traditional instrumentals — rather, she really uses them to bring a lot of strength to the song.  Eri’s voice is just beautiful.

Sing a song – 10/10
Sing a song relies a lot more on synths — opening with a synth melody.  It has a very similar organization to Lights.  The opening is also pretty long, but interesting because more and more synths are added.  The synths really pick heavily up into the chorus.  They add so much momentum and the song is sort of addicting.  The lower synths sound a lot weirder on my headphones — maybe it’s just me.  There are quite a few interludes after the choruses within the song that do a lot of interesting things with the synths.  My favorite is the bridge yet again, where the synths fade out and then reappear, and then you hear Eri’s voice in the background.  What I’ve noticed she does a good job at is just stopping all the instrumentals and starting over quietly, sometimes with a new melody.  This happens quite a few times in this song and also in her others.

Sketch for summer (album mix) - 10/10
This is probably my favorite song on the album.  Eri sings to a slow jazzy melody with piano.  Her voice is just amazing — very steady and strong.  I just love the melody to the song, one of the best I’ve ever heard.  After the first chorus, more instrumentals are added besides the piano — a beat and brass.  The brass makes the song even jazzier.  In the next chorus, violins and vocal layering is added.  This song is just plain beautiful.  Everything works so well together.  Amazing organization.  I love it.

kutuwonarasou – 9/10
This song starts with an electric guitar, but not exactly playing chords or anything (I’m not good at this sort of vocab, I admit!!).  It sounds very jazzy.  The melody is a bit similar to Sketch for summer, but it never really picks up or adds new instrumentals.  I think I enjoyed Sketch for summer’s melody more, too.  Eri’s voice is still great and the song is enjoyable to the extent that it allows.

inner glow - 9.5/10
Inner Glow is a song entirely in English.  I can actually understand most of the lyrics.  It opens with the same melody of the introduction to the album.  The song sounds very magical, and really takes to the theme “Forest of Dreams”.  There are many echos in the background, and the synths are a little muted as to not be too overwhelming.  I really give Eri credit for making the song understandable and interesting to an English speaker (the lyrics are pretty good!), but she still has an awkward accent.  I really like the whole theme to the song and it was well produced.  The bridge is really interesting, a piano is added as the synths fade out.  The background vocals here sound a little awkward, but when Eri starts singing it is just beautiful.

I hear the music in my soul (album mix) - 8/10
This song is really fun and interesting, but just too LONG.  It’s kind of awkward here in the middle of the album.  It’s not even much of a real song.  It’s just the same melody with different effects/instrumentals for 6 minutes.  I think it should have been made into an interlude or something — just a few minutes instead of 6.

voice (album mix) – 10/10
Voice is a great example of Eri’s music, and the first song I heard by her.  It’s similar to lights and sing a song.  It starts with an electronic melody and showcases Eri’s vocals in the first verse. Eri’s voice then fades into more effects, and the song totally changes instrumentals at this point.  Now the song is running on synths.  These transitions are the highlights of the song and are very fun.  The first chorus doesn’t even come in until really the halfway point.  It’s very strong and fast-paced and Eri’s voice sounds amazing.  It then fades into the original instrumentals, which build up a climax that throws out Eri’s voice and all of the instrumentals at you for one high note (it’s very loud!!).  And then it just transitions to synths again.  This song never gets boring and plain amazing.  The unique organization isn’t awkward or anything.

kodou – 10/10
kodou reminds me of sketch for summer.  It starts out with Eri and the piano again.  Unlike kutowonarasou, the song really picks up and adds in more instrumentals for the chorus.  The chorus contains a lot of jazzy instruments (trumpet..) but synths as well.  It’s very relaxing and a great melody.  The instrumentals continue on for the rest of the song.  Eri is just so good at making her choruses climatic.  I think it has something to do with the synthetic violins in the background.

yumenokakera – 10/10
This song begins with very Indian-like instrumentals.  I’m not sure what the specific instrument is called.  A beat, piano, and violins are then added and Eri’s vocals hum in the background.  It sounds very magical.  Again I can’t stress how nice Eri’s voice is in the first verse and how the instrumentals really help to highlight it.  The chorus is beautiful and climatic as usual.  She relies a lot on background vocals in this song, and they sound wonderful.  The musical interludes are great too and add to the mood of the song.  The song is very long but never gets boring.  There are lot of different melodies and sounds that Eri plays around with here.

hidamari – 9/10
This is probably one of my least favorite songs on the album, but I’m not so big on the lone guitar melody.  Eri sings in a higher key throughout most of the song, and there is vocal layering with a lower vocal too.  A cello is added halfway into the song.  The song is good for what it is but isn’t my type really.  I don’t really like how she sings it, and background vocals are a bit annoying.

Quality of A-sides: A+
Quality of B-sides: A
Album Flow: A+
Singing: A+

Final Score – 97% A