After a week from its release, my thoughts about the last Arashi album!
This release had me both scared and excited: excited because I really loved The Digitalian, scared... for the same reason. I feared this one wouldn't have been "good enough".
Kokoro no Sora: this song is rather confusing. It has parts I like and others that I honestly find unsufferable: all the "me wo tojite..." parts are hideous, I don't like them at all, while the instrumental bit, with the shamisens and the guitar, is beautiful (too bad they cut it on Music Station!). The bridge is okay, in some parts it kinda reminds me this Naruto ending. I'm not sure why. I thought the lyrics were lame, just because I heard random "We are samurai" or "Here is El Dorado", but they're okay.
While I don't particularly like the song, it represents well the general theme of the album, the way they wanted to portray Japan and also the way foreigners (maybe) see it? Samurai, Cherry blossoms, polite people etc. So, even if it's not my favourite song of the album, I get why it's the main one.
Oh, the PV is absolutely stunning. And I like the dance too (all those hands movements are *_*)
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Kimi e no Omoi: it's pretty. The melody is sweet with some traditional sounds, the lyrics are nice and I like how they added the rap. I'm not the biggest fan of ballads, they have to give me 'something', and this song doesn't. But it's still quite pretty.
Don't You Love Me? (Jun solo): after last year, Jun is back into his confort zone of songs I don't like. It's such a pity because I like STAY GOLD quite a lot. This one is "typical Jun", with a lot of English too. It reminds me a lot of another one of his solos... maybe the one from LOVE? I don't remember.
miyabi-night: I admit that, reading the title, I linked it with Carnival Night and expected something similar, which this song isn't. It has a very "Japanese" feel the melody is really nice. At first I wasn't impressed, but it's a grower, now I appreciate it a lot more! How many of you have the "ta-li-la-li-la" bit stuck in your heads?
Mikazuki: I'm so mad. The melody is gorgeous, the theme of the song is very nice and, I'll repeat it, the melody is gorgeous. So. WHY. THE. AUTOTUNE. Who thought it was a good idea? Who?? It could have been EVERYTHING, it could have been SO beautiful! I'm so mad.
Bolero!: this! song! It has nothing to do with the album, even the title has nothing to do with the song itself, but I! don't! care! I LOVE IT. It makes me want to shake every inch of my body that can be shaken. I hope they'll dance it at the concerts! I cannot imagine a world where someone doesn't dance along with this song. J'adore.
Mr. FUNK (Aiba solo): there's going to be a movie trilogy about the epic battle between Disco Star sama and Mr. Funk.
The song is nice, so far I like it a bit more than Disco Star (maybe? I'm not that sure actually) BUT the great (best) thing abotu Disco Star was the performance, so WE'LL SE. Anyway, I love Aiba's voice in this.
Lastly, Aiba's rap had me like
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Akatsuki (Ohno solo): *cries* Such a gorgeous song! The poetic lyrics! The stunning melody! Ohno's angelic voice! This song is too beautiful for life, the first listening gave me goosebumps, really. I'm already imagining what the live performance will be like and God, I'm sure it's going to be gorgeous.
I'm particularly happy about this song because the last 3 (or 4) Ohno's solos were really bland songs which I somehow found acceptable only because there was his voice, but nothing more. Now, finally, a song which is gorgeous itself and, thanks to Ohno, becomes perfect.
Rolling Days (Sho solo): I'm in tears. Along with Akatsuki, this is one of my favourite tracks from the album. I LOVE Sho's voice. It isn't clear, perfect, angelic like Ohno's, but it's the one I like the most in Arashi. So I adore this song, it suits his voice so well! It's very intense, I'm so impressed, really. And the rap is magical. I love-love-love-love it.
In the Room: it has some sexy lyrics. Even so, I'm not really impressed, it reminds me of some other songs they've released in these years. The live could be interesting, tho <-- because of the sexy lyrics, of course.
Masquerade: so, the beginning is a Sailor Moon transformation song, this is an enough reason to like this song. Like Bolero!, it has nothing to do with tha album and I love it X'D What is this? A salsa? A tango? All these years of Dancing With the Stars and I still can't recognize this stuff, shame on me. Anyway I like it A LOT.
MUSIC (Nino solo): aka Neen keeps being cute. Not his best song, but quite different from his previous ones, I like how upbeat it is. Still, I'd like somethign more intense, next time.
Tsutaetai Koto: this song has a very 'old-school Arashi' feel, it's a mix between Wish and some Christmas song. I love it! I think it could have been a great last song of the album, when I listen to it, it seems like a song that they play at the end of a movie/drama, when you rethink of all the good moments you spent etc. It makes no sense, but I always have this feeling every time I listen to it!
Japonesque: while I'm writing this post I'm listening to the album once more time, and it's the first time I'm thinking that I actually like Japnesque! The previous times it just did nothing to me, I guess it's a grower. I still think Tsutaetai Koto would have been a better choice to close the album, but it's okay.
Bokura ga Tsunaide Iku: as I said before, when I like a slow song it's because it makes me feel something, and this one does. It's a very subjective thing, of course. It reminds me of other ballads they did, but I still find it really nice.
the Deep End: I like it! It has a strong feel and the "Hey Aoi somare" bit pumps me up so much! I tend to still forget how it sounds, but then every time I listen to it I'm like "Oh yeah I like this one".
Make a Wish: old-school Arashi here too. It reminds me of many things and makes me in a good mood, I like it a lot!
About the 'old' songs (Sakura, AoKimi and Furusato), I like them all. I wonder why they didn't include Ai wo Sakebe, it's a bit weird having an album with only 2 singles (better for us, more new songs) but maybe they counted Furusato too.
In conclusion, I'm happy because this album wasn't a disappointment, I like almost all the songs and some of them are truly beautiful! I don't want to make comparison with The Digitalian, only the time will tell me which one I like more, but so far I'm really satisfied.
This release had me both scared and excited: excited because I really loved The Digitalian, scared... for the same reason. I feared this one wouldn't have been "good enough".
Kokoro no Sora: this song is rather confusing. It has parts I like and others that I honestly find unsufferable: all the "me wo tojite..." parts are hideous, I don't like them at all, while the instrumental bit, with the shamisens and the guitar, is beautiful (too bad they cut it on Music Station!). The bridge is okay, in some parts it kinda reminds me this Naruto ending. I'm not sure why. I thought the lyrics were lame, just because I heard random "We are samurai" or "Here is El Dorado", but they're okay.
While I don't particularly like the song, it represents well the general theme of the album, the way they wanted to portray Japan and also the way foreigners (maybe) see it? Samurai, Cherry blossoms, polite people etc. So, even if it's not my favourite song of the album, I get why it's the main one.
Oh, the PV is absolutely stunning. And I like the dance too (all those hands movements are *_*)
Kimi e no Omoi: it's pretty. The melody is sweet with some traditional sounds, the lyrics are nice and I like how they added the rap. I'm not the biggest fan of ballads, they have to give me 'something', and this song doesn't. But it's still quite pretty.
Don't You Love Me? (Jun solo): after last year, Jun is back into his confort zone of songs I don't like. It's such a pity because I like STAY GOLD quite a lot. This one is "typical Jun", with a lot of English too. It reminds me a lot of another one of his solos... maybe the one from LOVE? I don't remember.
miyabi-night: I admit that, reading the title, I linked it with Carnival Night and expected something similar, which this song isn't. It has a very "Japanese" feel the melody is really nice. At first I wasn't impressed, but it's a grower, now I appreciate it a lot more! How many of you have the "ta-li-la-li-la" bit stuck in your heads?
Mikazuki: I'm so mad. The melody is gorgeous, the theme of the song is very nice and, I'll repeat it, the melody is gorgeous. So. WHY. THE. AUTOTUNE. Who thought it was a good idea? Who?? It could have been EVERYTHING, it could have been SO beautiful! I'm so mad.
Bolero!: this! song! It has nothing to do with the album, even the title has nothing to do with the song itself, but I! don't! care! I LOVE IT. It makes me want to shake every inch of my body that can be shaken. I hope they'll dance it at the concerts! I cannot imagine a world where someone doesn't dance along with this song. J'adore.
Mr. FUNK (Aiba solo): there's going to be a movie trilogy about the epic battle between Disco Star sama and Mr. Funk.
The song is nice, so far I like it a bit more than Disco Star (maybe? I'm not that sure actually) BUT the great (best) thing abotu Disco Star was the performance, so WE'LL SE. Anyway, I love Aiba's voice in this.
Lastly, Aiba's rap had me like
I'm not worthy.
Akatsuki (Ohno solo): *cries* Such a gorgeous song! The poetic lyrics! The stunning melody! Ohno's angelic voice! This song is too beautiful for life, the first listening gave me goosebumps, really. I'm already imagining what the live performance will be like and God, I'm sure it's going to be gorgeous.
I'm particularly happy about this song because the last 3 (or 4) Ohno's solos were really bland songs which I somehow found acceptable only because there was his voice, but nothing more. Now, finally, a song which is gorgeous itself and, thanks to Ohno, becomes perfect.
Rolling Days (Sho solo): I'm in tears. Along with Akatsuki, this is one of my favourite tracks from the album. I LOVE Sho's voice. It isn't clear, perfect, angelic like Ohno's, but it's the one I like the most in Arashi. So I adore this song, it suits his voice so well! It's very intense, I'm so impressed, really. And the rap is magical. I love-love-love-love it.
In the Room: it has some sexy lyrics. Even so, I'm not really impressed, it reminds me of some other songs they've released in these years. The live could be interesting, tho <-- because of the sexy lyrics, of course.
Masquerade: so, the beginning is a Sailor Moon transformation song, this is an enough reason to like this song. Like Bolero!, it has nothing to do with tha album and I love it X'D What is this? A salsa? A tango? All these years of Dancing With the Stars and I still can't recognize this stuff, shame on me. Anyway I like it A LOT.
MUSIC (Nino solo): aka Neen keeps being cute. Not his best song, but quite different from his previous ones, I like how upbeat it is. Still, I'd like somethign more intense, next time.
Tsutaetai Koto: this song has a very 'old-school Arashi' feel, it's a mix between Wish and some Christmas song. I love it! I think it could have been a great last song of the album, when I listen to it, it seems like a song that they play at the end of a movie/drama, when you rethink of all the good moments you spent etc. It makes no sense, but I always have this feeling every time I listen to it!
Japonesque: while I'm writing this post I'm listening to the album once more time, and it's the first time I'm thinking that I actually like Japnesque! The previous times it just did nothing to me, I guess it's a grower. I still think Tsutaetai Koto would have been a better choice to close the album, but it's okay.
Bokura ga Tsunaide Iku: as I said before, when I like a slow song it's because it makes me feel something, and this one does. It's a very subjective thing, of course. It reminds me of other ballads they did, but I still find it really nice.
the Deep End: I like it! It has a strong feel and the "Hey Aoi somare" bit pumps me up so much! I tend to still forget how it sounds, but then every time I listen to it I'm like "Oh yeah I like this one".
Make a Wish: old-school Arashi here too. It reminds me of many things and makes me in a good mood, I like it a lot!
About the 'old' songs (Sakura, AoKimi and Furusato), I like them all. I wonder why they didn't include Ai wo Sakebe, it's a bit weird having an album with only 2 singles (better for us, more new songs) but maybe they counted Furusato too.
In conclusion, I'm happy because this album wasn't a disappointment, I like almost all the songs and some of them are truly beautiful! I don't want to make comparison with The Digitalian, only the time will tell me which one I like more, but so far I'm really satisfied.