INSOMNIAC SONG
MUSIC REVIEWS
10.07.2013
Namie Amuro - Feel
I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of Ms Amuro. I’m not a stranger to her music though. While it’s not something that I’d seek out myself, I have heard varying degrees of her music from friends over the years. When I was asked to review this album, I was a little surprised to see that it was her second bilingual album. Alive begins the album in English. It’s a catchy song that straddles the line between generic pop and dance music. Her pronunciation is fairly decent on this song, but there’s just something that feels a bit forced about it. Rainbow is a bit muddled for me. The instrumental track makes it hard to understand her at the beginning. I don’t think the rap parts really suit her. It seemed a little out of place for me. Can You Feel This Love feels as if her vocals have been sped up to fit the overall pace of the song. Big Boys Cry was kind of forgettable. It’s another one with a quicker pace for most of it. There was a bit of that cutesy voice that a lot of girls are guilty of. Hands on Me could have been a throwback to songs like Want Me Want Me. It ended up feeling like a bit of a mess for me. I think I just expected more than what I got from it. Heaven returned to more of a catchy sound. Poison falls into nearly everything I don’t like. There’s too much of a computerized feel to her vocals as well as that forced sound to the English lyrics. La La La really hit me as being odd where the lyrics were concerned. It was just a choice in wording. The song is rather forgettable once again. Supernatural Love is probably my least favorite after Poison. Let Me Let You Go is a soft piano ballad. It’s perhaps the most listenable song of the whole album. Most people can relate to a song about letting go of a love that isn’t good for you anymore. She isn’t the strongest vocalist, but it suits her vocals well. Contrail falls in somewhere between Let Me Let You Go and Alive. It’s a catchy song just on the other side of ballad. Stardust in My Eyes is probably my favorite from the album if I were to pick one. It reminds me of something that I’ve heard before, but it’s still memorable enough to listen to again.
Rating: 2/5
Recommended Tracks: Let Me Let You Go; Stardust in My Eyes; Contrail
02.10.2013
E-Girls - Gomennasai no Kissing You
It’s no secret that I have a bit of a guilty pleasure for the cuteness of E-girls. For this review, I’ll be focusing only on the songs done as a complete unit rather than including the song by Flower. The title track, Gomennasai no Kissing You is everything I expect from E-girls. It’s super cute and catchy with their upbeat, bubblegum pop sound. Fancy Baby is meant to be more of a mature sound from the title track. It works well for them despite not being as catchy as the title track. Boogie Woogie Train is the type of song that’s rather typical for girl groups. It’s not as strong as the other two songs, but rounds out the single decently.
Rating: 3/5
Recommended tracks: Gomennasai no Kissing You;
29.01.2014
Namie Amuro - Tsuki
I wasn’t sure what I would think of Namie Amuro’s latest single. After hearing good things from a friend, I decided to give it a chance. It’s certainly better than her last album, Feel. Tsuki, the opening track, works well with her vocals. It’s not overpowering and there doesn’t seem to be any computerized effects masking them. Tsuki is strong enough to draw in the casual listener of jpop as well as her previous fans. Neonlight Lipstick made me laugh. I doubt that was her intention when she recorded the song. It’s a combination of the repetitive, silly lyrics and the dance sound. Ballerina falls into that same dance club sound. The lyrics are rather ridiculous. It’s interesting to note that all three songs are commercial tie-ins. Tsuki is the theme song for the movie Dakishimetai -Shinjitsu no Monogatari-. Neonlight Lipstick was used for KOSE ESPRIQUE while Ballerina was used both as a as a Recochoku CM song and for GUCCI×Vogue Japan.
Rating: 2/5
Recommended tracks: Tsuki
