SNH48 - Princess's Cloak

And we're finally back with another review post! China48 is so interesting to me. They keep expanding so rapidly to the point where it seems excessive, however with the population in China I don't think they'll reach that saturation point as fast as Japan48 did. It's also interesting how few graduations they seem to be having in the past year or two. When SNH first started, I remember hearing about members leaving all the time but it seems to have stabilized. I wonder if them getting more work/original stuff curbed the graduations or if there were changes in management. I'm really glad that they're getting original music now. I hate cover groups lol. Like, I'd love to know more about JKT48, but all they do is cover Japan48 songs and that's so dull. I don't care about personalities or TV shows or stages or magazines so there's nothing for me to latch onto without original music. I do wish that China48 would slow down on the releases though. Not a big fan on how all three release their EPs at generally the same time...can't afford to pick them all up at once that way.

Princess's Cloak is SNH48's 3rd original EP and their release after their Senbatsu Sousenkyou. It was released in two editions (a Princess's Cloak version and a Romantic Melody version) with different tracks on both versions. When I first saw that there would be separate tracks on the versions I was upset because I really don't like how Japan48 does it because it makes it impossible to get all of the songs for me. Japanese CDs are so ridiculously expensive, even when I get them off of ebay the prices seem to be going up. However, SNH's prices aren't super bad for a full EP. At least, the guy that sells them on ebay doesn't price them crazily. I can't find them elsewhere to buy in US, so I'm glad that it's not very expensive for the EPs. Although if anyone wants to buy from ebay and haven't before, I do have to warn people that all 48G sellers on ebay can sell for so cheap because they remove the photos/event tickets to sell or use themselves. I personally don't care because I can't use event tickets anyway and I already have a bunch of useless photos around my house from CDs I couldn't get on ebay so I don't want them either. I think I'm blathering again lol. On to the review!

Track #1: Princess's Cloak [Both Versions]

SNH's original music had very little appeal for me up until this EP. There was only one song (Hand of Justice off their first original EP) that I really cared about. I feel like their music had a lower quality of production and it was pretty offputting. They seem to have corrected that now because I was really surprised at how good this EP sounded in quality. I also don't really feel like the Chinese language itself fits poppy music like 48G and it really showed on their earlier EPs where on this one it flows much more smoothly. The Chinese language thing might just be me though because I'm not used to it like Japanese or Korean. I probably thought the same thing with both of those languages when I first listened to them, although I can't remember that was almost 7(!) years ago. Anyway, song itself. I do like this song quite a bit. It's catchy and it has a dancey background to it, but it's not EDM. It reminds me a lot of early 2000s teen pop in the States. That's not a bad thing at all though because it works for SNH. Kind of a blend between Japanese idol music and more Westernized Korean music. 4.5/5.

Track #2: Romantic Melody [Both Versions]

Now this song I really love. It hasn't quite surpassed Hand of Justice yet, but it's up there in my top two of China48's music. On the surface, this isn't the type of song I'd generally attach to because it's a rather laid back pop track with guitar pieces, but it is so catchy. It doesn't even really have a noticeable hook (think like the Ra Ra Ra Ma Ma Ma in Gaga's Bad Romance for a super hooky song) like a lot of pop songs do, but the singing style in the song really hooked me into it. 5/5.

Track #3: A Yo Ai Yo [Both Versions]

This is where the EP starts to falter a bit. This song is a really Chinese pop track. That sentence probably sounds super weird, but outside of Jolin Tsai, every Chinese pop girl group/singer I've tried to check out seems to have this weird rock-pop-dance attempt type of song that just sounds dated and odd. It also sounds like something Hilary Duff would have done as an album track in her Disney days. Again, not bad by itself, but it's just so odd for a song on a release in 2016. The production even sounds like it could've been done in 2003. It's ok, but really not my kind of song. 3/5.

Track #4: 48 Secrets [Type A]

I have mixed feelings about this song. It's catchy, but it reminds me of 2008-2009 K-pop music mixed with AKB stage songs. The production doesn't sound as dated, but it doesn't stand out enough because of it and it gets drowned out in the sea of much better songs from both parties. 3.5/5

Track #4: Dreams Flag [Type B]

I really don't like that translation (I prefer to translate for Chinese/Korean songs while I keep Japanese just romanized. Weird preference, I know). Is that really the closest translation? It feels clunky. That's another issue I have with China48 songs. Most of the translations I see online just sound so off. I'm guessing that they're more of a literal translation and that's why. I don't know enough Chinese to even attempt something smoother with Google Translate so I've just dealt with it. This song is pretty average. It's a typical pop song with guitars in it. Actually, I keep thinking of old Hannah Montana songs when I'm listening to it. The sound is very dated, but like most of the EP as a whole, at least the production sounds current unlike their earlier EPs. 3/5

Track #5: Do It [Type A]

I expected this song to be an awesome EDM track based on it's title. Imagine my disappointment when it ended up sounding like a bland idol pop track. I do give it credit for sounding more like a Chinese pop idol track than a Japanese one. Again, not sure if anyone gets what I'm trying to say here. From what I've seen of Chinese girl groups they have a very distinct "idol pop" style that is reminiscent of Japanese idol pop yet has it's own identity in my opinion. I might just be making it more confusing. I don't know. It makes sense in my head but I feel like I'm explaining it very poorly. 3/5

Track #5: It Has To Be You [Type B]

Although I don't care too much for this song, I think the style really fits SNH. SNH to me seems like a girly group (think Nogizaka) that would do well with pop tracks flavored with light dance music. I do like their heavier EDM stuff, but I don't know. The group's image doesn't seem to suit that. In fact, I feel like this would make a good Nogizaka song and I'd love to see them do something like this. They have kind of done it with Inochi wa Utsukushii, but that was darker than this. 3/5.

Track #6: Brand New Love [Type A]

Ah. Here's the AKB style idol pop track. It actually sounds a lot like the old AKB summer singles. It's not my style and I wish they'd stay away from sounding like AKB. 3/5.

Track #6: BEJ48 - Love Of The Spacious Items [Type B]

They certainly went AKB single with this one by including the sister groups. I don't mind too much, but I'd hate to see SNH start releasing as many types as AKB does. This title translation I truly hate. It has to be a direct translation because that sounds bad in English. Actually, by putting it in Google Translate, it says the same thing. Not sure if that means that Google has it right or if someone literally just copy/pasted from Google Translate and used it as the translation. Tried Googling it, can't find anything else about it. I don't even know what it's trying to say. Is it a pun/saying in Chinese that doesn't translate properly? Is it trying to describe something metaphorically? It's driving me crazy because what even are 'spacious items'? Wait....this is about the song. Ignore rambling. The song is good, but forgettable. It's really girly K-pop sounding. Imagine A-Pink for early SNSD. Not really my thing, but A for effort I guess. 3/5.

Track #7: GNZ48 - Flashing Dream [Type B]

Now this song I really like. The dance line in a midtempo track just catches the ear immediately. This style would be amazing for GNZ to stick with. I think the China48 groups don't have an "identity" at this point. I think that it's good that they have musical diversity, however, to be noticed in the general public, they should have one particular style where people are like "Yeah! That's SNH!". Like how AKB is known for easy dance/catchy KFC type tracks or SKE is the dance heavy group or HKT is the cuter younger sister group. All the groups do plently of different song styles, but they have that niche that they explore. 4.5/5.

On YouTube:

Type A is also on Spotify so I'll also link that (their newest EP is on Spotify as well!):

Overall, I think this is the strongest EP SNH has put out so far. Their new EP sounds like it is really meh and their EPs before this are also mainly meh. SNH needs to take whoever produced this, came up with concepts, made the music, etc. and run with it. This EP is SNH. It's the most clearly SNH release they've ever had and shows that they are capable of being their own thing outside of the constraints of the 48G label. 4/5.