W - Robo Kiss

After Morning Musume, I'm almost positive that W is my next all time favorite H!P group. There was something really special about the music of this group and I wish that UFP would release any unreleased stuff they recorded. I realize that's probably impossible, but it would be so cool.

The title track of the single is Robo Kiss. This was the very first song I ever heard from W. At the time, I was using the H!P wiki to listen my way through the history of H!P by using the list of H!P concerts. I know that doesn't seem right because this wasn't W's first single and they probably had done songs in H!P concerts before this, but I got bored by like 2003 and started only looking up songs that sounded interesting to me. Robo Kiss sounded interesting so I looked it up. I really wasn't expecting what I got. At the time, the video seemed so stereotypical to me because it was so weird and there were girls singing in high pitched voices. Needless to say, I passed on it and didn't really start listening to W until I heard their cover of Samishii Nettaigyo. Today, I really love the song. Sure their vocals can be a little annoying like this, but the song is so catchy. The video is also pretty hilarious. I like this type of random over stuff like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. Also check out mini Berryz lol. They're all so tiny! I've also never understood why they tried to do the twin thing with Nozomi & Ai. When they were younger, yeah I guess they kinda looked alike, but by the type they were W they look so different that it seems like a silly concept. 5/5.

The B-side to the single is Sexy Snow. Not sure what's so sexy about snow, but ok. This song is really a 180 from Robo Kiss. Where Robo Kiss is the upbeat poppy cute track, this is the sexy cool track (well, for W that is). It really reminds me of another H!P song, but I can't put my finger on it right now. 4/5.

This single isn't my personal favorite from W. I'd be more likely to recommend Ai no Imi wo Oshiete over this, but it's a solid single and a great stable of their discography. 4.5/5.

Delight - Mega Yak

What ever happened to this group? From what I know they haven't released anything in like a year. I wasn't a fan of them really, but it's always kind of sad when groups don't come back for a while. This CD is another that I bought just because it was on sale. I had kind of liked the title track, but not enough to actually buy the CD. When I actually got the CD, I was surprised at how much I did like the song.

The first track of the EP is an intro. Nothing to see here.

The second track is Delight Time. Really this track just feels like a second intro. I think it's supposed to be that way too because the song's only 2:56. And it was used in the beginning of their first music video as an opener. I don't like it when groups make intros disguised as real songs. Or on the reverse, real songs shortened into intros. Sistar's intro to Push Push comes to mind. This "song" isn't helped by the fact that it's kind of noisy. As in it sounds like the girls are just yelling into the mics at points. The whole mini album is like that too....not sure if it was intentional or not. 2.5/5.

The third track is Paradise. For all the annoyance that this tracklist is (two intros, one second version of a song, one instrumental, and only two original tracks), the original songs are actually really great. Sure they're a little shouty in places, but their vocals are stellar otherwise. Their style is a lot like 2NE1's on this mini album. This is the style of music that I'm missing in K-pop now. I want more groups that do this style. 5/5.

The fourth track is the version of Mega Yak featuring Block B's P.O. Unnecessary version to be honest.

The fifth track is the original version of Mega Yak. When I first heard this song, I was impressed with the one girl's vocals, but I couldn't understand why they ruined it with all the screaming. Then I listened to it again, still didn't understand. After a couple listens out of my curiosity, the girl with the stellar vocals won me over and I fell in love with the song. I don't even know if the girl is still a part of the group. The video's nothing more than your typical (well...before mid 2013) K-pop video. Colorful, expensive cars, random places to dance in. Anybody know if green haired girl is still in the group? Cause if she's not I really want to know where she ended up. She's pretty awesome. 5/5

The final track is the instrumental version of Mega Yak.

This CD isn't much of an EP. It's really only two songs & a bunch of random unnecessary tracks. All of the fluff added to pad the tracklist really drags down the release as a whole. The two songs are both fantastic and deserve 5/5, the release as a whole is average at best. Just too much unnecessary stuff that could have been real songs.

Song Recommendations (June 25, 2015 Edition)

I've been too busy this past week to write anything up, so I figured that I would do another recommendation post since they are quick & easy.

Angerme - Nana Korobi Ya Oki

I never believed that they'd be able to surpass Chikyuu for me, but this is coming really close. Angerme has just been the star of H!P for 2015.

Infinite - Dilemma

Dear K-pop companies, you can have your artists release stuff like this in Japan but not Korea? This is quality right here.

So Yumi - Shake Me Up

I find it funny how the Kpop/trot songs are the ones I'm liking from Kpop this year. More of this style please and less of whatever Kpop thinks it's trying to do.

Colette Carr - Static

I love her music so much. This is stylistically different than the Skitzo album, but I really love this. So happy to finally have new music from her. It's also free on iTunes this week! Pick it up for the low price of free if you enjoy! (And check out her other stuff too :))

Enjoy!

SDN48 - Makeoshimi Congratulation

I still wish that they would revive SDN in some fashion. There's so many girls in 48G that would work well with this concept. Not to mention as a whole they had the best music. They did end too early.

The title track is Makeoshimi Congratulation. This is their most idol pop single, but it makes sense that it is that way. This was their final single released before their disbandment. Even though it's not the SDN style, it works for a "graduation" single. It sounds like a mix of a couple AKB singles. The music video's too long, but I suppose it shouldn't be any other way for a final single. 3.5/5.

Makeoshimi Congratulation MV

The first B-side is Kuri Kuri, found on all versions of the single. This song is much more SDN style. These kind of songs are why I wish they would revive SDN. 48G as a whole is missing these type of songs recently and it would be nice to have a group doing this kind of music. The more dance pop stuff with a slight Latin tinge. The video's okay. Nothing you haven't seen in 48G before. 5/5.

Kuri Kuri MV

The next B-side is Ue Kara Natsuko a cover of AKB's Ue Kara Mariko found on the Type A & theater versions of the single. Ue Kara Mariko is one of my least favorite AKB singles and SDN doing it doesn't make it any more interesting of a song. The vocals sound slightly better than the original though. I'm unfamiliar with the AKB MV so I'm not sure if the MV is completely original or not. The outfits totally don't fit the sound of the song.

Ue Kara Natsuko MV

The final B-side is Owaranai Encore found on the Type A & theater versions of the single. I guess this song is their "graduation song". It's not my type of song, but I like the feel of the song. It's not sad, but instead has a hopeful "looking into the future" feel to it. It's certainly pretty good for a 48G ballad. The music video highlights both the sad part of their disbandment and the hopeful feel of the song. The hopeful shots are gorgeous. 4/5.

Owaranai Encore MV

This is such a mixed bad single for their final single. It's probably my least favorite single that they released. They should have gone out with a bang and released some crazy club bangers or jazzy sultry songs. 4/5.

Candy Kiss - Tinker Bell ga Yattekita

So this is the release that made me curious about this group. They seem to have changed so much since this release. There's only three girls left.

The lead song for this single is Tinker Bell ga Yattekita. Like I said for their first release, I don't think their music is particularly the greatest, but they're so adorable. Of all of their songs so far, this is probably my favorite. The music itself sounds well produced & put together, but just like with their first single, the autotune is WAY overdone. Worse than what T-Pain did. I'm not certain why low budget indie groups tend to overdo the autotune because I've noticed it's also a feature in super unknown Kpop groups too. Is it more expensive to NOT use it? I'm genuinely curious. Beyond the autotune, it's a pretty standard idol pop song but it's kinda catchy. The music video is obviously low budget, but it's so cute. The girls look like they're having so much fun. 4/5.

The B-side of the single is Mou Ichido. If you thought that the autotune was unnecessary on the title track, it's even more unnecessary here. No ballad needs this. I don't think that the producers were going for a Perfume-esque sound. If they were they totally missed the mark. I find it very interesting that this has a music video. If a super unknown group can do a B-side video (even if it is mainly concert footage & practice), H!P you can stop the triple A-side crap & just give B-sides videos. Gosh. 3/5.

In all honesty, I don't think this single's that great. I personally think it's cute which is why I like it, but if you're looking for something like 48G or H!P this is not it. I do say that it's worth checking out, especially if you're looking into indie idols. Maybe you won't like it, but there always is the possibility that you will. 3.5/5.

Misaki Iwasa - Hatsuzake

I really love how Misaki went a totally different route than other 48G soloists. Admittedly, I don't know a whole lot about the enka industry in Japan, but to me, it doesn't seem like idols ever do anything in that field of music. Of course I could be totally wrong, but if I'm not, I think it's really cool that Misaki wanted to tackle that genre as it seems to be a difficult one.

The title track of this release is Hatsuzake. From what I understand about Enka, it's Japanese traditional popular music. So I'm guessing that for the average J-pop fan, it's not something they pick up on a regular basis. I know I don't. I can't really point anything out about the song because I'm very unfamiliar with the genre, but her voice is so gorgeous. It works so beautifully with the music. I don't understand why Enka singers do that....voice thing though. I don't exactly know how to explain it, and I've looked it up before, but I've never gotten a clear answer. It's so unique to me. The music video is as gorgeous as the song. Such beautiful scenery shots. 5/5.

Hatsuzake MV

The first B-side is a cover of AKB's Hakimono to Kasa no Monogatari from the Green Flash single. From my earlier review, I mentioned that I thought the song was extremely boring even though the music video was beautiful. I don't get that same feeling of sheer boredom from her version. I guess it's because she doesn't sound like she's just reading lyrics off a page and put some emotion into it.

Hakimono to Kasa no Monogatari (Karaoke)

The next B-side is a cover of Signal's song 20 Sai no Meguri Ai. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find the full version of this song to listen to, but I have heard the full version of the original song. It's such a nice, laid back song. I almost wish that I had bought the limited for it, but I ended up being cheap.

Original Song (if anyone's interested)

The final B-side of the single is her version of Let It Go. At this point, I don't care who it's by, I don't want to hear this song again. Just stop. Please. I beg you. What I do like about Misaki's version is that it's completely different from any of the versions I've heard before. The enka style works better than I thought it would. Still don't want to hear it though.

I do wish that Misaki would have more original songs. I don't know if covers are very prevalent in Enka, but my personal preference is to listen to songs by the original artist (which is why I don't give ratings to cover songs). Maybe if 48G would start using different songwriters like H!P is to allow for more original solo songs. 4/5.

ZE:A - Phoenix

This was a CD I bought for the sole reason that it was like $2 on YesAsia during a summer sale. I don't think I've picked it up since I got it so it'll be interesting to see if I actually liked the songs or not. I truly don't remember.

The first track is Phoenix. Listening to the song again I realize why I don't remember anything about this CD. It's not a bad song at all, it's just not memorable. It sounds like most other K-pop boy group tracks from the same time period and since I never cared that much about ZE:A, other groups took the precedent for me. If you love the typical K-pop boy group songs though, this certainly should be on your radar. 4/5.

The second song is Variety Of Ways. Hm. Unsure why I never latched onto this song. This is GOOD. Should have been the title track over Phoenix. Honestly I'd put this up with some of the better K-pop boy group songs. It reminds A LOT of Ace Of Base's Black Sea which is a really great song too. No wonder I love this. 5/5.

The final song on the single is a remix of their lead single from the album Spectacular. Not a big fan of remixes in general.

Really the definition of a mixed bag release. An ok title track, an amazing B-side, and a random remix of an older song. 4/5.