*Note: I worked on this so long ago and there was just a few things I wanted to do, but I stopped. I got sidetracked from this blog. I know this is a old single,  but I still want to put it out. Thank you.

夢の蕾 is レミオロメン’s 14th single. This single was released on January 7th, 2009.  It contains three tracks. The first one, the single name, “夢の蕾”. The other two are “風の工場”(Wind Factory) and “歩調”(Pace).

“夢の蕾” is another song in which Ryota Fujimaki, the lead singer, exhibits his unique voice. The first thing that comes to mind when I listen to this song is how much it sounds like some past songs. I understand the meaning, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but I think more variety is called for in their music. They consistently stick with the slow-paced and deep meaning songs. The song sounds good, don’t get me wrong, but the same. On the other hand it’s another great song. Very meaningful and heart-felt. Going back to Ryota’s voice, he really exhibits his high range in this song. There are times when he stretches it and quickly drops it to this more level octave. The music video has this dream-like aura surrounding it, which I really like, even though it’s for less than half of the music video. Other than that it’s play on symbolising through the music video is well done.

“風の工場” is where レミオロメン prove me completely wrong. It’s a complete opposite of “夢の蕾.” The first thing I hear when I first listened was it sounded like it had a kind of softer verison of JET’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.” I know it sounds odd, but it does. I’ve said before and I’m going to say it again: I love when singles have variety. Two different songs is the best single for me. With “風の工場” that’s what レミオロメン does. The song has a very upbeat temp and it sounds like a lot of fun. It’s like a song that plays when friends gather, hang out in the middle of the day, and just have fun!

The last song “歩調” is a sandwich of music. The beginning and end are slow paced and dream-like with the middle being this complete fast sound. There is not really much to say about this song. It’s good, not innovative or great for that matter, but it is not bad either. Seems to be a song they threw in with it.

Grade: 3 out of 5

This single was not bad. With that said, it is not great either. Yeah, there is the variety I wanted, however the single sounds a little thrown together quickly. “歩調” seems unnecessarily thrown in there, even if its not a bad song. Most singles have certain songs and they are arranged in a certain order for a reason. This one does it seem that. So good songs, for the most part, but bad production.

ORION is Nakashima Mika’s 27th single. This single was released on November 12, 2008. It peaked at number 3 on the Oricon charts and has sold over 100,000 copies, earning it a gold certification. The single has 4 tracks overall, “ORION” and “FOCUS” and the other two are instrumental tracks of the two.

“ORION” is the insert song for the popular Japanese drama 流星の絆 (Meteor Ties). Nakashima Mika displays the power and range of her voice very nicely with this song. Throughout the song her voice keeps the same tempo right before the chorus, which is when she hits a much stronger note. The atmosphere of the song is very dreamy. It contains the beat, sound, and lyrics that makes you want to sway back and forth while holding a lighter high in the air. The meaning of this song focuses around her love for someone while referring back to the beauty of surrounding nature. The song is simple and I like it that way. One thing that makes the music for me is the beautiful Toda Erika appearing in it. Her AND Nakashima Mika in the music video…nice. The music video shows Nakashima Mika in front of 6 mirrors and another time fully clothed in a bath of water. While Toda Erika is seen strolling around and thinking about “that” relationship. Cutting back between the two and in different environments makes for a nice supply of the ladies.

“FOCUS” has a more upbeat tempo to it. Very different from “ORION.” It’s a break from Nakashima Mika’s more slower songs. The music has a ambiance and sort of trance style to it. The music, when she isn’t singing, gets stronger and then as she sings tends to fade back until the chorus comes in and they are on the same level. The song is nothing special, but it’s not bad. The music video, however, seemed to be rushed. With the colors and effects, it was nice. But it was very repetitive and got boring quickly. It would have been nice to see them do more with it.

Grade: 4 out of 5

The single was a great, but solely due to the power of “ORION”. “FOCUS” did little to make the single good, besides add a little variety. “ORION”, with it’s sound and meaningful lyrics comes together to make a song worth the money. The fact that it’s used for such a great drama makes it all the better too.

えいさ is Jero’s second major single and was released on January 28, 2009. The single contains 4 tracks altogether. The first is “えいさ” and the other being “晴れ舞台” (Proudest Moment). The other two are karaoke tracks of the first two.

“えいさ” is another Jero-type song. It contains the sound of old Japanese folk music mixed together with a hint of hip-hop. It makes for another different style of enka, which is what Jero has been doing since he started his enka career. The song is a steady paced song that is rich with different stints of sound among the times he is singing and not. Another thing people don’t really pay attention is how the singing and music coincides. In this case Jero isn’t being overpowered by the rich sounds. Something that occurs rarely, but sometimes it happens. The song is soothing because it’s strong, but not overbearingly strong.

The music video to “えいさ” is simple yet creative. The beginning and throughout the music video it consists of origami either shaped already or in the process of being shaped. Jero is shown in the beginning and a few similar looking background dancers appeared. Throughout the rest of the video there are small spurts of dancing. There is a variety of color and shapes in the video and I really like it.

“晴れ舞台” is a slow-tempo song with a touching meaning behind the lyrics. The song talks about how hard he worked to get to where he is now and with the help of his family. The music video is animated and makes for some interesting and different imagery. The song is simple and nice, nothing innovative, but that takes nothing away from it. Good song.

Grade: 5 out of 5

This single is only Jero’s second one. One song that has a different form of enka and another with a more classic enka sound. With a combination like that, you can’t go wrong, well at least with the way he approaches it. This is his one and only single to be released before his second album is released. I really like this single. It’s a good follow up to “海雪.” With a hard work ethic and determination to become a star in Japan and fulfill his grandmother’s wish, Jero continues to put music out that takes enka in a completely different direction.

Dream Fighter, which is Perfume’s 9th major single and 13th overall single, was released on November 19, 2008. The track list consists of “Dream Fighter”, 願い（Negai which means Wish), and instrumental tracks of both songs as well. The single debuted ranked 2nd on the Oricon charts.

“Dream Fighter” is another trademark Perfume single that consists of its voice modifiers to give it the techno/dance sound to it. It’s also made up of the upbeat tempo and positive message in their lyrics that give you this feeling of happiness and a carefree atmosphere. All three girls tread lightly with their notes, keeping it at a steady and consistent level, with the occasional rise. The musical effects in the background do well to blend with the instruments throughout the song. It creates a gentile and soft sound in their singing that is complemented by having stronger instrumentals that gives it a great level of balance. The lyrics seem to be delivered in a well paced manner, while keeping up with the faster pace of the music.  It’s a great mix that will surely get lots of people on their feet and moving.

The music video of “Dream Fighter” is a simplistic video that displays all the nice effects you would expect of Perfume. With a black background and brightly colored clothing, mixed in with an array of flashing lights, ever flowing water effect that moves according to their dancing you get – Simple.  And once again, the dancing that was added to the music video blended well with their music. The dancing was again different as compared to their previous songs, something many artists have a hard time avoiding.

“願い” is another light and soft song with a much slower pace. It has a different sound compared to “Dream Fighter”. This makes the single a nice package, two different songs. Again it has the positive and light-hearted lyrics voiced by their modified voices. It’s very relaxing with it’s ambiatic sound and slowly recited lyrics. “願い” Complete opposite to “Dream Fighter” and it makes it all the better

Grade: 5 out of 5

The single is another hit from Perfume. Having “Dream Figher” and “願い” packaged as one was another flash of brilliance from Perfume. It’s the typical sound you expect to hear from the upbeat trio. They continue to surprise me and many others with their music. If they continue to crank out the music the way they have and at such a fast pace we could see history. Expect the electropop group’s next album to be a good one.

This is where I will do Japanese music reviews. My first few reviews will be ones from my other blog and I'm hoping to generate an audience from that first and move on.