Girigiri HERO was mihimaru GT’s 17th single. It was released on April 30, 2008 and reached number 4 on the charts with 19,172 copies sold. In all this single has sold over 26,361+ copies. The title track was used as the theme song for Shibasaki Kou’s movie Shaolin Shoujo. This is also the fourth single in the mihimarise Era.

Tracks:
1. Girigiri HERO
2. Koisuru Kimochi -acoustic ver.-
3. BOW WOW SYSTEM GO
4. Girigiri HERO (Instrumental)
5. Koisuru Kimochi -acoustic ver.- (Instrumental)
6. BOW WOW SYSTEM GO (Instrumental)

Review:
Girigiri HERO, hip-hop with some cute pop. One thing I should say before I begin the review is that this group is basically a hip-hop group with some Japanese stereotypical pop. The guy, Miyake, raps while the girl, Hiroko, sings. The song begins with some discs being scratched, followed by Hiroko’s vocals. And as she sings you can hear some type of drums beats playing periodically. Afterwards the music dies down as she sings the chorus. It’s light-hearted somewhat fast, and it sounds so happy and so full of live. And my favorite part is when she sings the title, it sounds a little funny but it’s so great. Then the rapping comes into play as Miyake begins to rap. The rapping here sounds pretty soft, it’s not overwhelming and so annoying either. It’s a nice combination, much better than American rap songs in my opinion. Shortly afterwards Hiroko begins to sing again. After that it’s basically a repeats, but that’s actually not a bad thing here.

Koisuru Kimochi -acoustic ver.- a new acoustic spin. The original version of this song was originally on there seventh single, Koisuru Kimochi / YES. Now I’m not sure exactly how it sounded, but I’m sure that the vocals are the same. So for the time being, I’m gonna give this a short review. This song is mostly a ballad, being backed by the piano and other acoustic instruments. Hiroko’s vocals are very soft here, and the music moves slowly. To be honest with you, I wasn’t really thrilled by this song. I haven’t heard many of there songs, but I’m sure there are better ones than this.

BOW WOW SYSTEM GO, true Japanese hip-hop. This song is much different from the first, this is by far the most hip-hop influenced track on the single. The vocals sound a lot darker and more serious than before, but it’s not that bad as one might think. I found the chorus to be OK, not really the best here but the vocals did sound better. Otherwise I found this song very very repetitive and dull at times. They should stick with the pop part of their music, much better. But this still isn’t a bad song, it could’ve been worse.

Overall Review: Girigiri HERO was Japanese stereotypical pop, with some great rap flare for the most part. Being the first single that I’ve heard from mihimaru GT I must say that I was impressed by this single. I love how the title track was so catchy, and it had two more great selections to choose from. A great single in my opinion, one that everyone should listen to.

Final Grade: 90B+

under the sun / under the moon was Do As Infinity’s 13th single. It was released on July 31, 2002 and reached number 5 on the charts. Sadly I have yet to find out how many copies this single has sold. This is DAI’s first and only, as far as I can tell, double A-Side single. However, only the first A-Side would be added to the album. This is also the first single in the True Song Era.

Tracks:
1. under the sun
2. under the moon
3. under the sun (Instrumental)
4. under the moon (Instrumental)

Review:
under the sun, pure rock happiness. This song begins with some guitars playing, in some of the most unheard of notes that I’ve heard. Afterwards the drums begin, followed by Van’s vocals. From there the drums take over for the most part followed by the rhythm of the guitars. Van’s vocals seem nice here, but not her best, well not in the verses. The chorus is, like many times, the best part of this song. It sounds a little edgy with the guitars playing, but it’s also up-beat, creating a unique and yet great combination. One of the best features of the chorus is the constant beats of the guitars and drums, but also the vocals, I really love how she drags out the last part of the word. It even features some English, although it could be pronounced better, but I’m not expecting much, the only thing that really bothered me was the fast pronunciations and the loud instrumentals. Although, I did like the ending, which was in English, and with the guitars still playing. The only thing that could’ve made it better would’ve been if the instrumentals were softer and if she sung the song just a tad slower. Other than that it was great rock song.

under the moon, the slower and darker arrangement. This song, like the sun and the moon, is very different from its predecessor. Instead of being relatively up-beat, this song is slower and sounds more ominous and dark. Dark and eerie sounding guitars open up this sad yet beautiful song. Slowly afterwards Van begins to sing, in some great vocals. After the first half of the first verse, the music starts to sound a little lighter and not as dark.  And as the chorus is about to start the drums enter and become more dominant. The chorus moves slowly but even with that it’s so beautiful and yet so addictive. I guess it’s the slow instrumentals that make it sound great. I must say that Van’s vocals are surprisingly good here, and they sound so amazing. The bridge is a mixture of the eerie guitar with drum beats in between. However, unlike the previous song there is no English, unless you include ASUFARUTO, which is asphalt, but that’s not really in English. This has got to be one of my favorite songs fro DAI, worthy of the title A-Side.

Overall Review: under the sun / under the moon was a fusion of bright, shining, up-beat light with slow, prevailing, sad darkness. These two songs were just so different from each other, and yet they made such a great single. I guess it’s really all in the name. We had an up-beat song that sounded happy, almost like the sun. And then next we had a song that sounded start and slow, almost like the moon. It’s also a bit creative from one point of view, and it really shows. I just really loved the overall feel of the single. It’s just too bad that under the moon wasn’t featured on True Song. An excellent and profound start for the True Song Era.

Final Grade: 100A+

Okay, well as some of you know, I started this blog back in January. I reviewed a lot of music then, and not the best quality either. So I began to rewrite some of the them, and I eventually offered download links. As soon as I did so, I received 354 hits all in one day. As of today, the record is still 354, but today we have a change. A grand total of 200 hits were recorded today, without links either:D. It’s very big step for me, so it makes me happy and it makes me think that what I do matters just a little.

And I know that I should be putting this on the future reviews, but I will now be reviewing a new artist.

And that artist is…Rina Aiuchi!!! So be prepared for some reviews of her newest album and her singles from this era.

GAME was Perfume’s 1st studio album, even though it’s really their second album as the first was released as a compilation, or best of, album. It was released on April 16, 2008 and reached number 1 on the charts with 154,304 copies sold. This album is their very first number 1 on the charts, including albums and singles. In all this album has sold over 249,706+ copies. There are a grand total of seven new tracks on the album, five of which were released as singles.

Tracks:
1. Polyrhythm
2. plastic smile
3. GAME
4. Baby cruising Love
5. Chocolate Disco
6. Macaroni
7. Ceramic Girl
8. Take me Take me
9. Secret Secret
10. Butterfly
11. Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow
12. Puppy love

Review:
Polyrhythm, did someone say many rhythms? This song was released as the second single of the GAME Era. Like many of the songs during this period of their music, there’s a great deal of techno music. And it’s quite pleasant. I especially love the voice distortions in this song, it makes it memorable in a way or two. The fast music beats even sound good, gotta love those instrumentals and those fantastic vocals. The chorus is a bit repetitive but it sounds so good, and it’s so catchy. A great and surprising way to begin the album. Here is the full review of Polyrhythm.

plastic smile, the first new track. Immediately after you press play you can hear the distorted vocals sing in some of the cutest voices ever. The little electronic beats sound so cute, and almost baby like because of the simplicity. The music is somewhat fast, and the vocals are actually great. The one problem is that sometimes during the song you can’t hear the vocals as well, because of the loud techno music. It’s hard to tell where the chorus is in the song, but you can find it. Again it’s very repetitive but it’s so addictive and that’s what makes it so good. A great new track for the album.

GAME, the title that gives its name to the album. Heavy, and I mean heavy techno/electronic beats open up this song. The beats seem almost aggressive, which isn’t bad necessarily. Perfume doesn’t begin to sing until the 42 sec mark, and when they do it’s almost unheard. With the music playing and thumping it’s somewhat hard to hear them, and that’s a bit issue for me. But the parts I can hear are fantastic for the most part. And I like the chorus where they sing “Play the GAME” it’s very repetitive and yet it’s so catchy and addicting. I do like this song, but it’s not what I was expecting, still great though.

Baby cruising Love, winter happiness. This song was released as the last single of the GAME Era, along with Macaroni. Instead of a long instrumental to open up the song, the vocals begin immediately. Afterwards that great up-beat winter electronic music begins to play. The chorus here was pretty catchy, especially the distorted English vocals. The verses were a little bland, but it’s almost expected, what’s really important is the chorus. Still I almost wish this song was just a little better, oh well, still not bad.

Chocolate Disco, electronica paradise. This song, along with another, began the GAME Era. At this time there music was getting more accepted and their popularity was rising. It didn’t do that great on the charts but don’t let that stop you from listening to this little piece of heaven. The words “Chocolate Disco” open up the song and from there that infamous techno music plays. The chorus was fairly catchy, but the vocals were the best, and they sounded to CUTE! Almost stereotypical of Japanese girls, that speak only Japanese, singing English, no offense to anyone. Cute, pop, and sugary! For the full review of Chocolate Disco, click here.

Macaroni, the other winter track. Now despite this being released with Baby cruising Love, I really didn’t like it that much. It seemed so laid back, which isn’t a problem in most cases, but here is just didn’t fit. I did like the vocals, but with the music they just didn’t go together, at all. This is one of my least favorite tracks on the album, I’ll leave it at that.

Ceramic Girl, a pop & techno fusion. The song begins with “Celamic Girl” and it sounds pretty good. Their vocals are quite fast, I guess it’s so that they can keep up with the music, which is also pretty fast. The verses seem a little bland and dull but it’s to be expected. The chorus is the best part in the song. It moves fast, and distorted vocals sound fantastic, and most importantly it’s so catchy, especially with that “Celamic Girl” and remember that r’s can be pronounced like l’s so that’s what they’re singing. I found the song overall to be very catchy and so addictive.

Take me Take me, slow techno. Music that’s very similar to Baby cruising Love opens up this song. Then some beeps start and from there it takes a different turn. The first vocals don’t actually begin to till about the minute point, and from there it’s English and Japanese. Here the distorted vocals don’t sound as cute as some of the songs, and therefore it’s almost generic. Now don’t get me wrong it’s very different but at some points it’s just so ordinary. I do like how they drag out “Tonight” it’s very good on their parts. The verses were so-so, a bit mediocre. But sadly the chorus wasn’t that much better either. It sounded all right but that was about it, it wasn’t breathtaking or WOW, just ok. You’re better off listening to the next track.

Secret Secret, sweet and sugary with techno pop. La la opens up this song, followed by some maracas and then some, then a quite second then it repeats. At about the 28 sec point the music changes into more techno pop, very similar to Ceramic Girl. The verses seem to go by so quickly, and they’re even catchy to an extent. The chorus is the best part of the song as many might have expected. Again those lovely distorted vocals sound so cherry and so happy, you can’t help but love them. This has to be the best new song on the album, it’s about as good as some of the singles that they’ve released.

Butterfly, mystical dance electronica. Besides being the longest song on the album it’s very mystical in a way, in a modernistic way. The sounds of a forest, birds chirping and all, open up the song, followed by some techno beats and that mystical modern music. You can also hear “Butterfly” during all of this music until 50 sec of so and then the real vocals get started, which is a little over a minute long. Again the vocals are distorted a bit, but that’s not so bad. The one major problem is when you can’t hear them that well as the music is a little too loud. And the fact that it was hard to tell the chorus from the verses. But they sounded pretty good, and as a result I actually liked this song.

Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow, cute up-beatness! This song was released along with Chocolate Disco as the first single in the Era. Some very up-beat, thumping techno/dance music opens up the song, followed by those ever so cute distorted vocals. The verses are all right but it’s the chorus yet again that’s so memorable. It uses a good amount of English, mostly the title words, and then the rest are Japanese. It’s pretty catchy in a way, but it’s just so up-beat and it sounds pretty happy. Click here for the full review of Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow.

Puppy love, slow techno with acoustic flare. This final track features some acoustics, almost unheard of from a techno/electronica group. The full vocals don’t begin until after the 28 sec point, and from there it gets a little boring. Well, it was initially boring but it kept getting better as the song progressed. The vocals started to sound better and the music kept playing faster and faster. The chorus was surprisingly good and the verses weren’t that terrible either. A nice way to end their first studio album.

Overall Review:GAME was a techno utopia with some impressive and spectacular songs. I loved how there was a general overall theme to the music, something rare in most pop groups these days. I was blown away by a lot of the new tracks and I loved the tracks from the singles. The album was just really enjoyable, a treat for the ears. A memorable and superb first studio album.

Final Grade: 97

Haruka was melody.’s 11th single. It was released on February 13, 2008 and reached number 10 on the charts with 13,554 copies sold. In all this single has sold over 38,636+ copies, which is more than her newest album sadly. The title track, Haruka, was used as the theme song for the TBS drama Daisuki!! The third trach That’s The Way It Is was originally supposed to be on TRIBUTE TO CELINE DION, but was removed for some unknown reason. This was also the first and the last single in the Lei Aloha Era.

Tracks:
1. Haruka
2. Plumeria
3. That’s The Way It Is
4. Haruka (Instrumental)

Review:
Haruka, lit. Distant Flower, the emotional ballad. Now some of you might now this, but melody. originally lived in Hawaii before moving to Japan; this song reflects who she was before that along with the people and things she can’t live without, so therefore you know it’s going to be deep. A beautiful acoustic guitar, accompanied by the piano opens up this song, later the guitar gets stronger. Then melody. comes in and starts singing in some great, and emotionally driven vocals, even in the verses. The chorus then comes, here her vocals sound monotone just a tad, but they still sound so beautiful and so full of emotion. The guitar plays a key roll during the chorus, along with the violins. Now even though the chorus isn’t that catchy, it’s still fantastic. The song then continues on from verse to chorus. The ending of this song, is all right, but there is a better one out there. Anyway, the acoustic guitar plays slowly along with the violins until the music fades away. I haven’t heard this song until now, so it’s fairly new to me, but I must admit that it’s pretty good.

Plumeria, acoustic happiness. In case you were wondering, a plumeria is a flower indigenous to Hawaii. The music is quite refreshing, and very island oriented, well acoustic really, but it has that island feel. The beautiful sound of an acoustic guitar along with melody. ad-libbing begins the song, followed by some background vocals. Then melody. begins to sing in some great vocals, English and Japanese, and I especially love the beats playing while she sings, and the violins too. Then the chorus makes its debut and surprisingly it’s very happy, and up-beat. It doesn’t sound sad, the vocals are great, English and Japanese, and it’s even catchy. It must be those great vocals, and acoustic guitar. The song ends with the final chorus, followed by some strings in the background, then some more ad-libbing. Not a bad B-Side.

That’s The Way It Is, a cover from the Canadian Superstar. This song is a cover song of the original version sung by the world famous Celine Dion, and if you don’t know who she is you need to watch Titanic, or listen to some older music, no offense to anyone. And I’m sure as many of you know, this song is sung entirely in English. This song begins with a rendition of the violins playing ever so beautifully, followed by a few more instrumentals before the song gets the great melody. Then melody. begins to sing in English, a great change, but I do wish that it was a bit better, well the vocals I guess. The verses here sound so beautiful and so nostalgic, it’s almost perfection. But when she begins to sing that infamous chorus, her vocals sound so magical, and her English is perfect. I love the chorus because it’s so catchy and the instrumentals make it even better. Now I not a big Celine Dion fan but I do love a lot of her best known hits, and this is one of them. Despite a few differences in the music, and the power in the vocals, I believe that melody. did a great cover and does this song justice.

Overall Review: Haruka was a bright, shining superb single. I found the title track to be so deep and emotionally driven, you can’t help but like. The first B-Side was so great, it’s perfect, especially after a deep and almost sad song. But one of the best touches was the cover song. This, besides the title track, is the highlight of the single. melody. has really been coming out with some great material lately. An intoxicating way to begin and end the Lei Aloha Era.

Final Grade: 97A

Don’t Stay was Tamaki Nami’s 4th studio album. It was released on April 23, 2008 and reached number 14 on the charts with 11,773 copies sold. So far this is her lowest charting, and selling album, a clear sign her popularity is fading. This is her first studio album since Specialty, which was released in 2006. This album features singles from CROSS SEASON to Winter Ballades. No B-Sides were added on the album, and there are a total of eleven new tracks present.

Tracks:
1. Don’t Stay ~inst~
2. Visualize
3. Together
4. Brightdown
5. hitchHIKER
6. Speedway
7. Station
8. Promise
9. re-birth
10. Gokigendazee! ~Nothing But Something~ feat.KEN (DA PUMP)
11. EDEN
12. CROSS SEASON -After Graduation Mix-
13. 423
14. MY WAY Reproduction -Original Mix- (Bonus Track)

Review:
Don’t Stay ~inst~ a familiar beginning. Now just because I said a familiar beginning it doesn’t mean that we’ve heard this before, it just means that she’s begun an album with an instrumental. And like her instrumentals they have the name of the album, but sadly it’s not a song. This intro begins with heavy dance music, mostly synth and techno. However, during the middle, violins begin to play along with a piano, and it sounds so heavenly, and then the dance music begins to return. And at the 30 sec left mark, the guitar begins to play along with that familiar dance music. Not a bad way to begin, I’ll give it that.

Visualize, dance music with a hint of rock. A guitar opens up the song, along with some great dance music. Next Nami begins to sing in some pretty good vocals. The verses aren’t that great, but they still sound nice, too bad they’re not catchy. The chorus here features fast vocals, fast music, and even some distortions. This song seems so repetitive at times it’s almost like her old work, but not as good. Somewhat mediocre in my opinion.

Together, a heavy dance tune. Wonderful heavy dance/trance music opens up this song, and those beats are so so addictive. After a thirty second intro Nami’s sweet, crisp vocals can be heard, along with some background vocals too, well only a little bit. Anyway her vocals are great, they make the verses sound catchy. But the chorus is so phenomenal, the music is screaming dance song, and with those infectious beats the chorus sounds better than imaginable, and very catchy. After the chorus the music dies down a bit, until the next chorus come. The bridge is an electric guitar with that thumping dance/trance music. This is like her earlier works in my opinion, a very good track.

Brightdown, pure rock aggression. This was released as the second single in the Don’t Stay Era, and whether I review it or not depends on how much time I have. Anyway, some beeping sounds later followed by the guitar open up the song. Then Nami begins to sing and here her voice sounds almost angry, especially with the guitar. But then the chorus begins, without any sign. It’s a lot better than I though it’d be, it’s very fast and so so addictive, especially with the vocals. The little distortions in her vocals at certain points also make the song really good. I was shocked that this song was better than what I expected.

hitchHIKER, rock and roll all in one. Some interesting sounding drums begin the song, followed shortly by a guitar playing so magnificently. After half a minute the first verse begins. As usual it’s not very catchy, and the guitar playing doesn’t help it that much. The chorus here is much better, even though it’s not that fast it’s pretty good. Although, with that being said, it could’ve been better. I felt that this song is very dull as far as rock songs go. Not her best song, enough said.

Speedway, another great dance song. The beautiful sound of a piano playing, or a keyboard, opens up the song with some of the best music ever. Shortly the music changes into guitar powered dance/trance music. Nami then begins to sing the first verse, which is very fast. It leads into the chorus, which is very very fast, and it sounds so amazing. The music gives it that old style feel, but the guitar gives it a more modern feel. The vocals were very fast and that’s not bad for once. I do like the fact that she uses a little English, although it’s not the best. The bridge was a guitar solo with that great dance music. A fusion of new and old Nami!

Station, slow dance and tehcno? An ominous sound followed by the keyboard begins the song followed by some synth and techno beats. The chorus then begins, and at the beginning. It moves a little slow, but it still sounds so great, especially with the background vocals and the guitar playing, it even sounds a little catchy. I particularly love her vocals here, they sound pretty mature. Not a bad song from Nami.

Promise, the winter ballad. This song was released as a winter single. A beautiful piano accompanied by the violins open up the song. Nami then begins to sing in some wonderful vocals, that sound so filled with emotion, despite the fact that the chorus moves a little slow. The chorus here is the best part of the song. It’s very catchy, beautiful, and so so moving. I especially love Nami’s vocals, they sound great here. And the guitar in the song makes it sound better. Maybe I’ll review this single, just maybe.

re-birth, nostalgia in one song. Nami’s vocals begin at the first second, leading into some great guitar powered music that still has a dance feel. The music is very reminiscent of her Gundam theme days. But that’s a great thing, especially since those songs were very popular and fantastic. The chorus here begins great, but falls a little flat at the end. It’s not that catchy, but you can follow along easily, let’s just say that she’s done better. I did like the bridge, which was a keyboard playing, followed by an electric guitar solo, along with that great and addictive dance music. But this song is very good despite all of that stuff.

Gokigendazee! ~Nothing But Something~ feat.KEN (DA PUMP) can you say promo song? This song was the main song I guess used to promote the album, especially since it had a PV to with it. Very heavy dance and trance beats open up the song, followed by some heavy urban beats. Some guy’s vocals are present here, until Nami sings. Nami’s vocals to be honest with you aren’t the best here, they sounds almost angry. I really couldn’t stand that guy’s vocals, i guess it’s KEN’s vocals. This song really turned me off. Give it a listen if you want.

EDEN, the fast urban tune. Some urban/dance music opens up the song, followed by some whispered “secret” and some English vocals. Nami then begins to sing, in some interesting vocals. This music does sounds a little dance, but it’s very urban, and different from her original roots. Nami signs in some improved English, but that’s about it. The chorus didn’t catchy my attention, and the whole English ruined it for me. There’s a point when even English get’s annoying. I liked the overall feel, but there was just too much English here.

CROSS SEASON -After Graduation Mix- a new mix. Let’s begin with the basics shall we. The original version was released as the first single in the Era. It was mostly about graduation and it was a good song. But here, they have BUTCHERED it. Instead of begin sweet and amazing it was changed into a heavy dance remix, with quick vocals. After a minute of dance music you can hear Nami’s vocals which are speed up and they sound a little distorted. I do like the dance beats here, but I hate how they changed Nami’s song into a dance/trance song. Some people might like it, but it takes away the affect of the original song. Not her best remix, that’s for sure.

423, a slow percussion song. The lovely little flute sounding thing, with the guitar opens up the song, along with the drums. Then the firs verse can be heard, with the percussion instruments which are a nice touch. The chorus here isn’t that catchy, but it sounds good. After the chorus is done, that same little flute sounding instrument begins to play. Considering this song was slow, and percussion filled it was OK. Just OK, not great or fantastic, just OK. This is going to be one of her forgettable tracks, I just know it.

MY WAY Reproduction -Original Mix- a remix of an old song. Now the song isn’t old itself, but considering it was released on Specialty, and the fact that the single is over 2 years old, it’s somewhat old. But I must say that this was the first song I listened to. It’s like some of her old works, but with some guitar flare, making it a little more new. Anyway I’ll just give a short review of the song, the full review will be when I review the single. The vocals here are great as always. The verses seem pretty catchy, all things considering. The chorus is the best part, very infectious, thumping music, and the occasional English. A phenomenal way to end Don’t Stay.

Overall Review: Don’t Stay was a fusion of new & old from our idol Nami. It still shocks me that she’s only nineteen and that she’s released a total of five albums. Although hopefully they’ll chart a lot better than this album. I did like how she had a few of her basic songs, mostly the dance tracks, and the fact that she had some wonderful new tracks, those guitars help every bit. Despite all that I wish that the album was just a little better, but it’s still great nonetheless. An impressive album from Nami to say the least.

Final Grade: 88B

Baby cruising Love / Macaroni was Perfume’s 11th single. It was released on January 16, 2008 and reached number 3 on the charts with 34,550 copies sold. In all this single has sold over 63,377+ copies, making it their best selling and highest chart-topping single to date. And it is their first double A-Side single. But, mostly, this is their last single in the GAME Era.

Tracks:
1. Baby cruising Love
2. Macaroni
3. Baby cruising Love (Instrumental)
4. Macaroni (Instrumental)

Review:
Baby cruising Love, the fast winter electronica. Those cute sounding distorted voices open up the song followed by the keyboard, and that so so good techno music. The beats here are yet again so catchy, and the vocals here sound great. And it seems like a first, but I can actually hear their voices without a distortion, I think, but anyway it sounds great. The chorus here is very catchy, especially with the distortions and how they say “Baby cruising Love.” It sounds even better when they drag it out a little after the half way point in the song. Again we have another wonderful song.

Macaroni, the slow easy tune. This song moves slowly compared to their previous song but it’s a refreshing change for once. Some drums along with some other instrumentals open up the song, and about 25 seconds later you can here some vocals. But, change only happens so often, and thus their voices are still distorted. The chorus here moves slowly, but it’s still catchy, I blame it on the vocals. It’s definitely the weaker of the A-Sides, but it’s still good.

Overall Review: Baby cruising Love / Macaroni was a winter wonderland, with some techno fun. The title tracks were great and I just loved how they were different, and yet they still made a great single. The first A-Side was better, and more Perfume, especially with all the fast paced music and distortions. The second track wasn’t as good but it’s still a worthy song from Perfume. An astonishing way to end the GAME Era.

Final Grade: 94A-

glowly days was Kana Nishino’s 2nd single. It was released on April 23, 2008 and reached number 126 on the charts. The title track was used as the end theme song for the music show CDTV for the month of April 2008, SONY needs to step up the promotions a bit for Kana in my opinion.

Tracks:
1. glowly days
2. celtic
3. Yami Yami Day

Review:
glowly days, happiness and innocence. The song begins with little piano like sounds playing, followed by a sparkling sound and then Kana’s vocals. Kana’s vocals seem improved here compared to I, a its a great thing. The way she hits those high notes are fantastic, and the overall feel it great. The chorus here sounds so up-beat, quick, and so so adorable, but mostly catchy. I just can’t get over the fact how good it sounds. There was a little bit of English in the song, and it sounds better than before, but still her English could be better. Again I just love the overall feel of the song, it’s so happy, so beautiful, and so relaxing. Another beautiful song.

celtic, a phenomenal ballad. Some Celtic, or Irish, music begins the song, well it sounds Irish with the violin at first. But then the piano takes over and Kana begins singing. This time her vocals are softer yet still as good. The verses here were a little bland, but the chorus was great and made up for the weak verses. The chorus sounds so lovely, it’s even catchy, but it sounds so epic, and Kana’s vocals are so strong and filled with emotion. I was really shocked by this song, much better than I expected.

Yami Yami Day, lit. Dark Dark Day, there was no symbols and yami doesn’t mean anything in English so I’m hoping that’s the right translation. This song, much like In Stereo, is very R&B/hip-hop/urban oriented, especially with the music and beats. Urban beats with some distorted voices open up the song, followed by Kana’s vocals. Again it seems that she needs some better English skills, but those are minor things. Her vocals are great for the most part. The verses seem OK, but we all know that the chorus is the best. The chorus features great vocals, urban beats, a synthesizer, and great music. It’s not that catchy, and it’s not that memorable really, I’ve heard better. But despite all of that it’s a good song.

Overall Review: glowly days was sweet honey on a beautiful breezy day. I found the title track to be so sweet, so cute, and so lovely. The B-Sides were good too, and that made the single better. I only wish that it would’ve done well on the charts. But still despite all of that this single is so fantastic and it’s so ideal for this spring time weather. Dream glolwy days!

Final Grade: 94A-

No this is not about the intro by Ayumi Hamasaki, this is about a little break. Now I know that it seems like I’ve been taking breaks like crazy, but this time I need it. I have my AP Exam next Tuesday, and I NEED to study. I also have one research paper due this Friday, but let’s not forget about my final exam on that day too. And I almost forgot to mention that I have my biology research paper due next Monday, and I haven’t started it yet. So for the time being, or until Friday night, there will be no more posts. I hope that you’ll still enjoy all the other reviews I’ve done in the meantime.

Polyrhythm was Perfume’s 10th single. It was released on Septermber 12, 2007 and reached number 7 on the charts with 17,492 copies sold. In all this single has sold over 61,501+ copies. This was also Perfume’s first top 10 charting single. The title track was used as the NHK Kankyou Recycle Campaign song. This single was released in CD and CD+DVD edition. This is also the second single in the GAME Era.

Tracks:
1. Polyrhythm
2. SEVENTH HEAVEN
3. Polyrhythm -extra short edit-
4. Polyrhythm ~Original Instrumental~
5. SEVENTH HEAVEN ~Original Instrumental~

Review:
Polyrhythm, many rhythms? Now just don’t think that the description means this song has many rhythms. I used those words because the that’s what the title would mean, assuming I know my Latin, it’s literally Many Rhythms. Anyway, with that being said, let’s get to the review. Again that heavy techno music opens up along with Perfume’s distorted vocals, followed by some addictive beats. At the 30 sec mark they begin the chorus and it sounds so magnificent. It’s so up-beat and so so infectious, I just loved the vocals and the overall mood. In this song they just sound so happy, and the music makes it even better. That up-beat techno music really makes the song. I loved the verses here, even though at some points it was hard to distinguish between it and the chorus. Another great song for Perfume

SEVENTH HEAVEN, the lonesome B-Side. This song, to date, is only featured on this single and not their newest album. A beautiful piano solo opens up the song, followed by those infamous distorted voices. Shortly the piano is joined by that familiar dance/techno music. Then the piano ceases to play and that techno music takes over, and Perfume can be heard singing just a little. The first verse then begins, it’s very cute sounding and with the beats it sounds so laid-back. And then the chorus comes again. And I really love the vocals, especially during the high notes, I guess it’s that distortion that makes it sound so good. The way they pronounce Seventh Heave sounds so great, the best part of the song. Too bad it wasn’t added to the album.

Polyrhythm -extra short edit-, it’s all in the name. This version is just a shortened version of Polyrhythm. Nothing has changed as far as the vocals go, it’s just the length of the music. I must say that I like this version a little bit better than the original, it’s shorted and more compact than the original. Not a bad mix, or edit I guess.

Overall Review: Polyrhythm was many things. Mostly dance and techno all rolled into one compact single. I loved the vocals and the distortions, although it does make it hard to judge them on vocal talent, but we can assume they’re great singers. The whole feel of the single was fantastic and so outstanding. It’s really an easy listen. Pure dance and club fun, rolled into one (I’m so good a rhyming)!

Final Grade: 95A