1. Tsubomi
2. Heikou Sekai
3. Isshun No Chiri (Kawasaki Electro Academy Mix)
4. Tsubomi Instrumental)
Aqua Timez are a band best known for their opening songs for Bleach, but they also make great music outside of the anime domain, which is why I am surprised that when Japanese music fans list their favourite bands, Aqua Timez is seldom one of them. Some people would say they are repetitive, given that their formula for songs are strong inspiring lyrics, pianos, funky guitar and a strong bass. However Aqua Timez is far from being repetitive, and each song by them has it's own character. Their two most recent singles, 'MASK' and 'Tsubomi' prove Aqua Timez are still very much in the game, and have set the standard high for their new album, out in September.
Whilst 'MASK' saw a heavier Aqua Timez enter 2012, 'Tsubomi' is a back to basics song, and is similar in sound to arguably their one of most famous song, 'Niji'. It's hard to describe what the 'Aqua Timez sound' is, but in a nutshell it involves a catchy, epic chorus, 'half-rapped' vocals,and short, snappy verse/pre choruses.
Easily the stand out feature of the title track are the lyrics. They are incredibly inspiring, both in meaning and the way Futoshi, the vocalist, can say what he wants without being all mysterious and using long Japanese words that I've never heard of or use in normal day-to-day life. But this song does not sound like a rehash of 'Niji'. It has the stronger guitars and drums that 'MASK' had, and the one of the only disappointing thing about this single as a whole is the lack of a strong bass, as their bassist, OKP-Star, is easily one of my top 5 bassists.
The song that really impressed me was the B-side 'Heikou Sekai'. The opening riff throws you off balance, and I thought the song would be a slow song by Aqua Timez which would develop into a strong, distorted chorus (like the song 'One'). I was wrong, and the song is a mid-paced rock song with a BEAUTIFUL pre chorus. The song changes key at the pre chorus, but the way Futoshi harmonizes his vocals created an image in my mind of the sun breaking through storm clouds. His voice is very smooth and calming and sent shivers down me. I would really like them to experiment with this sound more, as it works very well for them.
The third B-side stumped me. It's a remix of a one of their songs which has an immense opening, 'Isshun No Chiri'. This remix is so distant and gravelly in sound that at first I thought maybe the disc had scratched when I had tried to upload it into my computer. You can't hear the lyrics, the music or anything really. It's probably similar in sound to chalk scraped onto a blackboard, which is a shame, as this remix prevents the single being an easy 10/10.
9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment