Second set of affiliates:

Jrock & the Visual Kei 2.0

Go check ‘em out, guys :)

Release Date: 2007.12.19

Tracklist:

1. Love Scream Party
2. Toon Daily Late Show
3. Gentou
4. Oreshiki Continue
5. Primal

Welcome to SuG’s first mini-album! SuG is a new band, around a year old, who’ve been signed to the Indies-PSC label alongside Screw. So far this is their third release (excluding a part on an omnibus album and a live-only distributed single). They’re receiving mostly praise so far, and seem to be quick on their way to making a name for themselves.

Love Scream Party, the almost-title track of the album, also has a PV release that came with the limited first press of the CD. It’s a fun song, one that makes you move around to the music. As I’ve said in the past, I’m a sucker for that. On first listen, it was a bit repetitive and seemed a little too long (not good for a song that barely makes 4 min.), but as I listen to it a bit more, it’s grown on me. I like the chorus, it gets stuck in my head. I also really like Chiyu’s bass solo.

Next is Toon Daily Late Show. Up until Takeru started singing, the song sounds like something An Cafe has released, I just can’t seem to put my finger on what. Nothing really stands out in this one to me, aside from cute sounds Takeru can make. There’s also another guitar part that made me think of An Cafe (could just be me, though).

Third song is Gentou. This one is a little bit harder than the others on the album, but I like it. Takeru’s voice could use a bit of work in it, but he’s young and so is the band– I think they’ll be improving with time. And again, I’m envious of this boy and high notes he can hit. I think the Chiyu, Masato and Yuji (bass and guitars) show a bit more skill in this one compared to the other releases so far, too. And yay– wailing guitar solo. I love those. This song actually sounds a little bit like Scheat to me, but with more guitar/bass and less keyboard.

Next: Oreshiki Continue (By the way, if that’s an incorrect name, feel free to let me know. I’ve seen several names for it so far.) I’m really not too fond of this song. It’s got the type of rhythm that I just am not terribly fond of– it’s so easy to get annoying with that rhythm. I do however think pieces of it are very cute. Then again, that’s a good way to describe SuG: pieces of them are very cute, although some pieces are a little irritating. Like I’ve said, I think they’ll improve with time.

Last song is Primal, which sounds like a last song to me. It’s the type of song you hear during an encore, the last bit of energy before the show is over. A bit more mellow than the previous bits, but at the same time more energetic. Does that even make sense? Oh well. I like it.

I think Primal and Gentou are my favorites. Overall, I think this was an alright album, showing good things for a still very-new band, but still showing plenty of room for improvement. I wouldn’t really recommend it for someone trying to get into the band though– I think their two regular singles, Scheat and Alterna., showcase the band a bit better.

Splash!
Tracklist:
1.) Splash!
2.) Daidai Glitter Summer 2007

OHP!
Buy It!

Ok, so, I decided to review v’s new single, Splash! because… well… nothing else interesting has came out (yet), and quite frankly, I am a big fan. Deal. For a brief overview of the bands history, please refer to this article.

Splash! is v’s second release, and all in all I’d say they’re doing well. The title track begins and I am seeing a slight trend, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It starts out with a very brief musical intro before Jun starts singing. Flashbacks of Jelly Pool? I think so. They mixed it up a little with a sort of rhythmic singing — something I found very similar to a few verses in “Monsutaa” (HeaRt). If you haven’t heard the song, it is also similar to the style Rip Slyme or Orange Range have been known to use. Splash! is very upbeat, and makes you want to bounce around like a retard. I am not sure how to describe this, but it has a sort of ‘ending’ feel. I had a similar feeling when I first heard the song “Ba no Ataranai Basyo” off of Merry’s Gendai Stoic album. Basically, I would have to say the way the song sounds it kind gives you a closure of sorts. Whenever I hear a song like this, I don’t immidiately think to myself, “Oh! I need to hear the next track now.” I kind of wish Splash! was second on this CD, as I think it would be more effective as the “grand finale” so to speak, instead of the opening track.

The other song on the single is Daidai Glitter Summer 2007. For those of you that are not big HeaRt fans, I regret to inform you this is merely a cover of the HeaRt song, “Daidai”. I personally prefer the original version. They gave it a much more poppy spin this time around, which I think suit’s -v-’s style very well… But the original version of Daidai was a little harder, a little more garage-bandy, and I think it fit the song better. The song itself, however is absolutely amazing. The chorus sends chills down my spine every single time I listen to it. So really, even though I didn’t enjoy this version as much, the song is so epic that I cannot say they did it any harm by adding some synthesizer/keyboard effects and changing the tempo.

Overall, I am very pleased with this release; you definitely get your money’s worth. Splash! was a great song, and I got all nostalgic and took a trip down memory lane with Daidai Glitter Summer 2007. If you enjoyed Honey Bee or any of the HeaRt releases, I would say this single should be added to your monthly/weekly/daily(if you are insane and also very rich) shopping list.

Honey Bee
Tracklist:
1.) Honey Bee
2.) Jelly Pool

OHP [a sample of the single can be found there]
Buy it!

Before I get into this review, let’s take a second for a brief history lesson.

v (pronounced Neu; see here for more info) is actually composed of the former members of HeaRt, excluding Yuki (ex-drums). Why he left, I don’t know. If someone can fill me in, I’d appreciate it. Anyways! They replaced him with Rei, and thus became v. Now! On to my review.

Honey Bee is the first single v has released, under their new name. From the sounds of it, they’re off to an excellent start. With the same awesome guitar riffs, strong vocals, and upbeat make-you-want-to-bounce-around feeling, they definitely held up to my expectations. Though they’ve messed with their lineup a bit, I’d say this single is on par with other HeaRt releases such as Sophia to Mushikuikippu and Planetarium.

While Honey bee is a cute little love song, the lyrics to Jelly Pool follow a rising trend in Oshare Kei– suggestive lyrics. In fact, the song actually suprised me a bit. Let’s just say when I read the title “Jelly Pool” the first thing that ran through my mind was not bodily fluids.

I really love Jun’s vocals in this single. His singing technique has solidified quite a bit, giving us a taste of the true talent he has. Both tracks I recommend; I can’t bring myself to chose a favorite between the two, as they are both quite catchy.

All in all, this single is filled with awesome, up-beat, fast tempo songs that will have your head bobbing through the night and into the morning… when they’re still stuck in your head.

Release Date: July 04, 2007

Song List
Personal Favorites in italics

1. Art Drawn by Vomit
2. Agony
3. Hyena
4. Burial Applicant
5. Ganges ni akai bara
6. Regret
7. Calm Envy
8. Swallowtail on the Death Valley
9. Mob 136 Bars
10. Gentle Lie
11. Filth in the Beauty
12. Circle of Swindler
13. Chizuru
14. People Error

This is The GazettE’s third full-length album. It features more background vocals than usual, mostly from a female voice (this works well for some songs, others, not so much). On first listen, I honestly didn’t like many of the new songs– all the ones that had been released as singles (Filth in the Beauty, Chizuru, Hyena, and Regret) were good, but the rest of the songs seemed to fall flat, with the exception of People Error. After deciding to do a review of it, though, I began listening to it again and giving it a second chance. Slowly, the rest of the songs all (mostly) seemed to grow on me. There’s only two songs out of 14 that I’ll hit Skip for, now that I’ve come to enjoy the album.

Calm Envy was one of the softer, slower songs of the album. I really loved Ruki’s vocals throughout– anytime Ruki’s really singing in that low, soft voice, I love it. There’s a nice beat to the song, and I think the female vocals in it complement nicely with the feel of the song. One of my favorites of the album.

Swallowtail on the Death Valley was one of the few songs I just flat out didn’t like. The intro made me go ‘what the hell’, there seemed to be way too much of the female vocals (I know, I just praised them in the last song, but in this one, just no). Ruki’s solo partway through sounds like something you play patty-cake to. On the upside, I really did like Ruki’s vocals throughout the slow parts, and I liked the start of the choruses.

Mob 136 Bars was next. This song sounded so much like a song off of Dir en grey’s album The Marrow of a Bone that I had to find my CD to flip through and figure out what song. It was The Fatal Believer, I discovered. Not much to say about this song other than that, except that it’s definitely a headbanging song, I liked the rhythm. Other than that, I think Dir did the sound better.

One of my favorite songs from the album: Filth in the Beauty. I loved the female vocals in this one– it just goes to show you, some songs work with it, some just don’t. It has a great rhythm (a definite headbanger, especially if you’ve seen the PV, which is absolutely great), one that makes you want to move. I love Ruki’s vocals in this song, too. This seems like a song that you’d shout along to, live.

Circle of Swindler was next. I really don’t like this song. It’s not a bad song, just not to my taste. It’s a bit too speedmetal-y for me. I did like the chorus and the bass solo though. Honestly though, my favorite thing about it was that it ended :/

Almost done. Now we have Chizuru, which is another ballad on the album. I love this song, too. It’s right up with Filth in the Beauty for my favorite song. It’s soft, got a good rhythm and bass, and like I said, anytime Ruki’s crooning like that, I adore it. It sounds to me like a song from the bit of drama right after the final battle of an RPG. It also got put into a movie called Apartment. This is a very sad sounding song, but I love it.

Overall, I think it’s a worthwhile album. Different from their old sound, but not in a bad way. Most of it has a very unique sound, something I enjoyed on re-listen. Most of the songs have got a good rhythm, and it makes you want to move– something I think everyone will enjoy.

We’d like to welcome our first traded link – The Other East. They’re a blog focused on Jrock (like us!) and techno with quite a large readership.