ONE OK ROCK & their 3rd album.

These two albums arrived while I was away to celebrate my graduation.

ONE OK ROCK - Kanjou Effect (Limited Edition)
Stereopony - Hydrangea ga Saiteru (Limited Edition)

- I’ll make an entry about Stereopony’s album later.

ONE OK ROCK - My favourite J-rock group.
ONE OK ROCK is a rock group there’s been around for about 3 years now. I discovered this group a few months ago and now I can finally add one of their albums to my collection. This is their newest album, but it’s not my favourite album from them, but decided to buy it, since Yesasia still had the limited edition in stock (shortly after I had pushed the order button, it went out of stock - so guess I got the last copy) I think this album is their only album to be released in a Limited Edition, which makes it easier to complete my collection later on. Since I’ll buy their two other albums when I’m in Japan next week. The limited edition bonus is a DVD with footage from their Live Tour 2008 “Beam of Light”.

I discovered ONE OK ROCK a day I felt like getting to know new artists. So I looked through Japanese artist names and looked them up on Youtube. ONE OK ROCK was one of the groups I decided to look up, for no particular reason - except for the reason that I had heard their group name before.
I had no idea of what to expect when I clicked on their “Keep it real” PV. (Their first single/mini album)
The song’s first few seconds give a peaceful feel, then it gets louder and more rock-like. Then one of the members suddenly started to rap, which didn’t really fit my taste and I almost clicked away, then the front singer started singing. I was instantly captivated by his unique voice.



I can’t remember the last time I was so intrigued with a voice, which made me continue to listen to the song. After the first chorus, the rapping returned, but I didn’t think of closing the window, because I was already in love, with not only the front singer’s voice, but with the song itself.
I listened to Keep it real over and over again and it still remains my favourite song of theirs - even thought a lot of their other songs has come close. Keep it real is even my ring tone on my mobile phone.
The mini album Keep it real, has 4 tracks - which are all amazing. The second track is 辛い＋一＝幸せ (Tsurai + Ichi = Shiawase.) The romanji title of this song doesn’t make much sense. Looking at the Japanese title makes a lot more sense. This song is almost as amazing as Keep it real. The verses are just as captivating as the chorus and I never get tired of this song.
The 3rd track on the mini album is P.P.S.H, which has a less serious sound, compared to the other 3 songs on this album. The last track is “And I know” which is the slow song if the album, I love the chorus of this song. I always feel like singing along with the chorus - especially the “naiteru yo” part.

They’ve seemed to drop the rapping influence, since rapping hasn’t really appeared since their first mini album. I’m happy about that, since I didn’t really felt like the rapping belonged there.
What I also like about ONE OK ROCK, is that they’re a rock group, without being too “noisy”. I really like their kind of rock music. Not too sweet and pop influenced, and not too noisy and heavy.
A fun fact is that the front singer of the rock is a former member of the Johnny’s group, NEWS.
He only participated in their single NEWS NIPPON, though - back when NEWS had as many members as current Morning Musume.
I remember watching NEWS on Hey!x3 as the 9 member group and when I saw Taka (The ONE OK ROCK front singer) I for some reason, felt that he didn’t really fit in. Of course he was already out of the group when I saw the show, since I’ve only been a NEWS fan around since Weeeek. But don’t really think that this is the reason why I felt he was the odd person out - since I felt that Kusano and Uchi fit, even though they’re out now as well. Anyway, with Taka out of NEWS I can enjoy his music with ONE OK ROCK.

My favourite ONE OK ROCK album of is: Zeitakubyou, which contains amazing songs such as: Yokubou ni Michi ta Seinendan, Etcetera, Naihi Shinsho and Yume Yume. I can’t recommend the album Zeitakubyou enough.
On their 2nd album Beam of Light, my favourite song is 100%(hundred percent).

ONE OK ROCK’s 3rd album, Kanjou Effect.
01. Koi no Aibou Kokoro no Cupido. This is my favourite track on the album. They over act a bit in the PV, but that doesn’t change the fact that this song is awesome and catchy.

The song is a little short though, I’m used to songs being at least 3 minutes. But I really love this song - it’s the kind of song I really want to listen to with the volume turned up high.
02. Doppelgänger, which is a very upbeat song. It is a good song, but compared to the group’s other songs it’s a bit average.
03. Kaimu. Another upbeat song - in kinda the same pace as the previous two songs. Seems like this is one of the popular songs at their concerts - which I can imagine, since the song probably has a lot of energy on stage. It of course also have energy in this studio version - no doubt about that. It’s just missing something.
04. 20 years old. What I like the most about this song is the chorus, because the verses are a bit average, where it becomes more interesting once it reaches the chorus.
05. Living dolls. This song has a bit more slow paced verses and chorus. It’s far from a slow paced song - it’s more compared to the previous tracks. I like this song, because it seems like there’s put a lot of emotion into the chorus. There’s also full English sentences in this song (compared to just random isolated words): Ex. “If I can touch your heart, I can tell you what you feel” “They’re all the same looking like dolls”. Overall I find this song interesting.
06. Break my strings. A louder song than the previous ones. This song is also a little average.
07. Sonzai Shoumei. Another loud song. The verses are forgettable - at least the chorus isn’t.
08. CONVINCING. This is a nice song. What I like the most is actually the verses. What I also like are the little pop-like parts of the song, just before the chorus. Where they change from rock, to a more soft sound and back to rock again.
09. My Sweet baby. A slow paced song, which is a nice change after the fast paced and loud songs. It’s a cute and sweet song.
10. Reflection. And after the slow song, we’re back to the rock tunes. This has a loud and interesting chorus. It catches my attention.
11. Viva Violent Fellow ~Utsukushiki Moshpit~. Long instrumental into and upbeat. I like this song. Intriguing verses and a powerful and very interesting chorus. This is a nice song to listen to with a high volume, like the 1st track.
12. JUST. This song is a little average. Not bad, but not that memorable either. The little annoying thing with this track is that they’ve added a hidden track to it, making it 11:14 minutes long. I actually like the short hidden track - which is a short acoustic performance. I like the song and Taka’s vocals, even though they tend to get very high in this song - I still like it a lot. What I don’t like is that it takes 5 minutes from the ending of JUST to the beginning of the hidden track. It’s too long. And the 5 minutes silence is a waste of megabyte.

Rating: 7/10
(Yes, I dropped the star, since I felt like my rating options were limited)
This is a good J-rock album, what drags it down a bit is because I can’t help, but comparing to their other material and this album can’t live fully up to their 1st album.

RANKING and The END.
ONE OK ROCK, is like stated earlier in this entry, my favourite J-rock group. They have amazing songs and a great uniqueness. Which makes me listen to their songs over and over again.

My top 10 of their songs.
01. Keep it real
02. Tsurai + ichi = Shiawase
03. Yokubou ni Michi ta Seinendan
04. Et cetera
05. Koi no Aibou Kokoro no Cupido
06. 100%(hundred percent)
07. Naihi Shinsho
08. And I Know
09. Yume Yume
10. Viva Violent Fellow ~Utsukushiki Moshpit~

I’m happy I’ve discovered this group and I’ll surely keep supporting them from now on. Now I just need to buy their two previous full length albums and then I want the Keep it real mini album.
There’s not a single bad ONE OK ROCK song, there’s good and amazing.
Of course what I still like most about this group is Taka’s voice. This group wouldn’t have been the same without it. So liking his kind of voice is a great importance when it comes to liking this group.
Since one of the members, Alex has left the group now, because he groped a young girl in a train in an alcoholic state, it will be interesting to see if this change will be evident when it comes to their sound.

おひさしぶりです... Cds, Cds, gotta love em.

It’s been soo long….
Exams are such a pain and there’s still two left.
But the worst one is over - German. I’ve always been so bad at that language. It’s too hard for me, but I survived.

So what have arrived during exam studies:

Abums
KAT-TUN - Break the Records -by you and for you- (Limited Edition)
Tohoshinki - The Secret Code (Cd-Only) (Limited Edition)

Singles:
Arashi - Ashita no Kioku/Crazy Moon ~Kimi wa Muteki~ (Limited Edition A)
Buono! - MY BOY (First Press)
Guardians 4- Omakase! Guardian (Limited Edition)
Morning Musume - Shouganai Yumeoibito (Limited Edition A)
NEWS - Koi no ABO (Limited Edition)
Stereopony - I Do it (Limited Edition)
YUI - again (Limited Edition)

I didn’t realize it was soo few, before I listed them. I’ve not bought that many cds lately. Not sure why, guess there hasn’t been that many good releases. It’s also nice to save money for a change, I guess.

(Rating: stars out of 5)

KAT-TUN - Break the Records -by you and for you-

This album is a bit too average. Maybe it’s because I’ve only heard it once, but no non-single songs seemed to stick, except MOON.
Rating:★★

Tohoshinki - The Secret Code

This album contains one of the best songs ever…: Doushite Kimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimattandarou?
I can’t express how much I love this song and I’ve loved it ever since I heard it for the first time last summer. I kind of reminds me of my first trip to Japan - since it was released around that time.
And I actually disliked them a bit when they released the single - this song changed my whole opinion about them and now, a year later I own 4 of their albums and one single. This album also contains single A-sides such as, MIROTIC, Bolero and Survivor. All very nice singles - especially Survivor takes “catchiness” to a whole new level. Unfortunate the album songs are a bit too average for me.
The verse of Track 2, FORCE reminds me of another song, a lot, but annoyingly I can’t remember which. I find the chorus a bit annoying actually for some reason, especially “Join the FORCE” part - sounds too much like an add for the army.
But overall it’s still a nice album, just not great.
Rating: ★★★

Arashi - Ashita no Kioku/Crazy Moon ~Kimi wa Muteki~

Arashi is back, again, again. They’re really on a roll lately and already have a new single planned for July 1st. And like always their sales are amazing, selling more than 500,000 copies in the first week (both this single and their previous: Believe) - had no idea it was still possible in this time of download and piracy.
Ashita no Kioku is a nice slow song. It has a peaceful feeling with a slightly upbeat chorus. The pace is a little like Beautiful Days. (Beautiful Days is a bit better though…)
Crazy Moon is the upbeat song of this single, unfortunately it doesn’t seem to live up to the normal “Arashi standard” in my opinion, it’s a bit too generic.
After a string of amazing (more than just amazing) sings, this single doesn’t really deliver the same quality. Compared to some other sings out there in the J-pop world it’s a great single, but this is Arashi. They gave us, One Love, truth, Kaze no Mukou e, Beautiful Days and Believe. They can do a lot better than this single.
Rating:★★★½

Buono! - MY BOY

Buono! Are back. This is only my 3rd Buono! Single (that I’ve bought). Since for me, the quality of their songs goes a bit up and down. The single I own/love: Renai Rider, Rottara Rottara and this. I thought about buying their second album, but never got around to do it. I even picked it up in a CD shop in Osaka, but put it down again. Their album songs tends to be a little to generic. (Except for Nakamushi Shounan that song is amazing).
When I first heard the preview for MY BOY, my impression was: noisy. There’s so much going on in this song that at first it can come off as noisy, but when I heard it for the second time I realized that this is actually a great song that got stuck in my head. It’s noisy in the good way. The kind of song you jus want to listen to, with the volume turned up. The B-side Warp, is a bit too average.
Rating:★★★½

Guardians 4- Omakase! Guardian

New opening for Shugo Chara. This new Hello! Project unit consists of: Mitsui Aika (Morning Musume) Sugaya Risako (Berryz Koubou) Kumai Yurina (Berryz Koubou) and Nakajima Saki (C-ute)
This a cute and catchy single. Especially the A-side Omakase Guardian was stuck in my heard for days, even back when only a 01:15 min. preview was released. I played that one and a half minute over and over. I’m not a person that buys everything H!P puts out (except for Morning Musume), so at first I wasn’t going to buy this single, but I quickly changed my mind. This single is extremely catchy, if you don’t mind happy-go-lucky music with average vocals.
Rating:★★★½

Morning Musume - Shouganai Yumeoibito

Morning Musume has another single. I always look forward to their releases. Especially since they’ve have some great singles lately. (I’m one of those few who prefers the new Morning Musume over the old) Shouganai Yumeoibito is a bit slower paced than their other recent singles. Most fans seems to be extremely pleased with this single. I myself, had to hear it several times before I actually liked it and more importantly actually remembered it. For me it’s still a bit unmemorable, but now it’s gotten better. Now I actually find myself wanting to sing along with the chorus. Morning Musume really likes to follow the mature image recently - which I don’t mind - we have a lot of other cute idols groups, so wont miss that cup of hyper sugar. The B-side is 3.2.1 BREAKIN’ OUT, the “theme” for Morning Musume’s visit to the USA. That doesn’t makes them close to me though - since I’m from Europe, but it’s great they’re venturing out to the West. I’m actually in Japan when they’re in the US…
Well… 3.21 BREAKIN’ OUT is an upbeat song which is catchy in the generic and average way.
Rating:★★★

NEWS - Koi no ABO

Seriously… I love NEWS. They’re the best male unit ever. Not just because of their songs, but because they have some of the most awesome members in Johnny’s. Nishikido, Yamapi and Tegoshi… enough said. I even got my mother to like them. I made her watch J-dramas (I’ve translated to Danish) with Nishikido, who she found to be very good looking. (Understatement) Then one day she suddenly wanted to hear his music and I showed her the pacific concert DVD (or more some clips) and then she suddenly liked Yamapi and Tegoshi as well.
Well they finally released a new single. (About time!) Happy Birthday was a bit too generic for a NEWS’ song.
Unfortunately Koi no ABO is not the biggest step up. It’s better than Happy Birthday, but it still doesn’t have the same quality as other NEWS songs. They should release more often by the way.
Koi no ABO is a song about blood types… it’s upbeat and has some disco-flavour. That’s where it goes a bit wrong… disco… do not want. The positive side is, that if anyone can pull of disco style, it’s NEWS. These guys are not afraid to be silly, with awkward dance moves, weird facial expressions and last, but not least: huge stupid sun-glasses. That WIN! Wow… I adore these guys. It’s actually possible to enjoy Koi no ABO just for its silliness. The B-sides Labyrinth and OPEN YOUR EYES are very decent B-sides. Less upbeat and less silly than the A-side.
Rating:★★★½

Stereopony - I Do it

I’ve recently got an interest in this group. (Recently is a few months). I came across Hitohira no Hanabira on youtube and fell in love with the song and the group instantly. Already the day after I bought this single to start my Stereopony collection. I haven’t bought their others, yet - I still have time for that. I decided to buy this single because it had a limited version. (And a good point to start a collection is to get the limited editions)
I do it, is an upbeat song with a bit of rock flavour (for pop standard). Stereopony seems to have gained attention with this single, since YUI has worked on this single as well. And there is a bit YUI-sound, but Stereopony is still themselves… of course. I do it has mid-tempo verses and very upbeat choruses and especially the chorus makes this song awesome. It’s the chorus I remember the most after having listened to the song. The B-side Signal ga Ao ni Kawaru Toki is a very nice slow paced song - a perfect match for the fast paced I do it. And besides the A and B-side we get an acoustic version for Namida no Mukou. This single and this group overall is very much recommended.
Rating:★★★★

YUI - again

YUI is finally back! Well it wasn’t the longest hiatus, but I still missed her. She’s my favourite artist above all. And this single is no disappointment. The A-side, again, is an upbeat, catchy and slightly angry song - those things that makes YUI’s songs amazing. I loved again from first preview and was listening to the radio preview non-stop. YUI keep the standard of awesomeness. And she’s surely popular as well, since the limited edition of again was out of stock long before the release. (Good thing I pre-order) The B-side Sea, is a very slow paced song and a lot of fans seems to think that thing song sounds a lot more like the “old YUI” compared to her more recent songs. Sea is a beautiful and peaceful song, making this a perfect song. Then there’s the acoustic version of SUMMER SONG as well.
Rating:★★★★★