6 releases today, Abe Natsumi’s latest concert DVD, Hangry&Angry’s latest album and 4 versions of Berryz Koubou’s 21st single:
Abe Natsumi Summer Live Tour 2009 ~Yappari Sneaker ga Suki~ (DVD): The DVD release for Abe Natsumi’s latest concert performed in June (shortly after her graduation from H!P, please correct me if I am wrong).
For the most part Abe’s singing is self explanatory, after all she was the main vocalist for Momusu since she joined so you can expect to see a great concert if you are a fan. I haven’t seen the concert completely but I have seen the preview on Dohhh UP (link HERE) and from the small bit I saw I am really impressed.
Even though she doesn’t have a great venue in which to perform in and the seats are not completely filled with fans (from what I saw on the preview) she did manage to make the concert unique because she used a live band to perform with her.
Overall I am impressed with Abe’s DVD, it might not be the biggest venue or the loudest crowd but she manages to sing extremely well and she makes the DVD one of a kind because of the feeling she puts into her songs.
Hangry & Angry – “Sadistic Dance” (Album): HANGRY&ANGRY’s latest album which features 6 original tracks plus 4 remixed tracks remixed by Crash Berlin, a DJ from LA.
For the most part the songs included are mostly centered on more techno sounds since the album was remixed by a DJ (the only heavy rock song would be the “THE PEACE” remix). There are 9 new songs included on the album (most of them remixes) so I will basically summarize my opinion on each one in a sentence.
“Mr. Monkey” is one of the new techno driven songs on the album, and for the most part has a pretty consistent rock sound which makes it a great choice for an album opener. “Top Secret” is one of the new songs which managed to get a PV, and even though the song is somewhat more techno focused than other songs it still manages to have a slightly heavier feeling to it.
“Lady Madonna” starts out as a ballad but slowly becomes a heavy, rock centered song which fits their image perfectly. “DOUBT” is a somewhat slow rock ballad with a catchy rhythm which is a great way to give variety to the album. “Shake Me” starts like “DOUBT” but like “Lady Madonna” it slowly picks up tempo and manages to have a somewhat slow rock feeling to it.
The “Crash Berlin” remixes mostly revolve around the same concept of following the song but having a slightly different sound (basically, don’t expect anything that different), so if you have heard the songs then just imagine a slightly slow but heavy techno sound to each one and that basically sums it up (at least for me).
“THE PEACE (h&a Death Tracks)” is basically the famous Momusu song set to heavy rock, and for the most part I think it came out great, although Yossie and Rika somewhat missed the enthusiasm of the original song (I have no idea if Tsunku did the “Peace!”s and the grunts in the song or if it was his evil version of him).
Overall recommendable for fans of H&A since they seem to try a new techno driven style, but also stay faithful to their heavy rock image they started with.
Berryz Koubou – Watashi no Mirai no Danna-Sama/Ryuusei Boy: Berryz Koubou’s 41st single which, following their previous single, is also double A-side. The single features 4 versions: Regular, Limited A (includes DVD with “Watashi no Mirai no Danna-Sama” Close Up Ver), Limited B (includes DVD with “Ryuusei Boy” Dance Shot Ver), and Limited C (includes a collectible Inazuma Eleven card).
“Watashi no Mirai no Danna-Sama” is an upbeat song with a slightly heavy instrumental track which contrasts with the somewhat calm singing of the girls (the main singers being Risako, Miyabi, Momo and Kumai). “Ryuusei Boy” is also an upbeat song which has as one of its main features a catchy sound with more evenly spread lines and an even catchier dance with easy to follow steps.
The close-up version of the PV for “Watashi no Mirai no Danna-Sama” basically features all of the members singing while they are sitting on the many chairs with the occasional close-up to the face (my favorite so far from the PVs I have seen for this single). The dance shot version for “Ryuusei Boy” features the girls dancing in front of a white screen with the top half being the sky which constantly changes colors (with an occasional shooting star passing by).
Overall I liked this single a lot since both of the tracks are extremely catchy and upbeat and because of the great PV’s UFA managed to make for both of them. I will review this single more in-depth in a coming review.
The next release date is 11/18 with the Single V for one half of Berryz Koubou’s 21st single “Ryuusei Boy”, C-ute’s first Best-Of album, and Guardians 4 3rd single.
