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angela - I/O
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No matter how much I want to capitalize her name, I
have to keep in mind it's angela, all lower case, and some of you
probably are already familiar with her name. It's been seen in the
opening and ending credits in different anime series, but like many
of these J-pop performers, she's not just someone who writes songs
for anime. That's like saying the Aerosmith only writes music for
movies. Okay, maybe that's a bad example since there was a point
where it seemed like that was all they did, but angela is a bit
different.
Geneon has been picking up some of the best Jpop artists for release
here in the United States, something that does have a selective
market and listener base, but there's always that off chance that
one of these performers could become the next big thing, or at least
have a break out hit. angela has a much different style, and keep in
mind as well that while it may seem that angela refers to the
singer, in fact this is just the name of the band. The band itself
is a duo made up of Katsumori Hirasato and Atsuko Yamashita.
The music that accompanies her is rather unique as well. Many J-pop
songs rely on a very heavy techno sound, or Euro Beat as it's been
called in Japan, and you'll find some keyboard work all throughout
the disc, but it's more interesting than just some wave forms
bouncing around. You'll find mixtures of R&R, rock, and of course
techno with world instruments dropped in from time to time, giving
the songs a very interesting flavor.
At first, the disc starts a bit lackluster, but picks up on the
third track, "Merry-go-Round," a track that has a great blend of
piano, heavy electronics, and some world instrumentation for good
measure. The follow up track though, "The Fool of the Fairy Tale,"
is a very moving piece that is slow, but with the strings and
percussion used, plus Atsuko's vocals, it's an amazingly stirring
track. Her voice at times has an almost operatic quality to it.
The track "Maybe . . . Maybe" at first, with some of the heavy synth
sounds used, at first sounds like it's going to imitate Globe, but
the song quickly creates an identity of its own and again shows the
real beauty of Atsuko's voice. "Cheers" has a nice salasa type of
feeling in the beginning, but becomes quite a different type of
music completely, and even Atsuko's vocals are a bit different, a
bit higher in this case, quite a contract to the often lower notes
that she tends to go with.
There are some tracks that I simply don't care for though. "Feel,
Like a Breeze" is just a little too mellow for my taste, but again,
it highlights Atsuko's vocals (much of the music really does focus
on this for good reason), and I do like the backing vocals that are
included in the track. "A Poem of a Small History" is also a piece
that really doesn't sound out, and the music really is a bit bland
here.
The real standout track though through the entire CD is
"Shangri-La." This is a very intense and emotional cut on the disc
that really shows the power that angela has in her voice. The best
comparison that can be used for her style of vocals would be the
Japanese equal to Gwen Steffani and Chikira.
I/O is a decent disc, though one I'm not sure I would be listening
to on a regular basis, but it's a good way to unwind a bit,
especially after a long day of listening to heavier music. angela
though, as you may have already gathered, has Atsuko as the real
focus here, an outstanding vocalist (and extremely cute on top of
that.) If you're into J-pop, this is definitely a disc that's worth
a listen, and if you're already a fan, this is going to be a much
better way to go rather than importing it. They are probably not
going to be the next big thing in the states, but as always, this is
another impressive J-pop release for North America.
-mike-
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angela is:
Katsumori Hirasato
Atsuko Yamashita
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Track Listing:
01 - CORE introduction [I/O]
02 - circumstantial apology
03 - merry-go-round
04 - The Fool of the Fairy Tale
05 - solitude
06 - maybe...maybe...
07 - feel, like a breeze
08 - cheers!
09 -A Poem of a Small History
10 - on my way~reborn~
11 - Shangri-La
12 - Separation Running Time:
52 Minutes
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