I got this shiny beautiful album in my mailbox two days before it’s actual release (CDjapan I love you ♥o♥) and was surprised to find a wonderful little photo of ninja Momoclo added to the lot ^o^ Yay! The title of Momoclo’s first album is Battle and Romance which is just a cool bad-ass name if you ask me xD The cover is fantastic and as you can maybe see on the picture there’s shine on the paper too :O Cool huh? The design on the discs themselves are also a piece of art and I love how Kanako’s member color red clearly dominates the picture (well, she’s not the leader for nothing ^^). The booklet photos are really funny too and I liked how the pictures and lyrics were seperated (probably because there are so many tracks :P) Well, I promised a review of Momoclo’s album and here it is! I’ve decided to only review the new songs or else this would take forever to finish (there are 19 tracks in total on this album! O_o) Yet again I’ve ended up nearly writing a novel, instead of a normal length post, but I hope you will read to the end anyway! ;3
Let’s begin:
Z Densetsu ~Owarinaki Kakumei~ (Ｚ伝説～終わりなき革命～)
This song is like taken out of a Ranger series, with the melody and the announcer who introduces the members while shouting their colors xD lol. Great stuff~ They really underline that they are Momoiro Clover Z now as Z is mentioned again and again throughout the song ;) I love when some of the members get to the high notes in this song, it sounds really good ♥ ^^ I’m glad this song was used as intro song, it really introduces Momoiro Clover Z in a throughout and crazy way in perfect Momoclo style~
CONTRADICTION
Whoah~ This song is so cool! The electric beat in the beginning is a killer choice and the deep voices of the girls are a nice fresh sound from Momoclo. I think the girls really shine in this song and the melody is very catchy (as all Momoclo songs are), especially the first instrumental after the first verses! I really like this song and it’s probably one of my many favorites of the new songs :D
Wani to Shampoo (ワニとシャンプー; Alligator and Shampoo)
I love Momoka’s lines in the beginning of the song, the voice she uses is just hilarious xD I really feel this is Momoka’s song, I don’t know why… Her voice sort of stands out :3 I keep wondering what they are singing about though – the title is Alligator and Shampoo – lol! It’s hard not to wonder. They keep singing “yabai, yabai”, which means something is bad. Hmm… I hope someone will translate that song one day ^^; But otherwise this is a funny little song, which I really feel would be even better if I knew what they are singing xD Haha
Kimi no Ato (キミノアト)
The first ballad on the album starts out with a beautiful verse sung by Kanako. Really her voice is just so pure and lovely – I love it! In the first part of the song the instrumental is only piano, which sounds really nice and then there are added more instruments as the song evolves. I really feel this is the best ballad I have heard from Momoclo yet. Now they haven’t made that many ballads (^^;) but this really brings out some beautiful tunes from all the members ♥ Now I’m already a sucker for idol ballads, but it’s probably just because I love how you can hear voices much better in calm and slow songs and then it’s also just a nice break from all those energetic songs Momoclo (and many other idol groups) usually do ;)
D’ no Junjou (D’の純情)
This song is just totally badass. I think it’s the violin and the melody – it really sounds like a villain’s theme and before watching the PV I was sure that was the idea of this song (as the other song was a heroine song). But then it turned out to be a ninja song and I was like “that’s even better!” xD Ninjas are so cool, but maybe they are “evil ninjas” in this song, because the melody very much indicates a villain’s theme to me ^^; Heh and then I also love the “dash, dash, dash” parts of the song lyrics, really catchy ^o^ ♪
Ame no Tachikara wo (天手力男)
This song has a very different style as well and is probably the most original song on the whole album – it’s without a doubt also the catchiest. God I’ve had this song in my head forever since I heard it for my first time (it’s actually quite terrible) but then again it’s also a really great song, so I just keep listening to it again and again! Lol xD With this song I also wonder what they are singing about – the song title means something like “from us in the rain?” (According to google translate) so I’m not so sure about it… they also sing atsui a lot in the song, which means hot; could it be they are singing about the hot rainy weather?? Probably not (laughs) ^O^;;; But nevertheless this is a really good song (probably my favorite on this disc), which I just can’t wait to watch a live performance of! :D
Orange Note (オレンジノート)
I’m happy this song finally made it to the recording studios ^o^ It’s just one of the true/original Momoclo songs that have stuck with them since their debut and it’s a really fantastic song too ♥ Too bad Akari isn’t in this version, as I really love her rap in this song (even though I actually think Shiori did a good job at covering Akari’s part too) but I guess it can’t be helped as she’s probably never coming back and I have to get used to that fact :/ I’m just happy it got recorded though, I love love this song :3
Stardust Serenade (スターダストセレナーデ)
A calm and soothing song this is, it’s probably not the most noticeable song though, but I like it anyway xD (Yes I’m a sucker for calm songs and ballads…>_>;) I like when the girls go: “ah, ah~”, sounds nice ;) The bridge part is actually also very nice in this song and is definitely my favorite part of the song ^-^ I don’t know what else to say about this song that I think it’s cute and I’m sure it will grow on me J And btw, am I the only one thinking the word stardust in the title could be a possible reference to their agency? :P
Kono Uta (コノウタ; That Song)
Yay, another song where Kanako is the first person to sing (bonus!) xD Haha, I like the fast singing parts of this song and the rap parts ♥ Kanako’s voice is also really good in this song as they sing in really high notes sometimes for this song and Kanako’s amazing voice can reach those high notes like they were a piece of cake ;3 But then again this song is probably the least interesting of the new songs. I don’t know what it is, but it’s just a bit bland imo. What do you guys think? :O
MomoClo no Nippon Manzai! (ももクロのニッポン万歳!) (Bonus Track)
I had a smile on my face the whole time listening to this song, to me it sounds like they are mentioning as many cities and areas of Japan as possible; it’s really hilarious to listen to! ^o^ The girls also try on some really crazy dialects and funny expressions xD Love it! But the “hyoto, hyoto” parts drive one a little crazy too I guess (lol) >o<;; Otherwise, a really fun and original song too, I would very much like to read a translation of this song, like many of the other songs on this album > <; *sigh*
Now to the solo songs! :D I think it’s so cool that each member got a solo song on their very first album (wow!) That’s probably a first in the history of debut albums in the idol world (lol) ^o^ and I really hope it’s a tradition they are going to keep *3*
Momota Kanako – Taiyou to Ekubo (太陽とえくぼ)
The intro is really sweet and cute, very fitting for the cute and adorable Kanako :3 I really love this song. It’s catchy and calming and brings me to think of summer and sun (which of course also is a bonus to me in the cold Denmark xD) ~ Kanako’s voice is good for all kinds of songs and this song is no exception. Even though it would have been cool to hear her in a song with a more challenging style, I really like this song and think it fits her very well ^^ It would be weird to hear Kanako sing a sad song or something, happy is more her style ;) With that said, I hope this is the first Kanako solo of many great to come in the future (^▼^)
Hayami Akari – fall into me
This is more to the gloomy side, but it’s also more to the cool side ^_~ Akari’s voice has also been good to rap parts and this song is mostly rap, but then she suddenly turn over to a more high note, which sounds totally amazing! The slow notes in this song is also really cool and the beat and rock tunes just makes this into a totally kickass song! xD Too bad it’s such a short song though (maybe the recording studio thought all this awesomeness in one song could be bad for the heart or something, so they decided to shorten it to make sure nobody would suffer a heart attack of over-excitement! Lol) xD Well, I wouldn’t mind a little too much excitement though ;P
Tamai Shiori – …Ai Desu ka? (…愛ですか?; …Love?’)
This is such an idol song in both body and soul ^o^; But nevertheless, Shiori’s loveliness shines bright in this song~ ☆ I have a feeling the lyrics must be very innocent, but then again, it suits Shiori. Shiori and the color yellow just has that feeling of innocence, am I not right? :P But yeah, it’s a cute song and good for the ears too, but it’s probably the least noticeable of the six soloes. (Sorry!) >-< But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great song, all the songs are! It’s just a bit more to the ordinary side xD If you get what I mean? ^^;
Sasaki Ayaka – Datte Aarin Nanda Moon☆(だって あーりんなんだもーん☆)
This is a song that’s far away from ordinary! (Haha) This solo song just screams A~rin in full force *U* Am I guessing right that this song is about cakes? (lol) Well I don’t have to ask; even the calendar page of A~rin in the Momoclo calendar had cakes all over it :P I loved how she squeezed in her “puni puni” trademark saying in the lyrics and it actually sounded great – yay! I think this is the funniest of the six solo songs and it’s probably also the catchiest one (can’t get the rin-rin-rin parts out of my head!) ^o^
Ariyasu Momoka – Arigatou no Present (ありがとうのプレゼント; Thank You Present)
This is a true ballad and a beautiful one too ♥ Gosh, I love Momoka’s voice; it has that hoarse quality, which just sounds great in songs and is a nice contrast to the light voices of for example those of Kanako and Shiori ^^ Momoka sings this song in a very heartfelt way and it wouldn’t surprise me if she broke out in tears when she sings this live. I’m happy she got a song like this.
Tagaki Reni – Koi wa Abare Ondekoza (恋は暴れ鬼太鼓; Love is a Raging Ondekoza)
Wow, an enka song? Well I guess that’s crazy Reni for you! ^o^; Haha! I actually like this song style and it really fits Reni’s voice imo. Again I wish this song was a little longer… When it stops I always just feel like “that’s it? I wanted more!” >_< Apart from that I’m interested to hear why Reni choose this type of song? It’s definitely a style that suits her ;)
Phew! I finally finished the song reviews, now to my overall opinion of the album: I think this is a strong debut album and it has a lot of energy. If anyone says he thought this album was boring, he must be lying. I really think MomocloZ has proved their ability to stand strong even after losing Akari as a member. I’m very glad to have bought this album and I hope it is first of many Momoclo albums, to be added to my music collection ^O^ Heh.
Btw, here’s a funny picture of Kanako I stumbled upon today! ;D
The beautiful bee queen! ♥ ^o^
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