Shokotan fans are really awesome ><
Yes WE are indeed awesome
The new ballad I guess will be the second song on the next single just like Through the Looking Glass. It's nearly an excellent ballad, but as with Looking Glass (where the chorus was a little simple) I think the chorus let's it down a bit. The initial phrase of the chorus is promising, but then it's repeated at a lower lever which sounds a bit generic and sentimental and it continues ok but not with great invention. Nevertheless the vocal and the production is good. It's likely the next single will feature another uptempo track as a contrast I suppose, but I wish she would release a single with the main song as a ballad again. Of the two songs I probably prefer Looking Glass (splendid arrangement).
I think her dressing up and playing characters almost gives her more confidence to just be herself or even more than herself, as you can see in that SMOJI show.
The spiral chiptune mix of Sorairo Days is rather like the Brilliant Dream remix, it's more playful and possibly less forced in the chorus than the original version and so is a good contrast.
I'm sad that Dear My Saint Girl is getting consigned to oblivion, it's a good melody and a vocal style that suits her. It's like 君にメロロン (Kimi ni Meroron) or Koi no Kioku (恋の記憶 Memory of Love) but possibly better than either (certainly better than Kiki ni Meroron, although it's pleasant). It's certainly unfortunate that good songs like Shiny Gate (in particular), and also Strawberry Melody and Winter Wish were left off the concert DVD.
The sound seems better on the concert than it did on her first concert DVD, particularly for her vocals. Perhaps the band sound could have been higher in the mix at times, but the vocal is the main thing and they got that right. But for a recording in an arena (as against a TV studio) I though the sound was excellent. The band does well and the jam on Brilliant Dream is good and so appropriate for that song (it calls out for it). The picture montage from her blog at that point is also a great idea and very appropriate. Her performance is of course better than at the first concert because she was very nervous at the start of that. She also seems to have fun in Fruit Punch, it's a song she maybe likes alot. Snow Tears is given an appropriately simpler staging and her vocal is pretty good. I don't think she is really made for power ballads, she is more suited for sweet pop songs like Koi no Kioku, Kimi ni Meroron and Dear My Saint Girl but the performance was certainly more than adequate even though it's hard for her to show her sweeter side in it. One of the funniest moments was the sudden introduction of the cat images during the performance of 1/2 (a song she seems to always perform well and I guess really like). I didn't like the new cap for 'Is Sukashikashipan a Little Strange?', it just seemed too big. Some of the audience didn't dance to it I noticed
The two dancers she seems to have throughout with her did quite well, although maybe it would have been better to introduce some other dancers at some point just to mix things up a bit. I suspect in a few years they may change her image and have male dancers instead of just female. At present it's still the cute idol image, and that's good because that feels very much her so it doesn't feel forced or unnatural. The sitting on a crescent moon which is then lowered used in Kimi ni Meroron replicates a staging used by Seiko Matsuda during the 80s in a TV performance. The same with the rising up from under the stage, which was used by Seiko in arenas.
More thoughts to come....
Topic: (Artist) Nakagawa Shoko (Read 460286 times)