BoA’s “Sweet Impact”

 

BoA / Sweet Impact / April 25, 2007
♫ 01. Sweet Impact / 02. Bad Drive

Spring is once again upon us. Long gone are the marshmallow coats and boots caked with snow, the winter ballads, the slow and serene ambient-jazz-pop, the terrible and disappointing releases from The Arcade Fire and Bloc Party and Linkin Park and pretty much everything else released in 2007 besides Hellogoodbye (!) and Hilary Duff (!!!). However, I am honestly ready for cheesy pop music, in fact, I welcome it, if only because it means I don’t have to steer my automobile through two feet of snow and two inch visibility.

I’ve never been a huge BoA fan and I’m still not. Any reviews I’ve done of her music in the past have been filled with disappointment and disinterest; so why I keep sampling her new releases, I have no idea. Maybe in hopes that I’ll find another “Girls on Top” (the song, not the album). Well, I definetly did not find it in her latest single. “Sweet Impact” is a typical Japanese pop song complete with a retro-ish vibe and plenty of synth keyboard effects. Nothing catches my interest in this song. The c/w track however, is actually…good. Not excellent, not astounding, not another “Girls on Top,” but it is significantly more catchy and original than the title song. If I could be disappointed in anything about it, it would be that it was not chosen as the title track. With a larger funky sound and less full instrumentation, it’s a song lighter on the ears with smoother transitions and techno influence perfect for cruising.

But bottom line: it basically impressed me because it wasn’t completely awful. This is truly a step-up for BoA. You know, until her next single.

♫ Official Site
♫ Buy Sweet Impact

Hellogoodbye’s “All of Your Love Remixes” EP

Hellogoodbye / All of Your Love Remixes / March 13, 2007
♫ All of Your Love (Kimmy Pop Remix)

Hellogoodbye are the quintessence of 21st century celebrity. Much like Panic! At the Disco, they were discovered largely by self-promtion through the Internet. However, unlike Panic! At the Disco (and one of the largest consternations many have with said band), they did play many live shows before being signed with Drive-Thru Records in 2004. Their music mainly consists of light and fluffy power-pop songs with catchy choruses and very innocent lyrics that coincide with their almost squeaky-clean image. Their first full-length album had a bit of a mention on my top songs of the year list, and since then, I’ve looked forward to anything the boys might release.

In March of 2007 they finally released an iTunes exclusive EP, a batch of remixes of “All Of Your Love,” the first track on Zombie! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! Perhaps in lieu of 2006’s Remixes! success, all three of the songs featured on the disc are upbeat club or dance numbers. My personal favorite has to be the “Kimmy Pop Remix” which twists the song into an even fluffier version, if at all possible. If the remix was all on its own, I doubt it would as good (there are traces of typical eurodance elements to the song, a genre I’ve been avoiding at all costs lately), but the nonsensical lyrics somehow manage to salvage the song. On the other hand, “Forrest’s Remix” has more of a lounge/hip hop edge to it, that slows the track down and brings an almost nonchalant R&B flavor to the song, a complete turn from the original. I can honestly say I don’t hate it. A great EP as Hellogoodbye’s first 2007 release and as always, I’m looking forward to their future boy-band-esque output.

♫ Official Site
♫ Buy All of Your Love Remixes

Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done”

Linkin Park / What I’ve Done / April 02, 2007
♫ What I’ve Done

I used to be an insanely huge Linkin Park fan. I defended them at the height of their mainstream success, at a time when everybody asked, “Seriously, why does anyone like them? They are not that great.” I couldn’t describe it, although I remember coming up with excuses like, “They combine hip hop and rock and even some orchestral elements to create a delicious hybrid of musical awesomeness.” Or something. And I will deny this later, but I totally went and stood in line on the day of Meteora’s release back in 2003. Let me repeat that: 2003. It has been four years since their last album. Four long, ungodly years filled with unforgivable side projects and horrible rock/rap collaborations.

So you’d think after four years of getting all the hypothetical shitty third records out of the way, they would all come together and create a masterpiece of da Vinci proportion. But nay, my friends, instead, we get “What I’ve Done,” a very lackluster come-back single. When the song first started up, a haunting piano melody, with an almost excruciatingly simple drum beat that crashes into the full-fledged melody I could swear Linkin Park had already written this song, already sang these lyrics, somewhere on some other album. While Meteora was a step forward, it seems this single is, well, maybe not a step backwards, but certainly not a step of progression. It’s just…very, very simple. Very angsty Linkin Park, circa 2000. For a single, it was a very poor choice, and I’m left thinking that if this is the best on the disc, it’s not even worth the $12.99. So long, Linkin Park. Time to let go of what I’ve done. Nah nah, nah nah.

♫ Official Site
♫ Buy Minutes to Midnight

Linkin Park / Minutes to Midnight / May 15, 2007

Ai Otsuka’s “Ai am BEST”

Ai Otsuka / Ai am BEST / March 28, 2007
♫ 01. Momo no Hanabira / 08. Cherish
11. Neko ni Fuusen

When Ai Otsuka first crawled into the world of Japanese pop music in 2003 with the release of her debut single “Momo no Hanabira,” many critics immediately hailed her as the next queen of pop, or well, princess, at least. With her cutesy image, innocent lyrics and what many had seen as an opening spot between the recent sale plummets of Ayumi Hamasaki’s records and Hikaru Utada’s short-lived respite into the world of American non-break through, Otsuka seemed the ideal candidate to steal the spotlight. However, while she failed to amass the insta-sensational status of artists like Hamasaki or Utada, she still managed to gain quite a phenomenal following with the release of her eighth single and second album, both her first releases to rank #1 on the Oricon charts.

Otsuka’s discography ranges from quirky kid-pop songs like “PONPON” to serene and almost heart-crushing love ballads like “PLANETARIUM.” After the release of her third album, LOVE COOK it was clear that Otsuka’s bubbly personality and talent for musical composition were the basis of her popularity, at which point, it was time to release the dreaded “best collection.” As Otsuka’s first compilation, it’s actually a rather poor representation of her work, with mostly singles and a huge dollop of ballads. The collection starts off with some of her more tamed-down pop numbers like “Momo no Hanabira” and “Happy Days” before abruptly switching gears and deluding the disc with her most famous ballads, “Kingyou Hanabi,” “Daisuki da yo,” (a sugary sweet love song) and “Cherish.” Instead of adding any of her really upbeat, sometimes rockish influences, the compilation plays it safe by sticking to songs like “Biidama,” failing to show an aspect of Otsuka’s career that she relies heavily on: the almost neauseatingly hyper-sweet. Otsuka’s vocals, are, as always, high-pitched, annoying, and seldom evolve anywhere on the disc. Probably the only props the album gets is for its optional DVD combo, which features all of the accompanying promotional videos.

While this is a great introduction to some of Otsuka’s best songs (both “Neko ni Fuusen” and “PLANETARIUM” are on the disc), its basic fault is that which each best collection must demurely embrace: it’s a singles collection, thus leaving out plenty of Otsuka’s better album songs and b-sides (”Natsu Sora,” “Sensu,” etc.). Particularly noticeable is the lack of tracks from her latest releases (”Frienger,” “Renai Shashin,” and “CHU-LIP,” her last three singles) which fail to make an appearance entirely, all which could have easily fit on the sparse thirteen track compilation (not counting the hidden tracks). This is probably best for hardcore fans looking to own said hidden tracks on disc, or for those who haven’t had the opportunity to buy her last three albums. In the end, it’s quite disappointing for a best collection, but then again, when are they ever not?

♫ Official Site
♫ Buy Ai am BEST