Here are the first batch of songs uploaded for the number lottery! Whew, there was more than I thought. My reviews will be quite brief because of the number of songs, sorry about that. Enjoy, and remember to comment or leave a rating!
The rest of the songs will hopefully be up sometime this weekend, thanks for being patient!
Lena:
#458. Love Song _ Andy
Korean | Pop
A sugar-sweet song from Shinhwa's Andy. It's not amazing (I have to say that I've always thought of him as a rapper, and his singing is passable but not fantastic), but it's a cute, warm song with lots of brassy riffs and the occasional synth.
#10984. Billy _ Romeo
Japanese | Rock
A slightly predictable rock song that nonetheless is quite good - tough and gritty and reminiscent of classic rock.
#9458. You Gotta Be (Des'Ree) _ Nature Living
English | Rock
This is a cover, Des'Ree is the name of the original singer. I've only heard the original version if this song on the radio a few times so I can't say I'm too familiar with it, but Nature Living's cover is impressive. I really love the harmonies between the female and male vocalists and the rock spin they put on the song, keeping the bright atmosphere but really putting their own take on the song.
#888. 今夜も星に抱かれて (Konya mo Hoshi ni Dakarete) _ ayaka Link has been fixed, sorry about that!
Japanese | Pop/Ballad
I love ayaka. Her voice is so powerful and rich, and she absolutely shines against the warm, full piano arrangement that is the sole accompaniment of this song up to around the halfway point where some light strings are thrown into the mix. Recommended.
Stephy:
#922. B Love (So Baby) _ The b
Korean | Ballad
I'll admit, I had no recollection of who these guys were or sounded like. According to a quick google search they are a girl group from Goodberry Entertainment that debuted sometime in the summer of 2008. The song is a dramatic string-lead ballad. Their vocals are quite good, almost reminiscent of Seeya or Black Pearl. Why is it that it's the girl groups who sound like they might have some potential that drop off the radar and never get really popular. T_T
#1024. enter _ the band apart
Um ... apparently this is just a minute-long intro of sparse rustling sounds. Whoops. To compensate because this isn't really an actual song, I uploaded the next track too:
#1025. Falling _ the band apart
Japanese | Alt. Rock
I really love this group's style. Falling has some watered-down jazz influences, which really give the song a unique touch. Try them out!
#777. トラベログ _ ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
Japanese | Alt. Rock
I love them. <3 トラベログ is a mid-tempo song with lots of bright guitar chords and a summery atmosphere. It's not one of my favourite songs by them, but it's certainly good.
melody 84, 10487, 17244, 999
#84. 旅ダチノウタ (Tabidachi no Uta) [TW Departure Mix] _ AAA
Japanese | Pop
I really love the soft opening of the song, leading into a synth-filled, cute remix of Tabidachi no Uta. I really like the ambient, warm arrangement and smooth, electronica-laced vocals.
#10487. beauty delusions garden _ POITRINE
Japanese | Rock
A gritty rock song by POITRINE. Although I'm not a big fan of their vocalist's slightly guttural voice, I really like the melody & especially the chorus of the song, as well as the tightly-knit guitar work. Worth a listen.
#17244. shower _ 12012
Japanese | Rock
12012 was one of the first Japanese artists I listened to, and although I'm no longer a follower of J-rock, I still enjoy listening to them. The bass line in shower really holds the whole song together, although it's fairly simple and mostly fades into the background. The opening verses are quite soft, leading into the more powerful chorus.
#999. Hikarisasuhou _ BACK-ON
Japanese | Alt. Rock
I love BACK-ON's style: a mix of rock, hip-hop, and electronica reminscient of groups like FLOW and UVERworld (although not as poppy). Hikarisasuhou definitely leans more towards rock, but the short rapped segments show their hip-hop influences. Recommended.
Labels: 12012, AAA, andy, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Ayaka, BACK-ON, nature living, number lottery, POITRINE, romeo, the b, the band apart
S.I.N - -OZ-
Quality kinda sucks, sorry. T_T Really screamy at first, then really melodic. Pretty typical fare, nothing that blew me away. Still, it was solid and I really like the verses that are actually sung.
Voyage - Shinhwa
A nice ballad, but for the first few verses until the chorus, the accompaniment completely overlaps. Probably one of my favourite songs from Shinhwa's 9th album though, which I wasn't too impressed with. Worth a listen.
One - Epik High ft. Jisun of Loveholic
GO EPIK HIGH. This is from their new album, Pieces, Part 1. Featuring the soft vocals of Jisun, this is one of my favourite tracks. The beginning of the song reminded me of HSM for some strange reason. Buut, the rest of the song is great. Kind of different from the darker style of Epik High's 4th album, this song manages to be upbeat and catchy yet sad at the same time. Highly recommended.
Ignition - Epik High ft. Na Yoon Kwon
More Epik High for you. =) This song starts out with Na Yoon Kwon's vocals. I can't say I've heard of him, but he's got a pretty decent voice. This song didn't catch me as much as "One" did, but still a decent track. It's mostly rapped except for Na Yoon Kwon's verses, which works out to be a pretty nice balance.
Eight by Eight - Epik High ft. Dynamic Duo, Double K, TBNY
A more solidly hip-hop track, Eight by Eight is very much American influenced. The English lyrics sound a bit random (I swear I heard "skinny jean" in there) and it's not really my kind of song, but worth a listen.
Usan - Epik High ft. Younha
Okay, last Epik High song. Another of my favourites, especially since Younha is such an awesome vocalist and one of my favourite female vocalists. Nice piano accompaniment but the drums keep a solid, steady tempo. Younha's vocals are really what make this song for me. Recommended.
ワールド ワールド - Asian Kung-Fu Generation
Okay, this isn't as recent of a release, but I love this song and I don't think I ever got around to uploading it. It's from Ajikan's latest album, World World World. There's a ticking metronome in the background and it's a really mellow song, accompanied by just a guitar. It's only a minute or so long. Recommended.
Natsu・Koi - Ikimono Gakari
A band that I recently discovered and am really impressed by. Their male and female vocalists are both great, and this is probably one of my favourite songs by them. Try them out!
Echo - Loveholic
From their Dramatic & Cinematic album, a great song from a great band. I'm disappointed that Ji Sun's leaving them to go solo, but I support her. Her voice really shines through in this song, which is slow but for some reason calling it a ballad doesn't seem quite right to me. Highly recommended.
Mirage - Loveholic
My favourite song from this album. Lovely piano accompaniment, Ji Sun's vocals are lovely. It's a really calm but sad song with a great chorus. Highly recommended.
honey drop - Matenrou Opera
One of my favourite VK bands. I was so happy when I finally found this single, and it didn't disappoint. Great vocals although they're a bit whiny at times, random growling stuck into a very melodic song, and overall just a great song. There are some gothic influences; it's super catchy. &&& there's a random jazzy piano lick. Highly highly recommended for any VK fans.
Anydream - Rain
Rain's submission for the Beijing Olympics. Below you'll find the contributions from Wang Lee Hom, and Jay Chou. It's not fabulous and definitely not one of my favourite songs by him, but it's decent. Maybe it's because this is a low-quality rip, but his voice kind of disappears below the accompaniment for the whole song. It's upbeat and relatively catchy.
千山萬水 (Quan Shan Wan Shui) - Jay Chou
Radio rip, sorry. But it's all I could find, and I thought some of you would probably want to hear this. A nice, slow-tempoed song that shows Jay Chou's vocals well, but it didn't really blow me away or anything. Plus the verse that's super-high pitched kind of annoys me.
Dream of the World - Wang Lee Hom
This song starts off in English and then switches to Mandarin. It's also a ballad, but I liked it better than Jay Chou's song. There's a prominent bass accompaniment and Wang Lee Hom's voice is lovely.
사랑 하는 일 - Sung Shi Kyung
Latest Sung Shi Kyung single. As expected, a ballad. Pretty standard fare, but a decent listen. It starts to grow on you the more you listen to it. He does have a great voice, which I think is shown quite well in this song.
Welcome to my misery - FLOW
If the song title made you think the song was sad, think again. A great upbeat track from FLOW's latest album, Isle. Very danceable and catchy with a great guitar part and a piano accompaniment that has varying prominence. A reminder of how much I love this band. Recommended.
Carry on - FLOW
Rock | Japanese
Another upbeat track from ISLE, this song is wonderfully executed. The way the vocals are arranged are just wonderful, with a great accompaniment. The song goes from a darker sound to the bright chorus. Great bass accompaniment, too.
Lovers Again - EXILE
I haven't liked EXILE's recent singles much, but I love this song. It's one of my favourites by them and is a gorgeous ballad that shows their vocals perfectly. Harmonizing is well done and the song has faint R&B influences.
Mannequin - Hwanhee (Fly to the Sky)
A solo track from Fly to the Sky member Hwanhee. Mannequin is a nice ballad that stages Hwanhee's deep vocals beautifully. I love Brian, but honestly I think that Hwanhee sounds a lot better singing solo. The song itself can get a little boring, but I'm highly recommending this just for Hwanhee's voice.
Electron Mailman - Kra
I love how this song kicks off. It's a pretty laid back song and one of my favourite from Kra.
Eraser - SAT ft. Lee Min Woo
I honestly don't know where I got this song from. XP I just found it on my computer and thought I'd upload it. It's a duet that doesn't offer much, but it's catchy and the female vocalist is pretty decent. Lee Min Woo underachieves in this song - he's a much better vocalist than this song shows, but I think it's a pretty old song, so he's probably improved since then. Worth a listen, but nothing spectacular.
Carving the Rock - YMCK
A very cute track from a very interesting band, YMCK. I can understand why it might not be everyone's kind of thing, but I really liked it even though generally I wouldn't listen to 8bit. It's a nice blend of sounds with soft, cute vocals.
Labels: Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Epik High, EXILE, FLOW, Fly to the Sky, Ikimono Gakari, Jay Chou, Kra, Lee Min Woo, Loveholic, Matenrou Opera, OZ, Rain, SAT, Shinhwa, Sung Shi Kyung, Wang Lee Hom, YMCK
