entertainment

The new Wagakki Band album is out

3 Comments
By Preston Phro, RocketNews24

It’s no secret that we’re fans of Wagakki Band. So, as you can imagine, we were eager to get our hands on their new album Yasouemaki. And, now that everyone has had a few days to enjoy all the new tracks, let’s find out what Japanese fans are saying about the album.

Wagakki Band has certainly wasted no time in going from covering Vocaloid tracks to producing an album packed with new, original songs. You’ve likely heard some of them as a result of the many crowd-pleasing videos they’ve produced over the last year, and while their sound hasn’t changed much from their first album Vocalo Zanmai, the original songs have a bit more variety. But are fans happy with this new album?

For the most part, the answer seems to be a resounding yes! The CD/DVD version has around 10 reviews on Amazon Japan at the moment, with an average of 4.5 stars.

One reviewer wrote: “This is music good enough to take over all of Japan…or even the world!” The reviewer went on to compare the band favorably to classic rock bands, mentioning that listening to the album reminded him of first hearing King Crimson or Led Zeppelin when he was young. (He also admitted to being over 50.)

Another reviewer commented, “I listen to this in the car on the way to work, and it fills me with energy. I’m very happy I got this album!”

One reviewer, who was apparently a big fan of the first album, was perfectly happy with the music, but did see a problem certain business aspects of the release: There are just too many versions! It’s an understandable complaint as there are seven versions available (eight, if you count the digital version). Unless you’re a die-hard super fan, though, you will probably be satisfied with just one copy.

Another reviewer wrote about initially being unsure about getting the new release, partly because she wasn’t a huge fan of the Vocaloid covers. Nonetheless, she found the music solid and pointed out that the vocals were really good, noting that some of the duets with male vocalists helped add some extra flavor to the album.

Of course, not everyone will be a fan of every album. One reviewer gave the album only three stars, writing: “Somehow, I was a bit disappointed. It’s the same with Japanese blues recently; they produce certain melodies and certain lyrics that create a certain feeling, but it’s just not very original.”

Twitter users were also out in force sharing their thoughts on the album, like the tweet above, which reads: “All of the songs are good, but I really like ‘Hanabi’ the best! ♡”

As for this writer, I was personally pretty happy with "Yasouemaki." It’s not a particularly big departure from the first album, which I really enjoyed, though I am happy to see them producing original tracks. “Perfect Blue” was one of my favorites, in large part due to the koto sections, though the interplay between the two vocalists added a great contrast. “Hagane” was another stand out track for me, mostly due to the heavier guitars that appear throughout the song. On the other hand, I wasn’t such a big fan of “Kyushu no Sora,” but I generally don’t enjoy rock ballads, so this one is largely on taste.

In addition to the album appearing in music stores across the country, four locations were selected for special displays. Each of the displays held different outfits which singer Yuuko Suzuhana has worn in some of the band’s videos. In the image above, the singer stands next to a display with the kimono she wore in the “Senbonzakura” video at Shibuya Tsutaya.

For those of you living in Japan, the album can be found at Tower Records and Tsutaya as well as on Amazon Japan in all its different versions, including digital. The album is also available on the Amazon USA, but it won’t come cheap—the prices range from $26 used to $62 new.

Source: Amazon Japan

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3 Comments
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Such creative cultural blending!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Great album. Way better than the previous one. And his comparsion to the first hearing to King Crimson is quite understandable. It's something like "I just cannot compare this band to anything I heard before... unique"!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"...but it’s just not very original." Actually, as everyone knows, we are not a fan of this nonsense and we do not like marketing puff. And we are the gods so listen up!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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