Base Ball Bear - Shinkokyuu

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Pucchi-Mo
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Base Ball Bear - Shinkokyuu

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EMPTY SPACE | EMPTY SPACE

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Base Ball Bear 新呼吸



That's basically how the CD cover looks. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... R#>/XD.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':XD:' /> (but it's beautiful up close)



The concept of this album is that each track marks a moment in one day, from morning until just before dawn (yoakemae) and then it loops.



I can always depend on Koide Yusuke to create a cohesive album, but he went a step further this time. This is a great 10th anniversary release. There are only 3 singles and the rest are entirely new tracks!



01. 深朝 (deep morning)

02. ダビングデイズ (dubbing days)

03. school zone

04. 転校生 (transfer student)

05. スローモーションをもう一度 (again in slow-mo) references instant replay, I think.

06. short hair

07. Tabibito In The Dark (stranger in the dark)

08. ヒカリナ (light) *a metaphorical flower is named this in the lyrics, so maybe "flower of light"

09. 夜空1/2 (bisected night sky)

10. kodoku no synthesizer (synthesizer of solitude)

11. yoakemae (hontou_no_yoakemae ver.) (truly_before_dawn)

12. 新呼吸 (new breath)



Due to the distinct way this album was mastered, I recommend listening with headphones to get the most of the atmospheric effect.



To the review!



01.深朝: This intro reminds me of an alarm clock, but then it reveals itself to be a guitar. I love how the drums set up this track. It's fairly laid back, which is a rare way to open a BBB album. It's sort of a slow dance prom song pace with increasingly dramatic vocals. (sort of like an awakening) They mentioned that this album loops well between the fade out of the last track and how this song begins with a fade in. This feature makes me think that Shinchou IS the ending. Since it isn't, I keep listening and I get trapped into a loop, which is the theme of the very next song...



02.ダビングデイズ:
Dubbing Days, a cynical look at one's life. Each day is just a copy of the day before. It's so badass. I love the "ow~" that starts each verse. The Aka-Ao-Yellow line is cool too. The emphasis put on certain words in the chorus makes this extremely catchy. It's great how the instrumental sounds like it's being stretched apart in the middle. The way the chorus lines connect from sentence to sentence, and the repetition just emphasize the "stuck with the same day" concept of the song.



03.school zone: This song is very effortless and straghtforward. The highlight for me is when Shiori appears in the L-channel and whispers the 2nd half of the lines. I also like how Koide goes into this ultra high voice on "MIRAI". I like the extended "wakaranai~~~" part toward the end when the instrumental just plays instead of the line being finished. It has a pretty catchy chorus, but it lets the 2 surrounding songs show off, while it kind of sits in the background.



04.転校生: So damn catchy! Tenkousei is in reference to Transfer Girl from their Detective Boys album. They also share fast lines that are hard to sing. This sort of has a little of the guitar sound of school zone, not really old west sounding in comparison to its prominent funky sound. I like how he sings the tricky connecting syllable parts and then the slow parts. For some reason, I anticipated a random yelled out line. (thank you) What an instrumental break! Each member of the band is featured. It all sounds great but the echoing drums that appear at certain moments are my favorite.



05.スローモーションをもう一度: The intro is really cool because it sounds

like how they would treat an intro to a live performance to keep you in suspense of the song's identity. It 's like a dreamy reggae sound, with a very solid bassline. Then the chorus speeds up to Base Ball Bear's more familiar rock sound. The chorus is pretty cool, I like the way each line flows. kimi no kage/natsu no kaze/neko no me/boku no te/ Crazy about the echoing guitar solo. The echo effects in general are nice. Later, there are lines that mention "Tabi" sometimes using the same kanji as Tabibito in the Dark's lyrics. I found this interesting because part.2 of this song was the double A-side to Tabibito in the Dark. I'm not yet sure how/if these tracks all connect. (but part.2 was released sooner than part.1 <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hahaha.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':hahaha:' /> )



06.short hair: I like this single, more and more. I like the simple catchy

drum beat, the repetition in the chorus, and the instrumental break in the middle.



07.Tabibito In The Dark: The song walks toward the dancing chorus. If you listen to this with headphones, there's a very interesting effect. The bass is strictly on the L-channel and percussion on the R-channel. The guitars are blended in between. A bit after the minute mark, the low guitar trades spots with bass and high guitar with percussion. I wonder if how they walk around in the PV is in reference to this.



08.ヒカリナ: A signature Base Ball Bear sound, especially the chorus. I originally thought they made it sound so much like a "single" because it has a tie-in with a drama, but it turns out that this song was actually in consideration to be a single. The 3 singles that did get released, actually gave them a whole new sound, so I'm happy about their choice. I really like the part that is first heard as the intro.



09.夜空 1/2: The 1/2 in the title also relates to line distribution. Koide & Shiori sing together, they sing apart and they trade roles. It works really well and is a cool feature. I think the "Oh, veranda de..." line is hilarious and wonderful. It's great how the first chorus uses "wa sukoshi" and the next chorus uses "last scene" but they sing them with almost identical pronunciation. The song is very sweet, I like the acoustic and electric combination. This is the most dramatic a Shiori lead has been, LOVESICK was kind of sleepy and WINK SNIPER was fun and mischievous. I think Akiko's influence accounts for the change, because she was supposed to sing in this, but there wasn't time for her to record it.



10.kodoku no synthesizer: It begins with a heartbeat and haunting synth. This song builds up beautifully. There's something so simple and appealing about this song. It's very dreamy, and the synthesizer element is surprisingly minimal. It begins with someone alone in their room, staring up at their ceiling. The first line that mentions synthesizer is about how a quiet gap is filled with the synth's noise. The chorus is about ineffectively shutting out the sound by covering your ears. I love the effect on the "FADE IN suru.." line. It sounds like they're gathering the particles to make Shiori's voice. Note: at the very last line, it sounds identical but the meaning changes from "become another world" to "sound from another world"



11.yoakemae (hontou_no_yoakemae ver.): They added a fade in echoing intro. I'm really impressed with how Koide handles singing rapid lines on this album. This was only practice.



12.新呼吸: Let's talk about songs building up again. We have 6 minutes and 52 seconds. This is an interesting, dynamic, and pretty epic track. Exceeded all expectations of an album closing. I'm impressed with Shiori's backup lines in this, she's really keeping up with Koide. My favorite part is what the instrumental does during the line "biniru bukurou mitai da!" It's the only moment in the song that does that and it happens around the middle of the song. It almost marks the division between verses and chorus line. I really love the chorus, it references that familiar "Base Ball Bear sound" and it definitely breathes a new breath.



Given the looping idea, because this is the track before morning, I think of this as a vivid dream. If you replay the album, you'll soon be interrupted by the alarm clock of Shinchou.



The album works amazingly as a full listening experience, but I find myself playing Dubbing Days, Tenkousei, kodoku no synthesizer & Shinkokyuu the most. However, I like to let it loop to Shinchou.



Please quote the part below for the individual track bolds and make your own review. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... umbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':thumbsup:' />



01.Shinchou   

02.DUBBING DAYS

03.school zone

04.Tenkousei

05.Slow Motion wo Mou Ichido

06.short hair

07.Tabibito In The Dark

08.HIKARINA

09.Yozora Nibun no Ichi

10.kodoku no synthesizer

11.yoakemae (hontou_no_yoakemae ver.)

12.Shinkokyuu
Last edited by Pucchi-Mo on Fri Dec 02, 2011 5:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
Delivering bad puns and deciphering 
Tsunku's madness for ten whole years!
 
You're welcome.  :thumbsup:
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