alan - Kaze no Tegami

Lex reviews alan’s 3rd elemental release Kaze no Tegami, comparing the a-side to some of Ayu Hamasaki’s work. A typically good breakdown of the tracks let us know what to expect from the single.

Anna Tsuchiya - Virgin Cat

Lex reviews Anna Tsuchiya’s Virgin Cat single, and it’s a hilarious write-up because it’s the first time I’ve really seen him hate something. Calling the A-side all ‘kinds of stupid’ is genius, and judging by the title and the cover jacket, this really does look like a failed release. It did sell 2,442 copies though, which makes me want to laugh some more.

Ai Otsuka - Kurage, Nagareboshi

It’s Lex’s turn to review Ai Otsuka’s Kurage, Nagareboshi, and the amount of praise this record’s been getting is pretty much countless now. A positive review from lex then, and the Kingyo Hanabi and Plantarium comparisons continue on.

Mr.Children - HANABI

Lex does a thorough job at reviewing Mr.Children’s Hanabi single with straight to the point descriptions on the sound of all the tracks. Each one is put into words nicely, and I’m looking forward to giving the single a go, especially the last track. According to Lex it has a nice jazzy beat about it.

Leah Dizon - Communication!!!

Lex reviews Leah Dizon’s Communication!!! album, and if you remember Ethan’s effort a short while back, this post will be a nice build on that. Whilst Ethan’s had a nice light balance, Lex’s detail for sound on many of the tracks will help paint a clearer picture on what to expect.

Every Little Thing - Atarashii Hibi / Ougon no Tsuki

Here’s another single review from the always productive Lex, this time discussing Every Little Thing’s Atarashii Hibi / Ougon no Tsuki. Both a-sides are supposed to sound lively, with some nice progressive guitar riffs for the second song.

alan - Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~

Lex reviews alan’s 3rd single Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~, and it’s the first of a running theme of singles - some still to be released - that represent the elements of nature. Apparently the feature song is a lovely organic ballad, which only seems fitting. The B-side’s supposed to be quite good also.

Ai Kawashima - Kakera / Flag

Lex reviews the latest Ai Kawashima single, Kakera / Flag, and the double A-side sounds like a safe, harmless bet, what with Lex describing the single as relaxing pop music.

Crystal Kay - Color Change!

Lex brings us a review of Crystal Kay’s Color Change! album, and the writing is a good balance of detail and opinion. When Lex get’s the mix right his usually long write-ups are most certainly worth your time. I dont even like Crystal Kay - lets be clear on that - but I enjoyed the review, and am recommending it. The album’s variety of sounds, as Lex puts it, is enough for me to at least consider listening to this album. ”Consider” being the operative word.

misono - Sei -say-

Another typically thorough write-up from Lex, this time on Misono’s 2nd album - Sei -say-. Expect the usual run-throughs on all the tracks with an effort to focus on sound, although it’s mostly simplified to how aggresive the riffs are, and the album supposedly has a great rock element about it. Worth a read if the music might meet your tastes. Oh, and the cover jacket is pretty neat.

BONNIE PINK - Kane wo Narashite

Another detailed review at Beyond the Sea, this time about Bonnie Pink’s Kane wo Narashite single which, as Lex goes on to explain, is the Japanese version of her Ring a Bell single. Expect good explanations of all the songs included.

alan - Hitotsu

Lex finds this second single from alan more catchy than the first, and the overall release quite pleasant. Also, I laughed upon seeing the word “oriental” - I guess Said has grown out of favor or something.

Mr.Children - GIFT

Lex is very impressed with the title track of this single, noting both the musical progression and the quality of the vocals. The c/w tracks are hit-and-miss, but the overall opinion is highly favorable.

Tsukiko Amano - Zero no Chouritsu

Lex has a review for Amano Tsukiko’s Zero no Chouritsu. I guess that this single, based on Tsukiko’s impending retirement after her next album, would be her last single. Lex enoys “Zero no Chouritsu,” as well as both of the b-sides to the single.

alan - Ashita e no Sanka

Lex is quite impressed with this debut single from alan, enjoying the mix between the traditional and the modern.

MICA 3 CHU - I DON’T KNOW

Lex reviews this collaboration between Nakashima and the comedy trio Morisanchuu in this punk rock-esque effort, admiring the attitude and choice English lyrics on display. He considers that these songs are “not to be taken all that seriously” - but, y’know, what music should? Mick and Keith got it right decades ago with “It’s Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)”…

ANNA TSUCHIYA inspi’ NANA (BLACK STONES) - LUCY

Lex from Beyond The Sea reviews “LUCY,” from ANNA TSUCHIYA inspi’ NANA (BLACK STONES). It seems like there isn’t much to say here, which is fitting as Lex calls the a-side “generic and bland.” I wouldn’t expect someone to write up an essay on something is such.

Mai Kuraki - Ichibyou Goto ni Love for you

Lex has another track-by-track review of Kuraki Mai’s Ichibyou Goto ni Love for you single, and the write-up is a positive one. The a-side features an electric guitar and upbeat vocals. Its quite good, apparently.

JYONGRI - Love Forever

Lex has a typically detailed review, this time of JYONGRI’s Love Forever album, and it looks like it consists of mostly ballads with touches of R&B. Lex give’s the album a decent score, and as always, there’s an effort to put across the sound of various tracks.

Whoo-hoo!
ANNA TSUCHIYA inspi’ NANA (BLACK STONES) - Kuroi Namida

Firstly Lex gives us his blog stats for the last five months, and I laughed at the numbers out of reflex. Simply put, compared to anything I ship out I don’t even come close to those figures. Well done!

Lex’s most recent review is of Anna Tsuchiya’s Kuroi Namida single, and we’re dealing with a rock ballad that feature’s on the NANA anime. The other tracks on the single are discussed ,too, including a Depeche Mode cover. A typcially thorough review from Lex.

Polyrhythm

Before he gets to his review of “Polyrhythm,” josh012595 goes over his story of how he got introduced to Perfume, which was initially through Beyond The Sea and Stereo Love. I get kick out of how all the review blogs on wordpress.com end up tied up into each other. He then gives a very positive review to “Polyrhythm” - specifically the b-side “SEVENTH HEAVEN.

Ami Suzuki - ONE

Lex takes a look at Suzuki Ami’s “ONE” and likes what he hears. Ami worked with Yasutaka Nakata on this one so it will certainly appeal to some people right away. Lex notes that the “rhythm never lets up” which is a great way to describe a lot of Nakata’s work.

ayaka - Sing to the Sky

Lex has a long and winding review of Ayaka’s latest album, Sing to the Sky, where most of the tracks are discussed in a fair amount of detail. Admittedly, I had a hard time sticking with it due to my nonexistant fandom for Ayaka and the actual length of the write-up in general. If you stick with it though, Lex does a good job of describing the album as being a bit of a winner. Sing to the Sky certainly sounds like it has a bit of everything.

[single] JYONGRI - Unchanging Love ~Kimi ga Ireba~
[single] Miyu Nagase - Akane
[album] Perfume - GAME

Recommended reading. Lex gives us three track-by-track reviews with JYONGRI’s lastest single, Miyu’s recent single and Perfume’s first original album, giving the high points and the low points of the songs, all leading to an out-of-five rating.

For JYONGRI, Lex likes the A-side, despite the poor vocals in the verses, but thinks the single was ruined by the accompanying B-sides. He also thinks the Elton John cover to be an AWFUL (in big letters) rendition and believes a rap shouldn’t have been in the song.

He also takes a look at Nagase Miyu’s recent release, giving it a nice 4-star score and saying that the lead song was a soothing ballad and that the B-side had a nice funky attitude to it.

My favorite review was (of course) Perfume’s GAME. Lex goes on to review each song, giving a highlight of each song. Although he finds the album high quality, he thinks that “take me take me” and “Butterfly” provide a weird and somewhat offensive vibe to the album. On my part, I thought those two were very good songs on the album, but despite those two, he likes the album and recommends it, which I totally agree to!

BoA - Vivid

Lex takes a look at BoA’s latest triple A-side. Apparently, according to the comments, enjoying “Kissing You” isn’t prevalent view. I don’t really follow BoA communities, but that’s a little surprising to me. I listened to Vivid and figured “Kissing You” would be the favorite. Maybe it was that awful haircut she wore in the PV for it.

Utada Hikaru - Prisoner Of Love

Lex reviews, and enjoys, the latest Utada Hikaru release.