Ikimonogakari ~I have no witty post names left~

January 2, 2009 keystoeverything
Tags: Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi, ikimonogakari, Kimagure Romantic, Kuchizuke, My Song Your Song, Pugi Ugi

Not that I had any to begin with.

The first time I heard Ikimonogakari is when I was first getting into J-pop and all I knew how to get my hands on was anime songs.

Hanabi caught my ear immediately and I played it and played it and played it. Since then I’ve grown a little tired of the song. But what it did was aquaint me with the name and style sufficiently enough so that when I found my resources I thought “Eh, I know that name”!

I downloaded the Life Album when it came out and only successfully listened to two songs on it. One being Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi, which could be my favourite Ikimonogakari song, and the other I can’t even remember. In the end I deleted the album

I don’t know what happened there. I’m sure it was a fantastic album, but I think at that point I was wrapped up in so many different artists and albums and singles that I just forgot that I even really liked Ikimonogakari.

It changed when Kimagure Romantic (the video at the top) came out not that long ago. So much fun packed into so little time, great lyrics and an absolutely brilliant video- verging on the best of 2008.

Their newest album is called My Song Your Song and there are fourteen reasons why you should listen to it – the songs. They’re all quite long tracks – Blue Bird is the shortest at 3:38 and Kaeri Taku Natta yo is the longest at 6:07 – and initially that turned me off listening to them. I’m very well known for listening to the first couple of minutes and then switching onto a different, shorter and more upbeat song.

But all it took was one epiphany in the form of listening to the end of Pugi Ugi (probably my favourite off the album), half falling asleep because I’d been up all night and I couldn’t be bothered to change the song so I ended up listening to Maboroshi.

The opening is pretty and wintery and then it slows down for Kiyoe to start singing the opening verses. All okay really, but it only particularly picks up steam during the pre-chorus. I love the melody and Kiyoe has a wonderful voice, which I’m surprised I didn’t mention before (more on this later). Anyway, falling in love with Maboroshi prompted me to listen to some more tracks. So I picked a title that sounded interesting.

That was Happy Smile Again, which is a great song, although there’s not a huge amount to mention about it. What cemented my particular love for My Song Your Song was the song after it. Kuchizuke is so dramatic. It’s actually quite dark and I absolutely adored it from the moment it started.

Right, Kiyoe’s voice. One word; Gorgeous. She has such a rich tone which really strengthens the ballads (see Kokoro no Hana wo Sakaseyou for evidence) but it’s also really versatile. She can sound sad or ridiculously happy, light and energetic or dramatic in Kuchizuke. She’s one of the few vocalist who I can’t pick much of a fault with. That’s one of the things that caught me in Hanabi – that high note right at the beginning was flawless and from then on she sounded really strong and forceful, without trying too hard. I am so bad at explaining things. Suffice to say that I really admire Kiyoe’s vocals.

Ikimonogakari do have a certain style and it’s one I’ve never been interested in before, but My Song Your Song was that epiphany moment and that was all that was needed. Ultimately I’ve gone on a ramble in this post and in the end I haven’t said everything I wanted to say about my favourite songs, Pugi Ugi and Kimagure Romantic particularly, but currently I’m mulling over a Perfume post and my 2008 roundup. But I’ll probably get back to it.

Happy 2009 though.

Entry Filed under: ikimonogakari

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