Beyond the Sea ~ The Style. Edition

Tracklisting
1. Neko ni Fuusen (ネコに風船)
2. Natsuzora (夏空)
3. Neko ni Fuusen (Instrumental)
4. Natsuzora (Instrumental)

This is Ai Otsuka’s 9th single and it was released on July 13, 2005. The single reached #3 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and sold 111,324 copies.

Neko ni Fuusen is a reserved acoustic based song and one of my favorite Ai Otsuka tracks of all time. It’s such a bittersweet song based on the lyrics but I think the music is quite uplifting. After the initial acoustics, strings and a steady drum beat come in for the chorus. Otsuka gives an emotional vocal performance, especially towards the end when electric guitars provide an amazing, climactic finish.

The B-side is also a very pretty track. Natsuzora has a more traditional sound thanks to the low key strings and adding a pop flavor into the music are the ambient chimes and light beats. Otsuka displays laid back vocals for most of the song, but she does some nice adlibbing near the end. This was a high quality track that perfectly compliments the A-side.

Overall Rating

4½ stars