Beyond the Sea

ALBUM REVIEW
Every Little Thing - Door

1. GATE #8 (Instrumental)
2. Masaka no Telepathy
3. Kirameki Hour (Door version)
4. Paris no Musume
5. Sakurabito *
6. WONDER LAND
7. Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo feat. Makihara Noriyuki *
8. B.L.V.D. (Instrumental)
9. NEROLI
10. Karakara
11. Koi wo Shiteiru *
12. gladiolus
13. Ophelia_act2

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Note: Songs with a (*) at the end of their titles have already been reviewed. Click on the links to see their reviews.
Songs in bold are new tracks and will be reviewed.

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This is Every Little Thing’s 8th album and it was released on March 5, 2008. This album reached #2 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 85,076 copies.

I hate how good Every Little Thing’s instrumental tracks are because they could make such awesome full-length songs. This is the case with the opening track GATE #8 because it features a great accumulating guitar that starts the album off with a breath of fresh air.

At least it transitions into the incredibly catchy Masaka no Telepathy, which felt like a continuation of the opening instrumental. It’s a very upbeat song comprising of infectious piano, strings, and drums. I especially liked the rhythmic drums of the chorus. Kaori Mochida’s vocals sound better than ever too.

The next track is a new and improved version of Kirameki Hour, the first single released for the album. The “Door version” of the song features new vocals and a retouched arrangement. It sounds more softer than the original thanks to the added piano and chimes. The music does sound more polished even though they didn’t get rid of that little ticking sound, but that’s okay.

Up next is a cheery, percussion based song. Paris no Musume has upbeat drums with distant bells and horns in the background. The bridge is the highlight of the song because of its cool bass solo. Mochida’s vocals are pleasant to ears too.

The album’s latest single was the dramatic Sakurabito. With a traditional Japanese ballad flair, the verses are calm and elevate to a more powerful chorus. Even though it’s my least favorite of the album’s singles, it still offers some variety.

I thought the funky synth of the the next track, WONDER LAND, was pretty surprising after the end of Sakurabito.  The title “wonderland” seems to be pretty common amongst J-pop artists these days. That’s besides the point though. The band delivers another fun and upbeat song and because of the synth pop sound of the music, it reminded me of their older works back when the band was a trio.

The band’s cover of Noriyuki Makihara’s Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo is next, with the original artist providing background vocals during the chorus. I finally got a chance to hear Makihara’s original song and the cover is radically different in terms of overall style. It’s more upbeat, follows a brisk pace, and the arrangement has a winter atmosphere to it. The original had a band arrangement and was sung at a slower pace.

The album’s next instrumental is the calm and relaxing B.L.V.D., a simple piece that acts as a bridge after the wintery Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo and into the rockish NEROLI. The instrumental is progressive, becoming louder further in but still maintaing a laid back sound.

NEROLI is probably the most aggressive song on the album, drifting away from the soft rock sound of the other tracks. The electric guitar is much more involved in this song, playing a big part in the overall arrangement. I liked the alternative sound of the riffs and the nice solo during the bridge too. It was nice hearing Mochida put more emphasis into her vocals too.

I absolutely loved the next track because it is one of the group’s most unique songs. Karakara has a vibrant island sound mixed with a little reggae on the side. While the music has a common tropical island theme, it sounds excellent in the context of the album. I’m glad the band was stirring the pot a little with this song. Mochida’s voice fits right in with the music too, complimenting it quite well.

The lovely winter love ballad Koi wo Shiteiru follows, and it’s my personal favorite of the album’s singles. The grand arrangement is what makes this song shine and the sweeping strings, drums, and gentle riffs give the music a beautiful ambience.

The album is drawing to a close and the next song is a calm ballad. gladiolus (as in the flower) is a pretty song with excellent, stronger vocals. The music begins rather calmly with gentle strings and chimes, but soon includes short riffs of the electric guitar.

I was very pleased to hear Ophelia_act2 as the album’s final track. For those who didn’t know, the original “demo version” or act 1 of the song appeared as the B-side on the Sakurabito single. Act 2 actually features singing and a much more involved, ambient sound. The accordions of act 1 are gone and replaced with strings and acoustics instead.

Door is really soft rock at its best, I can’t stress it enough. Even though the album is primarily soft rock, songs like NEROLI and Karakara added some much needed flavor. Every Little Thing has gone through several changes with their music and the phase they’re going through right now is a welcome addition to the various styles they have performed. I did find this album to be on the same level as their previous one (the more rockish Crispy Park) in the music department, but what sets Door apart is the overall performance of vocalist Kaori Mochida. Her voice sounds stronger and fuller than in Crispy Park, even though it will never be the same like when the group first debuted because of complications from touring and bronchitis. That’s okay though because she’s still a great singer, her voice has just changed over the past 10 years, that’s all.

Overall Rating

4 stars

SINGLE REVIEW
Every Little Thing - Sakurabito

1. Sakurabito
2. Ophelia_act1
3. Sakurabito (Instrumental)
4. Ophelia_act1 (Instrumental)

This is Every Little Thing’s 34th single and it was released on February 13, 2008. This single reached #9 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 24,045 copies.

Sakurabito is a traditional flavored ballad from Every Little Thing. With oriental styled instruments and a slower, more laid back arrangement, the song has a simple formula. The verses are calm and accompanied by minimal strings and piano while the chorus showcases an accumulation of these sounds coming together at a faster rate. It sounds quite dramatic overall, but I wasn’t really feeling it unfortunately.

The B-side is a very unique offering from the band. Ophelia_act1 is inspired by traditional European music, rampant with accordions and a constant marching band like rhythm. The melody is very simple, only consisting of vocalist Kaori Mochida singing different variations of la la la throughout the entire track. At the end. she says “Ophelia“, the only actual word in the song. On an interesting note, this is just “act 1″ and there will be an ”act 2″ appearing on the band’s upcoming album Door as the final track. I am now intrigued as to see how the song will continue.

Overall Rating

3 stars

SINGLE REVIEW
Every Little Thing - Koi wo Shiteiru /
Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo feat. Makihara Noriyuki

1. Koi wo Shiteiru
2. Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo feat. Makihara Noriyuki
3. Koi wo Shiteiru (Instrumental)
4. Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo feat. Makihara Noriyuki
    (Instrumental)

This is Every Little Thing’s 34th single and it was released on October 31, 2007. This single reached #7 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 38,357 copies.

Koi wo Shiteiru is a very pretty winter themed ballad. It begins rather calmly but then surges with percussion and strings after the opening lyrics. The chorus is definitely the highlight of the song although I wished that Kaori Mochida’s vocals were a little bit stronger. Aside from that, this is a nice song that has a lovely winter atmosphere along with a cool electric guitar solo during the bridge.

The next track is more upbeat but still has that winter theme (it’s also a cover of a song from 1991). Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo feat. Makihara Noriyuki focuses more on lyrics about winter next to fast paced synth and strings with a traditional enka twist. Makihara was the composer and original performer of this song and he also provides background vocals that blend quite well with Mochida’s voice. In the end, it’s the perfect contrast to Koi wo Shiteiru.

Overall Rating

4½ stars

SINGLE REVIEW
Every Little Thing - Kirameki Hour

1. Kirameki Hour
2. Natsuiro Natsu Yume
3. Kirameki Hour (Instrumental)
4. Natsuiro Natsu Yume (Instrumental)

This is Every Little Thing’s 33rd single and it was released on August 8, 2007. This single reached #14 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 17,807 copies.

One of the best things about Kirameki Hour are the stronger, fuller vocals of Every Little Thing’s vocalist Kaori Mochida. If you compare her voice now to the material from the band’s latest album Crispy Park back in the summer of 2006, you’ll notice a big difference in the overall quality of her voice. This might be due to the fact that Mochida had bronchitis at that time too. Anyways, I really enjoyed this upbeat, summer song. The electric guitar solos are especially good as well (a big thumbs up to Ichiro Ito, the band’s guitarist / composer for that). There was one small detail in the song that kind of bugged me and it was this TICKING sound that appears during certain parts. Even though it’s not loud, it’s definitely there.

The B-side is the more laid back Natsuiro Natsu Yume. The song features rhythmic piano chords and electric guitar, which gives the song a jazzy quality. Mochida’s vocals are little bit muffled but I think it was to give the song some ‘oomph’ and so the louder instruments, mainly heard during the chorus, wouldn’t drown out her voice.

Overall Rating

4 stars