Miwako Okuda – Futari

September 17, 2006 at 5:51 PM | Posted in Miwako Okuda | 3 Comments
Tags: albums

Futari (二人) is Miwako Okuda’s debut album and it was released on June 22, 2005. The album reached #36 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and sold 10,963 copies.

♦ ♦ ♦

The opening track is Aozora no Hate, Okuda’s “re-debut” single under BMG Funhouse. It’s an omninous song that works very well in setting the overall depressing mood of the album.

Track 2, Mugon, is all about questions. Is it good to love? Is it bad to hate? and so on. I love the powerful percussion and opening guitar riffs. The bridge contains great riffs too. The song becomes more brazen with even stronger vocals near the end.

Track 3 is quite possibly the most pop oriented song on the album. The chorus of Ame no Oto contains repetitive lyrics but I find them to be very catchy.

Track 4, Ame to Yume no Ato ni, is much like Aozora no Hate, a mellow rock song with powerful riffs. 

Track 5, Nichiyoubi no Asa, is the first ballad on the album. The verses are slow paced but quickly elevate and Okuda’s vocals are simply amazing. This song is all about acoustic guitar and strings.

Track 6 in my opinion, is one of the most aggressive rock songs on the album. Yume also features extremely loud and powerful guitar riffs as well.

Unfortunately track 7, Kanashimi ni Oborete, is the last true rock song on the album. Once again, Okuda’s powerful vocals match the angry lyrics making this another great addition to the album.

Track 8 is the first full blown piano ballad of the album. Habataite Tori wa Kieru was released as a double A-side single (Utau Riyuu being the other A-side).

Track 9, Zetsubou no Hate, is basically a piano ballad version of Aozora no Hate with more cheerful lyrics. The melody is the same so there really isn’t anything new.

Track 10 is by far the best ballad on the album. Sakura Chiru Mae ni is a little different because the chorus features light electric guitar riffs and percussion. Okuda’s vocals are astounding as well.

Track 11 is the beautifully disturbing Buranko ni Yurete, the B-side from the Aozora no Hate single.

The next track is Utau Riyuu, a two-faced song with an explosive ending. Since this song is so short with an odd overall structure, it’s almost like an interlude. That’s the weird thing because this song was also released as a single.

The final track on the album is also the saddest one. Futari 2002.11.4. LaValse contains lyrics that are really depressing because they depict her lover committing suicide and she wishes that they could have done it together. The strings add a mystical feeling to the song but also include an extra dose of sadness. It’s a beautiful yet extremely depressing way to end the album.

In my opinion, she has released one of the most emotionally driven albums I have ever heard and I think it’s a masterpiece. Each song has themes of death, suicide, sorrow, betrayal, and all that other sad stuff. It’s a shame she didn’t write ANY of the lyrics; famous songwriter Yuu Miri did, and some of the songs are just plain sad (and disturbing at times). Okuda stands out amongst the other artists I listen to because of the dark lyrics of these songs. It’s not cute and fluffy, and that’s what makes this album worth listening to.

Overall Rating

5 stars

Tracklisting

1. Aozora no Hate (青空の果て)
2. Mugon (無言)
3. Ame no Oto (雨の音)
4. Ame to Yume no Ato ni (雨と夢のあとに)
5. Nichiyoubi no Asa (日曜日の朝)
6. Yume (夢)
7. Kanashimi ni Oborete (哀しみに溺れて)
8. Habataite Tori wa Kieru (はばたいて鳥は消える)
9. Zetsubou no Hate (絶望の果て)
10. Sakura Chiru Mae ni (さくら散る前に)
11. Buranko ni Yurete (ブランコに揺れて)
12. Utau Riyuu (歌う理由)
13. Futari 2002.11.4. LaValse (ふたり 2002.11.4. LaValse)

Note: My favorite tracks are highlighted in blue!