J-Pop CD Reviews

Lia – New Moon (2008)

I most commonly associate Lia with Key/Visual Arts songs. She did Tori no Uta, the theme song for AIR, and a few other titles. New Moon has a sound that is similar to those songs. Aside from that style, she’s also done happy hardcore songs.

• 01 – Introduction
• 02 – Enter
• 03 – SANDSTORM
• 04 – Soldiers
• 05 – doll
• 06 – human
• 07 – Believe
• 08 – Boku no Ai no Katachi
• 09 – Love of Destiny
• 10 – Yakusoku
• 11 – Kimi wo Nosete
• 12 – new moon
• 13 – Last Present

Couldn’t find any PVs of her album, but this song is on it. She did some stuff for Clannad: Tomoyo After.

Eiko Shimamiya – O (2006)

Probably best known for doing the OPs for the Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni series. Her album reflects that style.

• 01 – O
• 02 – Egao wo Misete
• 03 – Canarian no Kanaderu Yume
• 04 – Mune no Cross
• 05 – Kouudou no Hito ~Remix~
• 06 – Taiyou
• 07 – I Need You
• 08 – Sora no Mahoroba
• 09 – Ginga no Ko
• 10 – Recovery
• 11 – Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni
• 12 – Doko ni Mo Nai Michi

I’d have to say Kyuudou no Hito is my fav out of them all, of course besides Higurashi.

Asobi Seksu – Hush (2009)

I noticed them on the list after hearing their song off the Kanon AMV in my last post. Asobi Seksu means “Fun Sex” (Lit. Asobu- to play, Seksu- Sex) They are a Japanese indie pop band based out of our own New York City. They sound a lot like Eisley and Camera Obscura, but with more instrumental sounds. A lot of songs are in English, some are in Japanese.

• 01 – Layers
• 02 – Familiar Light
• 03 – Sing Tomorrow’s Praise
• 04 – Gliss
• 05 – Sunshower
• 06 – Risky and Pretty
• 07 – In the Sky
• 08 – Mehnomae
• 09 – Glacially
• 10 – I Can’t See
• 11 – Me & Mary
• 12 – Blind Little Rain

This is Me & Mary, I like Glacially though. A lot of the songs on the CD sound similar.

Utada Hikaru – HEART STATION (2008)

I’ve always been a fan of Utada Hikaru. Another local, she was born in New York City, then moved to Tokyo in 1998. HEART STATION reflects her past work a lot. She has a unique style. Flavor of life is probably my favorite because it was featured in the live action Hana Yori Dango series, which is awesome and I recommend it. Seconded by Nijiiro Bus.

• 01 – Fight The Blues
• 02 – HEART STATION
• 03 – Beautiful World
• 04 – Flavor Of Life ~Ballad Version~
• 05 – Stay Gold
• 06 – Kiss & Cry
• 07 – Gentle Beast Interlude
• 08 – Celebrate
• 09 – Prisoner Of Love
• 10 – Take 5
• 11 – Boku wa Kuma
• 12 – Nijiiro Bus
• 13 – Flavor Of Life

That’s about it for now, I’ll be bringing you more reviews on CDs however, and expect to see very extensive coverage of the band Buck-Tick at some point.