CD
CD + DVD
1) Eye's Sentry
2) High Light!!
3) über cozy universe
4) Eye's Sentry (Instrumental)
CD + DVD Anime Version
1) Eye's Sentry
2) CORE PRIDE
3) REVERSI
4) Itteki no Eikyou
5) High Light!!
6) über cozy universe
7) Eye's Sentry (Anime ver.)
8) Eye's Sentry (Instrumental)
UVERworld's last physical single release was 2022's Pygmalion .
Eye's Sentry was released on the same day as UVERworld KING’S PARADE Otoko Matsuri REBORN at Nissan Stadium video release .
Promo wise , Eye's Sentry was used as the new opening theme for season 4 of the Ao no Exorcist anime .
Eye's Sentry is the 4th song UVERworld has contributed to promote the Ao no Exorcist anime after :
- CORE PRIDE ; 19th single
- REVERSI ; 23rd single
- Itteki no Eikyou ; 30th single
Prior to the physical CD single release , the A-side was 1st released digitally last month on 25th Feb .
A video made for Eye's Sentry but it's not included in the physical release of the single .
Usually it takes a while for me to get into UVERworld's songs but surprisingly I love Eye's Sentry the moment I 1st heard it .
UVERworld's music can be hard to like because at times they can get too over the top experimental but luckily that did not apply to Eye's Sentry .
As usual the inclusion of saxophone in UVERworld's material is always welcome . It's still not often you see a saxophone player being included in a JRock group , permanent member wise .
Hitomi is a song by Fukuyama Masaharu which was released digitally on 19th Feb .
Promo wise , Hitomi was chosen to promote the drama Haru ni Nattara .
Hitomi is described as an inclusive song that gently embraces the world of father & daughter . Fukuyama created Hitomi with the image of a "reciprocated letter" to a loved one .
Fukuyama's latest song release Hitomi is very different from his previous digital released song Soubou but in a good way .
Unlike Soubou , Hitomi is a lot more cheery & lighthearted . This mid tempo no. captured the spirit of what the Haru ni Nattara drama is & my favourite part of Hitomi is the ending of the song's melody which has a great Orchestra feel that did not sound over the top .
Just like Soubou , Hitomi is another great song added to Fukuyama's ever growing music discography & I look forward to see what else Fukuyama will release next this year .
Silence is a song by Koda Kumi which was released digitally on 14th Feb .
Promo wise , Silence was chosen to promote the movie Gold Boy that will open in Japan's cinemas on 8th March .
The digital cover & accompanied music video were filmed in Okinawa .
Unlike Koda's previous digital released song Vroom which I still do not like unfortunately , I thankfully did not have the same thoughts over Silence .
Ballads that Koda released over the years can be hit or miss . What I like about Silence is that it emphasised on the less is more aspect & Koda showcased her vocals well in this beautiful piano driven ballad .
Koda's 19th album UNICORN will be released on 17th April & Silence will be included in the new album .
Regular
Limited
Tracklist (same for both versions)
1) Orange
2) Imagination -New Version-
3) I'm・A・Believer -New Version-
4) One Day -New Version-
5) Orange (Instrumental)
6) Imagination -New Version- (Instrumental)
7) I'm・A・Believer -New Version- (Instrumental)
8) One Day -New Version- (Instrumental)
SPYAIR's latest music offering was released on the same day as JUST LIKE THIS 2023 video release .
This is the 1st physical CD release featuring new vocalist YOSUKE after he replaced ex vocalist IKE who left SPYAIR on March 2022 due to health issues .
Orange is the 2nd original song featuring YOSUKE after SPYAIR digitally released RE-BIRTH last July .
Promo wise , Orange was chosen to promote the movie Haikyu!! Gomi Suteba no Kessen that opened in Japan's cinemas last Friday on 16th Feb .
Orange is described as an emotional song that is studded with self-homage to past SPYAIR songs that were used to promote the Haikyu!! anime franchise over the years .
The B sides in Orange EP includes re-recorded past SPYAIR songs SPYAIR that promoted the Haikyu!! anime franchise :
Imagination -New Version- ; 14th single ; released digitally last Sept
I'm・A・Believer -New Version- ; 17th single ; released digitally last Dec
One Day -New Version- ; 23rd single
SPYAIR brings their 1st music release since new vocalist YOSUKE joined the band last April ! Orange is the theme song of Haikyu!! Gomi Suteba no Kessen . The EP also includes new versions of Imagination , I'm・A・Believer & One Day .
Song wise , Orange is really good . The mid tempo ballad has music elements from the past songs SPYAIR that they used to promote the Haikyu!! anime franchise over the years & I love the inclusion of violin strings in the melody .
In addition , the video that SPYAIR made for Orange has some really cool callback references to the past music videos they made which 1 of them they referenced One Day in the video .
As for the newly recorded songs in the Orange EP , the new take of One Day is the only 1 that I surprisingly do not like . Perhaps if YOSUKE sung the song in a lower vocal range , I would have prefer it a lot more but for this , this's the rare occasion where I prefer the original take of One Day over the newly recorded version .
I have supported SPYAIR for a very long time . It was devastating when ex vocalist IKE left the band due to health issues & let alone his singing voice is still 1 of the most recognisable & unique to date .
That said , it's heartening to see that the reminding members have continue on & with YOSUKE now being the band's new vocalist , SPYAIR is in good hands & I look forward to future music releases from them .
Boukyou is a song by Mika Nakashima which was released digitally on 26th Jan .
Promo wise , Boukyou was used as the insert song to promote the anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom .
Komuro Tetsuya wrote & composed Boukyou .
The last Mika song that was used to promote the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED anime series was her 9th single FIND THE WAY that was released in 2003 .
Boukyou is hauntingly beautiful the moment I 1st heard it & even if I don't know who created the song , I could tell this ballad has trademarks of Komuro Tetsuya stamped all over .
Knowing that it has been such a long time Mika has provided her song to be used to promote the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED anime series is unreal but it's better late than never for her to do this again .
FIND THE WAY to me always has been a very under-rated song & Boukyou is a fitting successor .
Mika's 48th single MISSION will be released on 13th March .
CD Regular
CD Limited
CD + DVD / CD + Blu-ray
KinKi Kids released their 17th album P album on 13th Dec but Schrodinger is excluded from the release .
Composed by U-Key zone with lyrics written by Yamazaki Aoi , Schrodinger feels both new and nostalgic with its blend of pop and city pop elements .
4 B-sides in total are included in Schrodinger :
- Sekaijyu wo I LOVE YOU (CD Regular Version Track) ; written & composed by Domoto Tsuyoshi
- Kienai Torchlight (CD Regular Version Track)
- Midway of Life (CD Limited Version Track)
- Precious Life (CD + DVD & CD + Blu-ray Version Track)
Schrodinger is 1 of those songs that it's relatively easy to like on 1st listen which's what I had when I 1st heard it .
In a way Schrodinger reminds me of Secret Code but a lot more funkier and groovier . And for KinKi Kids to conclude 2023 with a single release like this , it's a really great way to go all out literally .
CD
CD + DVD A & CD + Blu-ray A
CD + DVD B & CD + Blu-ray B
NEWS released their 13th album NEWS EXPO last Aug .
The A-side was used to promote the Tokai TV x WOWOW co-produced drama Gifted starring member Masuda Takahisa .
Amemiya Rima drew the CD + DVD B & CD + Blu-ray B cover of Gifted , who also created the Gifted comic that the drama of the same name is based on .
A total of 5 B-sides are included in Gifted :
- ROOOTS ; written and composed by NEWS themselves
- Nettaiya (CD Only Track)
- Kofukuron (CD Only Track)
- Anti French Kiss (CD + DVD & CD + Blu-ray A Track)
- Jekyll to Hyde (CD + DVD & CD + Blu-ray B Track)
Reaching the landmark 30th single release milestone in the form of Gifted , NEWS definitely have came a long way .
Song wise , Gifted is very different from the usual music style NEWS is known for . In this case , Gifted is dark & gritty which fits the theme of the drama really well .
B-sides wise , ROOOTS is a snapshot of NEWS' 2 decades in the music business as the lyrics has a lot of callbacks to their past song releases which's Easter eggs loaded and for them to personally create the song themselves , that says a lot .
I look forward to see what NEWS will deliver this year in 2024 .