In a surprising turn of events, Yuki Uozumi (guitarist for LoVendoЯ), has announced that she’ll be graduating from the group. Having had the pleasure of seeing them perform a few times, I can attest to her amazing talent, talent which she says she would like to use elsewhere. According to her own statement, it seems like she wants to explore more ways of increasing her own skills. She also mentioned that she would like to potentially study abroad in order to perform with more musicians. Studying abroad seems to be the running fad with graduated members of UP-FRONT groups lately, which speaks volumes about them understanding the importance of globalizing. Yuki will keep performing with LoVendoЯ until their Shinjuku Reny performance on September 16th. Let’s give her all our love and support for her future, and make these final months in LoVendoЯ good ones! - Teepu After having an interesting start as an indie rock band with some pop influences, LoVendoЯ has finally had their major debut with the double A-side single ‘Iin ja nai? / Futsuu no Watashi Ganbare!’ This release is actually quite unique in comparison with their previous efforts. To begin with, there are instrumental tracks included, which are non-existent in all of their other releases. Now that their skills have improved immensely since they started, the guitarists were actually able to provide compositions this time around. While this is not unheard of in most rock bands, LoVendoЯ has a deep-rooted basis in pop due to one of their members being a prominent ex-idol from Morning Musume. That being said, let’s jump right into the review of the music. First off is what I believe is the strongest point of the whole release: Iin ja nai? The song has a very strong rock feel with some very nice tunes. One thing I really like about it is that there are no real breaks in the sounds. We continuously get a barrage of either guitar, bass or drums at all times, excluding the occasional transition. Throughout the song you will also hear some very solid (though admittedly relatively simplistic) solos from each guitarist in order to add the kind of individual personality needed to help each band member stand out in her own way. Also, Reina’s vocals, while still carrying that slight idol feel from her past, are actually much improved and appropriate in this song. Marina also provides strong vocals here as well. Unfortunately, I feel like their two vocal styles differ enough to offer a sometimes sharp contrast. While I personally like Marina’s singing better than Reina’s, they both do their parts beautifully in this song. That being said, I do like how the stark contrast is actually played as a positive quality in this song, where it oddly works out quite nicely. This song is going to provide a nice barrage of sounds to your ears in a nonstop aural pleasure-fest. The strong quality is no surprise though, considering the fact that this song’s lyrics, composition and chorus were all written by the acclaimed Takui Nakajima, who has not only composed songs for LoVendoЯ, but has also done so for ANGERME, C-ute and other big acts associated with Up-Front. Moving on to the other A-side: Futsuu no Watashi Ganbare! This song actually has a bit of pop and jazz feel to it, rather than a strictly rock style like Iin ja nai? This offers a nice contrast to the other A-side, thus providing some nice variety to the release. In this song, the two vocalist actually work to try and match each other’s style in order to provide a more harmonious experience to couple with the slightly more chaotic style of the instrumentals. The mix of styles within the instruments actually really play out quite nicely due to the talent of the band as a whole (including the uncredited bass and drums). One thing of particular note that I noticed is the way that it sounds like Marin and Yuki actually have a conversation with each other through the use of their guitars throughout various parts of the song (a style with an origin in jazz). This adds a sort of interaction to the song that you don’t see in the average rock band these days, which is very welcome. Overall, this song also helps push LoVendoЯ forward with a much stronger sound than their previous (and slightly more conservative) past. Desert of a moonlight night ~Tsukiyo no Sabaku~, composed by Yuki Uozumi (one of the guitarists), is an instrumental track that actually reminds me of the sort of strong battle music I’m used to hearing out of a Japanese style RPG game. It’s a very fast paced instrumental track that really helps show off Yuki’s skills of being able to change notes quite quickly and adeptly. Princess of lone castle ~ Koujou no Himegimi ~, composed by Marin Miyazawa (the other guitarist), sounds like something straight out of an anime. It has a more adventurist feel that makes you feel like you’re being taken on a journey rather than through a tough challenge or fight like Yuki’s song. Being composed by Marin, this one plays on Marin’s skills of a more heavy handed style of guitar playing. While it isn’t really fast-paced (in comparison to Desert of a moonlight night), it is plays more on the ability to mend together sounds to create a pleasant melody without the need to be overly complex or intense. Both of the instrumentals are a very welcome change to their normal releases and I hope they keep up with these in the future. Iin ja nai? / Futsuu no Watashi Ganbare! released on July 1, 2015 with 3 editions and won 7th place on the Weekly Oricon Charts. All editions include the double A-sides and their instrumental versions as well. Additionally, Regular Edition A contains Desert of a moonlight night ~Tsukiyo no Sabaku~ (Yuki’s song) while Regular Edition B contains Princess of lone castle ~ Koujou no Himegimi ~ (Marin’s song). The Limited Edition, while only including the double A-side and their instrumentals, does also include a DVD with both music videos and three performances of Sennou, Soushi Souai and Hontou no Kimochi from their final performance from their Steal Your Heart tour (Performed in Shinjuku BLAZE, which I had the pleasure of attending and I can tell you was one of the best concerts I’ve seen.). The single can be purchased from iTunes or from cdjapan.co.jp. LoVendoЯ Is: ◆Reina Tanaka – Vocals ◆Marina Okada – Vocals ◆Yuki Uozumi – Guitar ◆Marin Miyazawa – Guitar (Uncredited): ◆Tabasa Hayashi – Bass ◆Kiyoshi – Bass ◆Jirou Miyanaga – Bass ◆Kaori Kobayashi – Drums ◆Yu Yamauchi - Drums Videos for all four songs can be viewed below: LoVendoR's PV for the song "Futsuu no Watashi Ganbare!" was recently released and this video is just as much fun as one comes to expect from the four-member, all-girl group! The new PV is the second from the group's upcoming major debut single "Iin ja nai?/Futsuu no Watashi Ganbare!". I previously covered the release of the first PV from this single (Can be found here) and just a few days later we are treated to the second! While the two songs differ in many ways, they both give the listener the solid, fun sound that is LoVendoR. First and foremost in the changes is the fact that this song has a different team behind it that "Iin ja nai?". While Takui Nakajima handled writing duties the first time around, this time Watanabe Miki provided the music and former Hello! Project mastermind, Tsunku, provides the lyrics. This latter point is interesting as it lends an element to the song that many have missed in the recent Hello! Project outings of late. The song's message is positive as one expects and has the catchy feel that both draws in first-time listeners and keeps them coming back again and again. Being that the song is written in a more pop feel than some of their more rock-oriented numbers don't expect too much in the way of shocking drum fills or blistering guitar solos. That said, the song will most definitely have you singing along by the second chorus! Let's look at the song performance for a minute. I usually rave about Tanaka Reina's singing when I talk about LoVendoR, but I have to say that I feel that Okada Marina stole the show on this one. While their vocal style works well together on this song, for some reason I felt that there were two completely different sounds in this song and Marina's was definitely the one that I preferred. Also I feel that her personality comes out in the video more so than Reina's and this only leads to one to want to pay even more attention to her. What about her "Samashii samashii deshou?" line in the final chorus? I'll admit that when I first heard that part I was taken out of the song, but it has since grown on me and I like that little touch. Back to the main point, her vocal style seems to suit this song like a glove and while I don't think that Reina is out of place, I do feel that she was overshadowed in this song greatly by Marina. This is not necessarily a bad thing as I think there are times when Reina receives just a little too much attention. Musically we get the twin guitar stylings of Marin and Yuki here and while their playing is not front and center as it is on some songs, the two do an awesome job showcasing their skills as well as laying down some nice shared melodies and solos. Moving onto the video itself. Simply put, it's playful, fun and colorful. That could be said about a lof of recent UFA PVs, but there is a bit more meat to this video that we usually get from Up-Front. I think this has to do with the subject matter at hand as there is a bit more to work with in terms of concept. Playing off the theme of the song, we see the girls engaging in various activities. These activities come about when they are inspired by a certain group they see on TV! We get some nice fortune telling by Miyazawa Marin, some random hobbies (That rabbit in the hat!) from Tanaka Reina, dress up from Marina and just some awesome partying and rocking out from Uozumi Yuki! The side scenes give the girls some time to have fun on screen, but it is these segments that I feel that Marina and Marin visually steal the show. They not only look great, but their quirks shine through here. Lots of fun was clearly had here and that feeling comes through in both song and video. While there are a few extra shots than one usually sees, it is important to not that the video is not too far removed from the general type that Up-Front commits to these days. Thankfully, it happens to be a good example of how the simple PV formula can be done well. On a final note, be sure to watch until the very end to see more funny bits from Marin... That's it for now! Check out the PV itself in full below and be sure to pick up the single, "Iin Ja Nai?/Futsuu no Watashi Ganbare!" when it drops July 1st! Remember, be careful when playing with nunchaku! -alavic_222 LoVendoR Are: ◆ Tanaka Reina (田中麗奈) (Vocals) ◆ Okada Marina (岡田万里奈) (Vocals) ◆ Uozumi Yuki (魚住有希) (Guitar) ◆ Miyazawa Marin (宮澤茉凛) (Guitar) Official Website: http://lovendor.jp/ Hot on the announcement of their major label debut, LoVendoR releases the first PV from their double A-side single, "Iin Ja Nai?/Futsuu no Watashi Ganbare!" The song featured in this first PV is "Iin Ja Nai?" which is not only the lead-off track of the single, but also composed by fellow Up-Front artist, Takui Nakajima. Nakajima has lent his talents to Hello! Project artists Abe Natsumi, Dia Lady and Mano Erina in the past. Most recently his songs "Taiki Bansei" and "Tsugi no Kado wo Magare" were concurrently recorded by ANGERME and C-ute respectively. Being that his style is far more rock than what one typically associates with idols, his work with LoVendoR (He has also written several of their songs in the past including their single "Ikujinashi") is something to take note of. The rock stylings of these four girls, led by former Morning Musume member, Tanaka Reina, is set to take the Japanese music scene by storm! The video opens with Reina coming out of a trunk, or a box if you will. This is fitting as this song is hard to put into any traditional genre and indeed goes outside the box of what one probably first expects. Clearly rocking but complete with an accessible pop feel, this song is the proper major debut they deserve. Tanaka Reina and Okada Marina trade off vocals perfectly here and harmonize as well as they have in all their past releases. I've always said that I feel that Reina's voice is more suited to this style than what she performed when she was in Morning Musume and that stands true now. Marina's vocals are awesome as well. That said, there is one odd moment in the second chorus where she is singing into an imaginary microphone that I couldn't help but notice. I don't know if this was intentional or a slight error that made it into the video, but it definitely drew my attention. I can recall fellow ex-Morning Musume member, Kusumi Koharu, talking about the many retakes that had to be done on Morning Musume's "Iroppoi Jiretai" because she did the exact same thing take after take. Back to the song itself, Uozumi Yuki and Miyazawa Marin do an amazing job on twin lead guitars and lay down an awesome solo to round out the musical package. Visually, the PV is very colorful both in location and in the outfits chosen for the girls. All is bright and cheerful matching the general theme of the song itself. There is the usual Up-Front simplicity present here (Group shots separarted by solo shots with little in between or much in way of "plot") but they always seem to know how to pull off simple well without it feeling plain. There is also a playfulness both within the song, and the interaction with the members, that make this song quite infectious. I defy anyone to not be singing along by song's end! There you have it! Check out the PV itself in full below and be sure to pick up the single, "Iin Ja Nai?/Futsuu no Watashi Ganbare!" when it drops July 1st! Remember "Those who have fun win!" Also, who is "Wilson"?.... -alavic_222 LoVendoR Are: ◆ Tanaka Reina (田中麗奈) (Vocals) ◆ Okada Marina (岡田万里奈) (Vocals) ◆ Uozumi Yuki (魚住有希) (Guitar) ◆ Miyazawa Marin (宮澤茉凛) (Guitar) Official Website: http://lovendor.jp/ |
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