Seiko Oomori - Aishiteru.com/Gekiteki JOY! Before After Single Review

Seiko Oomori is a bit different, as far as "idols" go. She's generally considered more of a standard pop singer and she does write her own songs, but she often likes to refer to herself as an idol. She's definitely controversial, experimenting in both musical sound and public image. She has been known to perform covered in blood, and to be generally vulgar and violent while maintaining some "cute idol" traits. I like to refer to her as a rebel idol, whether that labal applies or not. This is her latest single, a double A-side. It's pretty par for the course for Seiko Oomori, sound-wise, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The first A-side, "Aishiteru.com", reminds me immediately of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. The similarities between the pre-chorus melody and Kyary's "CANDY CANDY" are slight, but noticeable just the same. Oomori has a really unique voice, though, and that sets them apart pretty well. The song is super catchy, and structured pretty much like a standard pop song. There's not much to say about it honestly, it's just a cute song backed by Oomori's stand-out voice.

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Aishiteru.com MV

The second A-side, "Gekiteki JOY! Before After", is much softer. Oomori sings at almost a whisper, over a bouncy but shy beat. This song, structurally, is a lot more experimental than the former. There are a lot of parts at work and they mix together nicely. This for me is the song that shows Oomori's songwriting prowess and personality the best of the three.

Gekiteki JOY! Before After MV

Finally, we get to the B-side, "Fan Letter". On the surface, this is a pretty standard folky acoustic piece. It's Oomori's voice once again that really sets it apart. She transitions cleanly from a barely audible whisper to a much more forceful tone countless times through the (admittedly short) song. It sort of reminds me of the B-side from "Magic Mirror", her last single.

This single is nice, though maybe not super memorable or special. I do love the second song, but I think this single overall is just a good teaser for Seiko Oomori's upcoming album, "TOKYO BLACK HOLE", which comes out in March. I do recommend giving these songs a listen if you're a big Seiko Oomori fan, but otherwise I'm sure the album will do a much better job of introducing new listeners to this incredible musician.

-Justin