Music is one thing in the world which has an almost inherently ephemeral quality to it. One day, a song might be played to excess on the radio and the next, be completely absent from the airwaves. The same is true with bands -- Band A may be the most-talked about group early in the year but be long gone from the public's thoughts two months later once Band B has released their newest CD.
While not facing either of these particular problems, day after tomorrow (commonly abbreviated "dat"), a Japanese pop-rock trio consisting of vocalist misono (younger -- and more clothed -- sister of Kumi Koda) -- who has since gone solo, guitarist Misato Kitano and keyboardist Daisuke Suzuki still faced media scrutiny, another common problem in the industry, and also the one that is rumored to have brought about their disbandment in May 2005.
Before the group hit it (relatively) big in early 2003 (winning the Best New Artist award at the Japan Gold Disc Awards), they released two mini-albums. day after tomorrow II is, as one might correctly deduce from the title, the second. Produced by ex-Every Little Thing member Mitsuru Igarashi, the album contains six tracks which display the band's ability to handle many different types of songs. Although comparisons to early ELT works are quite easily drawn (due to Igarashi's influence, most claim), misono's expressive and unique vocals (high-pitched and a tad on the squeaky side) make all the music here uniquely dat's.
Although the album, as noted, only contains six tracks and runs just short of half an hour, there's some decent music here. The uptempo tracks (the first five), while sounding a bit similar stylistically (there's lots of synthesizer amidst the drums, guitars, and keyboards), all manage to differentiate themselves enough so that nothing sounds repetitive. Album opener futurity is standout, a slightly dramatic-sounding synth-pop track (with a rather impressive guitar-solo-and-violin-containing-bridge) that uses misono's vocals well -- when she's got instrumentation to back her up, the slightly grating nature of her voice isn't as apparent. Also making a splash is the slightly cutesy-sounding Hello, everybody!, which is led mainly by a rollicking electric guitar-and-drum line and contains a very catchy and danceable chorus and great vocals from misono. The one ballad here (album ending track after all...), while sounding similar to a majority of midtempo pop-rock ballads (a soft, lilting keyboard line over the requisite slowed-down drumbeat) is a nice touch, ending the album in a generic-sounding, but pleasant way. misono's vocal here isn't perfect, but it's not horrifyingly bad, either.
In a fickle world, groups like day after tomorrow are abundant. While many sound similar, dat's catchy, uniquely-theirs melodies are decent enough to warrant a listening to. This mini-album came early in the group's career, but it doesn't sound as though it did. There's enough material here that showcases -- and well -- the band's talent as a musical entity. While it's not perfect, there's some good material here. Check it out if you're interested in pop-rock-lite.
day after tomorrow: "day after tomorrow II"
[ CDMA | AVCD-17189 | ¥1,890 | 2002.11.20 ]
01. futurity [ 4:30 ]
02. rosy girl [ 4:09 ]
03. My faith [ 5:13 ]
04. Hello, everybody! [ 3:51 ]
05. melody [ 5:20 ]
06. after all... [ 4:51 ]
[ http://dat-net.jp ]
[ http://www.avexnet.or.jp/misono ]
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