Déja vu all over again: Tsukiko Amano's UTAKATA
Written: May 16 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: URARAKA is good. Too bad it wasn't the A-side.
Cons: UTAKATA is weak and a retread of better songs.
The Bottom Line: Not good. When you're only giving me two songs for ~$10, they'd better both be quality.
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| shimatani87's Full Review: Utakata by Amano Tsukiko |
UTAKATA is the third in a series of five singles (released on the same day!) put out by Japanese alternative rocker Tsukiko Amano in honor of her fifth anniversary. It peaked at #46 on the Oricon charts and charted for two weeks; currently, it is Amano's fifth best-selling single.
The title track, unusual of Amano songs, is a lilting, midtempo ballad, at least in part. Founded on a simple piano part, a soft drum beat, and some background synth effects (that sound somewhat like tropical? percussion), the song tricks the listener by transitioning into a somewhat harder-edged rock track during the chorus and bridge (much like the majority of Amano's ballads); there, she adds in some gritty electric guitars, amps up the volume on the drums, and takes the keyboard playing to a quicker, more stacatto pace. Unfortunately, this musical hodgepodge works against the song instead of helping it, as the structure is incredibly similar to her other "epic" ballads (specifically chou and koe, both of which follow this to a T) and the song, while decent, is actually kind of pedestrian when it draws such apt comparisons to earlier, better works. Amano even sounds slightly disinterested, and her performance reflects on it -- during the verses, she tries her best to be soft and sweet, but comes across as slightly weak and, gasp, boring; during the chorus, there's a bit more power to her performance, but she still sounds like she's asleep at the wheel and even hits some notes that just don't work. As an "anniversary" song, this one's half-baked -- when the best part of a track is the instrumental solo in the bridge, you've got problems.
URARAKA, the B-side, while hardly being original itself, makes up for the mediocrity of the A-side by simply being fun. Sounding like something straight out of a 60's-era flick, the track boasts a cheerful backing that uses the standard rock instruments -- electric guitar, drums, bass, and keyboards -- and throws them into an arrangement that comes across as playful and fresh, not cheesy or fake. (It's honestly something one has to hear to get the full effect.) Amano is at her best here, in an understated performance that's still primed with energy and grit; her voice, which sounded off when put against the A-side's arrangement, sounds at home here, where she's allowed plenty of room to just enjoy. The song's short running-time (less than four minutes) also allows for the listener to enjoy, but not become annoyed with the song for its sheer throwback feel. Lovely.
Even the greatest artists sometimes release tracks that don't thrill, and this disc's A-side is one of those for Amano. While URARAKA is darned good, it doesn't completely redeem the disc. Three stars -- one-out-of-two isn't terrible, but it's not good either.
Tsukiko Amano: "UTAKATA"
[ CDS | PCCA-70163 | ¥1,050 | 2006.05.31 ]
01. UTAKATA [ 5:02 ]
02. URARAKA [ 3:42 ]
[ http://www.otokura.com/amano ]
Other Tsukiko Amano Reviews:
Sharon Stones (2002)
http://www99.epinions.com/content_263406194308
tenryuu (2004)
http://www99.epinions.com/content_223038049924
koe (Single) (2005)
http://www99.epinions.com/content_301661326980
Recommended:
Yes
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shimatani87
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Member: Zach Jones
Location: Urbana, IL
Reviews written: 117
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About Me:
St. Louis-bound graduate student with a passion for pop.
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