I got the regular edition of this CD because the only incentive for paying more for the limited edition was that other fancy format the music was in. Waste of my money.

D'espairsRay
REDEEMER

01. LIZARD
02. BRILLIANT
03. REDEEMER
04. 琥珀 (KOHAKU)
05. KAMIKAZE
06. Lost in re:birth
07. R.E.M-冬の幻聴- (FUYU NO GENCHOU)
08. HORIZON
09. MASQUERADE
10. 夜空 (YOZORA)
11. PARADOX 5
12. HEAVEN'S COLOR


Every time D'espairsRay releases a single...I like it, but I'm also like "Enh..." (with a few exceptions) and I wonder if their upcoming album is going to be any good. And every single time I get their album and listen to it the first time, I'm impressed by it and for some reason I'm surprised.

Knee-jerk faves based on a cursory listen-through:
LIZARD
REDEEMER
琥珀 (This song barely made it onto the list)
MASQUERADE
夜空

Most of the songs I picked don't necessarily showcase the guys' instrumental prowess, but they're really beautiful and emotionally evocative. Songs like these exhibit what a great songwriter Karyu is (TSUKASA barely wrote anything for this album, wtf) and what an amazing vocalist HIZUMI is. Despa is a very, very good live band because of this.
"LIZARD" isn't the best album intro they've done, but it'll do. "REDEEMER" I really like. It was refreshing when I first saw the PV after their previous single releases. Love the solo. "琥珀" is dark and pretty. Not loud or super exciting, but HIZUMI does very well on this song, as he does on "MASQUERADE," which people don't seem to be liking that much and I don't get why. I love it. Lastly, "夜空." If someone came up to me three or four years ago and asked me if I thought Despa was capable of writing amazing poppy songs that make you feel happy, I would most likely have said no. It's pretty damn good, although part of me still doesn't want to like it.

Weak songs:
BRILLIANT
PARADOX 5

"BRILLIANT" I never liked, for some reason and "PARADOX 5" is another of their lame attempts at a song without guitars. I love HIZUMI but he's not really the first reason I listen to D'espairsRay. "Screen" (the single version) kinda failed me and so does this.

Others:

"KAMIKAZE" is a pretty good song, I guess. Doesn't do much for me. "Lost in re:birth" is also pretty good. It starts out great but they lost me at the chorus, where the loud, bouncy quality kinda dies. "R.E.M-冬の幻聴-" is a quiet, pretty song which picks up a little at the chorus but still doesn't grab me. It'll probably grow on me. "HORIZON" is good but it isn't their best by any means. The guitars in "HEAVEN'S COLOR" are kinda jangly and the song is kinda nice and cute but I don't feel like it really fits with the rest of the album. This song reminds me of another song or band hardcore but I can't think of it and I probably never will.


I got the HIZUMI card (darn!) and he looks like he's getting his hair highlighted.

Why is it that the stuff off their albums is always better than their singles?

Got some CDs in the mail today. Kanon Wakeshima's album and a Jero single, lols.
I've been putting off installing my scanner on my new computer but now I have to. :(

exist†trace are releasing a mini-album in April called [VANGUARD -of the muses-]. 6 songs, all new. YES. ￥1,995. It's still not up on CD Japan, what a pain.







ヴぃどーる's PV for "Puzzle Ring" came out at the end of last month:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=573_4BWUv-A
I wonder if Jui is this mushy in real life.

Rame. Why the beret. Why.



Ahaha.