paradise lost

I  love Saito Takumi as an actor (largely because he’s beautiful and his deep voice is sexy, and of course for his role in boys love…) so when I found out he had a minialbum out, naturally I was pretty ecstatic. Kokoro no Gururi is Saito Takumi’s first and only minialbum released on December 5th 2007. Like alot of the other tenimyu who have released music, his music is a sort of pop rock. And he can actually sing, sing very well actually: with a lot of emotion too.

The minialbum starts with 最初と最後の空へ. The beginning guitar reminds me of Kiyoharu, but that soon changes when the piano comes in and finally, Saito Takumi himself. The track is soft and melancholic with some gorgeous instrumentation including typical rock elements as well as piano and at one point strings. The vocals are deep and expressive. For the chorus the song becomes a lot louder, and introduces the full soft rock instrumentation without losing the soft, gentle quality to it and it continues to move between different dynamics and textures making for a very interesting track/preventing it becoming boring. It’s a very beautiful soft rock song, almost a ballad. (And you know I do have a soft spot for rock with piano, and Saito Takumi’s voice ^^)

The minialbum continues to be rather mellow and laidback and the next track ありふれたものみたいに also has the same melancholy feeling as the track before it. Starting with thumping bass with higher ethereal sounding guitar, and Takumi’s smooth vocals the song builds up introducing more instruments and becoming louder, stronger. I again love the instrumentation here, the blend of rock with synth and the violins. The guitar solo is so awesome blended with the violins and synth, really it’s rather dramatic. Saito Takumi’s voice is really nice, although a bit monotone in the verses I love how he reaches up to the higher notes in the choruses.  This song is very relaxing, even as it is interesting and quite exciting with the many changes throughout it. It’s another very nice soft rock/pop rock number. On a last note, the ending guitar sounds like a throwback to something, either way it has a very ‘cool’ feeling to it XD

The third track Duralumin is more poppy and totally more energetic than all the previous tracks. I HATE the cheesy backing vocals, which really spoil this song. I mean the instrumentation is nice, and Saito Takumi’s voice is lovely when it’s on it’s own but those backing vocals need to STFU. I love the upbeat feeling, and the verses which are free from them. After the verses the song continues to build up nicely for the chorus and then…those backing vocals. What a waste of a song.

Time for a heartbreaking ballad with Cheap Gold. This song is gorgeous, not to mention totally made for Saito Takumi’s voice.  Starting with soft, sad almost regretful but gorgeous guitar part, with some softer instrumentation underneath the vocals soon come in sounding equally filled with sadness and regret. The song suddenly introduces more instruments for the gorgeous chorus, and I really love the semi-acoustic feeling to it. There is something very simple about this song, but it contains so much emotion that is becomes completely captivating. As I mentioned briefly, Saito Takumi’s voice is really suited for this song. His deep, expressive vocals really shine here and complete the song adding even more emotion to it. I just love everything about this song, from the instrumentation, the dynamics, the vocals and the painful feeling it has. Yet the ending, it almost ends so much more hopefull. Like just right at the end, he is letting go. How lovely is that? How complete does it make the song?

But after Cheap Gold the minialbum does a 360 and thus it’s time for a more energetic song with 悲しくてやりきれない. Starting with some rough guitar chords, the song really begins sounding like a throwback to classic rock with the raw rock instrumentation and muffled vocals then it picks up to become a fast paced and more modern sounding poprock number, still retaining that older feeling to it. I love the fun feeling to this song, and I don’t know any other word to describe it other than ‘cool’. Really, listen to this song and I hope you will agree ‘cool’ is very appropriate. It’s a really great song, fast and upbeat and totally fun.

The minialbum ends with 月の舟. Dude, talk about throwing something new in the mix. This song starts with some very Japanese sounding, and completely haunting flute part before a piano comes in with it. It’s gorgeous and only becomes even more beautiful when Saito Takumi comes in. There’s something dark, and nostalgic about this song. But it is the ending of the minialbum, so of course there also has to be moments where the song feels more hopeful. Man, the flute and the piano and the vocals are the basis to this song and it’s really incredibly powerful. What a way to end the album. Although after saying all that, this track does fade easily into the background.

Overall rating: 8/8 (Amazing)
Favourite Tracks: Cheap Gold, 最初と最後の空へ, 悲しくてやりきれない

This is such a lovely minialbum. Nothing about it grabs you and demands you’re attention, yet although often soft and relaxing the songs here  are really beautiful and contains a lot of feeling (minus duralumin which was ruined). It helps that Saito Takumi’s voice is also very deep and emotional, and just as beautiful as the instrumentation. Yes, the instrumentation is really good. Certainly it is soft rock but there are also some other very interesting elements to it, that prevent it from becoming boring and formulaic. Not one of these tracks truly sounds like the other, which is admirable. Kokoro no Gururi is well worth listening to. There is a large variety of songs here, even if it’s just a mini, and there’s bound to be something for everyone ^^