5 posts tagged “heidi.”

I've been neglecting writing about new releases for some time now, mostly because I've been busy with real life work and spending my remaining free time translating for my other blog.  But after all it's a better use of my time and there's more interest there anyway. ^^;  So right now I'm honestly just procrastinating because I'm sick of doing my crazy amounts of Japanese homework (I've been at it for most of today, slogging my way through kanji study, an essay revision, 50+ sentence translations, and a four page reading comprehension worksheet). _|¯¯|O  Why are my Japanese sensei always so insanely ambitious?  Admittedly though it does me a lot of good, since if I were allowed to just sit on my ass and breeze through the class the lack of pressure from constantly having assignments due and needing to mentally prepare for class so I won't come out of there shamefully picking up the scraps of my shattered self-esteem would mean I'd never improve.

Hm, well anyway there's a bunch of releases coming out soon from artists like ScReW, D, and heidi., although so far none of the previews except maybe those for heidi.'s new album 'Panorama' have particularly struck me.  In fact, the pv for D's new single 'Tightrope' was pretty disappointing.  The song is alright, but rather mediocre and unmemorable despite its heaviness which wins some points with me, but the worst for me was the pv.  It just looks washed out and not very well put together from a cinematographic perspective, not to mention the obvious, overdone, and trite imagery.  I think it's the most awkward pv I've ever seen from D...a lot of the members' posing is so stiff and the scenes with Asagi as the "dog" and the man flailing in "fear" against the fence are just awkward to watch.  The whole idea just isn't very original and certainly not executed as well as it could be...the whole thing comes off as being tacky and cheesy rather than aggressive or sexy.

However, D'espairsRay's new single 'Final Call' is catchy and fun, and the pv is edgy with high contrasts between the vibrant colours, light and dark.  The line "Why can't you love me, baby?!" really makes you want to sing along, as dorky as that would be. : )  The song is upbeat and somewhat similar in sound and composition to 'REDEEMER', but has a sultrier feel to it that's played up in the pv's imagery and the lyrics.  I'll be translating it as soon as I get my hands on the kanji.

On another note, I just have to say, if I wasn't already decided on getting the GazettE's DIM SCENE Final DVD, then for sure these tantalizing, gorgeous photos would be more than enough to convince me! *o*  I mean, just WOW...I have no words!

I'm busy showing my parents around Japan at the moment, but I just have to post about this quickly.  Today DELUHI's new dvd single release, FLASH:B[L]ACK comes out, and they've made a new pv for the song 's[k]ape:goat'!  The song is really good, though I still prefer some of their previous releases over it.  The pv is well-shot though a bit different from their first one for 'HYBRID TRUTH', since it alternates between the band playing and scenes that're like a mini-movie of sorts.  The break in the song towards the middle was unexpected but nice touch, and something DELUHI haven't done much before.

Another pv that came out recently is heidi.'s 'Tsubasa'.  It's pretty good, though when I first heard it I thought it sounded like something I'd heard before.  The melody isn't their most original, but it's a nice song overall.
Also, some interesting news just came out!  Since Sasabuchi left Plastic Tree, he's been doing things like session bands and support for other groups on his own, but now it seems he'll be doing support drums for the studs, since their drummer Hibiki left not too long ago.  From his farewell messages and reasons for leaving Plastic Tree, it sounded he said he didn't want to do drums as a career anymore, but maybe he's changed his mind or just didn't want to be an official member of a band or something.

It's late, I'm exhausted, and I still haven't finished my Japanese homework (which is a review sheet for our midterm coming up this Thurs. >_<;), but what the hell, I'm going to write about heidi.'s new single 'Orange Drama' anyway, 'cause if I don't do it now, I know I won't get around to it later when I get even busier. 

'Orange Drama' is an ok song...honestly when I first heard it, I thought it was a bit boring compared to some of their previous songs, which leave a stronger impression and are really catchy the whole way through.  I like the opening guitar riffs and bass of 'Orange Drama', which are certainly attention-grabbing and memorable, but the parts in between don't shine as much.  Also, at certain points I think it sounds very similar to few of their other songs, so it seems like rehashing of old material to an extent.  I think Yoshihiko's voice is better suited to the melody of 'Synchro' or 'Utakata', and that it sounds a little forced in some parts of this song.  I've always thought Yoshihiko could benefit from some voice training to make his singing a bit steadier and more consistent, but heidi. are still a fairly new, small band with limited resources, so I suppose you have to cut them some slack in terms of their production and things like that. 
Nevertheless, like their previous single 'Rem', which I also wasn't too keen on at first, I think this single will grow on me with repeated listens.  Though I can't say 'Orange Drama' is among heidi.'s best, it's a pretty good song, and I have no doubts about heidi.'s musical ability and direction.

heidi.'s new album, イノセンス (Innocence) came out today!  I have to admit, at this point, I still like their first album, Kasou, better, but Innocence is definitely a solid, excellent release.  The new songs are consistent with heidi.'s sound and style of composition up till now, but are certainly something fresh.  Some are surprisingly hard for heidi., but it's cool that they're trying new things and experimenting.  Overall the whole album is filled with strong melodies and embodies the simple, easy-to-listen-to quality that characterizes heidi.'s music and makes their work so great.  I think they're definitely headed for success, and this album is a good step forward for them, so hopefully it'll receive due attention.  Here's some songs to listen to: 'Natsu Ichizu'    'Parade'    'Yurikago'    'Mirai no Hate'

Today I "re-discovered" a cool band called heidi. (I had one of their singles but hadn't had the chance to listen to the rest of their stuff properly ^^;). Well, now that I've gotten around to it, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised at how good they are.  heidi. formed in 2006, which is not that long ago, so their sound is quite impressive considering how young they are...they have sensible, good taste when it comes to their appearance as well.  In my opinion, lot of the younger bands around now are rather mediocre, so it's nice to see some actual talent and potential...I think heidi. could really hit it big if their management promoted them better and they had more resources.  Recently they've been doing pretty well for themselves though, doing one-man gigs and amazingly, are even scheduled to play at the hide Memorial Summit this May with many of the biggest bands in the industry.  Hopefully that performance will help them gain more popularity and recognition.

heidi.'s music is diverse and their sound is their own, but if I had to describe it, I'd say it's kind of like a cross between the early sound of Kagrra, (without the neo-japanesque elements), MUCC, and recent work by 12012.  heidi. are releasing their second album, Innocence, this month, so I'm definitely gonna check it out.  Anyways, here's a few songs from their first full album, Kasou, a song from their mini-album Doukoku, and one of their pvs: