First impressions so far are still favourable. :)
1. Eden - I really honestly don't know yet how I will ultimately feel about this track. It's just not quite what I expected and not really typical Kajiura. It's a breezy number led mostly by Hikaru and Wakana, with Keiko doing mostly harmony work. It's not bad... kind of unusual... but I'm not sure if it's my kind of song just yet.
2. sandpiper - It's not instant love for me. It's a fair bit of a drop in tempo from the first track Eden that I kind of didn't expect it. The harmony is lovely as usual. I think Hikaru's voice is more prominent in this track. Kind of interesting in parts but some of the background beat is a little reminiscent of one of Kajiura's other songs... I just can't place which one.
3. magia - this isn't a new song, so I won't say much, except to say that I liked it from the first time I heard it at the Live at the Lemon CC. Hall last December.
4. 九月- I like this song, especially the beginning. The moments between the typical epic Kajiuran parts are actually kind of pretty. The girls keep it kind of light and sprightly with a touch of mystery. Mostly Hikaru again with very prominent solos. Wakana's portions have Keiko coming in very nicely in the background to give it more richness. Not instant favourite for me but nice enough.
5. in your eyes - Okay, this is yet another song that I really honestly don't know yet how I will ultimately feel about this track. This is kind of bossa nova maybe? There's a definite world music feel to the end section... perhaps Indian sitar? There is some genre mixing here but I'm not that good at identifying the genres. Once again Hikaru leads but the Keiko fan will be pleased that Keiko has some very interesting portions at approx 2.20mins and again at 4mins into the track. These parts I really like and I like it too when Wakana comes in after Keiko's apart at 220min because she comes in relatively more "operatic" sounding which kinds of changes the texture of the sounds again... interesting. The beginning had too much Hikaru. It's not that I dislike Hikaru but I, in general, I like it more when they harmonize and they part and harmonize again. Too much of one of them and it'll sound like FJ xxx which isn't what I generally want from Kalafina. This is definitely not typical Kajiura or at least not typical Kalafina. I might end up kind of liking this song.
7. neverending - we drop tempo all the way down to a much slower song than "destination unknown". Kind of not very typical Kalafina. Hikaru opens again but it's Keiko's stanza which I like more. I think Hikaru is a little too nasal for this song in the beginning while Keiko sounds clear and I don't know... there is a quality about the way she sings this stanza which I really like... really like, it caught my attention in the sample and I still really like it. The harmony in this song is particularly nice, at least I really like it and I think Wakana sounds really lovely in the latter part of the song when she's the most prominent voice in the harmony. I really like this song... I'm not really bothered by the slightly too nasal Hikaru in the beginning, I may not even have picked up on it if Keiko didn't sound so lovely in her section. I actually quite like this song... another early favourite for me I think.
8. ことのは - Wakana opens this with Keiko in support before Hikaru comes in with Keiko still in support and then more harmony and more of the beginning. A somewhat typical Kalafina setup, done before but done nicely again. While it won't win points on being atypical Kalafina / Kajiura, it's still a pretty song and I like it. It's short as well and seems to be similar in purpose to "Intermezzo" and "Interlude" etc, Kajiura likes to put in these in Kalafina albums. I like this song too. Another pretty number. It's a instant like from me. :)
9. magnolia - Ohhhh... another rock number. :) And Keiko opens and loads of her in the song. Instant love for me. :) This is more "Ongaku" sounding Keiko, unlike "destination unknown" and I still like it. :) This is again not too different from what Kalafina has done before. But I have said it before too, I don't want super different music... I like Kalafina, Kajiura and FictionJunction because they sing a brand of music I enjoy. So while a certain amount of experimentation and deviation is welcomed, but too much and they wouldn't be Kalafina and I think they will lose some of their core fans, me quite possibly included. Back to the song... this is likely to be another song that will be sung at the live along with "destination unknown". Nice strong beat to rev things up for the night. I hope they sing this and "destination unknown" at the Live in Nov. :)
10. 輝く空の静寂には - this was previously released as a single... so I won't talk about it here.
11. 胸の行方 - Oh boy, what an interesting opening and a rather nice one too... IMO, not quite something you'll expect in Japanese music. It's Keiko and her powerful voice works really well as the opening voice for this song... kind of broadway-ish and so non-Kalafina that I must say it would definitely need time for long time listeners of Kajiura and Kalafina to digest. I definitely like it now that I've heard the opening. Hikaru and Wakana sound really good in this song too. Hikaru's stanza after the first chorus is pleasant and sweet and once again provides a nice counter balance to Keiko's voice. The chorus is kind of odd but nice in it's oddness... maybe because it's sung by Japanese and in a Japanese song, so it is oddly charming. :) If this was in an English song sung by a Western band, it may not have worked as well. Hmmm... I'm thinking this is a strong candidate to end the Live in Nov... if it doesn't end it.. then it's a very strong candidate for showing up in the encore. I kind of like it actually. I'm not sure if I'll love it even though Keiko is all over the place in this song... I will need time to digest it properly but for now... I definitely am leaning quite favourably towards it.
12. snow falling - this was previously released as a single... so I won't talk about it here.
13. symphonia - this is the longer version of the already long version that can be found in the Historia II soundtrack. Keiko opens this song oh so beautifully and the girls all sound so lovely in this song. I already liked the original so I don't have much to say except that I still like it lots. Lots of epic sounding Kalafina and lovely harmony in this song... love it. :)
Yup... I'm happy... although I was admittedly a little worried that they will sound vastly different because they said they will be trying some new things in the album and while I like different... I don't want vastly different. I am pleased with the album overall. It managed to tread the thin line between actually being relatively different from their previous work and yet not so different that they are unrecognisable. I like that. I never expect to like every song in any album that I buy but with Kalafina, I've come to expect that I will like or be quite favourable to all the songs in their album... the standard they and Kajiura Yuki have set is very high and for them to surpass it all the time must be quite difficult. Happily, in my opinion, while the jury is out on whether they have surpassed their previous efforts, at least for me, they have at the very least equalled it. I like all the songs to varying degrees and except for previous Kalafina albums and some of Faye Wong's albums, I rarely like ALL songs in an album. I very often hate some of them or am bored with some tracks and wouldn't rip them into flac for my player, but for Kalafina's After Eden... it's ALL going into the portable player when I get my grubby hands on the album... hopefully by the end of the week. :)
Okay... it's 3am.... and my original intention to write quick snappy capsule reviews has apparently failed as I've been verbose again... going to sleep... long, long week ahead... lots of work and I know some of it will be stressful... so need to sleep.... WILL NOT proof-read so if there are portions that don't make sense for now... please forgive me till I have time to correct them.
Have a good week and enjoy the 3rd album from Kalafina. :) Good night. :)
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