This 52th album gets one of my jazz senses excited. I already knew this album and it was requested, perfect! I didn’t really want to review this because I believe not many will know of it, but since it’s been requested, I am more than glad to sink my face deep into this album. The Art Of Real Sounds vol.1 ~Water~ is the name, and just by the name you can tell it will have a relation with water.
Album: The Art Of Real Sounds vol.1 ~Water~
Genre: Jazz/Calm
Link: http://www.toranoana.jp/mailorder/article/04/0030/04/23/040030042326.html
Tracks: 14
Song Highlight:
I won’t really call track 1 as the intro since its 5 minutes long, so let’s just review it right away.
What I like
Undercurrent (Track 1) by Tarezo is simply beautiful. No lyrics required, but simple hums with relaxing saxophone along with the flute and light taps from a piano I presume. It goes well in beautiful harmony. Just like the name suggests, I can imagine an adventure, exploring a under water home whilst this song is played. It reminded me of Metal Slug X’s Stage 3 whereby you are boarding on the train and you’d hear jazz music. Instead of shooting things however, I’d like to imagine this song as something that will accompany me in a busy commute on the train. Neat!
体に流れる水のように [As the water flowing through the body, based on Google Translate] (Track 3) is one of my favorite songs and has been in my playlist for quite some time, it doesn’t fail to impress even now. I love how much the song can remind me of France, somehow with the sound of the accordion and the duet with Luka and, Tonari chan? I’m not 100% sure, but that’s what I got when I searched it up. Tonari is a real singer, so that will explain her voice is natural. Honestly though, Luka doesn’t fail to be as good as Tonari. I enjoyed the duet and both of them sounded perfect together. Luka’s voice was used in a cute manner, and the whole song felt very light and charming. I’d drink some tea while listening to this like a gentleman.
雫のワルツ [Drops of waltz, based on Google Translate] (Track 5) would gladly hit my Calm playlist. This song somehow feels mellow, sort of reminds me of a walk in a small village, perhaps something like Harvest Moon. In fact, I really think this song will fit if it’s used in a town or perhaps on your own farm. In fact, this song would be great if it was actually used in a Ghibli movie as well, just saying because the feeling was spot on. It felt like a gentle drizzle and a breeze followed by a sunshine. I love how the song has so many elements in it, but it doesn’t overshadow the Vocaloid’s voice, which can often happen.
What I don’t like
さかさまに [Upside Down based on Google Translate] (Track 4) by Man_boo is a huge clustermess. I didn’t like how it was messy and how badly transitioned this song was. Yeah sure, it may be on purpose, but it made me feel uneasy with sudden jumps and drops. Its weird mix of sounds also didn’t appeal much to me, reminded me of scary clowns, terrible…
Ophelia (Track 6) can be very situational. It will not work in every situation. This song didn’t catch me a lot due to its speed. Yes, I liked how the song gives you that serene feel, but I have a feeling I can’t enjoy this kind of song every time. It’s not bad, it’s just best when listened at the right time. Lemm’s songs are usually like this, it’s unique and gives you that feeling of entering a mysterious world. It either hits extremely hard or misses entirely. This wasn’t a huge miss, but it’s still not enough to catch my attention.
底流 (Track 12)[Undercurrent based on Google Translate, the same name…?] by 西島尊大 [Nishijima arrogance based on Google Translate, what…?] goes to my Inspiration playlist because perhaps I couldn’t truly feel it, but I can somehow imagine a little. So that’s why I’m not adding it into my main playlist. It’s not bad, but not too good either… I guess it’s due to the speed of the song. But this may work well in a very silent scene of a scenario. Yeah, it made the song feel better, but not the best.
For some reason, Bonus Track 1 (Track 13) had no sound in it or whatsoever, weird…
Most of the songs not in what I liked didn’t appeal to me. They’re only bad when I point it out.
Conclusion
Good for jazz lovers or something new to try. I’d recommend this to people who simply want a song to relax with.
Should you buy this album? : Maybe? (50%)
Will Deathspark buy this album? : Not really sure… (40%)
It has 3 notable songs, but I won’t be extremely desperate for it.
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