AAA – MUSIC!!! / ZERØ

MUSIC!!! / ZERØ was AAA’s 19th single. It was released August 27, 2008. ZERØ was used as the opening theme for the anime “World Destruction” and Crash [Extended version] was used as the theme song for the Nintendo DS game “World Destruction”.

Tracklist

1. MUSIC!!!

2. ZERØ

3. Crash [Extended version]

4. MUSIC!!! (Instrumental)

5. ZERØ (Instrumental)

This first a-side of this single as the fun pop song MUSIC!!! It begins with some very lighthearted instrumentals(including some nice sounding piano) then the groups begins singing with their happy sounding vocals. Each member gets a least one solo line in the song(some more than others, obviously) and there are both singing and rapping sections. I didn’t find the rapping sections that annoying either as they were actually pretty catchy(and Shinjiro makes me laugh during the rap from the second verse, he sounds so strange). The chorus is really fun and refreshing and I especially enjoyed the girl’s singing parts. After the second chorus comes a pretty hefty rapping section by Mitsuhiro and the final chorus. There’s really nothing I didn’t dislike about this song. The instrumental had a great piano throughout the entire song and it just helped set the happy, fun mood the song was portraying.

Starting right off with some powerful synth, ZERØ is a heavy dance sounding pure rock song. Nissy’s vocals are heavely layered during the first verse and they actually sound pretty good. The rock doesn’t really kick in until the chorus, where it comes into full force and is pretty intense. The song does a great job of giving off a feel of desperation and feeling trapped(which is portrayed in the PV). Immediately after the first verse+chorus, we get the same thing, except this time it’s sung by Urata. After that, Uno gets her solo and than rapping by Hidaka and finally the last two chorus by Urata and Nissy respectively. I first heard this song from it’s PV and it was a mere three minutes, so I was glad to see the full song was 3:50 long. This is a great rock song and I can’t choose between either a-side as my favorite.

Don’t let Crash [Extended version]’s name throw you off(like it did with me). The song is 4:15 long, only around 25 seconds longer than the original track that appeared on the boy’s only CHOICE IS YOURS mini-album. The song is essentially the same with the same vocals and instrumental, except there’s been a few parts added and a tad bit different arrangement. You only start to see the new material in this song at the 2:30 mark where some new singing lines were added. I guess it was an okay change to the original song, not drastic enough but either way it’s a great song.

Similar to AAA’s other double a-sides, MUSIC!!! / ZERØ featured the best of two worlds; an incredibly happy sounding pop song and a hardcore rock fest. They always tend to have one pop and one rock song, but I don’t think AAA has done it better than they did with these two tracks. They are both of the up most quality and I really recommend this single to newcomers. I would of preferred a normal b-side or a more drastic change to the original Crash, so that was the only bad part about the single.

♦Single Rating♦

AAA – CHOICE IS YOURS

CHOICE IS YOURS was AAA’s 4th mini-album and  boy’s first mini-album. It was released June 18, 2007. It sold 15,226 copies in it’s first week and reached #10 on the charts.

Tracklist

1. Crash

2. Hasta la vista

3. ZAPPER

4. Crying Freeman

5. BET

6. Akireru Kurai Wagamama na Jiyuu

Beginning with some heavy synth and R&B sounds, Crash is easily the most aggressive and best song in the album. The verses actually sound really great and has a nice hook into the crazy chorus. The entire songs is mostly R&B but gets more rock in some parts, such as the chorus. Not only is the music very masculine but so are the lyrics which let you know that this album won’t be afraid of showing a different side of AAA now that it’s only the guys.

Beginning with some creepy movie type orchestra, Hasta la vista switches to some thumping, heavy R&B along with some nice sounding loud strings. It’s similar to Crash in terms of it’s genre of music except it’s not as fast paced and more R&B heavy. Another great listen.

ZAPPER is the most pop sounding album while still managing to sync in with the rest of the songs. It’s still R&B but a lot more pop than the last two tracks and not at all rock. It’s a pretty funky song but I didn’t really enjoy the vocals in this song, they sounded pretty weak.

Up next is Crying Freeman, a solo song by Atae Shinjiro(who happens to be my favorite member). We can tell from this song why he usually doesn’t get a lot of line. His singing voice isn’t really that great but it’s not terrible either. It just kinda seems to be missing “power” to it. This song is a more laid back R&B song with a relaxing instrumental.

BET is the more standard song on the album. It’s instrumental isn’t as powerful as Crash or Hasta la vista but the vocals sure were. I thought the rapping was a bit exaggerated though and there’s a lot of it in this song, kicking the singing into the secondary position. This song just kinda went by quickly.

Last but not least is Akireru Kurai Wagamama na Jiyuu, a ballad. It was strange to find a ballad upon all these aggressive tracks but it manages to fit in with it’s R&B influenced sounds(finger snapping, beats, etc…). The vocals were excellent in this song, showing us that the guys can even sound good when there being all sensitive.

I was iffy at first when listening to this album as I couldn’t imagine AAA without the girls. I was impressed by the high energy and genre the album managed to create and didn’t dislike any of the songs, though some were better than others. It was also nice to see my favorite member get the only solo song. Now why can’t AAA(w/ the girls) release a mini-album this good?

♠Album Rating♠

AAA – BEYOND~Karada no Kanata

BEYOND~Karada no Kanata was AAA’s 18th single.. It was released May 25, 2008, sold 17,945 copies in it’s first week, 20,536 overall and reached #6 on the charts. It is the group’s first single after the trilogy of their three albums “ATTACK” “ALL” AROUND”.

Tracklist

1. BEYOND~Karada no Kanata

2. One Night Animal

3. MIRAGE [83key Remix]

4. BEYOND~Karada no Kanata (Instrumental)

5. One Night Animal (Instrumental)

I think it might be impossible for me to describe my love for BEYOND~Karada no Kanata. I just don’t know what it is about this song but it is absolutely incredible. It features a very rock sound but it’s overall feeling leaves you feeling very, how do I say, fulfilled. The way the vocals are presented in this song fit perfectly and the arrangement makes it all even better. The elongated notes of “Summer Day” only add to the addictiveness of this song.

The next track, One Night Animal, has a very dance/disco sound to it. It’s a bit out of place next to Beyond but it still manages to maintain it’s ground. There’s some bit of voice distortion in this song as well, which just adds to the whole groovy feeling. I can’t really say this is one of my favorite AAA songs, as it isn’t really catchy or features anything too special. However, the synth and beats do add a bit of spice to it, along with the electric guitar solo during the instrumental break, which is immediately followed by rapping, something which wasn’t found in Beyond.

MIRAGE [83key Remix] is definitely going to be a favorite of people who enjoyed the original version but weren’t too excited about the middle eastern sound it had. The [83key Remix] adds a more faster paced instrumental, completely removing all of the sounds found in the original and replaced for fast paced beats and synth, along with an overall distinctness. I still preferred the original though.

BEYOND~Karada no Kanata was great single, containing a bit of everything. I was absolutely fascinated with Beyond, so much that it actually rose to the second most listened song on my iTunes in 3 days, beaten by Suzuki Ami’s FREE FREE. One Night Animal was a typical b-side while the mix of MIRAGE offered something different for fans of the original, but isn’t really good overall.

♣Single Rating♣