[Full of Variety] Yuzu 12th Full Album "Shin Sekai" Ranking & Review
Hello, this is Oriman.
This time, I will be reviewing Yuzu's 12th full album, "Shin Sekai".
Overview
It was their fastest release ever, coming just about 9 months after their previous album, "LAND".
With the theme of "nostalgic yet new," it contains a total of 15 tracks, including 5 singles released since the previous album, and the first-press edition comes with a bonus CD containing 2 unreleased tracks.
The theme of the album "Shin Sekai," which features an impressive cover art of an airship shaped like a whale floating over a futuristic city, is "nostalgic yet new." It combines the good old melodies and atmosphere of Japan, which have been passed down through generations, with the latest modern arrangements, and further fuses them with the original acoustic sound and melodies that Yuzu possesses. It delivers music that feels somewhat nostalgic yet new—a "new world" that only Yuzu can express.
As such, it includes tracks that are conscious of Japanese style, as well as numbers that use modern digital programming sounds.
The CHRYSANTHEMUM BRIDGE team participated in this work and the next, "TOWA," further expanding the possibilities of their sound.
On the Oricon charts, it lost to a Sexy Zone release on the same day, debuting at number 2 in its first week. Although this was a lower record than those following "FURUSATO," sales increased, perhaps due to the "Ame Nochi Hareruya" effect, and it became a major hit, reaching number 1 on the monthly chart.
As for this album... I quite like it!
For me, as the previous album didn't really click, this one settled into my ears quite easily!
It's so full of variety that you can listen to many different types of songs, so the satisfaction level is high!
Also, I remember my mom buying it for me while I was home recovering from the flu when it was released.
Ranking
1. Sugao no Mama de ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
2. Hidamari ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
3. Hikare ☆☆☆☆☆
4. Shiken Doro ☆☆☆
5. Yorokobi no Uta ☆
6. Mamotte Agetai ☆
7. Tokorozawa ☆
8. Shiawase no Teigi
9. Hyouri Ittai
10. Ultra Lover Soul
11. Retro Future
12. Yogiri no Isezakicho
13. Ame Nochi Hareruya
14. Tomo ~Tabidachi no Toki~
15. Otchan no Uta
16. Utopia
1. Sugao no Mama de
The number one spot has to go to this song! It's the best!!!
While containing the sadness and fragility that cannot be avoided in life, the exquisite harmony by Kitagawa and Iwasawa, and the melody that changes its expression with every development despite the medium tempo, nestles close to the listener's heart and pushes them forward.
It is a medium-tempo number that starts with arpeggios and intertwines strings and band sounds.
This is the song I've come to love the most as I've gotten older.
Above all, I was drawn to its sad yet gentle worldview!
2. Hidamari
This is also a tie-up song.
With its warm guitar sound and melody, and lyrics that spell out the conflicts, fragility, and happiness of the youth that everyone goes through, it is a number that makes the listener feel a "sunny spot" in their heart, just as the title suggests.
The trumpet sound evokes the image of a magnificent ranch.
Youth looked back upon as an adult is the theme of the lyrics.
This is another song I love.
I find it questionable that it wasn't included in "Yuzu Iroha"!
3. Hikare
A single song. It was released as a single one week before this album, giving it the position of a lead track.
This is the 3rd installment of the Nissei tie-up!
With its vibrant rhythm and self-motivating melody, this song encourages everyone living their daily lives, starting with the athletes representing their countries at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
It features strumming, strings, and a grand worldview.
It's a single, so I think it's quite famous, but I love it!
For this type of song, the arrangement is light and not overbearing, and even though the C-melody has three stages, I think it's unique to this song that it flows so smoothly!
4. Yonken Douro
It is read as "Yonken Douro" and was taken from the name of a road that actually exists in Isogo Ward, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture.
A folky and bittersweet number that combines acoustic guitar strumming and simple piano playing with a melody that has few notes but sounds like it's being sung quickly. The harmonica tone, which feels nostalgic, also adds to the bittersweetness.
It is characterized by a conversational, fast-paced A-melody and a short chorus.
The lyrics are characteristic of Kitagawa-san looking back on his state of mind at the time and his life up to that point.
I really like this song too.
5. YOLO Kobi no Uta
It was used as a tie-in for the same drama as "Sugao no Mama de".
A medium ballad that opens with a warm guitar arpeggio and is composed entirely of acoustic guitar and a string quartet.
Above all, what felt fresh when I first heard it was that Kitagawa-san was in charge of the upper harmony in the A-melody and B-melody. He moves to the lower harmony in the chorus. Also, it was unique and surprising that Kitagawa-san takes the lead melody only on the part "Toki wa itsudatte totsuzen sugite" in both the first and second verses.
6. Mamotte Agetai
A single song. There is also another version provided to JUJU, haha.
A love ballad written and composed by Yujin Kitagawa that sings of a strong desire to "protect someone important." It has lyrics that are simple yet contain hidden strength.
It was originally made with the intention of including it on the album "LAND," but because it turned out so well, it was decided to release it in another form and include it on this single. Instead, "Geranium" was included on the album.
It might have stood out a bit if it had been included on "LAND."
A super classic love song with super sweet lyrics! Perfect for Christmas and such!
But wait, this melody is V6's "over"!
7. Tokorozawa George
A song that was sung during their street performance days, and this is its first time being recorded on a CD.
It has nothing to do with Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, and the title came about because "Tokorozawa" was just a word they happened to use symbolically.
Denkyu-san from Shikuramen, with whom Iwasawa-san has a friendship through providing songs, handled the arrangement.
I thought this was a "melody addressed to you" type of lyric where you try to confess but are too shy to say it, but it seems the answer was below.
I like the cute arrangement and the rough atmosphere of the song.
8. Shiawase no Teiri
This song is also arranged by Denkyu-san.
A folky number with a pleasant, laid-back melody
It has a Western-style composition where it's hard to tell if the verse and chorus are the same, or if there's no chorus at all.
The lyrics also feature Mr. Iwasawa's unique worldview.
I didn't give it a star in the ranking above, but I like it well enough.
9. Hyouri Ittai
Single.
Led by a symphonic harmony that evokes a spectacular scale, the song features a sequence of unfolding melodies and chord progressions, a barrage of words that link perfectly with the world of "HUNTER×HUNTER," and strings that drift with a sense of finality, combined with expressive vocals, creating a grand piece that transcends the realm of a "suite" as expressed in "REASON."
Starting with the two of them singing in falsetto, it's a very cool song that blends strings, programming, and band sounds.
I remember Mr. Kitagawa saying on a previous appearance on "Kanjam (now: EIGHT-JAM)" that the second verse "has multiple parts that feel like a chorus."
10. Ultra Soul!
Set in Isezakicho, where they used to perform street lives before their debut, it unfolds a story that drifts with the allure of adulthood.
The working title was "Cutie Honey ♡ Go Go," and it's a song from around 2002.
Teraoka released it in 2004 under the title "Dangerous Affair Harrison."
As it says, it seems to be a song that has existed for a long time.
And it looks like it was co-written with Mr. Yohito Teraoka.
The lyrics are characterized by a male perspective wavering in love, but since it was changed to a female perspective on tour, I hope they perform the original version at a concert someday!
11. Retro Future
A spacey, four-on-the-floor rock tune, which is rare for Yuzu, whose foundation is folky pop sound.
As it says, it's a rock number that mixes digital and acoustic sounds.
It has a worldview like a male idol group, which is cool.
It's also stylish that "Retro Future = a nostalgic vision of the future" perfectly evokes the album cover!
12. Yagiri no Isezakicho
Included on the bonus CD of the first edition.
It's a song like a mood kayo, and this album includes a demo version.
It's unclear if it was made as an extension of "Koi no Kayoubi" or if it was a candidate song, but it has a similar atmosphere.
In the summer of that same year, "Yagiri no Isezakicho ~Ai no Shinsekai-hen~," reborn with an arrangement by Hyadain, was released digitally!
13. Ame nochi hallelujah
This is the theme song for that famous morning drama and one of Yuzu's four major representative songs!
Completed by citing the excellent melody of an instrumental piece by shinobue player Kazuya Sato, whom they met during the production process. Reconstructed with Kitagawa's melody and lyrics, the song evolved and developed further. While the lyrics are typical of Yuzu, making the listener's heart naturally clear up, they also challenged themselves with a new approach, such as inserting a phrase from Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" into the interlude.
It's a song with a Japanese taste to match the worldview of the morning drama.
Also, it seems that "Sakura no Waltz," composed by Kazuya Sato, is the original song, and this is an arrangement of it.
Well, I don't really have any thoughts on it~ lol
14. Tomo ~Tabidachi no Uta~
A single song. This also became famous as a choral/graduation song.
Although it's a famous episode, it's a song that was remade for a choir from "Tomo," which was written for the staff after the earthquake.
15. Otchan no Uta
A song from the first edition bonus CD.
I don't really get this one either, and I have no thoughts on it lol
16. Utopia
This song is in last place.
I can't deny that it feels like a joke song, and I don't listen to it that much.
Summary
This time, I talked about "Shinsekai."
Once again, this album is one of my favorites, so I'll keep listening to it!
Next time is "TOWA"
I have a feeling I'll be speaking passionately about this album!