This probably isn't the best idea. It's late at night, I'm tired, I'm sick, I've only listened to it a few times and I'm still on the fence about it. I'm going to write a review!!


First, my overall impressions of the mini album. I'm still not sure if I like it or not. I'm not WOW IMPRESSED by it, but it is certainly growing on me. If I had to compare it to her previous works as Tsukiko, I would have to say that it's somewhere between Hello and Ongaku. It has the simple innocence of something like Ongaku, yet it has some of the sad and hopeful tones of Hello to the sound (and the vocals more closely sound like her ZERO-era vocals; I don't think I'll ever get to hear her sweeping, dramatic, full vocals from the past again, and I'm not sure if I'm happy about that!). Overall, all the songs tend to mush together to me (except for one that stands out, but I'm not sure if that's good... more on that alter!) and it will take me a little bit to be able to tell all of them apart, but I think I still like them all, so I'm not complaining too much. I'd wish for a bit more variety, but I understand that this is her new sound and she is showcasing that.

Hikari no Circus:
I'm still not impressed with this song. The more I listen to it, the more I like it, but it's very simple, very childish, yet it has this really simple sort of beauty to it. I think I have to be in a certain mood to listen to this one and enjoy it. It certainly captures a certain mood very well, but I'm not sure if that mood and style is for me.

Utsukushiki Mono:
This is actually probably my favourite track on the mini-album. As soon as it starts falling into a pattern and you think that you get it (oh, it's a really light, simple kind of a tune, I can tell what the rest will sound like...), it sort of turns once you reach the chorus. The chorus has some of my favourite vocals from the album, for sure, and the disconnect between the simple verses and the more complex and darker chorus is genuis. Her voice takes you down through all these complex turns and loops, following a path that only she knows, almost like a roller coaster, or if you sprouted wings and flew between skyscrapers. Then, at the end, it returns to the simple sound of earlier, yet it keeps some of the edge, which I'm not sure how I fel like. The high note that she hits at the end is kind of "meh" and feels a bit cheesy and predictable, but the rest makes up for it.

Kuroobaa Kuroobaa:
This one is really simple and cute. I love it. I would even go as far as to say that it has a slight bit of a mocking tone to it, almost like the way Hakobune does, only not at all, if you understand what I mean. I like the use of just her voice and a piano, it certainly lends to the mood of the piece, but I would like her vocals to have a bit more substance to them, as with the entire album, but in this song in particular, since even though it's just the piano and her, she still seems kind of lost.

puruchinerra no namida:
Again, it's really simple. It starts out as very simple, but then the music swells a bit and we get some of the more complex vocals of Utsukushiki Mono during the chorus, but it doesn't go as far. Some of the notes that she hits has be going "ehh... really?," since they don't really seem to fit, but overall, I like it. It's like someone took a Tsukiko song and boiled it down to a few base elements and removed some layers and overwise mixed their metaphors with it. ;P It's pretty similar to her older music, only like she sat down with just a few friends with instruments in her living room and played, not the big, full sound of before. It clips along at a nice rythm, especially toward the end, and her voice seems to keep up, fall behind, then catch up again, which is a nice effect. It's like trying to keep up with a friend who walks too fast for you but at a steady pace.

Strawberry on the Shortcake:
This song stands out the most, that's for sure. It's pure pop somewhere between Taisou, Kitchen, and Jam Tomorrow. It makes me want to wear Angelic Pretty clothes and dance around while baking, that's for sure. Is it so wrong that I actually really love this song? Is it? It's just so happy and cute and bubbly that it puts a smile on my face whenever it comes on. This is probably the most childish in a cutesy way (or in a pop idol band kind of way? Eh, it's still 100% Tsukko, regardless!), but it's a lot of fun. If you don't like super cutesy stuff, then this song is not for you at all.

1 + 1 ga 2 ni nara nai:
the intro to this song is really beautiful, I think. Of all the songs, this one is probably tied for best vocals (and maybe tied for my favourite?). The vocals are much fuller, even in the parts where it sounds light, because it is obvious that it is supposed to sound light, wheras some of the other songs on the album sound almost weak at points rather than light for effect. Something about this song is extremely nostalgic, and the pacing of it reminds me of a marching band of teddy bears and wooden toy soldiers. It has a sad air about it, but it still sounds somehow hopeful. I love the use of strings, but I pretty much love strings in anything.

Yogore ta Inu:
Something about this song reminds me of some anime ending theme that I would have liked when I was 13. I have no idea why, but I have to get that out there. Actually, this entire album has a nostalgic feeling like old anime ending themes tend to have. If you have no idea what I'm talking about.... well, Tsukko's music is very personal to me, and I tend to describe it n very personal ways, so I don't really expect it to. This song is pretty much an extension of the last song in the use of strings, but the tone is noticeably sadder and the pace has changed. The vocals are nice, but could be a bit deeper, I think. They are pretty full as they are, but seem a bit too high for the song, and somehow get lost in the heavier instrumentation of this song. At oints when she is singing very high
(which she does beautifully), they seem very thin, almost like they are going to break. The song has a sort of tension through the entire thing like this, and it makes me listen closer and almost hold my breath at parts, but then it goes back into the familiar chorus and I'm just reminded of old anime ending themes again and the magic wears off quickly, especially as the choruses repeat.

I hav enoticed that she uses a technique of repeating te last line again at the end of the song a number of times on this album, and it gets a little old by the end. Overall, I like the new sound, I like the new mood, but it tends to feel a bit formulaic and all kind of runs together. Plus she's singing too high, too airy, and not substantial enough! There's a place for that type of vocals, and they are used wonderfully in a few places here, but not nearly enough. I think that if she put some fuller, richer vocals in with the lighter ones, the impact would be much greater. I might even be impressed.

Main points:
1. Tends to be a bit formulaic and runs together a bit
2. New mood -- sad and hopeful
3. Very simple, uses a simple beauty
4. Nostalgic
5. Heavier vocals at parts would have a greater impact, though the lighter vocals do have their place (and are pretty amazing at times)

It's sort of hit-and-miss, and it seems worse than it when I break it down like this, but the entire thing sort of fits together into a wonderful sort of sound and mood.


Err... I'm goign to sleep now. =____________=;