Buono! - Buono! 2

[Hana]

NOTE: This was only my 2nd listen through of the album, so these are closer to initial impressions than they are solid opinions.



Early Bird = Kind of like Café Buono's little sister. They don't sound exactly the same, but they both feature the girls shouting out a line in the background from time to time.



Kiss!Kiss!Kiss! = Still my favorite Buono! a-side. Also, I thought it kind of ties in well to the previous track since the little "Chu chu chuchu chu chu" noises in the beginning reminded me of birds chirping, and since the first track is themed about waking up, getting out the door (and titled, appropriately enough, "Early Bird"), I think it kind of ties in on that level, too.



Kira Kira = Reminds me of Baketsu no Mizu a little bit, and features some pretty cute clapping and a good rhythm.



Shoushitten -Vanishing Point- = Seems kind of like one of their ballads, but sped up just enough to make it not a ballad. It's not super catchy, but I think I'll remember it after I've heard it more.



Rottara Rottara = Not much to say, nice song.



co no mi chi = This song has actually started to grow on me since I heard it initially. I still think it's their weakest single, but I actually don't mind listening to it, either (which I think speaks for how good Buono!'s library is so far). Seeing the ending animation that Shugo Chara came up with for this song helped it a little, though. XD



Minna Daisuki = The obligatory b-side since it was the 2nd opening to Shugo Chara. I would have rather seen My Love or Lady Panther in here instead, but I know why they put it in so I won't complain. It's cute, but doesn't exactly scream "Buono!" to me. So I guess it's a good thing they decided to give the openings to the Egg group now. XD



I NEED YOU = Starts out like a slow jam kind of song (I really can't put my finger on what this reminds me of), but then picks up about :44 seconds in and turns into kind of a ska song. And then goes right back into the previous style. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D/' /> The transition is a little jarring, and in a way, the switch between the two styles reminds me of Souda! We're Alive a little. Except I actually like this song.



Gachinko de Ikou! = <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... ohyeah.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' /> 2nd favorite single on the album! HAI DONMAI.



You're My Friend = Another sort of mid-tempo song. I really like the starts of the verses ("Dakedo dakedo dakedo", "Konna konna konna konna", etc).



OVER THE RAINBOW = The first real ballad-y song on the album. Kind of reminds me of both "Kimi ga Ireba" AND "Hoshi no Hitsuji", but that might be more in the lyrics than the song itself. It's pretty, though.



Goal = This song REALLY reminds me of Viva La Vida for some reason. Not enough that I'd call it a total rip-off. I'm not crazy about the parts during the little interlude (at ~1:51 & ~1:57) where the song sort of degenerates into something else that's really raw sounding. It just feels jarring in comparison with the rest of the track. Other than that, I like it, though. Also, for trivia, this is the longest Buono! song by just over a minute.

[AEUGNewtype]

This is also the second time I listened to this, even if it was against my better judgment.



Early Bird - Extremely boring. The song never goes anywhere, just drolls along in a really predictable progression. The chorus is kinda cute, but also doesn't really have a lasting effect.



Kira Kira - Kinda sounds like a PUFFY song at times, and the arrangement almost saves the really drab songwriting, but it ends up being really boring and sounds uninspired and unorganized.



Vanishing Point - Sounds like a really boring anime character image song. This is way too soft for Buono's style and is very non-unique. Nothing about this song stands out, not even for a second.



I NEED YOU - This song KICKS ASS. Seriously. If nothing on this album is worth a damn, this would make up for 3 or 4 bad songs. The whole thing has a ska/reggae feel, somewhat akin to "My Love" from the Rottara single, but much more laid back, and then it turns into a speed punk style. The way it explodes for the chorus is solid gold and isn't really terribly jarring, since the songwriting almost progresses to that naturally. The use of the awesome 60's style flange effects on a lot of the instruments adds a really cool style to the arrangement.



You're My Friend - Really slow and boring cutesy-style song. The acoustic guitar and the chord progressions it plays during the verse as well as the watery guitar part in the bridge are really nice-sounding, then the chorus just turns into boring dreck. Next.



OVER THE RAINBOW - How many Jpop songs have been called this? And uh...a ballad? For Buono? And not even a well-written one? What happened here? That's a lot of questions, isn't it? That's about all I have for the decision of this being on this album. Their voices sound really nice, but this is really boring and typical for this style of song. At least most of the slower songs on their first album had something really unique about them like interesting arrangements or vocal harmonies.



Goal - The most boring intro to a song, ever. This never really goes anywhere. It just repeats the same 3 guitar chords as 16th notes for the entire song. So, this is like a house trance song arranged for guitars, drums, and keyboards. Is it over yet?



Their vocals are improved a decent amount, especially Momoko, even though she still sounds annoying as hell and kinda bad. The purpose of this album seemed to be to sound as little like Buono's usual sound as humanly possible. Not cool, when their general sound is already easily the best that H!P has had for a group in years. Why mess with success? This is extremely disappointing, and even though I wasn't terribly into their first album at first listen, it was still a lot more interesting than this. Nothing about this album even makes me want to listen to it ever again except I NEED YOU. Hopefully they don't use the direction of these album tracks as a new trend, or we may soon see the end of one of the greatest H!P groups in recent history.



I had to look up who was responsible for all of the crap on this album to see if there was anyone or anything that I could potentially attribute to this being so bad, but it really doesn't look like there is. We can't blame it on Tsunku, he had nothing to do with it besides writing co-no-mi-chi, which has grown to be a pretty damn good song, anyway, but everything else about the writing and arranging credits are almost identical to the first album. I can't figure it out.

[Shoujo Q]

Ooo! when I get some money I'll seriously need to buy this album. Didn't realize it would be out yet, so yes, I must find it! D:

[BeForJess]

On first listen, the non-singles that I hadn't heard before just didn't stick with me. Like, I listened to the whole thing and then tried to remember what they sounded like... And all I heard in my head was "rottara rottara rottara...". Eheh.



I wasn't too crazy about most of the filler track songs from Cafe Buono either though (well, except Internet Cupid which was different enough), so I don't know if it's just this album or what. Ren'ai Rider and Lady Panther are still my favorite Buono songs even after hearing all of this album.



I will give it another chance, though, because sometimes it takes repitition for me to start liking songs.

[ozu]

First impressions:



This album is never less than pleasant to listen to. But if you approach it with the spirit of "OK, entertain me, damn it! In new and exciting ways!" then it comes up short. There isn't a track that's nearly as rousing as Nakimushi Shounen, for instance.



co-no-mi-chi shines here, since it's clearly more interesting than the album cuts. It actually stands up to being programmed after the best song (Rottara Rottara).



I really don't see me listening to this as much as Kirarin to Fuyu. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /heart.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='ozu' post='59282' date='Feb 9 2009, 03:01 AM']This album is never less than pleasant to listen to. But if you approach it with the spirit of "OK, entertain me, damn it! In new and exciting ways!" then it comes up short. There isn't a track that's nearly as rousing as Nakimushi Shounen, for instance.[/quote]

I don't so much see it as unpleasant to listen to, but my mentality is that even if something is pleasant, if its not good enough to where I enjoy it for the entire running time, there's no use in listening to it in the future, since I know hundreds of songs that do fit that criteria. New and exciting doesn't quite enter into it, its just an issue of quality, and like I said, enjoyment past thinking "oh, this is nice."

[Tallgeese]

More hit-and-miss than the first one, which (in my opinion) was solid all the way through. The singles end up being the better half of the album. There are a few gems, though, and I wouldn't mind seeing all these songs live.

[Joel]

I've only listened to this album about 3 or 4 times, but here's my short review:



Early Bird: I usually have my laptop volume pretty loud when I don't have headphones connected to it, but I forgot to turn it down when I put my headphones. The beginning nearly killed my hears. This song is nothing special to me. I think this is the least interesting song on the album.



Kira Kira: It too reminds me of Baketsu no Mizu, but not as nearly as awesome. I like this song better than Early Bird, but it lacks energy.



Vanishing Point: I take back on what I said earlier: THIS is the least interesting song on the album, but I have a feeling that this may grow on me for some reason.



I NEED YOU: YES. This is the Buono! that I have come to know and love. At first listen, I liked the pace of the song it was at, and then BAM! I was surprised by the chorus.



You're My Friend: Not too crazy about this song. The only thing that I don't particularly like about this song is the chorus. Everything else is OK at best.



OVER THE RAINBOW: I LOVE IT. Everyone's voice sounds really great in this, Especially Airi's. Airi lead FTW!



Goal: When I first read the title of the song, I was excited that it would be like I NEED YOU, but I was wrong. Like what Hana said, this definitely reminds me of Viva La Vida. Unlike, AEUG, I really really like this song. I think this is the best song on the album. Along with OVER THE RAINBOW, I think that this is a great way to end the album. Although, I can see myself getting sick of it for listening it for too long. One thing I'll gripe about this song though is that I wish they could've properly end the song instead of fading away.



Although, I've only like the 3 songs that we're metioned, the rest of the album that contained the A-sides and Minna Daisuki helped out a lot with this album. Overall, though I think this is better than their previous album.

[JPope]

First time through, "Goal" really stood out to me as a good track, moreso than any of the other album tracks. I like to relisten to albums that don't catch me right away, because some (most?) of my favorite albums took several listinings to really enjoy. I would never just throw an album in the dumper after a single listening unless it was some style of music that I just don't enjoy, or it was so obviously horrid.

[Shoujo Q]

I really loved Cafe Buono so yeah this wasn't it, but it wasn't bad either.



Early Bird sounds like a Mario song in the beginning. I feel like I should be skipping around my little pixel world with Yoshi or something.



I think I Need You would sound great as a live track with a live band. It's got that feel to it that it would be great. I don't think this cd version does it any justice.



Over The Rainbow was good, I liked the english thrown it, it was cute.



I totally forgot how great Gachinko de Ikou was!! Though I do still love Rottara and KissKissKiss. I miss when Buono dominated Shugo Chara. I love Minna Daisuki. >_> Hop Step Jump! D:

[sadude]

[quote name='ozu' post='59282' date='Feb 9 2009, 02:01 AM']First impressions:



This album is never less than pleasant to listen to. But if you approach it with the spirit of "OK, entertain me, damn it! In new and exciting ways!" then it comes up short.[/quote]

This is exactly how I feel. I went through it once today, and I liked it. With the exception of Rottara, every Buono song has taken a bunch of listens to like. It's not a matter of not liking it at first, just a matter of getting used to the song, learning it, and internally adding it to their discography.

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='sadude' post='59374' date='Feb 10 2009, 12:40 AM']This is exactly how I feel. I went through it once today, and I liked it. With the exception of Rottara, every Buono song has taken a bunch of listens to like. It's not a matter of not liking it at first, just a matter of getting used to the song, learning it, and internally adding it to their discography.[/quote]

The only difference is that all their previous songs had some kind of unique character to them that made them interesting enough to warrant multiple listens.

[sadude]

[quote name='The☆AEUGNewtype' post='59379' date='Feb 10 2009, 12:32 AM'][quote name='sadude' post='59374' date='Feb 10 2009, 12:40 AM']This is exactly how I feel. I went through it once today, and I liked it. With the exception of Rottara, every Buono song has taken a bunch of listens to like. It's not a matter of not liking it at first, just a matter of getting used to the song, learning it, and internally adding it to their discography.[/quote]

The only difference is that all their previous songs had some kind of unique character to them that made them interesting enough to warrant multiple listens.[/quote]

Not at first, they didn't. Genre- and sound-wise, they're all just pop rock, and don't particularly have unique character on first listen if pop rock isn't what you're looking for.

[kuze]

Anyone else find the pinging sound in 'Early Bird' really annoying? Over the Rainbow fav track so far.

[Tallgeese]

[quote name='PQ' post='59318' date='Feb 9 2009, 05:07 PM']Hop Step Jump! D:[/quote]



Kind of unrelated, but why are the words "Hop Step Jump" in the Shugo Chara songs?! It's been in "Kokoro no Tamago," "Minna Daisuki," and "Minna no Tamago."

[loli-tan]

The hop, step, jump etc things are to do with the anime. I've only seen a few episodes, but they're the Charas' special powers, I believe (sorry if this doesn't make sense, it's kind of hard to explain if you haven't seen the anime).



Hop, step, jump = Ran, who wears a cheerleader type outfit and is the outgoing one.

Drew, draw, drawn = Miki, who's an artist.

Chip, syrup, shipped cream = Suu, who cooks.



And since the songs the lyrics are in are openings for the anime, it makes sense.









Also, haven't listened to this album yet so I can't give a review, but Lotta Love is the best Buono! single, followed closely by Renai Rider (all around great, the a-side, b-side, outfits, PV...).

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='sadude' post='59381' date='Feb 10 2009, 01:40 AM']Not at first, they didn't. Genre- and sound-wise, they're all just pop rock, and don't particularly have unique character on first listen if pop rock isn't what you're looking for.[/quote]

They did to me. I'm sure there's a difference that I enjoy towards the more " hard rock" sound that Buono typically has instead of the softer "pop-rock" that most of this album has, and it is easier for songs to have unique character to me when they have arrangements and compositions that fit the hard rock style better, and opinions is what this is all about, isn't it? <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />

[Shoujo Q]

So, the Buono2 album debut at #5 on the Oricon chart.



Also, Co no mi chi finally was placed as the ending of Shugo Chara on episode 69. Which came out Saturday. (It's a very cute ending.)



They could have debut it early like they did with Shugo Shugo by the Eggs, and then release the single but I guess they wanted a stronger album sale and didn't care much for the Co no mi chi single sales.

[Tsuki]

I agree with the general opinion around here that this isn't as strong as their first one, and their singles are probably the strongest songs on here. After giving this a few listens, absolutely none of the new songs stuck out to me and have given me no real desire to relisten.



Perhaps eventually they'll grow on me, but even going in to listening to an album with slightly lowered standards compared to a single, this was kind of a disappointment. And this is from someone who actually really enjoys co.no.mi.chi.

[Tallgeese]

I just read that they're doing 4 live concerts to promote this CD at the Nihono Seinenkan, 2/12 - 2/15. I can't wait for the DVD of this to come out. Also, Momo is now the official leader!! Awesome!

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='Tallgeese' post='60038' date='Feb 16 2009, 12:46 AM']Also, Momo is now the official leader!![/quote]

Yuck, what the hell. Not like being the leader really means much, except potentially having more talk time during interviews, which is DEFINITELY not a good thing if she's the one involved <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />