Showing posts with label Freesia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freesia. Show all posts

Friday, November 27, 2009

Review: MUCC - Rakuen

I'm too tired to actually post a whole proper review with filler crap that doesn't matter at the moment but I do need to up something and I had written something about Rakuen on TW so I decided to port it here. Just for some background information, Rakuen is a different B-side on MUCC's Freesia single. However, for reasons I will get to now, I do not recommend you get this song on your media player.

If you mean weird as in crap then I agree with you. Both FUZZ and OZ had a rock element underneath it all so even though there were elements of synth underneath it it mixed well with the music. Rakuen sounds like they put it through the digitized factory and played everything back in MIDI. I didn't even finish this - I just didn't enjoy it any.

That's all I really had to say so I guess I'll say a little more. I find Rakuen to be complete shit. More auto-tune, more synth effects, more uninspired songwriting covered up with earnest experimentation. Rakuen is that kind of song that looked good on paper and ended up horrible in execution. None of it comes together and it's this big, grotesque spot in MUCC's territory that would be the musical equivalent of G from RE2: it looked like a good idea but by the time they were finished it was horrible and they had nowhere to store it so they let it loose.

This is worse than Shuushifu.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Review: MUCC - Freesia

*imported from Tainted World*

I actually downloaded it and forgot I had it on my iTunes until you reminded me. D: Let's get to this and I'll put down my thoughts after a few listens.

The main problem I have with the first two songs, Shuushifu moreso than Freesia, is the (ab)use of auto-tune. That shit wasn't present before Kyuutai and even though I only recall it being used slightly in Sora to Ito I still despised it's usage because I felt it interfered with the atmosphere of the song. MUCC fucking [i]raped[/i] this single with auto-tune because it's detectable in Freesia and mostly used in Shuushifu. I. Don't. Like. Auto-Tune. This single automatically isn't perfect in my book.

With that having been said, the recorded version of Freesia is much better and more majestic than the live performance let on (which was why I reserved all judgment on the song until now). Freesia is all around enjoyable, especially Miya's little solo near the end over Tatsurou's vocals. Even after 10 years MUCC's still got some ideas up their sleeves and even though their sound has changed over the years the only thing that's stayed the same is that they usually deliver. [i]Usually[/i]. I'd give this about a 9 out of 10.

I've heard Namonaki Yume but not enough to compare it to Shuushifu so I won't. However, this is the kind of song I like to hear in general and it pulled me in from the beginning until the auto-tune pissed me off. After that, the energy levels of this song really petered off for me. Whereas in Freesia I could tell why they used the auto-tune and to some degree it worked, in Shuushifu it really just annoyed the crap out of me and really prevented me from liking this song too much. 6 out of 10 for now but over time I'll revisit this again and see if my opinion changes.

From Furik's review I was expecting there to be some Tatsurou in this but two minutes in I realized he wasn't going to be there and that this was going to be pure instrumental. I'm OK with it, especially since the piano rendition of this song was great. I'm normally not into songs that were changed from pianos to guitars since for me it doesn't usually flow well but Freesia sounds great with both instruments behind this. I'd really have to give this a 10 just because if I enjoyed it this much the first time through I'm going to grow to like it more.

So yeah, the only thing I really despised about this single was the auto-tune laced all throughout it. MUCC needs to cut that shit out because Tatsurou's voice is too good for that crap. I'd give this about an 8/10 overall.