Ongaku Cafe (The 2000s): L’Arc~en~Ciel – KISS (2007)

L’Arc~en~Ciel’s “KISS” is another well-produced, well-written, well-composed and definitely well-balanced album that I’m glad to listen to right before the Holidays and I feel that many L’Arc fans will dig it as well.

BAND: L’Arc~en~Ciel

ALBUM: KISS

LABEL: Ki/oon

DURATION: 53:07

Released on December 4, 2007 (US) and November 21, 2007 (Japan)

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

SEVENTH HEAVEN
Pretty girl
My HEART DRAWS A DREAM
Sunadokei
spiral
ALONE EN LA VIDA
DAYBREAK BELL
Umibe
THE BLACK ROSE
Link [KISS Mix]
Yuki No Ashiato
Hurry Xmas

Reviewed back in 2007

L’Arc~en~Ciel is back with their first album in nearly two and a half years with “KISS”. The album debuted at number one in Japan on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart and the album is now available in the United States via Digital Only Release through iTunes and other online musical distributors.

L’Arc~en~Ciel has been a band that I started listening to back when “Blurry Eyes” came out and many fans in the US have discovered their music through their performance at Otakon or have heard their music from anime such as “Fullmetal Alchemist” (which was shown on the Cartoon Network) or even the “FINAL FANTASY” film. Also, some may have been led to the music by following the lead singer HYDE (note: solo name is capitalized, in L’Arc his name is in lowercase) and may have been exposed by his music through “BLOOD Plus” (currently on the Cartoon Network).

Whichever way you may have discovered this band, it’s pretty exciting when you get the guys which consist of hyde (vocal), ken (guitar), tetsu (bass) and yukihiro (drums) together and personally for me, I discover something new musically each time I listen to this band with each release.

The album featurs twelve tracks which include five chart topping hit CD singles such as “SEVENTH HEAVEN”, “MY HEART DRAWS A DREAM”, “DAYBREAK’S BELL” (theme song for the anime Mobile Suit Gundam 00″, “Link-KISS Mix-” (Opening theme for Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie-Conqueror of Shambala) and their Christmas song “Hurry Xmas”.

Also, with the band having their own personal success and motivation in their solo career’s, for this album, each member takes their turns in composing each song.

The first track “SEVENTH HEAVEN” was released on May 30, 2007 (KSCL-1138) is a catchy song featuring ken’s melodic hooks and squeals, tetsu’s mind numbing, entrancing bass playing and yukihiro’s dynamic percussions. The song features words and music by hyde.

The second track “Pretty girl” is a fun track along the same type of feeling of their SMILE track “FEELING FINE”. Fun and enjoyable track featuring words and music by ken.

The third track “MY HEART DRAWS A DREAM” is my favorite track on the album. The CD single was released on August 29th (KSCL-1159) and I think there’s a nostalgic feeling of classic L’Arc with this track but with really hypnotic guitar playing by ken and an overall awesome track that shines on this album. The song’s words are by hyde and the music was composed by ken.

The fourth track “Sunadokei” is a upbeat ballad showcasing hyde’s vocals, tetsu on bass, ken on guitar and yukihiro on drums. Simple solo-like segments which I enjoyed and the words and music are by tetsu.

The fifth track “spiral” is a song that features words and music by yukihiro that features galloping guitars on one spectrum and serene guitar lines the next. Awesome guitar playing and definitely something different for the band musically with each transition and great clatter percussions from yukihiro.

The sixth track “ALONE EN LA VIDA” is a song featuring words by hyde and music by ken. The song features a mid-tempo ballad and beautiful vocals but for me, listening to this song over and over, there is something I discover musically with each listen. Very cool song that showcases each members musical quality and hyde’s vocals. Awesome!

The seventh track “DAYBREAK’S BELL” is a CD single released back in October 10th (KSCL-1200) and is used as the opening theme for the anime series “MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 00”. Words are by hyde and music by ken. A very cool song showcasing the charismatic vocals of hyde. Almost like a classic L’Arc sound and very enjoyable.

The eighth track “Umibe” features words by hyde and music by tetsu. The track starts up like a ballad with piano playing and then the drum machine kicks in and suddenly transitions to a full on rock ballad with mind numbing bass playing by tetsu. Cool!

The ninth track “THE BLACK ROSE” is a song with words and music by hyde. Features abrasive guitars and another track with mind numbing, addictive and hypnotic bass playing by tetsu. The music is very cool for this song and all in all an awesome track.

The tenth track “Link [KISS Mix]” features hyde providing the lyrics and tetsu for the music. The song is used for the opening theme for “Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie-Conqueror of Shambala” and a very fun and catchy song along the same lines as “Pretty girl”.

The eleventh track “Yuki no Ashiato” is a song written by hyde and music composed by ken. The song starts out slow with an organ and then the violin. A winter song that features infectious vocals by hyde and then midway transitions from somber and dark to a song that gets into the light and although featuring unsophisticated beats, the agile vocals by hyde and the band’s chorus, reall makes this song stand out for me. Very cool guitar solo by ken!

And the final track “Hurry Xmas” was released as a CD single on November 14th (KSCL-1226) and starts out as a Christmas intro that you would hear from “It’s a Wonderful Life” but then transitions to a catchy, fun Christmas track featuring a Christmas symphony injection that definitely is so different from any L’Arc~en~Ciel CD single release that I have ever heard. But it’s a fun track and it works

The CD insert features a cardboard style of case with the insert glued to the case. The insert can be extended on both ends to reveal the lyrics on one end and then inside is a pictorial of the members with headphones and then right in the center is the silhouette of two people kissing.

It’s always a great time to hear something new coming from L’Arc~en~Ciel. I love their music and songs such as “MY HEART DRAWS A DREAM”, “Sunadokei”, “ALONE EN LA VIDA”, “DAYBREAK’S BELL” to name a few are among the cool tracks on this album.

You get a good balance of music from a little of the classic L’Arc sound meets modern sound with tracks such as “SEVENTH HEAVEN” to something SMILE-ish such as “Link [KISS Mix]” and something different with “Hurry Xmas” and something rockin’ like the hard hitting “THE BLACK ROSE” and sultry and musically awesome with “Umibe”.

I felt that with each member taking their turns of composing and adding their styles and incorporating it into the music was fun. Especially to hear these mini solos by ken on guitar and tetsu on bass was very cool! Definitely more maturity and something new on this album that L’Arc~en~Ciel manages to capture perfectly on this album.

The significance of the release of this album is that typically a new album for a major release on a major label, there is legal wrangling and a lot of red tape to get an album out to the US. Try several months to a year. In this case, “KISS” is a near simultaneous release (two weeks since it’s Japan release) and that people can now download the album through iTunes or an online musical distributor.

When I first received the press release, I admit that I was very stoked because in 2007, not only have we had a Japanese film with a near simultaneous release (“Nana 2” – although shown only in New York), we are getting a near simultaneous release in the US.

With a lot of torrent sites, blogs and forums being watched by the labels, I think that perhaps this album will be a significant test to see how sales will be after its release. Also, to see how well the album does for online sales in the US.

So, I feel it will be interesting to see how online sales in North America will do for this album and I’m hoping that many people support the band and hope for more near simultaneous releases in the near future.

So, my final words on this album. L’Arc~en~Ciel’s “KISS” is another well-produced, well-written, well-composed and definitely well-balanced album that I’m glad to listen to right before the Holidays and I feel that many L’Arc fans will dig it as well.

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