Ongaku Cafe (The 2000s): AAA – depArture (February 2009)

The album was enjoyable, fun and overall pretty good.  Check it out!

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GROUP:  AAA (Attack All Around)

ALBUM: depArture

LABEL: avex trax

DURATION: 56:58

RELEASE DATE: February 11, 2009

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1. -Introduction-
2. MUSIC!!!
3. SAVE YOUR SOUL
4. Jamboree!!
5. Wonderful Girls
6. 出逢いのチカラIII
7. a piece of my word
8. ZERO
9. HORIZON
10. BEYOND～カラダノカナタ
11. Mosaic
12. 始まりのキセキ
13. 旅ダチノウタ

DVD 1: Region 2, 4:3, DURATION: 30 minutes

1. BEYOND～カラダノカナタ (Music Clip)
2. MUSIC!!! (Music Clip)
   
3. ZERO (Music Clip)
   
4. 旅ダチノウタ
5. Jamboree!! (Music Clip)
   
6. BEYOND～カラダノカナタ (Off Shot)
7. MUSIC!!! (Off Shot)
   
8. ZERO (Off Shot)
   
9. 旅ダチノウタ (Off Shot)
   
10. Jamboree!! (Off Shot)

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Reviewed back in February 2009

Another energetic and enjoyable album for hybrid boy and girl band, AAA (Attack All Around).  “depArture” is the fourth album from the seven member group which consists of Takahiro Nishijima, Naoya Urata, Misako Uno, Mitsuhiro Hidaka, Shinjiro Atae, Shuta Sueyoshi and Chiaki Ito.

The album features their 18th CD single “BEYOND~Karada no Kanata” (rel. May 28, 2008), their 19th CD single “MUSIC!!!/ZERO” (rel. Aug. 27, 2008) and their 20th CD single “Tabidachi no Uta” (Rel. Jan. 12, 2009).

The album kicks off with an introduction in English with a woman announcing the “AAA” flight depArture and leading into the first music track “MUSIC!!!” which was the group’s 28th CD single.  An upbeat, fun dance track with a good balance of vocals and rhymes.  The song is written by Shigeco Oguta and music by Koichi Tsutaya.

The third track “SAVE YOUR SOUL” features an R&B pop track with a cool groove and catchy chorus.

The fourth track “Jamboreee!!” is one of the fun, happy pop tracks that AAA fans are used to hearing with the group singing “Let’s enjoy yourself!”

The fifth track “Wonderful Girls” features an upbeat dance track by the male members of the group.

The sixth track is a third version of “Deai no Chikara III”, a slow jam that is elegant and focuses musically solely on the piano and slowly transitioning to incorporate bass and percussion.

The seventh track “a piece of my word”  features a song written by Kenn Kato and a mid-tempo ballad sung by Misako Uno and Chiaki Ito.

The eighth track is the second A-side single from their 19th CD single which was used for the anime “World Destruction: Sekai Bokumetsu no Rokunin”.  Opposite of the other A-side track “MUSIC!!!” which was more happy and energetic, “ZERO” features more electric guitar and is more rock-oriented.

The ninth track “HORIZON” features a drum machine-centric pop track written and music by Kami Kaeru and a collaboration with producer Tomokazu “T.O.M.” Matsuzawa.

The tenth track “BEYOND ~Karada no Kanata~”, the group’s 18th CD single featuring a pop track that is percussion heavy and primarily sung by group leader Naoya Urata.  Upbeat track written by keyossie and one and a song used as a pre-Summer Olympics song back in 2008.

The eleventh track “Mosaic” is atrack written be kenko-p and music by Lori Fine (COLDFEET).  An upbeat dance track that features primarily vocals by Takahiro Nishijima and Misako Uno.

The 12th track “始まりのキセキ” is a happy, pop track by the group written and produced by BOUNCEBACK. A usual and typical happy AAA track.

The 13th track “Tabidachi no Uta” features a wonderful slowjam and probably my favorite ballad to come from the group.  The song is a sad ballad and is a song about saying goodbye or departure.

THE DVD:

As for the accompanying DVD, the DVD comes with five music videos including their off-shots.  The DVD is about 30 minutes long and is 4:3 and for DVD players that can play region 2 DVD’s.

The music video for “BEYOND~Karada no Kanata” was a music video which I actually wasn’t thrilled about when the CD+DVD single came out features an energetic pre-Summer Olympics music video with the group running and trying to reach the finish line and and dancing with a flame behind them.

The second music video is for “MUSIC!!!” which is a fun and colorful music video with the group dancing outdoors.  This video features cool clips of the group and each member.  Like the way the video was cut.  It’s simple but yet a fun music video.

The third music video “ZERO” which is a darker music video which features each member of the group in solitary confinement with a video watching them and the group showing fear, insanity and anger.

The fourth music video “Tabidachi no Uta” is a very cool slow jam and a music video that is different from various AAA music videos as it features each individual member around Tokyo, then the group around a children’s jungle gym with the Tokyo city lights behind them.  A music video that has more production value of showing more locations rather than the special effects or CG type of music video.

The fifth music video “Jamboree” features a simple music video with the group dancing with a few props and an AAA billboard behind them and individual shots featuring a member carrying a product or food and getting together to eat on the rooftop and having fun.

The remaining five videos are the “off shots” which are literally the behind-the-scenes footage.  No interviews but behind-the-scenes footage for each music video.

CD INSERT:

“depArture” comes in a cardboard slipcase featuring a different cover that is on the CD insert booklet.  The CD insert booklet features lyrics and production credits but also photos of each member individually.

Inside are two fliers, the first is promoting the group’s upcoming DVD and theatrical performance of “Mirai Seiki Shakespeare” wich the group will be performing live from February through April 2009.

The second is a promotion for a Best Mix Album & DVD, plus a promotion for the Official AAA Fan Club – AAA Party and the debut album by AAA leader Urata Naoya titled “TURN OVER” and their upcoming “AAA TOUR 2009 – A depArture pArty~” concert set for April 2009.

I’ve been quite supportive of AAA since their first CD single and when the group released their third album “announced” and started breaking into the top 5 and eventually the #1 position on the Oricon Music Charts, I definitely liked where the group was going.

No more rush of CD singles and taking their time with their releases.

Their fourth album “depArture” contains a lot of fun tracks and even an impressive slow jam with “Tabidachi no Uta”.  Songs such as “MUSIC!!!” and “Jamboree!!” showcases the group’s energy while tracks such as “BEYOND ~Karada no Kanata” was a good vehicle to showcase Urata Naoya’s solo career.

Definitely a fun album that manages to contain a good number of fun, catchy tracks.

The CD+DVD version is what I would recommend for AAA fans since you do get five of their last music videos and the “off-shot” videos.  I will say that I was suprised that this album did not contain an AAA short film which I was getting accustomed to.  But then again, the group did release several DVD’s of their TV show (aired in the Kansai area) titled “Mirai Seiki Shakespeare” recently.

But overall, the album was enjoyable, fun and overall pretty good.  Check it out!

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