TRIPLANE – Monologue (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review)

December 13, 2007 by Dennis Amith 

BAND: TRIPLANE

CD SINGLE: Monologue

LABEL: tearbridge records

CATALOG #: NFCD-27056~7

DURATION: Disc 1: 13.6 minutes Disc 2: 16.9 minutes

Released on November 7, 2007

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Disk 1:

1. Monologue
2. Energy
3. Dear friends ~Acoustic ver.~

Disk 2:

1. Monologue
2. TRIPLANE Single Medley
3. Dear friends ~Acoustic ver.~

TRIPLANE is an interesting band because of the comparisons to Mr. Children.

The group which was formed back in 2002 consists of vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Ebata “Samurai” Hyoue (who people say he’s like Mr. Children’s Sakurai Kazutoshi which Ebata respects); guitarist Kawamura “Kane” Kenji; bassist Takeda Kazuya and drummer Hirota “Tan” Makoto (the leader of the band).

Lead vocalist Ebata’s voice is very similar to Mr. Children’s Sakurai Kazutoshi and thus the frequent comparisons.

In 2004, the group debuted with “SPEED*STAR” which is said to be a cover of a hitomi song but in fact, hitomi actually covered the song that was sung by them.

But the group is probably known for their third CD single “Dear Friends” (NFCD-27002, January 11, 2006) which was used as an ending theme for the anime series “ONE PIECE”.

And recently, the group has released their sixth CD single titled “monologue”. The limited edition series is interesting because it is bundled as two CD singles which are nearly the same that the CD singles both have the same track 1 and track 3 but with the first CD single containing their song “Energy” which was released in August 1 as a limited distribution.

So, people really didn’t have a chance get “Energy” thus it was included in this recent CD single. As for the second disc, track 2 is a medley featuring a sample of the main tracks from TRIPLANE’s first five CD singles (SPEED*STAR, Ano Kumo wo Sagashite, Reset, Dear friends and Itsumo no youni).

As for the CD single, “Monologue” is a very lovely ballad featuring a beautiful blend of piano and string arrangement to give a whimsical feel to the song. As mentioned before, with Ebata’s vocals similar to Mr. Children’s Sakurai, the song has a feeling of a Mr. Children ballad and that’s not a bad thing considering that Mr. Children is a personal favorite of mine and also their music is brilliant written and the musical arrangement top notch.

All in all, “Monologue” is a beautiful track and the acoustic version (third track) features Ebata on acoustic guitar and Yokoyama Hiroaki on piano and gives another depth to already a beautiful ballad. Awesome!

As for the second tracks on both CD singles, on disc 1 is the song “Energy”. A faster-paced rock song that is well done and also has that Mr. Children-esque type of feel to it. And on the second disc is just a short medley with each sample of the main track of their last five CD singles lasting about a minute and half long.

As for the CD insert, both inserts feature the lyrics for the songs on the CD singles. On one of the inserts is information on TRIPLANE’s upcoming live tour, a biography on the band and discography information.

In the flap that comes outside of the CD case has a message from mihimaru GT’s Hiroko and Seamo giving a positive shout out for the band as well.

I feel that there are many labels who look for the next Mr. Children and there are always comparisons to the band and also Mr. Children’s Sakurai Kazutoshi and granted that TRIPLANE’s Ebata sounds similar to Sakurai and the group does get compared to the band often but there is enough to give the band its own style.

All in all, “Monologue” is a beautiful ballad and both versions are elegant and definitely raises my alert for the band’s next CD single (Kokoro Haretara) due in February 2008 and for the price of a CD single for the limited pressing, you do get two CD singles. Yes, they are essentially the same for two tracks but that second track of getting “Energy” on one disc and the medley on the other is a nice bonus for $12.

If you enjoy Mr. Children and Spitz, definitely give TRIPLANE a try.