Tomato n’ Pine – Tabidachi Transfer (World Groove CD Single Review)

1. 旅立ちトランスファー
2. 10月のインディアン
3. Life is so beautiful!
4. キャプテンは君だ! dancefloor will never die remix
5. 旅立ちトランスファー -Instrumental-
6. 10月のインディアン -Instrumental-
7. Life is so beautiful! -Instrumental-
8. キャプテンは君だ! dancefloor will never die remix -Instrumental-

Fun, vibrant, J-Pop from the all-female pop trio Tomapai!

On April 2009, the female pop trio Tomato n’ Pine (Tomapai) made their debut.

The pop trio consists of YUI, HINA and WADA and the group released their indie single “Captain wa kimi da!” (You are the Captain) in 2010 and by 2011, the trio released their first major single release “Tabidachi Transfer” on the Sony Music Japan music label and is produced by agehasprings.

The single kicks off with “Tabidachi Transfer” (Departure Transfer).  The group have a pretty solid harmony while singing this pop song courtesy of Shunsuke Tsuri of agehasprings.  It’s a pretty upbeat, enjoyable track and it may be similar to a lot of Japanese female pop group songs especially compared to music of capsule which is electronic pop driven but unlike avex female groups which are going for a club trance setting, this one is not so bold in its arrangement but straight up J-Pop!

The second track “10月のインディアン” (Indians in October) continues with the style that they did with “Tabidachi Transfer” courtesy of Yoichiro Nomura of agehasprings.  The song has a very similar style to the first in terms of vocals and music but with its differences, the track is fun and poppy!

The third track “Life is so beautiful” features a more bass driven track and actually showcases the higher notes of the girl’s vocals a bit more.  It’s a pretty upbeat track and is courtesy of Hayato Tanaka of agehasprings.

“キャプテンは君だ! dancefloor will never die remix” (I’m yours Captain! dancefloor will never die remix)  is a more upbeat track that tends to utilize a bit more auto-tune or vocoding for the vocals, electronically tweeted but a more upbeat dance track courtesy of Kazuto Okawa of agehasprings.  Another fun track but not sure if others will dig the vocal tweek.

The final four tracks feature the instrumental versions of the four vocal tracks.

CD insert features lyrics and production credits.

Overall, I was expecting the typical banality of J-Pop girl group music and it’s a common thing to have a similar style as there are a plethora of girl groups in Japan.  While others have had years of proving themselves as long lasting female pop groups, Tomapai is just beginning and for the most part, I really enjoyed this single.

It doesn’t venture into Avex-like girl group music with the trance or even urban R&B, Sony obviously was careful of not just signing another female group but to make sure that the music is different.  For the most part, the vocals are pure and vocals were smooth, it will be interesting to see how this translates into live performances but for the most part, agehasprings did a good job with the music on this single.

It’s too early for me to give an overall opinion on this group but for this first release, I do see the potential and look forward in hearing their future releases.  So, if you are a J-Pop fan that loves female groups and music more on the electro-pop side but not too bold or in your face club beats, then definitely give Tomato n’ Pine a try!

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