“The fourth full-length album from TRIPLANE features an album showcasing Hyoue Ebata’s vocals, songwriting and touching upon the various seasons. Well-produced, well-sung and well-written, this is probably the best album release from the band yet! Definitely recommended!”
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BAND: TRIPLANE
ALBUM: 誰ã«å’²ã花 (Kimi ni Saku Uta)
LABEL: TearBridge Records
CATALOG #: NFCD-27147/B
DURATION: 51:22
RELEASE DATE: February 4, 2009
- 誰ã«å’²ã花
- ALWAYS
- 太陽ã®å£ç¯€ã«
- 檸檬
- å¤ãŒçµ‚ã‚ã‚Œã°
- ãŠã‚‚ã²ã§ã®ç©º
- around my life
- 秋晴れã®ç©ºã®ä¸‹ã§
- 白ã„花
- 声
- å›ã«å’²ãæŒ
- スピードスター
- ã‚ã®é›²ã‚’探ã—ã¦
- Reset
- Dear Friends
- ã„ã¤ã‚‚ã®ã‚ˆã†ã«
- 僕らã®è¡—
- エナジー
The rock band TRIPLANE are back with their third album titled “Kimi ni Saku Uta”. The band which consists of lead vocalist/guitarist Hyoue “Samurai†Ebata (known for his Mr Children/Sakurai Kazutoshi-like vocals and songwriting), Kenji Kawamura on guitar, Kazuya Takeda on bass and Makoto Hirota on drums.
The band slowly grew momentum back in 2005 with the release of “Dear Friends” for the anime “ONE PIECE” and since then, have had many venues sold out and needless to say that the group is starting to catch on throughout Japan and it helps that the band has received comparisons to popular Japanese rock band, Mr. Children.
With the release of “Kimi ni Saku Uta”, having listened this album several times, I have to admit that this is the band’s best work yet! The album contains the band’s seventh single “Natsu ga Owareba” and their 8th CD single “Shiroi Hana”.
Needless to say that there are plenty of tracks that are just beautiful as the the band combines rock music with a nice touch of strings such as “誰ã«å’²ã花” (when in bloom), “å¤ãŒçµ‚ã‚れ㰔 (“Natsu ga Owareba” which means After the Summer), “白ã„花” (“Shiroi Hana” which means white flower) and “å›ã«å’²ã挔 (Kimi ni Saku Uta) . Beautiful, just beautiful!
For the most part, the album has a good number of ballads and mellow songs, but you will also find a few upbeat tracks (that are typically acoustic guitar driven) such as “ALWAYS”, “太陽ã®å£ç¯€ã«” (The Season of the Sun), “around my life” (which is the sole track that tends to have a little experimentation for its music) and “秋晴れã®ç©ºã®ä¸‹ã§” (Under the splendid fall weather).
If anything, TRIPLANE doesn’t stray far away from its style of music which is more towards the ballad/mellow rock style that fans have enjoyed with their singles. If anything, Ebata’s vocals and lyrics are the focus in TRIPLANE’s music and on this album, the goal was to showcase the feelings of the seasons. And he manages to capture the beauty of the season through TRIPLANE’s music.
As for the DVD, the DVD features a total of seven music videos which include the band’s first five CD singles, a music video from their first album and more.
The first music video from 2004 titled “Speedstar” features members of the band performing in different parts of Tokyo.
The second music video “Ano Kumo wo Sagashite” from 2005 features a woman leaving the country and the band performing in the middle of the field with Mt. Fuji right behind them.
The third music video is for “Reset” from 2005. The band is performing in a room with a door painted in different colors.
The fourth music video for “Dear Friends” features Ebata sitting on a chair and singing and looking at various shapes cut on a piece of paper.
The fifth music video for “Itsumono youni” is the band’s fifth single and the music video featuring Ebata singing and a young toddler trying to figure out how to put the buttons on for the sleeves of her shirt.
The sixth music video is for “僕らã®è¡—” (Our City) which was featured on the band’s first album “Home” and features the band playing their instruments on a field while we see clips of the busy life in Tokyo.
The final music video is “Energy” featuring Ebata being covered up by his clothes until he’s gone and then we see a still-motion music video with various clothes making human-like motions.
As for the CD insert, the booklet features the lyrics and several photos of the model holding a frame with a picture. The CD fits into a slipcase. Included is a four-page TRIPLANE information sheet with their discography and live tour.
TRIPLANE’s “Kimi ni Saku Uta” is the best work from the band yet. Beautiful music, beautiful vocals and lyrics that evoke a feeling of the seasons. And by listening to the music, I can see how many people wandering a music store can often be confused about hearing their songs and thinking it’s Mr. Children playing. Their vocals and writing style are quite similar in style. Ebata’s vocals are similar to Mr. Children’s Kazutoshi Sakurai but by no means is that a bad thing, I’ve always felt that Sakurai is one of my favorite singer/songwriter’s in Japan and the fact that Ebata is compared to Sakurai is an extreme compliment.
If you are a fan of TRIPLANE, you really can’t go wrong with this album. Every track is beautiful but for those wanting to hear upbeat, rock music, you’re not going to find it on this album. Many of the tracks are a ballads and for the most part, a lot of mellow type of tracks are featured.
As for the DVD, the DVD does contain seven music videos and TRIPLANE fans may want to own it but for casual fans who do not care for the band’s older music videos, can easily get by with just the normal album release. But overall, “Kimi ni Saku Uta” is an album that showcases Ebata’s wonderful vocals and lyrics reflecting the various seasons. Definitely recommended!
Purchase this album: