March 5, 2010
Stop violating my Dolce!
Or not. Wakeshima Kanon’s first and so far only studio album, Shinshoku Dolce (which means ‘Dolce Violation’) was released a while ago, but since I’ve only just recently bought a computer, I didn’t have any chance to get any new music. I put Kanon on the list of artists to get though, since I loved still doll and her album was part of a gargantuan amount of music (including other artists like Hamasaki Ayumi, Koda Kumi and capsule, as well as my idols) who i went ahead and added their music to my library. Kanon’s album is so far the only thing I’ve listened through the entire thing, because it is amazing.
If you didn’t know about Kanon or her music, her’s a briefing based on what I know:
She is a classically trained cellist and she is produced by the guy who plays guitar in Malice Mizer. She plays cello in her songs.
Yeah that’s about all I know, but I don’t think knowing about her is important, it’s knowing what kind of music she plays.
There’s not really any way to describe the music as a genre or anything. It’s pop with cello, really, but a lot of her songs are kinda creepy and remind me of Alice in Wonderland or something.
The album starts off with sweet ticket, which, as I said right up there ^, reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. It’s got no vocals, and it’s got this haunting feeling like you’re in a ballroom by yourself. There’s some drums and mostly her cello, as well as some string harmony and what sounds like a harpsichord or something. Whatever they use to make the crystal-y sounds in like RPGs. The song isn’t one of my favourites, mostly because it’s just an introduction, but it also kind of ends abruptly, which makes it leaving you to want more. At least it’s at the beginning of the album, not the end. If it was at the end I’d get pissed ):
The first vocal song is Shinku no Fatalism, which starts off with some lyrics that kind of give what the feeling of most of her music is like: ‘Dare ni mo Egao wo Misenaide ita’ which means ‘I won’t let anyone see my smile.’ However, the song has an upbeat instrumental which is like the closest to a synthesizer like I’m used to from my pop, but you can tell it’s mostly her cello and some violins and drums and stuff. I love this song to death and play it all the time (or as much as ‘all the time’ since saturday is). I think it’s safe to say that this is my favourite song on the album.
The third song is Kagami, which definitely has the creepy kind of Alice in Wonderland feeling that I will be describing a lot. It’s like you’ve walked somewhere mystical you really shouldn’t be. Kanon sings in almost a whisper for the choruses and in her regular, unique voice for everything else. This song definitely reminds me of like, a witch’s castle or something. Not like super creepy but definitely not Glinda the Good Witch. To be honest I didn’t make the connection between Mirror and Alice in Wonderland earlier, but doesn’t Alice get to wonderland at some point through a mirror (Kagami)?
Next is the first of the two singles in this album: still doll (album ver.). This is the first song from Kanon that I heard, and I still love it. It starts with a chorus, which caught me by surprise, and it has some harpsichord, as well as a glockenspiel. Not 100% sure what the song is about, but it sure is creepy cute. There’s some kick-ass cello solo in the middle (never thought I’d call a cello solo kickass), and her voice is haunting through the entire song. To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a regular idol voice if she were to sing a Hello! Project or AKB48 song, but because she’s singing the creepy stuff she is, it gives her voice a unique feeling.
Here’s the PV to still doll:
Next is Maboroshi, which is more lighthearted than some of the other stuff. It’s really pretty, like most of her music, but has a very different feeling than a lot of it. I’m not sure why, but there’s something about this song that is just happy. it reminds me of a powder blue color. Not much to say other than that.
Next up is Ennui Kibun, which I believe is French + Japanese put together. Turns out that ennui is an English word from French which means ‘listless.’ This song does not sound like Wakeshima Kanon at all. Kind of a random regular pop version with the usual classical twist. Reminds me of like Wakeshima Kanon feat. capsule if that existed. This one more than the rest reminds me of a music box. Also, the fact that there’s like shower sounds at the beginning creeps me out a little.
Suna no Oshiro is the second single on the album and holy shit this is some scary shit. It’s a very very dramatic song. And Kanon’s whispering singing is scary. Oh god I can definitely feel the goosebumps this is so scary. ._. most of her songs so far have had this creepy feeling but none of them have had me like legitimately scared. Remind me never to listen to this song when I’m walking home at night. It’s an extremely intense song. I don’t even know what to say about this.
Here’s the PV
Monochrome Frame is the next song on the album. This is a complete change from what Suna no Oshiro was like. It’s got a very intense feeling and it’s a lot slower than most of the other songs on her album. I guess if this was an idol/regular pop album this would be a ballad, but since everything has a slower pace, they’re all kind of ballad-ish. Parts of this song remind me of Mad Men’s theme song. There’s parts of the chorus that I absolutely adore. As you can tell I don’t really have any real opinion on this song. It’s not something that I go out of my way to listen to, but it’s not my least favourite song.
L’espoir ~Mahou no Akai Ito~ has a cute name. It’s probably a reference to the ‘red string of love’ that is mentioned quite often in Japanese culture: You’re magically connected with an invisible red string to the person you love. This is another song that has kind of a whisper throughout it, instead of a regular singing voice. It’s a cute song, and it sounds a lot like it could be an idol or anime song if it had a different instrumental track. There’s even the change in the beat and pauses after lines in the chorus for wotagei.
Kuroi Torikago was the b-side to still doll. This song is really scary. Everything about it is kind of aggressive sounding. I think this is the only song that I would skip overall if it came on shuffle. It’s just… too aggressive and out of place on the album.
but then skip turn step♪ kind of changes everything around. This is the other b-side that made it’s way on to the album. It’s really cute, like L’espoir. Definitely a lot more fun than the last b-side. I could listen to this song a lot. In fact since I got the album, I’ve listened to this song on my way to school and stuff. It puts me in a good mood that makes me want to smile. I could see this song playing during the credits of some Tim Burton movie or something.
The next track is Shiroi Kokoro. It has this haunting piano piece at the beginning that kind of reminds me of Moby’s God Moving over the Face of the Waters. This could definitely be in the more dramatic sad part of some kind of movie. It just makes me feel a little floaty. Like I’m not actually awake even though I know I am. I am sure that the song isn’t quite that powerful (i’m not hallucinating or anything) but the song is really nice and makes me kind of relax while I’m listening to it.
The album ends with sweet dreams, which, like the opening track sweet ticket, is a purely instrumental track, which, instead of featuring Kanon’s trademark cello, is a music box song. Not much to say here, but it’s a cute way to end such a creepy album.
Overall, I really liked the album. I’m not sure if I’d put any of the tracks on repeat or anything, because they’re not exactly dance tracks, but a lot of the songs are really nice and if I was at a loss to find a something to listen to, I’d throw on some of my favourites like Shinku no Fatalism or still doll.
Best Tracks:
Shinku no Fatalism
still doll
Maboroshi
L’espori ~Mahou no Akai Ito~
