Music: *REVIEW* ALWAYS – Mika Nakashima

Ah, Mika, I just can’t ignore you. Every single you release, I have to talk about it, even the crappy ones.

However, this one is a great single. When she makes another album, this better be on it.

ALWAYS

This single was released on January 20, 2010, and is Mika Nakashima’s 31st single. The song is the theme to the film “Sayonara Itsuka” starring Miho Nakayama (And if I can find some way to see this movie, I swear I will review it as soon as possible).

Track Listing:

1 Always
2 BABY BABY BABY
3 SPIRAL
4 Always (Instrumental)
5 BABY BABY BABY (Instrumental)
6 SPIRAL (Instrumental)

Always – This song started off with the sign that it was going to be a decent ballad, but the more I listened to this song, the more I fell in love with it. Nagareboshi was a single that I was not that pleased with honestly, because it reminded me too much of Sunao na Mama or her weaker ballads, so I was waiting for her to follow up with something great.

This song is fantastic. You can hear the pain and longing in her voice when she sings this song. And the PV is great (Youtube is taking the video down, so you may have to search around for it on the Internets). Kinda slow starting out, but when she cries…. goodness. It gets you. The instrumentals are very well composed and her voice is just perfect in this song. I looked up the lyrics and they are true to the theme of the movie.

Rating: 4.5/5 (I just can’t give it a perfect rating because that would seriously be pushing it. Girl could’ve done a bit more in the PV, but song is great!)

Baby Baby Baby – When I saw the title of this song, I frowned on impact because I was thinking “What the hell kind of title is that?” But when I listened to it, I realized it was another jazzy ballad. When she did Fake, I fell in love with her jazzy tunes. She has the voice for it and I just love it to death. That guitar solo towards the end was bangin’ and the flow of the song was just wonderful. Great instruments, and her voice was at a nice pitch. However, I think she could’ve been a bit more creative with the tempo and her voice. It was a bit boring after a while, but towards the end, it made up for it.

Rating: 3.5/5

Spiral - I’ve been waiting to review this song. Definitely gives me a Focus feel, before the album cut, but its fantastic. Nice dance beat, considering the theme of the song. She states in an interview that “When you’re in a bad spiral, waiting is the worst. I also have my own bad spiral sometimes. The one you could even fight with a fork, like those old-time couples could.” It gives off the impression of a relationship going towards a huge downward spiral, or someone being dragged along for a time on some wild and confusing ride. Voice is good and she hits those notes well. The falsetto during the chorus just gives me the shivers. Its awesome. The use of the piano throughout the song is very good as well. A very good B-side. I honestly wouldn’t mind this being on an album.

Rating: 4/5

Single Overall: 4/5

It was finally good to hear something very creative and enjoyable from Mika again. After Candy Girl and Nagareboshi, I was starting to lose hope in the girl recovering from whatever phase she was in. But this gives me something to look forward to. I hope she keeps coming strong with these great singles.

(interview quote taken from  - http://www.kumonoito.net/index.php )