Reviews written by Ciaran
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Me... (Normal Edition)(Japan Version)
Me... (Normal Edition)(Japan Version)
(1)Our Price: US$36.49Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:July 5, 2011 A versatile singer5 years span between Hinouchi Emi's debut album 'Dramatiques' and this one, 'ME'. And this turns out to be indeed a departure from the drum machine-powered r'n'b of 'Dramatiques'.
R'n'B still has its place on 'ME', as it is Hinouchi's favourite genre and arguably also the genre for which she has the greatest talent and her voice is best suited. Thus, we get nice slow jams like 'I Love You' as well as faster tracks like 'Goodie Memories' and 'Chocolate'. But beside this familiar territory she revisits, Emi has chosen to explore a range of sounds on 'ME'. The opening track 'O'kay' is distinctively poppy, Emi displaying the versatility of her voice by going through an intricate vocal arrangement and employing her signature ad libbing, while being backed up by a nice, catchy beat. Her duet with hip hop group SOFFet combines rap with samba in an arrangement reminiscent of BEP's 'Mas Que Nada'... only a lot more fun, and a lot less repetitive. After this comes the excellent 'Kataomoi', another vocal feat in a catchy pop composition. Her duet with Yamamoto Ryohei has Caribbean influences. And finally, the greatest ballad on this album is the minimally arranged 'Ai Dake Ga', in which Emi sings of a love lost, a loss that the listener would believe drives the singer to the point of desperation. Her performance in this song is pure excellence, on a level rarely heard in ballads on the radio these days.
Emi's voice has obviously matured since 'Dramatiques'; her control on 'ME' has increased significantly, and so has her range. Add to that the fact she's exploring music styles beyond r'n'b on this album, and we're looking at a singer who can only get better with time.
This album is a gem in J-Pop. 10 out of 10.
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July 5, 2011 Excellent debut
As I'm writing this, Hinouchi Emi is set to launch her 2011 mini-album Voice; perhaps for fans like me a good opportunity to reflect on her earlier work, which was met with a lukewarm reception at best, though not entirely justifiable.
On 'Dramatiques', Hinouchi Emi operates under the wing of m-flo members Taku and Verbal. Start to finish, this is essentially a J-Urban album, with the signature sound of Taku's almost Timbalandian beats dominating, although these certainly do not distract from (yes, quite complementing in fact) the star of this album, Miss Hinouchi Emi. Emi doesn't have the nasal head tone voice that is often heard in J-Urban (Amuro Namie, Koda Kumi, Kato Miriyah), and this quite does her favours singing in this genre.
But what should be noted here is that Emi, who cites Minnie Riperton and Marvin Gaye among her greatest musical influences, incorporates old-school soul sounds into the music and compositions on this album. This is especially apparent on 'Trap' and 'Hey Boy', which, if it wasn't for the drum machine beat, could be interpreted as more traditional 70s style soul songs. So while Emi has a good control over the contemporary urban genre, she also doesn't forget whre it's coming from, and this lends her a great credibility.
At times, Emi's voice is raw around the edges and not entirely pure, but she performs the songs with a contageous enthusiasm, and has the ability to sound convincingly sweet ('Let It Be'), sad ('Painful') and even tough ('What's Your Secret?').
A solid urban record. 8 out of ten.
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July 5, 2011 A-Ddictive...
I will be the first to admit that when I first heard Agnes' songs a while back, I wasn't immediately taken in. Only when I saw a live performance of her on YouTube, I realized this girl is a very talented singer. And having now heard many other Indonesian artists to compare to her, I would say there's something to Agnes' voice that sets her apart from the average singer.
"Whaddup A...?!", as the title suiggests, is an album very much rooted in the urban/R'n'B genre, with obvious tinges of Middle-Eastern influences sprinkled all over the up-tempo dance tunes. The melodies are catchy, the beats are addictive if familiar, and the ad libs and vocal arrangements are solid and daring. 'Bukan Milikmu Lagi' and 'Tak Ada Logika' are a perfect opening tandem, and it's hard to sit still listening to these 2 up-tempo tracks. The album continues with 3 sad ballads, of which the first, 'Cinta Di Ujung Jalan', is perhaps the strongest, for its modest arrangement of guitar accompanying Agnes, who shows off her range and versatility in the final stretches of this song. The second half of the album keeps up the high standard that is set by the first six songs, but the few songs that are entirely written in English can be distracting because the lyrics (with the exception of the duet with Keith Martin) are rather simplistic and sometimes unclear. Nevertheless, from start to finish, 'Whaddup A..?!' is a real treat for the eardrums, with sassy up-tempo songs and moving ballads.
CD comes with a VCD featuring the music videos of the first 5 songs on the album. The videos are quite pretty, with nice choreography and a useful karaoke subtitle (lyrics are also included in the booklet), but be forwarned if you are used to DVD or Blu-Ray quality video: this VCD suffers from some pixellation.
An eight out of ten.
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