I've made a review on her debut album white pulsation so why not make a review for her 2nd album Rouge Adolescence? Besides, I also promised I'd do so. :P And actually, I'm not in the mood to type very long as much as I did with Red Moon and LINKAGE but I will still make the point. ;D
Ok should I start?
- Prologue of Rouge Adolescence
- Wonder Wind
- Real Force
- Dear My Friend -Mada Minu Mirai e- (まだ見ぬ未来へ)
- Snowy Bell
- Rinrinto (凛々と)
- Absolute Perfection (Interlude)
- Waterland
- Seihitsu no Prophesia (聖櫃のプロフェシア)
- Absolute Perfection
- Itsukushimi no Bolero (慈しみのボレロ)
- Epilogue of Rouge Adolescence
Rouge Adolescence is ELISA's second album. It was released on January 20, 2010 [a year after releasing white pulsation] under Geneon Universal. It only reached #49 in the Oricon weekly charts on its first week selling 2,764 copies. Wonder why? Probably because the otakus pre-ordered on the Real Force single which will be released a month later instead of this one.
Though it did sold poorly, the concept of the album was not that of a bad thing. As of now, I don't know what I really like more; this album or the first? Well, in terms of other things, the two has its strongest and weakest points and surely on this album, they did more exploration, plucking and improvement on the way ELISA portrays herself to her fans. Yes, despite the fact that the abysmal Wonder Wind was present on this album, the other songs were made of pure awesomeness.
If in white pulsation, she got herself with progressive and symphonic rock pieces, here in Rouge Adolescence, she got even more of it, precisely and even more creative. It's as almost as similar to what Yuki Kajiura can craft. Especially, with the presence of Waterland, which is an improvisation of her song Sekka Gensoukyoku (雪花幻想曲) in her debut album. It was as playfully and magical as ever with some neo-classical touches and choral hints in some parts of the song (which is not present in her usual songs). Various instruments were also used and it lets you think you are in some kind of fairy land with some of the fairies twiddling and flying somewhere.
Another awesome song is the Absolute Perfection. Symphonic metal pop at its best! I can't imagine ELISA could really pull out a very fascinating song like this one. Though it sounded anime-ish, it's probably my most favorite and the strongest song of the album. It starts out a bit mediocre but after 18 seconds, it becomes a truly lively symphonic pop with some fighting and magical theme on it. There are Engrish lines but tolerable and minimal only. Lines like "What the world needs is tenderness. Make a special revolution. What the world needs is truthfulness. Just achieve absolute perfection." makes me really think this song is for an anime tie-up [but it's a good thing it doesn't have any ;) so that I can use this one on my roleplay. :P] TOTALLY RECOMMENDED
Seihitsu no Prophesia is like another version of her Houyuku no Prophesia (鵬翼のプロフェシア) but I still like the latter since the song was some sort of too draggy for ELISA though the instrumentation was good however, it doesn't really suit her to perform heavy-sounding symphonic metal yet. While Snowy Bell is just like your ordinary ELISA song, a midtempo ballad with some symphonic bells and touches as well though it kinda resembles euphoric field at some point. Good, but nothing really that booms out.
Real Force is, as you know, already a big gave away here so I don't know why the reason why it has to be released as a separate single and all. But the song is really all that good, upbeat though fast-paced but it didn't sound too heavy and follows along with her pitch though I like her previous single Dear My Friend -Mada Minu Mirai e- more since it's a combination of symphonic pop with some R&B beats. Yes, it's a bit cheesy for my taste but truly, Dear My Friend really pays off and made a good image for her. To let you know, it's one of her strongest single to date.
Itsukushimi no Bolero (慈しみのボレロ) sounded like a graduation song to me! *punched* No kidding but it's actually the most ballad-y of all the songs in this album. It didn't appeal to me at first but I've come to appreciate it [a little] after listening to it more.
And of course, why whould I forget the instrumentals? The Prologue, interlude and epilogue? A worth listen, beautiful piece and really moving. Ranging from moving piano pieces that resembles like a BGM from a drama anthology [prologue and epilogue] to vague yet absolute perfect symphonic choral piece with stunning string sounds (interlude).
Ending the review, I would like to say that I truly enjoyed listening to the album but up to now, I still can't configure which is the much better because if you truly love the more artistic symphonic pieces, then you should go for Rouge Adolescence but if you want more poppish and lightweight symphony, then white pulsation is the answer — and I love BOTH! XD *bricked*
Rating: 4/5
Though it did sold poorly, the concept of the album was not that of a bad thing. As of now, I don't know what I really like more; this album or the first? Well, in terms of other things, the two has its strongest and weakest points and surely on this album, they did more exploration, plucking and improvement on the way ELISA portrays herself to her fans. Yes, despite the fact that the abysmal Wonder Wind was present on this album, the other songs were made of pure awesomeness.
If in white pulsation, she got herself with progressive and symphonic rock pieces, here in Rouge Adolescence, she got even more of it, precisely and even more creative. It's as almost as similar to what Yuki Kajiura can craft. Especially, with the presence of Waterland, which is an improvisation of her song Sekka Gensoukyoku (雪花幻想曲) in her debut album. It was as playfully and magical as ever with some neo-classical touches and choral hints in some parts of the song (which is not present in her usual songs). Various instruments were also used and it lets you think you are in some kind of fairy land with some of the fairies twiddling and flying somewhere.
Another awesome song is the Absolute Perfection. Symphonic metal pop at its best! I can't imagine ELISA could really pull out a very fascinating song like this one. Though it sounded anime-ish, it's probably my most favorite and the strongest song of the album. It starts out a bit mediocre but after 18 seconds, it becomes a truly lively symphonic pop with some fighting and magical theme on it. There are Engrish lines but tolerable and minimal only. Lines like "What the world needs is tenderness. Make a special revolution. What the world needs is truthfulness. Just achieve absolute perfection." makes me really think this song is for an anime tie-up [but it's a good thing it doesn't have any ;) so that I can use this one on my roleplay. :P] TOTALLY RECOMMENDED
Seihitsu no Prophesia is like another version of her Houyuku no Prophesia (鵬翼のプロフェシア) but I still like the latter since the song was some sort of too draggy for ELISA though the instrumentation was good however, it doesn't really suit her to perform heavy-sounding symphonic metal yet. While Snowy Bell is just like your ordinary ELISA song, a midtempo ballad with some symphonic bells and touches as well though it kinda resembles euphoric field at some point. Good, but nothing really that booms out.
Real Force is, as you know, already a big gave away here so I don't know why the reason why it has to be released as a separate single and all. But the song is really all that good, upbeat though fast-paced but it didn't sound too heavy and follows along with her pitch though I like her previous single Dear My Friend -Mada Minu Mirai e- more since it's a combination of symphonic pop with some R&B beats. Yes, it's a bit cheesy for my taste but truly, Dear My Friend really pays off and made a good image for her. To let you know, it's one of her strongest single to date.
Itsukushimi no Bolero (慈しみのボレロ) sounded like a graduation song to me! *punched* No kidding but it's actually the most ballad-y of all the songs in this album. It didn't appeal to me at first but I've come to appreciate it [a little] after listening to it more.
And of course, why whould I forget the instrumentals? The Prologue, interlude and epilogue? A worth listen, beautiful piece and really moving. Ranging from moving piano pieces that resembles like a BGM from a drama anthology [prologue and epilogue] to vague yet absolute perfect symphonic choral piece with stunning string sounds (interlude).
Ending the review, I would like to say that I truly enjoyed listening to the album but up to now, I still can't configure which is the much better because if you truly love the more artistic symphonic pieces, then you should go for Rouge Adolescence but if you want more poppish and lightweight symphony, then white pulsation is the answer — and I love BOTH! XD *bricked*
Rating: 4/5
-----
mood: a bit hungry
rhythm: "ARIA" - Kalafina
wow i'm surprised you can understand her Engrish. Absolute Perfection is my fav song too!
ReplyDelete