A review of Kitade Nana's first American release.
18 -eighteen- by Kitade Nana is an amazing album! There will not be any negativity in this review. I normally listen to rock and heavy metal music, but this is one pop rock album that just blew me away. Honestly, I wasn't expecting anything fantastic since this is not the typical genre I listen to, but I was completely proven wrong!
There was not one song that I didn't find amazing so I won't review every track, but rather tell you my favorites and, oh let me tell you, how hard it is for me to pick just a few!
The album begins and ends with KISS or KISS, which is very fun and bouncy. The two songs sound the same, but one is in Japanese (track 1) and the other in English (track 12). This is a great start for the album and very catchy! I also think it's a wise choice for the last track of the album since it keeps the listener in an upbeat mood, making he or she start the album all over again once it's over!
Indelible Sin ~Kesenai Tsumi~ is my favorite track from the album! This is an excellent song for someone who has not heard any of Nana's music before; it pretty much sums up what the other tracks are like on the album. By this, I mean her guitar playing, her voice, the theme of the music, etc. Even though I think this, I don't think this track can be considered a "boring" or "typical" song of the artist. Nana was able to show off the range of her voice and out of all the guitar solos of the album, this one is definitely the best!
Rasen is another favorite of mine; since the music is upbeat and a bit fast so right away you'll find your foot tapping to it. To me, Nana sounds slightly different in this song compared to the others; a different side of Nana, I guess, a more calm and mature-sounding version.
The more the album progresses, the slower it becomes compared to the beginning of the album, which brings us to the first slow song of the album, Alice. Nana's voice is very soft and relaxing in this track, a nice breather and "bring me down" song after the first 5 upbeat tracks.
Even though the music is upbeat, Nana's singing is slow and calm in Kanashimi No Kizu. There are parts where her singing goes higher, but for the most part she's low giving the song a calm feeling.
Shunkan is different from the rest of the tracks on the album. It's a slow song, but the music is kind of jazzy and Nana's voice is lower then previous tracks. I don't know Japanese and I don't know the translation of the song, but when I listen to this track it gives me an "uplifting and encouraging" feeling. This is definitely a great song.
Throughout the album there are several tracks that have a guitar solos played by Nana, herself. There was maybe a couple times where it seemed the solo was randomly placed, but other then that, the guitar solos are fantastic! I love Kitade Nana's voice! It has a high pitch, but not annoying. She also has a range she shows off throughout the album going from high to low, which not many artists can do. She does an excellent job.
OVERALL RATING: 9/10 This is an amazing album! Considering there was not one song that failed to reach greatness and the fact that this album has opened a whole new genre for me, it deserves a nine out of ten.
