ayabie - Yubisaki

Visual-kei band ayabie's September single, Yubisaki, is a fairly mixed affair. With two tracks, one is good while the other seems to be rather lacking.

Yubisaki has a quick, cheerful melody with fairly standard guitar melodies. Any complexities in the melody are handled by an arrangement of synthesized strings. The drumming however works well within the melody without being overbearing - muted and not intrusive. One can also really hear how Aoi's voice has grown and matured over time. His vocals have become richer and more consistent, even if they are rather breathy in Yubisaki. Although Yubisaki does not necessarily stand out as one of their best, the infectious beat ensures that this is a solid offering from the strong ayabie.

In contrast, Hoozuki opens with ominous and industrial sounds, rather like someone hitting iron pipes underwater. It creates a rather foreboding atmosphere into which the song eventually bursts forth; a little too suddenly in fact for my liking, and again the end of the song is abruptly cut off. It has many hallmarks of a heavy visual song with occasional screamed moments and a beat that is too fast for the guitars to keep pace with. The chorus is a little more 'together' as the various disparate elements work in a smoother fashion, and a little more complexity is added to the guitars with an interesting small solo section. Hoozuki had potential in its dark introduction; however, the end result unfortunately renders it ultimately rather forgettable.

As a whole, Yubisaki is rather standard fare. Yubisaki is a fun song and one that grabs your attention, whereas Hoozuki feels like a wasted effort.