OLIVIA - a little pain

Ai Yazawa has said that when she thought Reira's voice, she thought of OLIVIA. Reira, the half-Japanese vocalist of Trapnest in the hugely popular NANA manga does indeed bear a few similarities to the Okinawa-born, half-Japanese OLIVIA. With her crystal clear voice that bears both maturity and innocence, it is little wonder why Miss Yazawa wanted OLIVIA to be the voice of superstar Reira. It was thanks to this request that OLIVIA was drawn out of a two year hiatus to return to the music world as OLIVIA inspi'REIRA (Trapnest). Her first single as 'Reira,' a little pain, was an incredible comeback.

Despite the music not being written by OLIVIA, it is a perfect fit for her angelic vocals. She sings with heartbreaking passion over a grand and complex melody that layers acoustic and electric guitar, with synthesized orchestral strings providing a beautiful backdrop to the rock instruments. Such a combination could drown OLIVIA; her music is typically more minimal and less commercial in sound. The arrangement is well balanced though, as her soaring voice tells a story of loneliness and love. a little pain contains everything NANA is about, and although the song is not typical OLIVIA it is a beautiful addition to her repertoire.

While a little pain takes OLIVIA and combines it with commercialism, the other two songs are pure old fashioned OLIVIA as she assumes the composition helm once more. tears and rainbows, a piece of musical purity, uses a simple piano melody with a stripped down trip hop beat to create a gentle lullaby. OLIVIA's vocals ring with childlike innocence and casts a spell over the listener. let go is starkly different, a hyde to the jekyll of tears. A feisty rock sound takes hold as crunching electric guitars and electro bleeps thunder through a song with an interesting character. OLIVIA's yelps during the chorus are quite art-punk, and yet throughout the industrial verses her voice is angelic once again. In short, she is a sweet, innocent girl with a dark side.

OLIVIA is one of the most interesting alternative female vocalists today; her voice is sweet and yet her music is often dark. a little pain offers three radically different views of the new OLIVIA and is a fantastically interesting single because of it. And while the first song is by 'Reira' and should satisfy fans of NANA, fans of just OLIVIA will find much to love from the B-sides.