Ami Suzuki - Like a Love

Ami Suzuki, a popular AVEX artist, released her eighth single Like a Love? in July 2006. The single reached #13 on the Oricon's charts, selling over 12,000 copies in the first month.

With the keyboard filtering between the left and right speakers, Like a Love jump starts, focusing on the long opening which sounds like 1980's electronica. Soon after, Ami begins to sing, and her voice sprinkles optimism into the delicate song's sound. Many background sounds are added into the music, including a digital beep between stanzas and the keyboard's five-beat tempo during the lyrics. Midway through the song there is a brief guitar solo, and with the rushing sound of bells and sparkles, Ami gives us one last powerful chorus reprise before ending the song. While Like a Love is pretty, there is nothing special about this generic pop tune that makes it stand out.

The second track, Squall ni nurete, starts much like its A-side, with a distorted keyboard opener that jumps between speakers. The song places the listener into a futuristic field of stars with a very slow guitar and drum beat. In this track, Ami's voice is much deeper than before as she begins to belt out the lyrics, her vocals accented by the computer generated sparkles and shooting star sounds. By the chorus, her voice is at its peak, and combined with the background vocals she produces a solid sound. The sparkles accent the song, placed between stanzas and repeated several times. With this careful placement, they really bring the created atmosphere to life. Squall ni nurete is much more emotional than the first track and easily outshines its predecessor.

The single also includes instrumental versions of both songs, which allow the listener a chance to enjoy the music sans lyrics. Like a Love redeems itself with the karaoke version, showing how cute it can be.

While the single has its high points, the generics of it make the release less than appealing compared to some of Ami's other works. It definitely is not something to write home about.