Weekly Roundup
I'm really not feeling it, this week. A lot of the new releases just didn't stick with me, and the daily is currently flooded with Lily covers of Vocaloid songs, many of which... well... aren't very good. Even then, a lot of the bigger name songs and more traditional Miku affairs are also just not up to the par I'd expect. That said, if you haven't already, look below this post to the next one down, being sure to check out s_r's own mascotP Ankari and her latest work.
We should probably mention news about Rio, the new AHS vocaloid - not to mention mentioning news about the BRS game being made - but I'm all for personally waiting until there's more than shaky Comiket vids or four second trailers which give us nothing but this. why does she have mech bits it's not right
鏡音リン 「cloud」 【オリジナル】MAD-PV
(cloud (E.L.V.N.), Rin, Rock, PV)
An extremely solid Rin track with some top-notch crooning from Rin and a couple of amazing solos. There's not an incredible amount to say about this because it's largely pretty generic rock, but it's executed very well indeed and is entirely worth a listen, not to mention boasting a stunning video.
【初音ミクsoft】 グリート 【オリジナル】
(Greet (iroha), Miku, Orchestral Synth, PV)
I'm quite taken with this, myself. An acceptable showing from Miku - not strong by any means, but good in the high notes and not disappearing under the music - but listen to those chords! A very strong beat and some epic synth carry the flow wonderfully, and the hooks get well and truly entrenched in your head because of it.
オリジナル曲・Damsel Jade 【巡音ルカ】
(Damsel Jade (Seiko), Luka, HYPER GOD TIME Opera)
Seiko returns! A xylophonic, floaty, aquatoned operatic number provides the perfect setting to show off Seiko's Luka skills, as she sounds absolutely breathtaking, completely carrying the whole affair.
【KAITO】Lily Bell【オリジナル】
(Lily Bell (新城), Kaito, Gothic Electro Rock)
Occasionally stumbling on his tuning, Kaito still gets top billing for this head-bopping, high-racing gothic track where the piano and the beat both go a mile a minute. When he's not tripping up or purposefully distorted, Kaito sounds very, very good here - clear and crisp and understandable and backing himself up during the best bits of the song.
【初音ミク】 ドリーミンドリーミン 【オリジナル】
(Dreaming Dreaming (shizuru), Miku, Pop)
A quality piece of traditional Miku pop, bouncy and headbangy and generic but done well. Arranged by 40m and it really shows; it's dripping with his usual style, but shizuru adds plenty of personal touches.
【VOCALOID】半透明の黒いサナギ ／歌愛ユキ×２ オリジナル曲
(Translucent Black Pupa (A0010), Yuki x 2, Creepy Xylophone, PV)
I'm so pissed this didn't do better. Nicovideo as a whole, I am looking right at you here - here was a chance for someone new to pull off something awesome with Yuki, they nailed it, and you all but ignored them. Yuki duets with herself - modified to sound male - in a soft and vaguely threatening percussive track that's staggeringly good.
【MEIKO】Fragment Of The Light / shu-t【オリジナル】
(Fragment of the Light (shu-t), Meiko, Trance)
Here is your requisite piece of shu-tP trance/club Meiko for the week, serving the dual purpose of reminding us she's not dead and giving us some quality music. At this point it's basically safe to say shu-t is the prominent go-to producer for Meiko, I dare say.
【初音ミク】 レッドパニッシュメント 【オリジナル曲】
(Red Punishment (nana), Miku, Rock, PV)
The first nana track of the update, and I'm at a bit of a loss to describe what exactly I like about it. Certainly I do like it. It's got some great energy and a lot of neat touches in the background, together with some solid guitar, and for at least some of the track Miku sings very well. The trouble is that the rest of the time she's gone full-on chipmunk mode and it really turns me off those sections.
【初音ミク】彩色の虹【オリジナルPV】
(Rainbow Coloration (kous), Miku, Pop, PV)
Miku's voice is a little high and floaty, enough to bug me, but the music more than makes up for it in kous' latest. Jaunty guitars and a good strong drum line, it's nice to see kous sticking with music that doesn't bog me down in strangenesses.
黄燐の炎【鏡音リンオリジナル曲】
(Yellow Phosphorous Flame (mothy), Rin, Orchestral Epic, PV)
I feel a little... cheated, I guess? There's nothing wrong with this Rin track at all, especially with the gorgeous piano and the rest of the instrumental backing, but at the same time there's nothing to really punch through and grab my attention; it's good, but it never builds to a notable crescendo. It just kind of ends, and I'm sat there going 'huh? what?'.
【初音ミクDark】Azalea【オリジナル】
(Azalea (定額), Miku, Electro Funk)
I'm prepared to give this one a pass. The Miku doesn't agree with me, but that's largely my own problem, and the music makes up for it by being, well, ... funky as all-get-out. Acoustic guitars and synths are the best parts, but the beat's welcome and prevents the song from getting too mopey or waffly.
【初音神威・3DPV】ネハンシカ
(Only Nirvana (Deino), Miku + Gakupo, Rock, PV)
Not for the faint-hearted. A follow-up to Machine Muzik, this features the return of Karune - a spindly and twisted mechano-spider-Miku - along with a host of similar creatures and some really disturbing imagery. It's tremendously effective and powerful, and even if the music isn't exactly up to top-notch as just a repetitive thumpy angst track, the video more than makes up for it.
【初音ミクDark+巡音ルカ】 リフレクション 【オリジナル曲】
(Reflection (nana), Miku + Luka, Baw Pop, PV)
The second nana track! Some of my inherent problems with the Dark voice are in full swing here - we could really do with a big old sign up over Nicovideo reading 'if you wish to use Dark, make it so people can hear it worth a damn', and Miku really struggles on the odd high note - but she works well with Luka and the video on the whole is sufficiently gentle and heartwarming to get away with it.
【GUMI】 フライトタイム 【オリジナル曲】
(Flight Time (TOKOTOKO), Gumi, Pop)
A-augh. Nicovideo currently likes this quite a lot, but I can't say the sentiment is shared. The music's fine enough, but every time I pay attention to Gumi for any length of time she really seems to be cracking a lot of notes or going sufficiently off-key as to damage the track, like she's holding a serious case of warbling barely in check.
【GUMI】 君の花と雨、僕の声 【オリジナル】
(Your Flower and Rain, My Voice (uz), Gumi, Thrash Emo, PV)
Severe danger here of the guitar taking over the song, but at least it's a good guitar - what starts as a Gumi thrash emo track becomes gorgeous at the softer refrains. The rest of the time it's rather overbearing, but the track doesn't suffer too much for it; I think what hurts it most is the final emo scream, a jarring way to close off a track that hadn't even got near sore throat territory previously.
【初音ミク】ストロボハロー【オリジナル】
(Stroboscope Hello (powapowa), Miku, Club Pop)
Possibly some overreliance on hooks here - while there's nothing wrong with this and it's usually the sort of song I'd enjoy, the problem is that I can barely remember half of it, especially the last minute. Miku sounds good but the track is just the same catch of piano over and over and over, and nowhere is this worse than in the last minute of the track, where it's just the same constantly.
【初音ミクオリジナル】ネオロマンチスト
(Neoromanticist (Re:nG), Miku, Speed Pop?)
This isn't the best song that Re:nG has ever done by a long shot, but it's certainly not too bad. If anything it's another song this week that I'd rather listen to for the music, rather than anything to do with Miku's voice - the whiny whiny synth and the soaring piano are reasons enough for me.
【ミク・ルカ・リン】ギルガメッシュ☆ナイト【PV付き百合ジナル】
(Gilgamesh Night (Lilium Sweet), Miku + Rin + Luka, Cheese Pop, PV)
Why is this near the top of the daily rankings?! It's god-awful and even I, usually the purveyor of ridiculously cheesy pop, can't handle it for more than twenty seconds or so.
【初音ミク】 So much loving you★ 【オリジナル】
(So Much Loving You (古墳), Miku, Electro Pop)
So let's end it with a cheesy song I do like. This is headbanging pop material in top form, if you're into that sort of thing - a great beat, some lovely piano, awesome energy. Miku's a little autotuned but it's easy to look past.
Other:
【鏡音リン他】遊助と一緒にミツバチを歌ってもらった【手書きPV】
Did I mention I love Mitsubachi? This is the best video I've seen of it all week, perfectly looped.
【吹っ切れた】おちゃめｳﾏｳﾏぴっぽー(ﾟ∀ﾟ)【マッシュアップ】
If you've ever wanted to see just how memetic a mashup of Po Pi Po, Mischievous Function and Carameldansen would sound, well, uh, here's your chance.
We should probably mention news about Rio, the new AHS vocaloid - not to mention mentioning news about the BRS game being made - but I'm all for personally waiting until there's more than shaky Comiket vids or four second trailers which give us nothing but this. why does she have mech bits it's not right
鏡音リン 「cloud」 【オリジナル】MAD-PV
(cloud (E.L.V.N.), Rin, Rock, PV)
An extremely solid Rin track with some top-notch crooning from Rin and a couple of amazing solos. There's not an incredible amount to say about this because it's largely pretty generic rock, but it's executed very well indeed and is entirely worth a listen, not to mention boasting a stunning video.
【初音ミクsoft】 グリート 【オリジナル】
(Greet (iroha), Miku, Orchestral Synth, PV)
I'm quite taken with this, myself. An acceptable showing from Miku - not strong by any means, but good in the high notes and not disappearing under the music - but listen to those chords! A very strong beat and some epic synth carry the flow wonderfully, and the hooks get well and truly entrenched in your head because of it.
オリジナル曲・Damsel Jade 【巡音ルカ】
(Damsel Jade (Seiko), Luka, HYPER GOD TIME Opera)
Seiko returns! A xylophonic, floaty, aquatoned operatic number provides the perfect setting to show off Seiko's Luka skills, as she sounds absolutely breathtaking, completely carrying the whole affair.
【KAITO】Lily Bell【オリジナル】
(Lily Bell (新城), Kaito, Gothic Electro Rock)
Occasionally stumbling on his tuning, Kaito still gets top billing for this head-bopping, high-racing gothic track where the piano and the beat both go a mile a minute. When he's not tripping up or purposefully distorted, Kaito sounds very, very good here - clear and crisp and understandable and backing himself up during the best bits of the song.
【初音ミク】 ドリーミンドリーミン 【オリジナル】
(Dreaming Dreaming (shizuru), Miku, Pop)
A quality piece of traditional Miku pop, bouncy and headbangy and generic but done well. Arranged by 40m and it really shows; it's dripping with his usual style, but shizuru adds plenty of personal touches.
【VOCALOID】半透明の黒いサナギ ／歌愛ユキ×２ オリジナル曲
(Translucent Black Pupa (A0010), Yuki x 2, Creepy Xylophone, PV)
I'm so pissed this didn't do better. Nicovideo as a whole, I am looking right at you here - here was a chance for someone new to pull off something awesome with Yuki, they nailed it, and you all but ignored them. Yuki duets with herself - modified to sound male - in a soft and vaguely threatening percussive track that's staggeringly good.
【MEIKO】Fragment Of The Light / shu-t【オリジナル】
(Fragment of the Light (shu-t), Meiko, Trance)
Here is your requisite piece of shu-tP trance/club Meiko for the week, serving the dual purpose of reminding us she's not dead and giving us some quality music. At this point it's basically safe to say shu-t is the prominent go-to producer for Meiko, I dare say.
【初音ミク】 レッドパニッシュメント 【オリジナル曲】
(Red Punishment (nana), Miku, Rock, PV)
The first nana track of the update, and I'm at a bit of a loss to describe what exactly I like about it. Certainly I do like it. It's got some great energy and a lot of neat touches in the background, together with some solid guitar, and for at least some of the track Miku sings very well. The trouble is that the rest of the time she's gone full-on chipmunk mode and it really turns me off those sections.
【初音ミク】彩色の虹【オリジナルPV】
(Rainbow Coloration (kous), Miku, Pop, PV)
Miku's voice is a little high and floaty, enough to bug me, but the music more than makes up for it in kous' latest. Jaunty guitars and a good strong drum line, it's nice to see kous sticking with music that doesn't bog me down in strangenesses.
黄燐の炎【鏡音リンオリジナル曲】
(Yellow Phosphorous Flame (mothy), Rin, Orchestral Epic, PV)
I feel a little... cheated, I guess? There's nothing wrong with this Rin track at all, especially with the gorgeous piano and the rest of the instrumental backing, but at the same time there's nothing to really punch through and grab my attention; it's good, but it never builds to a notable crescendo. It just kind of ends, and I'm sat there going 'huh? what?'.
【初音ミクDark】Azalea【オリジナル】
(Azalea (定額), Miku, Electro Funk)
I'm prepared to give this one a pass. The Miku doesn't agree with me, but that's largely my own problem, and the music makes up for it by being, well, ... funky as all-get-out. Acoustic guitars and synths are the best parts, but the beat's welcome and prevents the song from getting too mopey or waffly.
【初音神威・3DPV】ネハンシカ
(Only Nirvana (Deino), Miku + Gakupo, Rock, PV)
Not for the faint-hearted. A follow-up to Machine Muzik, this features the return of Karune - a spindly and twisted mechano-spider-Miku - along with a host of similar creatures and some really disturbing imagery. It's tremendously effective and powerful, and even if the music isn't exactly up to top-notch as just a repetitive thumpy angst track, the video more than makes up for it.
【初音ミクDark+巡音ルカ】 リフレクション 【オリジナル曲】
(Reflection (nana), Miku + Luka, Baw Pop, PV)
The second nana track! Some of my inherent problems with the Dark voice are in full swing here - we could really do with a big old sign up over Nicovideo reading 'if you wish to use Dark, make it so people can hear it worth a damn', and Miku really struggles on the odd high note - but she works well with Luka and the video on the whole is sufficiently gentle and heartwarming to get away with it.
【GUMI】 フライトタイム 【オリジナル曲】
(Flight Time (TOKOTOKO), Gumi, Pop)
A-augh. Nicovideo currently likes this quite a lot, but I can't say the sentiment is shared. The music's fine enough, but every time I pay attention to Gumi for any length of time she really seems to be cracking a lot of notes or going sufficiently off-key as to damage the track, like she's holding a serious case of warbling barely in check.
【GUMI】 君の花と雨、僕の声 【オリジナル】
(Your Flower and Rain, My Voice (uz), Gumi, Thrash Emo, PV)
Severe danger here of the guitar taking over the song, but at least it's a good guitar - what starts as a Gumi thrash emo track becomes gorgeous at the softer refrains. The rest of the time it's rather overbearing, but the track doesn't suffer too much for it; I think what hurts it most is the final emo scream, a jarring way to close off a track that hadn't even got near sore throat territory previously.
【初音ミク】ストロボハロー【オリジナル】
(Stroboscope Hello (powapowa), Miku, Club Pop)
Possibly some overreliance on hooks here - while there's nothing wrong with this and it's usually the sort of song I'd enjoy, the problem is that I can barely remember half of it, especially the last minute. Miku sounds good but the track is just the same catch of piano over and over and over, and nowhere is this worse than in the last minute of the track, where it's just the same constantly.
【初音ミクオリジナル】ネオロマンチスト
(Neoromanticist (Re:nG), Miku, Speed Pop?)
This isn't the best song that Re:nG has ever done by a long shot, but it's certainly not too bad. If anything it's another song this week that I'd rather listen to for the music, rather than anything to do with Miku's voice - the whiny whiny synth and the soaring piano are reasons enough for me.
【ミク・ルカ・リン】ギルガメッシュ☆ナイト【PV付き百合ジナル】
(Gilgamesh Night (Lilium Sweet), Miku + Rin + Luka, Cheese Pop, PV)
Why is this near the top of the daily rankings?! It's god-awful and even I, usually the purveyor of ridiculously cheesy pop, can't handle it for more than twenty seconds or so.
【初音ミク】 So much loving you★ 【オリジナル】
(So Much Loving You (古墳), Miku, Electro Pop)
So let's end it with a cheesy song I do like. This is headbanging pop material in top form, if you're into that sort of thing - a great beat, some lovely piano, awesome energy. Miku's a little autotuned but it's easy to look past.
Other:
【鏡音リン他】遊助と一緒にミツバチを歌ってもらった【手書きPV】
Did I mention I love Mitsubachi? This is the best video I've seen of it all week, perfectly looped.
【吹っ切れた】おちゃめｳﾏｳﾏぴっぽー(ﾟ∀ﾟ)【マッシュアップ】
If you've ever wanted to see just how memetic a mashup of Po Pi Po, Mischievous Function and Carameldansen would sound, well, uh, here's your chance.