Catchup, Part The Second: Underdogs Edition
This time around we're concentrating on those Vocaloids which don't get much play - expect a lot of Yukari and IA, mostly, with a side order of Iroha, Meiko and Yuki. I had a few CUL songs in my shortlist but, uh, none of them were particularly good. If I've missed any, absolutely share them in the comments, I love listening to the new guys.
Videos:
【カバー】Tell Your World feat.MEIKO
Tell Your World (IGASIO, Meiko, Pop)
And you know what? I'm going to put Meiko at the top of the post again, because I can. I'm even going to put her at the top of the post with a mere cover, and it's going to be perfectly justified because holy damn I was blown away by this. It's no Amazing Grace, but Meiko's voice is tremendously good in this tribute to the kz classic. She could stand to be a bit louder, but that doesn't detract even slightly from a stellar performance.
【Lily】ジッタードール【オリジナル曲】
Jitter Doll (niki, Lily, Rock)
God, was there ever any doubt this would rank this post? Niki's back to blow us away with a super-soulful rock track from Lily with every hallmark falling impeccably into place, from Lily's excellent tuning to a catchy track that doesn't let up. Fantastic crescendos, interesting hooks and bridges, it's just all-round great. It's boggling to me that more people don't use her when faced with tracks like this, but maybe they're just too intimidated.
結月ゆかりのオリジナル曲 ゲダツセンセイション -Full ver.-
Gedatz Sensation (deadball, Yukari, Dancey Pop)
Deadball's inimitable style applied to Yukari is a thing, alright, and took me quite by surprise when I was making the post. It's a very strange song but catchy as hell, full of strong bass and energy and a whole lot of little electronic touches. Yukari isn't going to endear herself to everyone - rather stark in tuning, much like deadball's Miku, it may not be to everyone's taste.
【 IA 】 現実的論理主義者 【オリジナル】
Realist Logician (goboumen, IA, Rock)
Before the first chorus, I would have been prepared to chalk the popularity of this video up to the excellent-quality PV provided by koyubi, but don't fall into the trap. A rather uninspiring first verse camoflages some seriously awesome choruses and crescendoes, together with some absolutely excellent soloing from IA during the requisite quiet sections. She still has a couple of issues - aside from the start of the song, there's a number of squeaky words here and there - but taken on the whole it's a deserving track well worth a listen.
【IA】人為世界のエンブリオ【オリジナルPV】
Human World Embryo (Hull, IA, Electronica)
I kind of disagree just a little with the popularity this got, as I think there are plenty of IA and Yukari tracks just as good if not better that could have legitimately stolen the spot. Still, it's very good - an atmospheric and heady electronic track with some rapid beats in the bass and some highly ephemeral lifts and falls in the melody. IA handles the singing well, never missing a beat, but does fall prey to the music running roughshod over her here and there.
【結月ゆかり】Ecstasy【オリジナルPV】
Ecstasy (kyohei, Yukari, Rock)
【結月ゆかり】a Last piece【オリジナルPV】
a Last piece (kyohei, Yukari, Emo)
Not a pair of songs I would have expected to like as much as I did, kyohei's done a good job at bending Yukari towards genres I've never really thought she was suited by by providing a mix of styles and tempos and a nice piano touch to his rock stylings. Ecstacy is the winner here: the slow section in the middle, almost lounge in its brief use of light drums and bass, is a lovely breather before the screeching solo-heavy latter half. It's worth a try, at the very least, as it's interesting to watch experimentation with different styles and the new bots. Last Piece is quite a bit worse, in my opinion: her tuning and general suitedness to the track have gone way down, but I'm still kind of weak to some emo and the intro cannot be beaten.
【IA】town【オリジナル】
town (mamomo, IA, Ballad Pop)
From an interesting style to a conventional one, but done so well you won't care a jot. This piano and pan pipes ballad is exactly what I think of when I think of songs that would be suited to IA's voice, and she pulls it off with aplomb and style, perfectly hitting every note. It's a lovely bit of ambient pop that then unexpectedly crescendos into a deeply heartwarming sound about halfway through the video.
【猫村いろは】 Revelation Dance 【オリジナル・PV】
Revelation Dance (バスドラ連打, Iroha, Rock)
Alternatively, for Iroha, there's... uh... this, an eclectic and mindboggling rock track that puts her through her paces, from high-pitched nyan sounds to mid-range rock to super-distorted emo screams. Less of a song and more of an experiment, I can't really see anyone putting this on their must-listen list, but it's another example of a song that's well worth checking out just for the experience.
【IA】この想いがもしキミに届かないなら【オリジナル曲】
If This Thought Does Not Reach You (7+5, IA, R+B)
A slow and more thoughtful song for IA - at least, compared to the last two. This gentle piano-heavy R+B track has some gorgeous playing and a lot of touches to enjoy in the percussion and bass, and over the top of it IA's crooning is clear and confident with few to no mistakes. It may be a little slow a song for some, but it really demonstrates just how good IA's voice is that this is how far she's come in so little time.
【結月ゆかり】東京ペンギンライフ【ほぼ日P】
Tokyo Penguin Life (ほぼ日, Yukari, Big Band)
【結月ゆかり】 オリコン詐欺 【ほぼ日P】
Original Fraud (ほぼ日, Yukari, ??? Pop)
【結月ゆかり】 Please Unfollow Me 【ほぼ日P】
Please Unfollow Me (ほぼ日, Yukari, Calypso Pop)
I have to admit, the more I look at these titles and songs the more certain I am there's a really juicy story behind them that I've missed. Maybe it's just hobonichi's propensity for being the moral watchdog of the fandom, as he's the one who did both of the famous anti-plagiarism songs in the wake of previous scandals, and you have to admit that the latter two songs are definitely reaching, but all I can find is an apparent indication that he's getting a new album out. Hobonichi's Yukari is... a little rough, to say the least, but carries a good energy to her and stars in an eclectic mix of styles and themes.
【猫村いろは】ONE NIGHT PIECE【オリジナル曲PV付】
ONE NIGHT PIECE (bekkoo, Iroha, Jazz)
It's good to see Iroha used by people who aren't named akiba ota, and it's doubly good to see her in unusual genres or away from the loud rock that seems to have become her staple. bekkoo's tuning of her isn't exactly top-notch - she still suffers from some of the catches and pauses that she seems very prone to - but the music around it is absolutely gorgeous, a brass and snares forte with some excellent solo pieces.
【歌愛ユキ】 N 【オリジナル曲】
N (take, Yuki, Rock)
Sadly, that title doesn't mean that Yuki is about to ninja her way off into the distance. Instead what we have is a rather confused and muddled rock track that underscores to me that I still can't get used to Yuki's voice one jot. It sounds fuzzy and indistinct and I don't like it much, and rather than saving the song, a guitar solo tour de force only serves to further obscure the lyrics and seems to showboat the focus of the track away.
Videos:
【カバー】Tell Your World feat.MEIKO
Tell Your World (IGASIO, Meiko, Pop)
And you know what? I'm going to put Meiko at the top of the post again, because I can. I'm even going to put her at the top of the post with a mere cover, and it's going to be perfectly justified because holy damn I was blown away by this. It's no Amazing Grace, but Meiko's voice is tremendously good in this tribute to the kz classic. She could stand to be a bit louder, but that doesn't detract even slightly from a stellar performance.
【Lily】ジッタードール【オリジナル曲】
Jitter Doll (niki, Lily, Rock)
God, was there ever any doubt this would rank this post? Niki's back to blow us away with a super-soulful rock track from Lily with every hallmark falling impeccably into place, from Lily's excellent tuning to a catchy track that doesn't let up. Fantastic crescendos, interesting hooks and bridges, it's just all-round great. It's boggling to me that more people don't use her when faced with tracks like this, but maybe they're just too intimidated.
結月ゆかりのオリジナル曲 ゲダツセンセイション -Full ver.-
Gedatz Sensation (deadball, Yukari, Dancey Pop)
Deadball's inimitable style applied to Yukari is a thing, alright, and took me quite by surprise when I was making the post. It's a very strange song but catchy as hell, full of strong bass and energy and a whole lot of little electronic touches. Yukari isn't going to endear herself to everyone - rather stark in tuning, much like deadball's Miku, it may not be to everyone's taste.
【 IA 】 現実的論理主義者 【オリジナル】
Realist Logician (goboumen, IA, Rock)
Before the first chorus, I would have been prepared to chalk the popularity of this video up to the excellent-quality PV provided by koyubi, but don't fall into the trap. A rather uninspiring first verse camoflages some seriously awesome choruses and crescendoes, together with some absolutely excellent soloing from IA during the requisite quiet sections. She still has a couple of issues - aside from the start of the song, there's a number of squeaky words here and there - but taken on the whole it's a deserving track well worth a listen.
【IA】人為世界のエンブリオ【オリジナルPV】
Human World Embryo (Hull, IA, Electronica)
I kind of disagree just a little with the popularity this got, as I think there are plenty of IA and Yukari tracks just as good if not better that could have legitimately stolen the spot. Still, it's very good - an atmospheric and heady electronic track with some rapid beats in the bass and some highly ephemeral lifts and falls in the melody. IA handles the singing well, never missing a beat, but does fall prey to the music running roughshod over her here and there.
【結月ゆかり】Ecstasy【オリジナルPV】
Ecstasy (kyohei, Yukari, Rock)
【結月ゆかり】a Last piece【オリジナルPV】
a Last piece (kyohei, Yukari, Emo)
Not a pair of songs I would have expected to like as much as I did, kyohei's done a good job at bending Yukari towards genres I've never really thought she was suited by by providing a mix of styles and tempos and a nice piano touch to his rock stylings. Ecstacy is the winner here: the slow section in the middle, almost lounge in its brief use of light drums and bass, is a lovely breather before the screeching solo-heavy latter half. It's worth a try, at the very least, as it's interesting to watch experimentation with different styles and the new bots. Last Piece is quite a bit worse, in my opinion: her tuning and general suitedness to the track have gone way down, but I'm still kind of weak to some emo and the intro cannot be beaten.
【IA】town【オリジナル】
town (mamomo, IA, Ballad Pop)
From an interesting style to a conventional one, but done so well you won't care a jot. This piano and pan pipes ballad is exactly what I think of when I think of songs that would be suited to IA's voice, and she pulls it off with aplomb and style, perfectly hitting every note. It's a lovely bit of ambient pop that then unexpectedly crescendos into a deeply heartwarming sound about halfway through the video.
【猫村いろは】 Revelation Dance 【オリジナル・PV】
Revelation Dance (バスドラ連打, Iroha, Rock)
Alternatively, for Iroha, there's... uh... this, an eclectic and mindboggling rock track that puts her through her paces, from high-pitched nyan sounds to mid-range rock to super-distorted emo screams. Less of a song and more of an experiment, I can't really see anyone putting this on their must-listen list, but it's another example of a song that's well worth checking out just for the experience.
【IA】この想いがもしキミに届かないなら【オリジナル曲】
If This Thought Does Not Reach You (7+5, IA, R+B)
A slow and more thoughtful song for IA - at least, compared to the last two. This gentle piano-heavy R+B track has some gorgeous playing and a lot of touches to enjoy in the percussion and bass, and over the top of it IA's crooning is clear and confident with few to no mistakes. It may be a little slow a song for some, but it really demonstrates just how good IA's voice is that this is how far she's come in so little time.
【結月ゆかり】東京ペンギンライフ【ほぼ日P】
Tokyo Penguin Life (ほぼ日, Yukari, Big Band)
【結月ゆかり】 オリコン詐欺 【ほぼ日P】
Original Fraud (ほぼ日, Yukari, ??? Pop)
【結月ゆかり】 Please Unfollow Me 【ほぼ日P】
Please Unfollow Me (ほぼ日, Yukari, Calypso Pop)
I have to admit, the more I look at these titles and songs the more certain I am there's a really juicy story behind them that I've missed. Maybe it's just hobonichi's propensity for being the moral watchdog of the fandom, as he's the one who did both of the famous anti-plagiarism songs in the wake of previous scandals, and you have to admit that the latter two songs are definitely reaching, but all I can find is an apparent indication that he's getting a new album out. Hobonichi's Yukari is... a little rough, to say the least, but carries a good energy to her and stars in an eclectic mix of styles and themes.
【猫村いろは】ONE NIGHT PIECE【オリジナル曲PV付】
ONE NIGHT PIECE (bekkoo, Iroha, Jazz)
It's good to see Iroha used by people who aren't named akiba ota, and it's doubly good to see her in unusual genres or away from the loud rock that seems to have become her staple. bekkoo's tuning of her isn't exactly top-notch - she still suffers from some of the catches and pauses that she seems very prone to - but the music around it is absolutely gorgeous, a brass and snares forte with some excellent solo pieces.
【歌愛ユキ】 N 【オリジナル曲】
N (take, Yuki, Rock)
Sadly, that title doesn't mean that Yuki is about to ninja her way off into the distance. Instead what we have is a rather confused and muddled rock track that underscores to me that I still can't get used to Yuki's voice one jot. It sounds fuzzy and indistinct and I don't like it much, and rather than saving the song, a guitar solo tour de force only serves to further obscure the lyrics and seems to showboat the focus of the track away.