THANKS KOWZ!
Finally had time to listen to the album! And man it was good.
1. Al Fine: Looks like we have another Overture.
It'll be great to hear something other than Overture at the start of every concert. Not that Overture was bad, but sometimes it's good to shake things up a bit. I understand why it has to be so short, but I wish it was longer. :(
2. Consolation: It's already grown on me after so many listens, and honestly it has been echoing in my head for some time now.
It's my favorite song at the moment.... Until another Kalafina song replaces it.
3. Door: Very beautiful ballad! So soothing, peaceful and calming - Just what I look for in a Kalafina song! I really liked the harmonization at the end as well.
4. Hanataba: The use of the accordion was really surprising, but it's so very fitting for the song! I love the emotion conveyed, it's so... sweeping. I wish they cut out the initial accordion part though, IMO it doesn't really fit the song. Then instead of being just good, it'll be perfect! Just start straight with the vocals already! :P
5. Signal: I liked the fast-paced chaos. I liked the slow paced parts of the song, as well as the accordion, but I don't like them together. It doesn't seem to mesh very well during my first listen, and sounds really....chaotic. Oh, I see what you did there, Yuki.
The fast-paced portion of the song is really really catchy though.
6. Obbligato: I think this suffers from the same problem as Signal, in that the fast and slow paced portions of the song doesn't seem to mesh well together, at least on my first listen. You know, I think it'll be much better if they mixed the fast and slow portions of Signal and Obbligato seperately into two different songs, the results might be nicer.
7. Kiichigo no Shigemi ni: Finally a Kalafina ballad with piano and violin! I was starting to worry that Kajiura was breaking out too much into new territory that she was ignoring the Kalafina classics and basics. Looks like I was wrong, which is definitely a good thing! This is the Kagayaku of this album, and I loved it immediately! I'm a sucker for piano/violin Kalafina ballads, they mesh so well with the girls' voices!
8. Yume no Daichi: It's very... grand, like what Storia was. Well, since they were composed for the same programme, the similarity is bound to be there. :P It's a nice song, definitely, but not outstanding.
Overall, the quality of the album is really good! (Naturally
) I like how Kajiura continues to experiment with different things, and it also shows a natural progression of the girls' vocal abilities. Overall, a great album!