Kalafina 5th album "far on the water"

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george: I did not know about the vinyl being released later, that is what I was saying. And yes season: I can just imagine how SH will sound on vinyl, or red moon would be awesome. (Also AE since I like it, but the other two I would love as would a lot of Kajiura's works. Like Hanako.)
 
george1234 said:
so according to posts so far we got
monochrome ~ kouya ruten
gogatsu no mahou ~ blessing / distance
identify ~ love come down
hokage ~ gloria

:XD:
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so true!

Overall, this album is good, but I don't think it'll surpass SH and RM since most of the fans love the old Kalafina and some were expecting too much. Possibly saved if they included KnGnN and Alleluia.
I'm a little bit worried for Wakana for their coming tour. Yeah, this is Kalafina's most energetic album, and I wonder why Kajiura-san didn't give Keiko some shots since she's the most energetic performer among the utahimes. XDD

And right now, Im addicted to monochrome, Gogatsu no Mahou, sorairo, identify and Usumurasaki<3
I'm starting to like this album and Im looking forward to hear these new songs on live.
 
Eventually reviewing:


⋅ Into the water: nice intro, nothing special.
⋅ Monochrome: I love the mix between all the instruments, but I don't feel anything special – be it in good or bad – about the song as a whole.
⋅ Gogatsu no Mahou: pretty nice ballad, Hikaru's great.
⋅ ring your bell: harmonies are gorgeous, but structure is too jerky.
⋅ Usumuraki: I really enjoy the oriental feeling. More Keiko would have been nice though, but it's still one of my favs.
⋅ identify: rockin' Kalafina rocks! I really hope they will perform it on the tour, it will be HUGE!!
⋅ Hokage: I found back my beloved good ol' Kalafina! Piano + violin + Wakana = ear candy + tears.
⋅ One Light: just after Hokage, that surprisingly flows pretty well, I must admit. Weird rhythm contrasts between the different parts of the song remain troublesome but not too much of an issue, for the moment.
⋅ Musunde hikaru: a bit messy too but not as much as I was afraid. I think I'll need another listen to get a proper mind about this one, but so far, I can't hate it at all. Fits pretty well what I understand from the title, though.
⋅ Heavenly Blue: I really like the general atmosphere. But, sorry to say that again, the drum transition between stanza and refrain is just horrible. Besides this, actually and amazingly... it gradually kinda grows on me.
⋅ Sorairo no Isu: very restful after HB's heavy beat, but really too short.
⋅ Believe: the proximity with HB can't make me stop to think that it's its "ver 2.0". The structure (with always those weird transitions) and orchestra are very alike, nevertheless, I can now understand the difference in rhythms. Even if it's not the better one of the anisongs quator, that's still the one that I can remember of the most easily, because it's still full of great moments.
⋅ Far on the Water: enjoyable peaceful atmosphere that suits well for an ending song. As I already spotted, the "decrescendo" issue (i.e. ~1'05") is still a bit weird to my ears but I have the feeling that I can get used to it. Amazingly enough too, I kinda like most of the structure. And, to conclude, nice flute solo.
 
into the water: Historia vibes. Still reserving judgement on whether this song can build atmosphere as well as Red Moon's overture, al fine or Seventh Heaven's overture. These 3 can pull anyone into the Kalafinaverse, even if the idolmasters were singing on stage 10 secs ago.

Monochrome: I think that's Hikaru with a filter before the chorus. The way it was sung is very unlike Keiko. Like Keiko has said, for a song called monochrome, it sure is colorful. I'm curious as to whether they will leave the accordion solo in during lives if Satou Yoshiaki isn't around.

Gogatsu: I got Sound Horizon (the old one anyway. not the even shittier nein-_-) vibes actually, probably because of the strings. A little because of the melody. Must be the fantasy feel of it... That bridge is awesome. Judging by Wakana's recent performance, I think that any worry about her being unable to hit her notes are unfounded.

Usumurasaki: Red moon album vibes. There's a particular sound that reminds me of a bgm track in a VN but I digress. Signature dark song. Like sora no isu, I expect this song to be amazing live. I really love Keiko's lines here.

Identify: I like Keiko's part, but not that guitar and Hikaru's chorus (it actually borders on annoying for me). It's the least.. atmospheric song I guess?

Here's Wakana going crazy about Keiko's part in this song from Kalafina club 150908:
W: Listening to the lyrics, I felt that I was able to hear it very clearly and that made me very excited.
K: You did? You could hear the words very clearly? I paid special mind to ittttt!
W: But of course, dear!
(she said "anata" which can mean "you" or can be the way the wife addresses the husband lol. Please hear me out. In Japan, "anata" is seldom used in the "you" context between two people because it can be considered distant/rude, especially when addressing someone in a higher position. They usually just use their name/position etc. or skip it entirely)
Hikaru laughs <-shipper spotted *is slapped*
W: For example...
H: Yes?
K: For example *laughs*
W: For example... the part at the start "motto ganjou ni ikiteitakute". The "ganjou" is amazing!
K: That part?!? *keiko sounding ecstatic*
K: That part! That part!
Wakana then tries to imitate Keiko's singing.
W: Motto.. Motto GAN JOU. I can't do it *laughs*
K: No matter how many times I tried... Well, Kajiura-san said that it was fine but the other producer said "mmm.. Keiko. Sorry. It sounds like kanjou to me"
H: ahh...
K: (Keiko)"What really?"
(Kajiura) "It doesn't sound that way to me?"
(Keiko)"Eh! Wait! I'm saying ganjou"
(Producer)"No, it sounds like kanjou"
(Keiko)"Then I'll do it again and make it ganjou!!"
(Keiko)"Ganjou!"
(Producer)"It still sounds like kanjou"
(Keiko)"How vexing!!"
And that went on about 5 times until the producer finally said "Un. That's ganjou"

W: I see *laughs* It was pronounced beautifully
K: Thank goodness!!! *claps*
W: I really like this part
K: I'm so happy!! (and you can really tell from her voice)
W: And, in the next part... in part 2A?
K: un...
W: the "kotoba ha zenbu shinjitsu nandatte tantan to" part
Wakana tries to imitate Keiko again
W: SHINJITSU! nandatte... ZENBU! SHINJITSU! nandatte
Keiko laughs and gets all embarrassed (///∇///)
K: Wakana (*/∇＼*) please stop
W: Sorry lol. It's hard isn't it
H: It's exaggerated
K: Hahahaha..
W: I'm exaggerating but I think the nuance is really good. Then the chorus's "junjou" "atsui kongan" too. SUKI DESU!
H: ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU!
K: Is that what you were feeling as you sang?
W: Yes! It's my first time I think... Kajiura mentioned it too. It's a song where I am singing in high harmo throughout so I really enjoyed listening to both of your voices. I was going huun huun! (*ﾟ∀ﾟ)=3 *onomatopoeia of heavy breathing through the nose from excitement*. Maybe the sound of my nasal breaths made it in *laughs*
K: No it didn't *curtly*
W: Hahaha
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^I'm never going to stop laughing when I hear that part now. Thanks Wakana lol. I recommend listening to 8th Sept's Kalafina club since Keiko and Wakana were so cute/hilarious here.

Hokage: Kagayaku vibes? The song would probably suit Black Butler, feel wise. Will probably need to wait for lives, or until I actually listen closely to the lyrics.

Musunde Hiraku: It is growing on me, surprisingly. I like the line by Keiko "Kimi ha dare to deai? Boku ha dare wo omou?"

Sora no Isu: Lovely ballad. It repeats the same melody over and over but it's pretty so I'll give it a pass. That it mainly features Keiko harmonising with Wakana is also a big plus. I remember that the first impression I got when I heard it on the radio was it being very Japanese in feel. The intro and the way the strings were played reminded me of traditional Asian string instruments. It also lead to me wishing Kajiura would experiment with those in BGMs and whatnot. I'm surprised by how little of a role Hikaru has here lol.

I didn't enjoy the album at first, mostly because I kind of missed the Kalafina of old (also the fact that there is no signal grade song here :< ). I started to enjoy it a lot more when I put that sentiment aside.

Kirito said:
far on the water - Yes, I love it. The only thing that kills it is the intrumental after the Kajiurago - the atmosphere it built up just disappears. Should have gone straight to Hikaru, and the song would still be about 4 minutes long. I think this is the only song with a flute this time around. XD
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On the contrary, I think it works really well in the show during the ending. I actually think Kajiura put it in with the show in mind. I personally don't dislike it and think it makes the song that much more grand.

About the stealing of melodies: Kajiura said that she does not listen to her own songs at all. Take from that what you will.
 
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^ But that she doesnt mean that she cant use the partitures by mistake. Eg. if she had wrote in a paper or pentagram a melody and hasnt labeled it to be love come down's, she forgot it somewhere in her work space and found it 5 years later, which means few months from now, and uses it for identify :XD: wouldnt this be realistic considering she's usually lost in her thoughts too ?

LOL that discussion. Was Kajiur around too ? Where can I find the audio ? :)

Btw I too, believe at the long instrumental in far on the water was made with the show in mind, since its used in most episodes with naration in front, a generally as BGM as well
 
I don't know if it's just because of the feeling of a fresh new album, but I like this album a lot more than I thought I would, and I hope it doesn't wear off on me!

I'm an absolute sucker for staccato notes for some reason, and there's a lot of that in this album... I like monochrome way too much, it has all of the typical kinds of chords that I like so I can't help it

I don't think anything is ever going to beat seventh heaven, but as a "fun" album, so far I approve. Uh... but I still hope that they'll go back to doing songs that are less energetic and have the maturity of the older albums eventually though, you know?

The number one thing I would have done to improve this is to remove some of these darn anime tie-ins and replace them with the far better tie-in KnGnN. I think that song is pseudo-happy enough to fit in with the rest of the songs, and believe, heavenly blue, one light and ring your bell all in one album feels super redundant. Even just switching out one of them probably would have been good enough... Right now it's too much anime junk for me.
 
don't like ring your bell, one light, heavenly blue, believe, musunde. for me they sound very similar. not 100% same but similar enough for me to group them in the same category. some say anison songs which I agree.

into the water is a random intro and no where near as good as al fine. identify is another random song.

Gogatsu has nice strings, would be nice to have the instrumental. Usumurasaki sounded very interesting at first but I too find the vocals boring.

Sorairo is the only decent song in the album for me to listen to from start to finish. The instrumental section is very Kajiuran but very nicely done.

fotw is nothing special and very much similar to past songs. Again the instrumental/bridge part is actually nice even though I think the change is very abrupt.

The violin solo in Hokage has some new baroque-inspired notes, just a few though which I thought was interesting.

Again too much Wakana. little Keiko. Monochrome could have been very good but too much Wakana, image Keiko singing instead of Wakana and it may sound a bit better I guess (and what's with the very strange ending?)

About the similarity of notes. I have been bitching about this for a very long time now and of course not listening to your songs doesn't necessarily help you write original songs.

I agree with the opinion that Kalafina is more or less Wakana. This statement is not based on prior bias, it's pretty much obvious. Just count the seconds where you hear Wakana and compare it to the others (I haven't actually done it). It's so sad but the album is like saying: those people who loved the anime stuff buy the album you may be finding something new or not. I am having a hard time to find any brilliance of Kajiura behind the vocals in this album. IMHO, it is not there.

in the meantime, I'm listening to moonflower live and waiting for the ost announcement and some of the past brilliance to resurface again.
 
^I just took out a timer and timed Wakana's parts for Monochrome, and here's the result (give or take a couple milliseconds): 1:53.7. That would be over half the song, because the song's lenth is a short 3:32. 1:53/3:32 is too much, and that's on a song where Wakana has less lead than others.
 
Uuuummmm... how about when she PLAYS her songs lives and going to Kalafina's concerts? Doesn't that count as listening to the songs? Sheesh. She's said it's just a coincidence that the songs are similar. It would, though, be great if she would play with them again at a concert. She did for Anime Boston, but that was when they started. *sigh* I am sure every composer has that issue of songs sounding similar. I would too if I was one, I am not sure how she even sleeps at night. (she must dream music as well. heh)

PopSock: Do you mean syncopation with the staccato notes? I think that's what it's called anyways.

Also mine (along with Chiaki's album) is in the shipping process! I was hoping it would be shipped so that I'd get it on Tues. *sigh* I hope I still do.
 
In Monochrome, the line right before the refrain sounds like Keiko to me.

Liana_Ilia said:
Uuuummmm... how about when she PLAYS her songs lives and going to Kalafina's concerts? Doesn't that count as listening to the songs?
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Maybe she meant that she doesn't pop in a CD in her stereo and listens to the whole thing every once in a while.

Though it makes me wonder how she picks songs for her concerts.
 
Maybe she just remembers the ones she likes more from the time she wrote them or the most popular ones. My dad is a music composer and he has like upwards of 400 original compositions, some of his songs sound the same as well, but he does revisit his favorite songs every once in a while.

I'm disappointed at the Wakana dominance in this album. And it's not even something against her, I think she's great, but this is a bit of an auditive overkill, and sadly, the songs in this album sound kind of similar to each other in some cases (lol not even touching on OL/HB/Believe trifecta, but like, Musunde hiraku and Far on the water are similar, Hokage and Sorairo no isu are also kinda similar) so having her dominate in almost all of them makes the album sound kind of monotonous. Plus, I'm after all, a Hikaru fan through and through. Actually, that might be a reason I like After Eden so much, it has LOTS of Hikaru-led songs. And some of them are amazing like Neverending <3

Is there ever going to be #justiceforKeiko? She's amazing and her voice could lead some very interesting songs different from the typical Kalafina formula. I have a dream (hah) that Hikaru is singing more harmonies because someday we'll get another Keiko led A-side and Hikaru will harmonize to her.

So on to my review.

1. Into the water: It's so beautiful. I actually wish this was a full track, I love melodic songs like this one so much.

2. Monochrome: This song is so weird. I don't like it at all so far, it sounds disjointed and too noisy, but it might grow on me later.

3. Gogatsu no Mahou: Even if this ended up being my least favorite Kalafina album, this song is so beautiful. I mean, it pays my buying the album and vinyl. It's absolutely everything I like about Kalafina, I just wish Wakana's voice had more oomph to it in the chorus, it sounds kind of airy to me here.

4. Ring your bell: I still like this song! I love the soaring feel it conveys! I don't think it's fair to group it with OL/Believe/HB because this one has a different feel and structure.

5. Usumurasaki: I really like it. I'm a sucker for that "exotic" kind of sound, and I'm again thinking Wakana's voice sounds kind of thin here, but it's a great song. Love it.

6. identify: LOVE AT FIRST LISTEN. Not any less because Hikaru + Keiko + Rock is an amazing combo for me. I love how much punch it packs and yet it stays catchy all the way through. A true earworm.

7. Hokage: Pass. There's nothing to set it apart from other similar Kalaballads. The harmonies are pretty though, and Wakana sounds really good here. Bless her. This is such a weird song to place after identify O_O I feel like if Monochrome and this one had switched places it would work a lot better for the flow of the album.

8. One Light: I'll take it because Hikaru. Also, still weird to stick Hokage between identify and this. I still like this song, especially the chorus, I love powerful Hikaru so it's all cool. The song drags a bit though, mostly because of the lack of any "surprising" elements in it.

9. Musunde hiraku: It's a typical Kalabright song and I love those <3 So I'm on board with this one. Nothing too spectacular, but it works. It's probably my second favorite song in the album so far, after Gogatsu. I really want to watch it live!

10. Heavenly Blue: Blergh. This is still my least favorite Kalafina anison. I can't believe they included this crap in the album when they had already released it in the Best of albums. It's like an insult to me, that's how much I dislike this song lol. Should've been in every nothing or even better, Kimi no gin no niwa, which is one of my all time favorite Kalafina songs. This song is a mess and a half with those weird filters in Hikaru's voice and Wakana's lines are so boring and it drags on and on :( terrible :(

11. Sorairo no isu: I love this one, Wakana's voice is perfect for it, and I love the harp, it brings such a different feel to the song compared to other Kajiura works. Really beautiful. No Hikaru though :(

12. Believe: Still my fave of the infamous "mediocre Kalafina anison trio". I genuinely like this song, I feel like its atmosphere is pretty cool, and while it reminds me of To the Beginning, it manages to pull its own weight and sound interesting enough for me to not instaskip it.

13. Far on the water: I like it. it's soothing and bright, and at least I can hear all 3 of the girls. I have no qualms about this song, it's pretty and I love the flute. I've loved all of RHH songs so far and this is no exception, I even like it more than Yume no Daichi.

Verdict: I already said most of my thoughts before I even wrote this lol. But yeah, so far this is my least favorite Kalafina album :( Which doesn't really mean much, because I still think it's a solid album. I don't think it has as much of a flow problem as some of you found in it, but I do find it kind of... less versatile than Kalafina's previous albums. When I became a Kalafina fan, Red Moon had just been released, so the albums I've waited for were After Eden, which catered to almost everything I like and I adored it instantly and Consolation which blew me away with its delicate and beautiful songs even if I don't replay it as much as the others. This album is alright, but sadly, I think the inclusion of the anisons weighs it down greatly. I like the original songs, and I'm sure the album as a whole will grow on me. At least I don't feel totally disappointed quality wise, which is a relief. I hope for more Hikaru and Keiko in the next album, and I also hope that Kajiura takes it up a notch with her anisongs, they are her bread and butter and there's no excuse to half ass them as much as she's been doing lately, even if they are mediocre animes or whatever (I have no idea, I'm not really big on anime lately).
 
Kajiura composed for mediocre anime before but still came out with amazing songs like stone cold, Parallel Hearts, Lacrimosa (I hate Kuroshitsuji with a passion), HnS (Sora no Word was meh), FJY songs (.hack is terribly mediocre), etc.

She doesn't need to depend on the anime. She just needs something to prevent herself from getting complacent.
 
^ The fact that you didnt like Kuroshitsuji doesnt make it mediocre. I watched it all and it was pretty good, and they got Taku Iwasaki for the BGM.
 
Kirito said:
Kajiura composed for mediocre anime before but still came out with amazing songs like stone cold, Parallel Hearts, Lacrimosa (I hate Kuroshitsuji with a passion), HnS (Sora no Word was meh), FJY songs (.hack is terribly mediocre), etc.

She doesn't need to depend on the anime. She just needs something to prevent herself from getting complacent.
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If I remember correctly, that's part of her reputation. Unfortunately, the last couple of anime she scored have been remarkably similar in tone so their scores end up sounding very similar.
 
So:

-actively suggesting to avoid Believe
-'ew' reaction to Musunde sounding like Eden/Mirai
-mediocre opinion on HB
-upset at lack of KnGnN and Alleluia
-thinks OL and RYB are best a-sides albeit not amazing
-thinks it's their weakest album

Is this me in the future? It sounds very possible.
 
Tbh at the beginning I thought he was someone of this forum because I remembered someone saying the same exact things xD
 
Mine is shipped! I hopefully will get it tomorrow, but last time it shipped on Monday I got it Wed, which sucks because I am going to visit my niece that day so I have to wait for it before we leave, it came right before we left which is a good thing since it had the vinyl in it and I did not want to leave it on the front porch. (And Chiaki's album is shipped too but that's EMS so that might not come until Thurs which I will be home for. *sigh*) But luckily I have a working CD portable player. Yes, it still works. lol I know I sound old. I am 30 after all.
 
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