Juri - Blanche

[RpgRiser 70]

An ex-member of one of my favorite bands,DELUHI, finally started his solo career...

I was sooooo waiting for this!

Let's take a look,shall we?

 

1. Let's get together now

I was really expecting something heavy with awesome guitars and drums and powerful vocals...

Nope ._.

I could not believe it...

He turned to pop music...

Why's is it,I cannot say.It a real letdown at first, but the catchy melody made me change my mind.

Not bad for an opener.

7/10

 

2. Blanche

I was really expecting something heavy after the first track,but unfortunately no...

It's the same as "Let's get together now",catchy melody and beautiful vocals.

7.5/10

 

3. You'll never walk alone

This one's a ballad...and a beautiful one.

I really love this song,it's very soothing.

My favorite from this mini.

9/10

 

4. Michi

The instrumental reminds me a bit of Persona 4,and I don't dislike this feeling -w-

7/10

 

5. Mirai no Hikari

Probably the one I like the least.It sounds a bit like a song from "Back-On".

It would make a good ending song for an anime.

6.5/10

 

6. Shade (DELUHI cover)

From what I heard from the previous track,I was pretty impatient to hear how he rearranged this song.

It's a piano version of "Shade".Must I say more than that?

8/10

 

7. Remember the Rain (DELUHI cover)

I really don't know what to say about this track,so here's a smiley :/

7/10

 

Conclusion:

I was really surprised,in both a good way and a bad way.

I was really expecting a solo debut pretty epic,like Kamijo,but the new musical style Juri took is not displeasing.

If you want to appreciate this mini,you'll have to discard the expectation of something close to DELUHI and think of Juri as completely new musician.

7/10

[Jigsaw9 6783]

He gets 1 point from me for taking me by surprise, thus making me laugh my ass off every time a song started.

He gets 0.5 point for staying true to his vision all the way (however nauseating that vision was for me).

He gets 1 point for the Shade cover, being the only track on here I almost enjoyed.

He gets 0.5 point because it is actually music.

 

3/10 lol k bai

[Kles 1062]

I was kinda disapointed and really surprised at the beginning but after few listening i started to enjoy the whole mini-album it made me kinda happy and set me in a good mood lol.

[hiroki 5521]

To be clear, I'm quite the Juri fanboy so even if he starts covering Justin Bieber songs (god forbid) I'll probably still buy them :'D

 

I agree with RpgRiser that if we measure his music against DELUHI we're just setting ourselves up for disappointment. If I listen to this as I would listen to pop music, it's actually quite enjoyable. I've always felt that Juri has a kind of singer's instinct that makes his vocals blend with the instrumental in a way that doesn't require too much effort (both on his part and on the audience's part). I'm not sure how else to describe this - it reminds me of ALvino's Shota whom I also feel is an amazing vocalist (incidentally ALvino does a similar kind of a music). For me, this quality is even more valuable than any kind of uber vocal technique that can be gradually honed. In any case, it's nice to see him having the heart to pursue what he wanted to do - he was quite matter-of-fact in his interviews/trailers about his concept/vision for the individual tracks, which I prefer over some bands (that shall not be named) who half-heartedly come up with a bunch of tracks and we make what we will of them.

 

The one complaint I have is that instrumentation could have varied more. Good pop can and should be more eclectic than just varying the same backing instrumental and replicating them for every track - something that's disingenuous for anything longer than a single.

[Rize 1593]

Honestly, this was one of a surprising release! I didn't expect to see Juri going into J-Pop.

 

Let's get together now

This was actually a really good song! It's my favorite of the whole mini-album. He's really good in giving me a good mood when hearing this song.

 

Blanche

This song turned also pretty good after a few listens. It's soft and all, but not bad. ^^ It's a good sleep song w

 

You'll never walk alone

This is also a pretty soft song, but his voice is really beautiful in this one.

 

ミチ

The 2nd best song of the whole mini-album

It brings me back in a good mood again and that's a thumb up! ( ^ _ ^ ) b

 

未来の光

Another great sleeping~ song.

 

Remember the rain

Same as above, but all those soft songs are really enjoyable to listen once in a while, so this is good

 

シェイド

This was a nice try, but I prefer the metal version of Deluhi than this re-make cover.

 

So overall.. I think I'd give it a 8/10

[Guest Magatsu]

I've tried this one, because people wrote it's pop.

 

It kinda sounds as anime music.

It's very sweet japanse pop. But it's not fabilous music. he is still very at the beginning. also he sings with to less power.

But it's not that bad. it's fun to listen to it.  But his voice needs way more power, to make it sound more great.

But who knows in the future it will be better.

 

I would give this kinda a 6.5/10

[Pandabear 414]

 

I agree that in order to properly listen and give an unbiased review of this release you can’t compare it with Deluhi. Unfortunately the only appeal this release has is the fact that it's from their former vocalist. There is nothing special or unique about any of these tracks. It’s not bad, but at its bare bones it’s mediocre pop. There’s not enough diversity, originality or melodic hooks. They’re nice tracks, but nothing that could properly hold someone’s attention or have them coming back for another listen. In essence it’s just nice background music. 

 

I bet if someone were to listen to this and not know who Deluhi was or Juri is, they would think this release is just another run of the mill J-pop release by some no name artist.

 

Although I think it’s cool Juri expanded into the pop scene given his metal background, Blanche is missing crucial elements that make it a rather weak and forgettable pop release.

 

4/10