Well I have had a couple of people asking me to write about my thoughts on SUPERNAL LIBERTY, soooo... here you go. Though since I don't have that much time in my hands, I'll keep it briefer than I normally would... or so I thought, but I guess I ended up typing a lot after all. Also, I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to answer many comments on my previous posts... I will eventually.. I hope. "orz
On a side note, the promotion for SUPERNAL LIBERTY was quite vast, I went around yesterday to take a look at some of it in celebration of the release date. In Akiba's Animate they were displaying some messages to Nana written by fans about what they love about her and it really brought a smile to my face to see that one person had written that the thing they love the most about Nana is how she looks like she is enjoying herself so much when she sings. I totally agree; seeing how much fun Nana has when she is singing warms my heart to no end. Anyways~ I posted some pictures on [my Instagram] if you want to take a look. I'll share one here too~
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| The apron is so tiny... yet so big on Nana (>_<) |
And then, without further ado... I shall start talking about the songs~!
01. VIRGIN CODE
Well, I was quite interested in finding out what this song held within it since the title is a bit.... well, what it is. It is quite different from what I imagined it to be like though, which is not a bad thing at all. I see a certain kind of trend started by IMPACT EXCITER though. While on that album we had an actual separate prelude track (that nicely continued to NEXT ARCADIA), since then we've gotten opening tracks, アヴァロンの王冠 (ROCKBOUND NEIGHBORS) and now VIRGIN CODE (SUPERNAL LIBERTY), that just have a long intro instead of it being separated. While アヴァロンの王冠 was obviously more directed for something like LIVE GRACE, NEXT ARCADIA and VIRGIN CODE are quite similar not only in style, but also in topic. We get mention of rakuen (paradise) in one and now Eden in the other. xD Anyways, I do quite like this song.
02. GUILTY
So the usual song from Nana's best friend SAYURI except.... waitwut. Not quite like the ones we've gotten before. xD Just like the name of this song, I kinda do feel guilty listening to it. As people have also fittingly put it, this song is definitely a guilty pleasure. Really not something I was expecting to hear on the album or even really hear Nana ever sing - a song that has a strong k-pop vibe (not to mention this kind of lyrics xD). I don't really know anything about k-pop nor do I listen to it, but I have been glad to see that many people agree with me on this. So then... about the lyrics.... SAYURI what did marriage do to you? haha... before it was all Dramatic Love fuwa fuwa dream-like love and now after getting married it's GUILTY bursting with sexual frustration. Everything okay? Or are you on a mission to make a grown woman out of Nana? :p Anyways~ it took a while to get used to this song, but I do quite enjoy it. Already sang it at karaoke too haha. One of the biggest surprises for me on the album for sure.
03. アパッショナート
A very Nana'ish song. It seems to be filled with a lot of different kinds of influences. A little bit of Spanish feel here and there, and then crazy drum in chorus that kinda follows something you'd get with metal haha. I do like the switching between slow and fast parts too. It has a complex structure, which is a very Nana'ish thing to do as of late and I like it.
04. 笑顔の行方
Well I already wrote about this Dreams Come True cover song on [here].
05. アンティークナハトムジーク
Well this is one interesting song too. I really like the 007'ish melody at the beginning and sometimes in between. I do wonder what this mixture of languages is about though - the name of the song comes from German while in the lyrics we have French. A little bit... strange. So.. I don't know anything about French but I thought at first that "Larme, Je t’aime Larme, Je t’aime" could be the French equivalent for "Love me, love me not, love me, love me not" when picking pedals from a flower, but I checked and nope it's not. Oh well~ was worth a try. I do wonder where this sudden urge to try out some French came from though... is this a very microscopic step towards Europe domination? xD And what is that guy in between all of a sudden? Made me shit my pants the first time I heard this song. I can't make out what he says though. orz But yeah, I like this song too (yeah yeah I know I like everything..).
06. Fun Fun★People
I wrote about this song before already too on [here]. This song has really grown on me in the past weeks though. I think it will take the spot of my favorite karaoke song from this album, just like Lovely Fruit was for ROCKBOUND NEIGHBORS, which is odd in a way since I mainly prefer singing Nana's epic powerful emotional songs.
07. FATE
This is one of the prettiest songs on the album about sweet love forever. I really like it and I have a feeling this will be one of those songs that will make me cry again when I hear Nana sing it live. orz Maybe I should somehow start mentally preparing myself...? The name of this song had me expecting one of those epic powerful songs that I love, but this was such as good if not even better. Definitely one of my favorite songs on the album. I want to try translating this soon if I can find some time. :3
08. Vitalization -Aufwachen Form-
Quite different from Synchrogazer -Aufwachen Form- which had more impact..... but now that I think about it, this goes well with how I described Vitalization when it came out too - doesn't start so strong but "ascends" as the song progresses and that's how this new intro goes as well. Quite a fascinating link! So even though it is quite different, it fits this song very well. I do like how it builds up the anticipation. I hope we get to see something cool with this in the summer tour like we did with Synchrogazer -Aufwachen Form- for LIVE UNION. Will you fly for us again Nana? ... it is LIVE FLIGHT now after all~
09. 哀愁トワイライト
This album is full of songs with very different styles, and this is again one of them. It's kinda jazzy with a lazy summer day -kind of feel. If that makes sense. It kinda makes me think of Thermidor in a weird way, since I can kind of imagine both songs being sung in a small smoky restaurant of olden times. I guess in a way the topic is similar too, of a love that isn't exactly the way it should. I really like the pensive feeling this song gives me.
10. セツナキャパシティー
This song is like the 星屑シンフォニー of this album, about a sweet playful cute love. It's a nice break after the pensive atmosphere of the previous song which reminds you that even if things don't always go how you want them to, life is still pretty nice. I think I need to spend more time listening to this song to form a stronger opinion on it. The way Nana sings "乗せて just going" reminds me of the way Kawamura Yumi-san sings one line in one Persona song, though I can't remember which one it is now... but this "similarity" excites me in a peculiar way. :3
11. Ladyspiker
Well my opinion on this hasn't really changed since I first heard it in Nana's Winter Festas. If you wanna check out what I said about it in my reports you can go [here] for first night and [here] for second night. One of my favorite songs of the album, I need to try it out in karaoke soon... though I don't think I can do the badass otona Nana voice justice. orz
12. Rock you baby!
This is one song I definitely need to listen to more. I can't seem to get used to the kinda weird child-like voice Nana uses in the very beginning haha. xD I do like the song otherwise, but at the same time I feel like it is very much overshadowed by all the other songs. I do like the message in the lyrics but I kinda feel like composer-san could have done something a little bit more memorable. Regardless of my complaints, this song will grow on me more in time too.
13. Million Ways=One Destination
This song quite caught my attention too, the flow and atmosphere of the song is very nice and it pulls at my heartstrings. The English part closer to the end of the song really touches me deeply, it's really beautiful. Really want to get to hear it live (which I hopefully will!). I hope I'll find the time to translate this song too. Again, one of the top favorites for me in this album.
14. 僕らの未来
I was expecting something more touching and such of this song because of the name, but once again I was surprised. This song.... somehow reminds me of Gundam. xD I could really see this being the opening for a Gundam series for some reason. I've gotten a similar feeling from Stay Gold and PRIDE OF GLORY before, but I think with this it is the strongest. This is again one of those songs I need to listen to more to know how it makes me feel. There are just too many other songs that keep grabbing my attention on this album.. orz
15. 愛の星 -two hearts-
Last but not least, enhanced Ai no Hoshi goodness. This song was already so beautiful as it was, but now with the added emotional boost of the legendary Nana x Mika combo... it is deadly. It's gonna kill me in a flood of tears if I hear it live I swear. Nana better not play this on the harp herself or I will have absolutely no chance of surviving it... my poor poor heart... it is not ready for such things. (T^T) A very fitting and emotionally powerful ending to the whole album.
All in all, I quite like the new album. Many songs on it take influences from very different kinds of genres of music giving the whole album a very interesting feel. It's like you'll find something for every occasion on it, haha. I still need to get more familiar with it though to be able to know where in my personal ranking of albums it will be located. And now... I need to sleep.
02. GUILTY
So the usual song from Nana's best friend SAYURI except.... waitwut. Not quite like the ones we've gotten before. xD Just like the name of this song, I kinda do feel guilty listening to it. As people have also fittingly put it, this song is definitely a guilty pleasure. Really not something I was expecting to hear on the album or even really hear Nana ever sing - a song that has a strong k-pop vibe (not to mention this kind of lyrics xD). I don't really know anything about k-pop nor do I listen to it, but I have been glad to see that many people agree with me on this. So then... about the lyrics.... SAYURI what did marriage do to you? haha... before it was all Dramatic Love fuwa fuwa dream-like love and now after getting married it's GUILTY bursting with sexual frustration. Everything okay? Or are you on a mission to make a grown woman out of Nana? :p Anyways~ it took a while to get used to this song, but I do quite enjoy it. Already sang it at karaoke too haha. One of the biggest surprises for me on the album for sure.
03. アパッショナート
A very Nana'ish song. It seems to be filled with a lot of different kinds of influences. A little bit of Spanish feel here and there, and then crazy drum in chorus that kinda follows something you'd get with metal haha. I do like the switching between slow and fast parts too. It has a complex structure, which is a very Nana'ish thing to do as of late and I like it.
04. 笑顔の行方
Well I already wrote about this Dreams Come True cover song on [here].
05. アンティークナハトムジーク
Well this is one interesting song too. I really like the 007'ish melody at the beginning and sometimes in between. I do wonder what this mixture of languages is about though - the name of the song comes from German while in the lyrics we have French. A little bit... strange. So.. I don't know anything about French but I thought at first that "Larme, Je t’aime Larme, Je t’aime" could be the French equivalent for "Love me, love me not, love me, love me not" when picking pedals from a flower, but I checked and nope it's not. Oh well~ was worth a try. I do wonder where this sudden urge to try out some French came from though... is this a very microscopic step towards Europe domination? xD And what is that guy in between all of a sudden? Made me shit my pants the first time I heard this song. I can't make out what he says though. orz But yeah, I like this song too (yeah yeah I know I like everything..).
06. Fun Fun★People
I wrote about this song before already too on [here]. This song has really grown on me in the past weeks though. I think it will take the spot of my favorite karaoke song from this album, just like Lovely Fruit was for ROCKBOUND NEIGHBORS, which is odd in a way since I mainly prefer singing Nana's epic powerful emotional songs.
07. FATE
This is one of the prettiest songs on the album about sweet love forever. I really like it and I have a feeling this will be one of those songs that will make me cry again when I hear Nana sing it live. orz Maybe I should somehow start mentally preparing myself...? The name of this song had me expecting one of those epic powerful songs that I love, but this was such as good if not even better. Definitely one of my favorite songs on the album. I want to try translating this soon if I can find some time. :3
08. Vitalization -Aufwachen Form-
Quite different from Synchrogazer -Aufwachen Form- which had more impact..... but now that I think about it, this goes well with how I described Vitalization when it came out too - doesn't start so strong but "ascends" as the song progresses and that's how this new intro goes as well. Quite a fascinating link! So even though it is quite different, it fits this song very well. I do like how it builds up the anticipation. I hope we get to see something cool with this in the summer tour like we did with Synchrogazer -Aufwachen Form- for LIVE UNION. Will you fly for us again Nana? ... it is LIVE FLIGHT now after all~
09. 哀愁トワイライト
This album is full of songs with very different styles, and this is again one of them. It's kinda jazzy with a lazy summer day -kind of feel. If that makes sense. It kinda makes me think of Thermidor in a weird way, since I can kind of imagine both songs being sung in a small smoky restaurant of olden times. I guess in a way the topic is similar too, of a love that isn't exactly the way it should. I really like the pensive feeling this song gives me.
10. セツナキャパシティー
This song is like the 星屑シンフォニー of this album, about a sweet playful cute love. It's a nice break after the pensive atmosphere of the previous song which reminds you that even if things don't always go how you want them to, life is still pretty nice. I think I need to spend more time listening to this song to form a stronger opinion on it. The way Nana sings "乗せて just going" reminds me of the way Kawamura Yumi-san sings one line in one Persona song, though I can't remember which one it is now... but this "similarity" excites me in a peculiar way. :3
11. Ladyspiker
Well my opinion on this hasn't really changed since I first heard it in Nana's Winter Festas. If you wanna check out what I said about it in my reports you can go [here] for first night and [here] for second night. One of my favorite songs of the album, I need to try it out in karaoke soon... though I don't think I can do the badass otona Nana voice justice. orz
12. Rock you baby!
This is one song I definitely need to listen to more. I can't seem to get used to the kinda weird child-like voice Nana uses in the very beginning haha. xD I do like the song otherwise, but at the same time I feel like it is very much overshadowed by all the other songs. I do like the message in the lyrics but I kinda feel like composer-san could have done something a little bit more memorable. Regardless of my complaints, this song will grow on me more in time too.
13. Million Ways=One Destination
This song quite caught my attention too, the flow and atmosphere of the song is very nice and it pulls at my heartstrings. The English part closer to the end of the song really touches me deeply, it's really beautiful. Really want to get to hear it live (which I hopefully will!). I hope I'll find the time to translate this song too. Again, one of the top favorites for me in this album.
14. 僕らの未来
I was expecting something more touching and such of this song because of the name, but once again I was surprised. This song.... somehow reminds me of Gundam. xD I could really see this being the opening for a Gundam series for some reason. I've gotten a similar feeling from Stay Gold and PRIDE OF GLORY before, but I think with this it is the strongest. This is again one of those songs I need to listen to more to know how it makes me feel. There are just too many other songs that keep grabbing my attention on this album.. orz
15. 愛の星 -two hearts-
Last but not least, enhanced Ai no Hoshi goodness. This song was already so beautiful as it was, but now with the added emotional boost of the legendary Nana x Mika combo... it is deadly. It's gonna kill me in a flood of tears if I hear it live I swear. Nana better not play this on the harp herself or I will have absolutely no chance of surviving it... my poor poor heart... it is not ready for such things. (T^T) A very fitting and emotionally powerful ending to the whole album.
All in all, I quite like the new album. Many songs on it take influences from very different kinds of genres of music giving the whole album a very interesting feel. It's like you'll find something for every occasion on it, haha. I still need to get more familiar with it though to be able to know where in my personal ranking of albums it will be located. And now... I need to sleep.
Listened to the album on my way to college today and 笑顔の行方 drove me nearly crazy. Had missed your entry about it and didn't check the tracklist before leaving home, so when the song started playing I was extremely puzzled : How comes I know this melody? And those lyrics? And yet the tempo is different from what little recollection I have of this song?!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't stop thinking about it and trying to remember where I had heard that song before during all my (not so interesting) lecture lol
Now I have my answer \°^°/
As for Guilty... Probably my favorite song from the album. Would probably be different if I experienced other tracks live, but for now that's it~
Tsk tsk, that's why shouldn't miss any of my posts~ there is always some vital information. :p
DeleteI realize I didn't explicitly say in this entry that GUILTY is one of my favorites, but I think my number of plays speaks for itself... :3
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Neo_Bahamut/plays_zps363dd997.jpg
Am i the only one who just plays anything in a row? But then again, the songs i hate the most on this CD get the same number of plays my favorites are getting. That approach is probably not that wise, now that i think about it. ;)
DeleteI warmly recommend the approach I use~ :P I can't help but loop the songs I like the most.... for all day even... GUILTY is over 100 plays for me now, while the others still remain below 40... haha oops..
Deletelol things look strangely similar on my music player as well - http://imgur.com/9Orm9wi
ReplyDeleteIs this the most liked song in the new album now? xD
and of course, thanks for the review!
Nana tricked me into admitting my favorite song from SUPERNAL LIBERTY in the application process for the lottery event.. and I couldn't keep my guilty pleasure a secret anymore.. orz
DeleteMy pleasure! :)
Well, apperantly it is for you. ;) 46 plays and one for almost any other song?
ReplyDeleteOh that is only for my desktop music player though so my phone + mp3 players playcounts aren't displayed. I played through the whole album once and then just repeat Guilty whenever i'm on my com since it is the song that i like the most :P the playcounts for other songs will go up soon enough during the weekend... the album was barely released 2 days ago lol
ReplyDeletei do listen to K-pop but not as much as i did for J-pop XP
ReplyDeletebut my memory mistakenly put GUILTY as K-pop x.x;; whoever agree to put this music with SAYURI's lyrics, is a thumbs up XD
Magickarpp!! Majiikaaa.. euhm. So in all honesty, I like the album quite much as for someone who doesn't pay too much attention on fine details and lyrics ... purely for the melodies and rhythms. I might miss a lot but that's how I roll. *tumbles*
ReplyDeleteI like the fact Nan-san has gone all different with style this time. Much different from RN and even IE. She still has those fast or slow paced songs which balance the album. There aren't any songs I would skip in a heartbeat. especially euhmAntiqueNachtmusikeuhm.. because that's the most entertaining one. But I think I missed the main point of the song w.
I must say it's quite hard to make a new top 3 of her albums because SA is up there for sure.