[Single] misono’s ‘Mugen Kigen’

SINGLE REVIEW: misono- Mugen Kigen

I stand by my opinion that misono’s last single was dreadful, despite the fact I got criticism for it. I do not think misono is a weak artist, but I still think that Juunin Toiro was possibly the worst song I heard in 2007. I liked Zasetsu Chiten, so I really don’t understand why people think I’m just hating on misono. I gave that song an A-!! The fact is that her last single was vocally heinous, and there was simply no recovering from it. I’m hoping for improvement in this song, but I don’t know what to expect yet, so I guess we’ll find out.

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The lead track on the single is Mugen Kigen, which (praise god) is an enormous vocal improvement over her last A-Side. I do not believe that misono’s voice is very powerful, but her tone is engaging and, if used correctly, she can pull off a song quite well. Her voices is slightly flimsy when it comes to power notes, but she would be good at creating a melancholic atmosphere due to her somewhat whiny delivery. She sounds like she’s crying most of the time, though it is attractive usually. Musically the song is made up of repetitive percussion and fairly gentle guitar riffs. Actually, they aren’t all that gentle, but the fact that they sort of made them fade in to the background takes away the fierce edge they would have if they were presented more loudly. I can’t say that this song has anything particularly interesting about it, though I like the very last note. There isn’t much of a build up, and it doesn’t peak anywhere. It kind of just drags on without a lot of direction or momentum. I don’t know. There’s some nice guitar, and I enjoy misono’s vocal performance for the most part. I guess nothing just really jumps out at me.

Vocal Performance Grade: B+ — Musical Performance Grade: B — Composition Grade: B-

Overall Grade: B

Next up is Last Song, which begins with nicely played and gentle acoustic chords followed by shockingly pleasant vocals from misono that are quite remeniscent of Koda Kumi’s past works. I like the verses, but overall the song is a tad bit boring. The songs major flaw is repetitive composition. For once, misono gives a vocal performance worthy of being recorded. Instead of just bearing with her vocals I actually enjoyed them. The tonal imperfections made the song more personable, and it actually ended up working out well. misono’s voice works out well in ballads, though there were a few or more sour notes. I was glad they didn’t try to complicate the track with thick instrumentation. There are a few points where I wish misono had worked a bit harder to end the note right, but, again, I’m impressed overall with her execution. It’s a bit less whiny and more solid than usual. I hope misono leaves the rock vibe behind and moves maybe in a more pop-ish direction, focusing on a mainstream sound. I guess we’ll find out how she develops with her coming album.

Vocal Performance Grade: A- — Musical Performance Grade: A — Composition Grade: A-

Overall Grade: A-

SINGLE GRADE: B+