Over the past couple of years, Morning Musume has been expanding to different markets, and the changes are all too apparent in their long-awaited new release.
Gone are the days of the super cute sugar-laiden pop songs Morning Musume would churn out. This time around, they have even more depth than before. Rather, as much depth as a money powerhouse pop machine can get. The group is known mostly for their catchy pop songs, and all female cast. However, this time around they’ve taken some time to diversify.
Personally, I have a soft spot for those catchy pop songs. I was a little disappointed when the album had a more mature sound, and less of the Morning Musume I grew up with. This time around, I found myself hearing more ballads and even a rock tune here and there.
This album was fairly diverse. From the awesome singles like Resonant Blue and Mikan, to hints of eurobeat with Naichokaumo. Then there’s the ballads like Jounetsu no kiss wo hitotsu that are fairly solid for a ballad in a language I don’t even understand. On the rock side we have Kanashimi Twilight, which blew me away. The song is actually a spirited pop rock endeavor that doesn’t make you feel awkward.
Like with most Morning Musume albums, I will probably finding myself picking and choosing songs to play. I generally enjoy to listen to an album to its completion. I won’t hold that aspect against Platinum 9 Disc; furthermore, I feel that the whole album has some incredibly solid songs — they just don’t really sit well on the same bench.
Morning Musume’s new album, Platinum 9 Disc gets an A-. It might not be that album you’ll want to sit through from beginning to end, but instead view as an excellent collection of thirteen beautifully crafted pop songs.
You can pick up this album at JapanFiles for a mere $10. Also, if you’re near Los Angeles on 4th of July weekend, you can see Morning Musume perform at Anime Expo.
