My Beginning
Soba ni Iru ne (そばにいるね; I’m by Your Side) feat. SoulJa
One Way
My dear friend
Last Letter
Rhythm (リズム)
Good Time Remix feat. Miku from Ya-Kyim
Higher
Paradise
This Day feat. Dohzi-T
Kono Mama de (このままで; Like This)
Anata ni Aete Yokatta (あなたに会えてよかった; It Was Nice Knowing You)
Mama e (ママへ; To Mom)
Diary
The album starts off with the intro My Beginning. Its Aoyama talking about this is her beginning and her diary, set to a rather simple piano arrangement. Yawn.
The first full length track on the album is the mid-tempo Soba ni Iru ne (そばにいるね; I’m by Your Side) feat. SoulJa. In a way I can see why this song was such a hit, but at the same time I really can’t. The arrangement is nice, I thought it was fitting, but towards the end of the song it really becomes quite the background noise. The vocals were good. I liked how Aoyama’s voice blended with Soulja’s, it was a nice duet and I had no problem with it. However, after a while the song becomes a bit redundant and almost tiring. Still, its a good song.
The next track on the album is the up-tempo One Way. I didn’t actually expect to enjoy this song. I recall hearing this only once before, but it didn’t leave much of an impression on me. The arrangement is a bit fresh, the clapping throughout is a nice touch and manages to keep the song interesting instead of distracting or becoming annoying. Aoyama’s vocals were pretty strong. The chorus is the definite high light. This is a good song.
The next track on the album is the underwhelming My dear friend. I’m certainly not surprised to be seeing a ‘friend’ song on here. Normally I love the customary ‘friend’ songs, but unfortunately this song falls flat in every conceivable way. The arrangement is fodder, its so bland and boring and Aoyama’s vocals sound awkward for some reason, like she couldn’t quite get it right. I mean the entire song gave off this awkwardness that was just weird to me.
The next track on the album is the down-tempo Last Letter. This is a pretty decent track though nothing memorable. The arrangement is typical for a song like this an Aoyama’s vocals are pretty good.
The next track on the album is the slight mid-tempo Rhythm (リズム). Its looks like we’re getting an unhealthy amount of just passable songs. This song isn’t interesting at all. It has a nice arrangement, that seemed a bit bland, but probably because I wasn’t listening to it with the volume high enough. Aoyama’s vocals are straight, but it seems like she’s just been playing it safe with her none single tracks.
The next track on the album is a remix. Good Time feat. Miku from Ya-Kyim is a song that I of course had to listen to twice before I decided that I did indeed like it. Aoyama informs us at the start of the song that its the ‘good time’ remix, because we hadn’t already figured that out. I found myself groaning before going into this song, because I just always wonder why artists even bother putting remixes on their albums. To my surprise this song doesn’t really play like a remix, but a regular song with a feat. artist (though that could be because I’ve never heard the original, is there an original?). Aoyama’s vocals are fine and made this song sound very light, carefree and fun. It did really give me the impression of a ‘good time’ and I just love songs that make me feel good. Also, when Miku’s rap came up I for a hot second thought it was Aoyama, but thank goodness I remembered that this is a collaboration song.
The next track on the album is the somewhat up-tempo Higher. Oh wow, I found that I really enjoyed this… that’s because the chorus makes this entire song. I can’t really recall the arrangement, but I do know it fit well with the whole flow of this track. Aoyama’s vocals were really strong in this song, mostly or well only during the chorus. The verses were ‘blah’ but the chorus certainly saved this song, that an the way the arrangement seems to pound into you.
The next track on the album is the light Paradise. I like how this song started out strong and eventually settled into a groove. The arrangement is up-beat and pretty typical but it went well with the flow of the song and kept the interest level high. Aoyama’s vocals were fitting for a song like this, but they seemed a bit serious for a song that is suppose to be casual and carefree. I didn’t really expect to like this song, but its a nice listen.
The next track on the album is the Christmas tune This Day feat. Dohzi-T. Well, this song certainly came out of nowhere. This album was released in March so it really just blows my mine on why she decided to take on a Christmas track. The arrangement is Christmas-y of course with the bells; its all very generic. Aoyama’s vocals were bad, I’m not sure why she chose to sing this song in such a high tone throughout, because it doesn’t sound like her at all and I kept wondering if it was actually her singing this song or someone else. Aoyama’s voice returns to normal towards the end when she’s ad-libbing, but the damage has been done. This is a not a very memorable song; its annoying. Plus, as a Christmas jingle its the worst.
The next track on the album is the down-tempo Kono Mama de (このままで; Like This). I’m a ballad whore, so more often than not I’ll like it, even if the song isn’t all that good. This track is fine, though a bit weak and in a sense uninteresting. I do however like the steady approach Aoyama took in concerns to it. The arrangement isn’t amazing and it certainly won’t bring you to tears, but its nice and does manage to convey that feeling of ‘love’ Aoyama was aiming for. Her vocals were nice (though they get a bit weak towards the end), but especially good during the chorus, when she let a bit of emotion shine through.
The next track on the album is the sleeper Anata ni Aete Yokatta (あなたに会えてよかった; It Was Nice Knowing You). This song seems to be boring for no reason, which is a shame because its a decent song. It also really doesn’t help that I’m already tired, so this song nearly lulled me to sleep. The arrangement is minimal, and I heard a snap clap beat, which seemed pointless. Aoyama’s vocals are nice, but she sounded different, her voice was much lighter and softer and made me think of Enka for some strange reason. The song clocks in at over five minutes, and its just so stagnant, that after a while I was wondering when it was going to end. Yawn.
The second to last track on the album is the touching Mama e (ママへ; To Mom). I was really moved by this song, songs like this just always get to me, because my mom is the absolute best and most consistent person in my life and there is no one I love more than I love her. The arrangement is a bit sorrowful and I think that was the intention, it really brings the mood down but in more of an inspirational instead of depressing way. The chorus is the absolute love… when she says: ‘mama’ it just makes my heart thump and I almost shed tears. Beautiful, beautiful song. The real moms of the world are so appreciated.
The last track on the album is the stale Diary. I actually expected this song to go a little down this route, but I was hoping that it wouldn’t. The arrangement sounded so similar to the previous track that I’m actually wondering if its the same only tweaked a bit. Aoyama’s vocals were fine, but this song is just so generic and cliche I found that I just didn’t care. Weak album closer.
-GRADE: B
Rating: ** stars
Aoyama Thelma’s first album Diary was a pretty decent debut, but at the same time it does nothing to separate itself and ends of up sounding like everything we’ve already heard, rnb wise. I’ve been thinking about doing Aoyama for a long time, but like with alan I’ve never found myself being particularly interested in her music. In fact the only song I had heard by her was Soba ni Iru ne and ONE WAY, but that was a while ago and when I listened to them and they didn’t leave much of an impression and I ended up forgetting all about them. The album doesn’t really stand out and though I liked most of the songs only three really stood out, the two a-sides from her first two singles which come one after the other and Mame e. Diary is an all right listen, but I really hope she brings us a more memorable album the next time.
守りたいもの (Mamoritai Mono; I Want To Protect This)
Daikkirai Demo Arigatou (大っきらい でもありがと; I Hate You… but Thanks