Heartsdales [Super Star] (Third Album)

Intro~the eclipse~
I See You
Shining
Super Star
We Love The Music
Rum Interlude/Hip Hop Barbie
Darlin’ Darlin’ feat. ZANE (three NATION)
Bailamos?
LOVE & JOY
Jewels Interlude/Gangsta CHIC
GET DRUNK feat. Mummy-D (RHYMESTER)
Sister Sister
Paradise feat. Kato Miliyah
Color of Love
fantasy

The album starts off with Intro~the eclipse~. Its a whole bunch of synth noise, that sounds pretty psychedelic. Brief, boring, forgettable.

The first full track on the album is I See You. This song is pretty bland, but I still like how cute and fun it is. The arrangement is typical for a song like this, a bit poppy as well. I made out Jewel, I really don’t know about Rum. They both carried this song though, Jewel moreso. The arrangement is the best part, but after a while it gets a bit stale and a tad bit annoying, because of how cutesy its sung. I didn’t like the whole twist to the ‘biggie biggie biggie can’t you see, sometimes your love just hypnotize me and i just love your flashy ways, this is why they broke and you’re so great’ i don’t know about that last line, but that’s what I think it says (too lazy to look up the lyrics). I mean it fit in with the whole flow of the song, but it just seemed so random at the same time. This is an all right start to the album.

The next track keeps the fun and cute coming with Shining. This song is a lot more interesting and engaging than the previous and also a bit more clear. The arrangement was pure poppy fun, not an ounce of rnb. It sounded a bit lively, though it makes me think of graffiti. I noticed a bit of disk-scratching as well (ah, a bit of hip-hop was thrown in though…). I really liked how they both seemed to really be into the song and having a good time, especially during the chorus, though Jewel’s distinct voice stood out the most. This song also plays longer than it should, I actually thought it would never end at one point.

The next track on the album is the kiddy bop Super Star. This song is really quite lame, I’m almost speechless. The arrangement sounds so juvenile and Kidz Bop that I want to puke. The vocals seem to clash with the arrangement because they sound so serious, yet if you listen to the words it all seems to fall into place, I mean ’super duper?’ come on.

The next track on the album is the lame We Love The Music. I was more than a little relieved when this song ended. I mean it had potential in the beginning and then fell off when the first verse started. The arrangement is pretty much the same I’ve been hearing with a bit of disc-scratching, I sat unimpressed with it. The verses are forgettable. The chorus stands out a bit, but it just sounds so corny that I couldn’t really be bothered with it, plus the line: ‘music, makes the people, come together, yeah!’ from Madonna’s MUSIC kept going through my head and I really loathe that song.

The next track on the album is Rum Interlude/Hip Hop Barbie. This was twenty-four seconds of my life I’ll never get back.

The next track on the album is the light Darlin’ Darlin’ feat. ZANE. This song makes me think of a more tamer version of CANDY POP, a lot more tamer version. I was surprised that I actually got into this track, since it seems so pop and nauseating, but they really pulled this off. ZANE (oh why did I think of Lil’ Zane? where is he anyways? the last time i heard or seen him was in the hardball video years ago…), was a pretty good addition to the song, he blended in well, shockingly: ‘i really wanna be your boyfriend’ cute!

The next track on the album is the mid-tempo Bailamos?. We go from a pretty good song to a not so good song. I wonder if its routine for female J artists to come out with at least one Spanish oriented song? I mean it isn’t a problem, but I do wish they’d stop being so cliche and be more true to it like Shimatani Hitomi. I mean this song is generic, cliche-ness from the vocal performances (chorus, really) right down to the arrangement. I’ll give it points for managing to be a little fun, but I don’t really care for it.

The next track on the album is the feel-good LOVE & JOY. Wow, this was a rather interesting song and they referenced a lot of good songs, the one standing out the most, well to me, being the: ‘what a mighty good man’ part from the old nineties jam of the same name with Salt ‘n Pepa feat. En Vogue. The arrangement was a whole bunch of catchy beeps, but it just worked so well, kept the song engaging and I enjoyed it. Jewel and Rum did there thang and really made this song quite a joy to listen too. This is quite possibly the stand-out track on the album.

The next track on the album is Jewels Interlude/Gangsta CHIC. This was a lot more interesting than Rum’s, but still a waste of a track.

The next track takes a break from the pop with GET DRUNK feat. Mummy-D (RHYMESTER). This is the first full-blown rnb and hip-hop track on the album and though that was somewhat of a welcome relief this song is ultimately forgettable. The arrangement is typical and uninteresting. I don’t recall hearing Rum, which was strange. I heard Jewel though and her: ‘i’m like m&m’s, melts in ya’ mouth not in ya’ hand’ (sigh). Mummy-D’s rapping voice did go with the whole flow of the song, but I barely paid attention to his parts. This song isn’t bad, the chorus is actually pretty engaging, but I don’t really care for it.

The next track on the album is the slightly mid-tempo Sister Sister. This song is a bit on the rnb side, but its strangely not all that interesting. I mean the arrangement does only what it should and though the verses were OK, I hardly cared for them. The chorus however is pretty good though.

The next track on the album is Paradise feat. Kato Miliyah. This song is pretty forgettable. The arrangement is a poppy mass of unmemorable-ness and the verses were pretty hit or miss, uninteresting as well. The chorus should have saved this song, but I don’t really like the flow of it. This track is rather annoying.

The second to last track on the album is the smooth Color of Love. I don’t think I too much paid attention to this song when I first listened to this album, because this song is kind a good. Its heavy on the rnb and I had no problem with that. The rapping was pretty sparse, but fitting. The chorus was the best part. This song doesn’t stand out, but its a nice listen.

The last track on the album is the rather lame fantasy. Ugh. This song wouldn’t have been so much fail if it hadn’t of been executed in such a corny way. They sample in or reference the Naughty By Nature hit, O.P.P. so I was unfortunately bombarded with: ‘you down with fantasy? yeah you know me!’ … it was just painful. This is such a weak ending to the album, seriously.

-GRADE: C
Rating: * star

Heartsdale’s third album Super Star is even more underwhelming of a listen than Sugar Shine. The dominant sound on this album is pop and that’s not a problem, but a lot of the songs are pretty generic with only the catchy chorus’ standing out. A couple of rnb and hip-hop tracks bled through, but in all truth, I’d listen to ‘i see you’ over ‘color of love’ any day. Super Star has a few good tracks though, but nothing that really stands out or is too memorable. I’m starting not to care much about their retirement as a duo, because their albums aren’t really all that impressive, here’s to hoping the last one sent them out with a bang.

Heartsdales [Sugar Shine] (Second Album)

BODY ROCK
CANDY POP feat. SOUL’d OUT
Baby Boy
Oh Girl feat. Yamamoto Ryohei
Rum Interlude/Voice Mail
Summer Time Blues
Thru With You
Right Now
Rainy Days
Should Have What!? feat. DOUBLE
Jewels Interlude/Radio Freestyle
Block Shot Hustlaz feat. Furinkazan
So Tell Me (DJ fumiya REMIX)
Ooh Wah!
What’s My Name?
Baby Shine feat. AI (Deckstream Remix)
Wet’N Wild feat. SUITE CHIC
Woman (Sugar Shine version) (Nakanishi Keizo feat. Heartsdales)

The album starts of with the track BODY ROCK. I didn’t think I was going to like this song, but its pretty OK. The arrangement is typical, has a bit going for it and is fitting. I thought the verses from both JEWEL and Rum were forgettable, but the chorus as well as the hook made up for that. This is a pretty nice and laid-back start to the album.

The next track on the album is the pop-friendly CANDY POP feat. SOUL’d OUT. This is my second favorite song by the Heartsdales and the second song I heard by them. I love this song, its just so much fun. The arrangement is just so pop, and its really a breath of fresh air, because this song wouldn’t have worked to the tune of any other beat. It engages you and keeps you interested in the song, and it stays consistent, light and carefree. I thought the verses were really good in this song, especially JEWEL’s who is the stronger of the two. This is one of the best collaborations I have ever heard, and I love how they feed off each other, its just makes this song so catchy and just a lot of fun. ‘I want to touch it!’ Oh, this song is just so enjoyable, and it so feel-good. I love it.

The next track on the album is the fun Baby Boy. I really enjoyed this song, even if it is a song I wouldn’t much enjoy. The beat was rnb and catchy, though it retains a pop flavor. It seemed like both JEWEL’s and Rum were having a good time with this song, and the chorus was definitely the highlight.

The next track on the album is the surprising Oh Girl. This is a collaboration feat. Yamamoto Ryohei. This song really surprised me. I mean I liked how party-esque and up-beat the arrangement was without going all out. The verses were good as well, especially Ryohei’s parts, in which he sung in some sort of whisper like way, I’m not sure if it was intentional but it worked. He sounded good, and brought a lot of personality to this track.

The next track is the Rum intermission Rum Interlude/Voice Mail. It consists of a few voice mails tacked together to a funky beat.

The next track is the stagnant Summer Time Blues. This song is really stale to me. The arrangement doesn’t really give me the feel of summertime so much as a bunch of kids banging on pots. I mean it feels like they’re at some kids slip and slide party, because it was so lukewarm and uninteresting. The verses were pretty forgettable, I didn’t really care for them. This song can be fun in its own lame way, but its pretty forgettable to me.

The next track on the album is the mid-tempo Thru With You. Oh, I love this song: ‘I give all my love to you, but there’s always girls around you, if you’re playing games on me, I am thru with you!’ The chorus is what really sold me to this song, and is the reason why I adore this song so. The arrangement is not overly rhythmic, but it has enough going for it to get you moving somewhat. I loved the verses, they went perfectly with this song. This is one of their best, definitely.

The next track on the album is the so-so Right Now. I mean so-so in a this had the potential to be a good song but it came off as very stale and boring. The arrangement was mind-numbing, and you just had no choice but to listen to it, it was really annoying. Their verses are pretty forgettable and the chorus was stagnant. Normally Heartsdale’s chorus’ are fun and can actually breath life into an otherwise mediocre song… not in this case.

The next track is the army-esque Rainy Days. This song sounds like something out of the army, or a marching song or something, because the arrangement consists of whistling and clapping, and it just makes me picture myself doing push-ups in the rain, with the army commander standing over me yelling. I thought the verses were good, very aggressive and really went well with the strange yet creative arrangement of the song.

The next track on the album is the mid-tempo Should Have What!?. Its a collaboration that feat. one of my blogs feat. artists double. This song was made good by double’s really good vocal performance during the chorus, I really loved how she sung it. I don’t think this song would have been dull without her, because their chorus’ are always good, but she really fit with this track.

The next track on the album is an intermission from JEWEL’s. Jewels Interlude/Radio Freestyle. It was a lot more interesting than Rum’s that’s for sure, she even free styled: ‘I be the butter on your pancakes, juicy jam, cream filling, sweet as fly honey.’ Lolz.

The next track on the album is the super lame Block Shot Hustlaz. It feat. some guy named Furinkazan. This song was already bad from the pointless techno-computerized beat, to the underwhelming verses from both JEWEL’s and Rum, or was it just JEWEL’s? Though this song is brought down even further by Furinkazen’s tedious verses. This song is just fail in every sense of the word. I never want to hear it again.

The next track on the album is a remix of So Tell Me a DJ fumiya REMIX. I was really irritated when I saw that this song was remixed, because its my favorite Heartsdale song, and I hate remixes, they nine times out ten butcher the original. After listening to this, I still don’t like it, but it could be worse.

The next track on the album is the mid-tempo Ooh Wah!. I say mid-tempo because it never quite gets fast enough. The arrangement is interesting because it has an distinct Spanish flare about it that makes it very rhythmic, so this is definitely a song you could dance and party too. I thought the verses from both JEWEL and Rum were good, even if I can’t recall anything pass the shouting of, ‘wow!’ in the chorus. I think its strange that I can’t really pinpoint their voices, especially considering that JEWEL’s voice is a lot deeper than Rum’s. Anyways, I did enjoy this song, or well, the chorus.

The next track on the album is the casual What’s My Name?. This song came across as very brief to me. Anyways, I thought this was a pretty interesting song. The arrangement isn’t anything to write home about, it plays just to give the song something to stand on, but its fitting. The verses went well with the flow of the song as well, though once again I only latched on to JEWEL’s voice. I like how laid back the, ‘what’s my name?’ in the chorus was said. Its almost laugh-worthy really, just thinking of someone asking somebody else that with no expression and no emotion.

The next track on the album is another better suited for a single release than an album’s, Baby Shine feat. AI (Deckstream Remix). I don’t know if I prefer this more than the So Tell Me remix, but maybe not since this remix really annoyed me.

The next track on the album is Wet’N Wild feat. SUITE CHIC. SUITE CHIC was a Namie Amuro creation, but I don’t recall hearing her. Anyways, I like this song, it carries that edge and sexiness that was so missing from this album, since they went more pop and rnb than rnb and hip-hop. This song also sounds like something Koda Kumi would have done back in her Secret days.

The last track on the album is the pro-women’s lull Woman (Sugar Shine version) (Nakanishi Keizo feat. Heartsdales). I really dislike JEWEL’s English, its clear, but very awkward. I thought this was a nice little down-tempo song, even if its pretty boring and forgettable. I thought Nakanishi Keizo was an all right person to collaborate with, but in truth Bennie K. really did the collabs like this justice with their song LOST PARADISE feat. TSUYOSHI. This was an all right, but weak ending to the album.

-GRADE: B-
Rating: *1/2 stars

Heartsdales second album Sugar Shine was about ten steps down from their debut. I had a hard time reviewing this album, because I may love rnb, but I am not a fan of rap and I have a hard time putting their songs into words, which is why I focus mostly on the chorus’ which are sung, and how well their vocals went with said chorus’ and the arrangement of the songs. I thought this album was entirely too long. It really was. I mean I always say I wish Asian albums were longer, but in all truth I’m kind of glad they aren’t, because then they just drag on pointlessly and drag the quality of the album down with them. The main problems I had with this album was that there were way too many filler tracks on here, it was almost ridiculous. There was no theme for this album, it was just ‘lets pile a whole bunch of songs on this album and release it!’ I mean what was the point of remixing So Tell Me and Baby Shine and then tacking them on the album, when they would have played better on a single? I thought their collabs with the exception of Furinkazan were good, though all of them except the one with SOUL’d OUT played like filler, and really had no purpose on this album outside of taking up space and lengthening the album unnecessarily. They do have a few good tracks on here: CANDY POP and Thru With You standing out the most, and actually being the most memorable tracks. Sugar Shine was more or less a flop, they could have done so much better than this–instead it all just came across as very lazy and tacky.

Heartsdales [Radioactive] (First Album)

Lights Out (Intro)
WILD
So Tell Me
Ow!
The Questions Remains (Interlude)
That’s Why
Girls Don’t Cry
Baby Shine
Dangerous (Interlude)
Radioactive
Helpless Game
E.S.P.
All Mine
FLY!

The album starts off with the intro track, Lights Out (Intro). It has some sort of repetitive beat playing, and then the sisters start saying ‘radioactive’ in a sort of stage whisper and then Jewel says, ‘let’s do it!’, pretty lame.

The first full track on the album is the up-tempo, WILD. It’s a really fun song and the beat, that is rather simple, but pounds in the background is very fitting and works to keep your attention. Jewel is the better rapper in the duo to me, but Rum delivers as well. I don’t normally go for J-rap, or any kind of Asian rap for that matter, but they are really good. I love Jewel’s rap in the first verse. The chorus is really fun, but it’s the type of chorus that loses it’s appeal fast; still it’s a good track.

The next track is actually my favorite Heartsdales song and the first one I heard by the group. So Tell Me, was their first single, and it really delivers. The arrangement of the song is really effective, and the vocal performances, especially from Jewel are very good. I always love singing along to this song, since the chorus is very catchy. So Tell Me unfortunately gets old fast, but it’s still a classic.

The next track is the sort of down and mid-tempo, Ow!. I’m not sure how I feel about this song, but I’m leaning more towards a passable track. I mean for a song that I initially thought would go faster, it goes by rather slowly and ends rather abruptly. In truth I like the chorus, it’s pretty interesting, but I think that’s all I like. The verses don’t stick with you and in some cases becomes nearly unintelligible.

This is a rather odd interlude. I believe the next track, The Question Remains (Interlude) samples a Shirley Temple movie????

The next track is the mid-tempo, That’s Why. I think the reason why I like this song, is because in a sense it’s really so in your face. I love the sparkly arrangement, well not sparkly, but it has that atmosphere and it really works. I could barely make out the verses, but I think that was because this song shines clearly in it’s chorus, like mostly all of the Heartsdales songs do. It keeps you interested, long after you would have become bored.

Next is the mid-tempo track, Girls Don’t Cry. This is actually a pretty interesting song, despite it going clear over your head. The verses are forgettable, but like all Heartsdales songs, the chorus shines. It’s not an incredibly engaging or even catchy chorus, but it does it’s part and keeps you interested in an otherwise boring and forgettable song.

The next track picks up the pace a little with, Baby Shine. This is a rather forgettable song; it’s quite annoying, the verses are forgettable and the chorus is almost grating. There are too many things going on in the background, that makes the song nearly impossible. I don’t know it has an appeal to it, but when you think about it the song is just not that good, and after awhile you’re wondering when it’s going to end.

This album is just full of pointless interludes. The second interlude track, Dangerous (Interlude) just plays as filler, very bad filler.

The next track is basically an intro-song, Radioactive. It’s the title track, and it’s incredibly corny. It has this futuristic like beat to it, and throughout you hear these annoying beeping noises. I suppose that there were some verses in this, but all I heard was ‘radioactive’; it’s filler, pure filler fodder.

We pick up the pace a bit with the next track, Helpless Game. It’s a play off of Mika Nakashima’s Helpless Rain song, which it samples. I liked how Mika sung the chorus, but at the same time it seemed misplaced. The verses I thought were nice, in how they were slow-paced, but in truth, though a good song, this cannot compare with Mika’s far superior version.

The next track is the oddly quirky and titled, E.S.P.. In the chorus I’m wondering if they’re supposed to be saying, e.s.p as opposed to the s.p.i that I heard. This track is, I don’t know, it has it’s good moments and it’s bad moments. Good being it’s somewhat fast-paced, as there are a lot of things going on arrangement wise and vocal wise, so it keeps your attention to an extent, plus it’s not a bad song. The bad being that it’s just all over the place, you have the Heartsdales rapping, and then this man who sounds like he has emphysema starts rapping, and the arrangement seems very haphazard and jarring, and you never really know what they’re saying or what’s going on really. All in all those glaring flaws, really bring this song down.

The second to last track is the somewhat mid-tempo, All Mine. This track has a very serious feel to it, that I really enjoy. I thought the arrangement was hard-hitting, the verses were fitting and it was an all around all right track. I love the ‘this world is mine’ part in the chorus.

The last track on the album is the surprisingly interesting, FLY!. I guess I didn’t like this song when I heard it last, or it was that I never paid attention to it, but it’s quite a fun song, and not as bad as I originally thought it was. It’s rather quirky, and has a nice camaraderie feeling about it, that I like.

-GRADE: B+/B
Rating: ** stars

In truth I had a hard time reviewing this album, because I don’t get into rap, and found it hard to rate them vocal wise. Radioactive is the Heartsdales debut album, and the one that I always rate as my favorite among them. I even went as far as to get upset over a review I read, where the blogger completely dissed the album, I thought she was being just a bit too critical towards it. As it is though, I have to look at the album from a professional critics point of view, and not as a fan. Radioactive is not a bad album, and still in my opinion is their best album to date, but at the same time, it’s not as great as I originally thought it was. A lot of the songs are pretty average, with very basic beats, and none of the songs are particularly ground-breaking and they offer nothing besides two sisters who have very good rapping skills for female J-Urban artists. I thought the intro as well as the two interludes were utterly pointless, and pure filler material, as well as the two minute Radioactive which had potential but failed because it didn’t have enough going for it, and was much too childish to take seriously. Of course they have some pretty nice and memorable songs on here, such as: WILD, So Tell Me, Ow!, That’s Why, Girls Don’t Cry and Helpless Game; for any Heartsdales fan this is a must-buy, because it really showcases how skilled they are in rapping, and how unique they were as a duo especially considering that their chorus’ are always so good. As a casual fan, I would still suggest that you pick this up, but I doubt you’ll enjoy it much.