AAA - ~Otoko dake dato... Kou Narimashita!~

In a somewhat unusual move for seven-person strong pop band AAA, four new songs were made available for a limited period at the end of November and featured just the five male members of the group. The songs were only available as a digital package through the iTunes store, mu-mo.net and via cellphone, either individually or as a package. The release of the four new songs, collectively known as ~Otoko dake dato... Kou narimashita!~ ("Just the boys... Goes something like this!"), coincided nicely with the boys-only concerts.

While it's not unusual for AAA to release songs with only same-sex members, the new tracks - Crash, Hasta la Vista, Akireru kurai wagamama na jiyuu and BET - are a little different, and definitely a nice change from the recent AAA releases. The songs are a little more mature, grittier than the previous all-boys track, Soul Edge Boy, while retaining the same distinct Eurobeat-pop flavor of AAA.

Crash is an exceptionally enjoyable track that delivers something a little different to long-time fans of AAA with a coherent blend of synth-rock. It's instantly appealing, and a little heavier than the usual fare from the upbeat pop group - though fans of their lighter music will still be able to recognize the usual spirit underlying the track. Taking into consideration that these songs were undoubtedly written with live performances in mind, it's easy to visualize Crash as part of a live set; the strong chorus is stirring, while the vocals still carry through nicely.

Hasta la Vista again presents us with something other than the standard fare. Starting out with a deceptively high-brow string introduction, it develops quite quickly into an addictive rhythm-heavy track. It's energetic and catchy, though after a while becomes a bit monotonous. While it's enjoyable, it perhaps doesn't have the staying-power of a song like Crash.

The single slow-paced track of the package, Akireru kurai wagamama na jiyuu, is a little slow at first, but can easily grow on you. Main male vocalists Naoya Urata and Takahiro Nishijima have both lent their voices to ballads before and, once again, their vocals shine through. While the track is a fairly standard ballad, it is enjoyable though it may feel as though you've heard it all before.

The final song in the package is perhaps the least accessible of the four, being more of a strong rap song rather than a track carrying a real melody. BET focuses more on vocals than the music, which is there almost just to provide the backdrop. It's nice to have a chance to hear vocals from the other three boys and, like it or loathe it, if you keep listening to it the track will probably grow on you.

All in all, ~Otoko dake dato... Kou narimashita!~ makes a nice break from the group's previous releases, and it's been a while since we've heard an all-boys single from the five. The more mature and varied tracks are definitely appealing, enough so to make it a shame that the package was never released as a full single.