SID - Sentimental Macchiato

Aptly titled Sentimental Macchiato, SID’s fourth album will leave a sentimental mark in your heart with its wealth of emotion. Between the bouncy love songs and slow sweet ballads, the album holds your attention at every moment. With a promising debut at number six on the Oricon chart, Sentimental Macchiato meets fans’ high expectations – and more.

The album begins with Shougen, a song with two parts. The first is beautiful, soft and filled with longing while the second is unrepentantly loud, driven by a marching beat. The intricate blend of acoustic guitar picking really shows off Shinji’s skill and makes this song a great one to start off with.

Next is Natsukoi, previously released as a single and a cool song of summer love. Then the tone switches completely with Migite no Spoon to hatsukoi to Knife. Far from soft or lovely, it is accusatory, angry and fast, with Mao practically yelling the lyrics. About halfway through, the song slows down for a bitter sounding instrumental part, then cranks right back up and finishes at a breakneck pace. Migite no Spoon to hatsukoi to Knife is very out of place, particularly with the swing influenced Mitsuyubi following it, but after a moment the awkward transition is forgotten about.

The fifth track, Yuuwaku Collection, shows SID’s foray into Latin music. The song sounds like something straight out of a salsa dance club, and as such it is fun and easy to dance to! After it is and boyfriend, a bouncy pop song that could have been by a Johnny’s group, were it not for Mao’s unmistakable voice. And rounding out the pop section is orion, which sounds like the theme song for a TV drama or anime. It is sweet and catchy and will definitely stay in your head for hours after listening to it.

Then the mood shifts with Mascara, a slower song with a drifting, regretful feel. It flows like a story and comes to a rather abrupt end. There’s another awkward transition to smile, a fast paced pop song with plenty of brass accompaniment, but it’s all made up for with Dear Tokyo. This track is more rock: fast, loud and driven. With a resonating chorus and reminiscent of Re:Dreamer, the song should be amazing heard live. The last track is Namida no ondo, a heartwarming ballad that perfectly caps off the album.

With only ten tracks, the problem with Sentimental Macchiato is that it’s too short. Yet, despite wishing for more, the album will still leave you with a smile on your face.

The Limited Edition A comes with a DVD that contains the Sentimental TV SHOW, where the members of SID are placed in an “interview chamber” for fifteen very amusing minutes, and two collectible trading cards.