Kanon Wakeshima - Suna no oshiro

Many will have wondered if Kanon Wakeshima's second release would be able to live up to the high standard of her debut, still doll. With newcomers, nothing can be taken for granted. With Mana (Moi dix Mois, ex-Malice Mizer) once again composing, programming and arranging and Kanon contributing the lyrics, what can they offer us this time?

The title track, Suna no oshiro (sand castle), is the ending theme for the second season of "Vampire Knight Guilty" and, like still doll, is designed to mirror the anime's mysterious atmosphere. Galloping cello chords and electronic rhythm are swathed in heavy synthesizer, with a pipe organ lending extra emphasis to the chorus. But if in still doll Kanon's voice sounded innocent, even fragile, here it has the same intensity as in Kuroi torikago, and her dreamy whispers soon turn into passionate singing. A brief, but stirring, cello solo halfway through underlines the song's dramatic mood, which ends with the sound of waves washing the sand castle into the sea.

skip turn step♪ is a light-hearted, cheerful pop tune that stands in stark contrast to Kanon's previous repertoire. You can almost see her dancing through the rain as she sings! Her clear, sweet vocals are accompanied by two violins, with piano, percussion and a glockenspiel adding playful accents here and there. Malice Mizer fans will feel a twinge of nostalgia, as skip turn step♪ sounds a bit like Ma Cherie or Premier Amour, yet it is still fresh and contemporary. At just under four and a half minutes, it is also her longest song yet.

The limited edition of the single contains instrumental tracks of both Suna no oshiro and skip turn step♪, so you can pick out every little detail of the composition, including Kanon's cello solo.

Finally, Suna no oshiro ends like the debut single: with a music box version of the title track complete with windup sounds, reprising its mysterious mood.

The extras are lavish this time: apart from the two instrumentals, the CD includes not one, but two stickers: one with a "Vampire Knight" motif and the other showing one of Kanon's own drawings, which reveals considerable talent. The limited edition also contains a feature called ConnecteD, which allows you to watch a video of Kanon's performance at the Individual Fashion EXPO IV...at least in theory. In practice, after inserting the CD and clicking on the ConnecteD button on Kanon's website, you have to follow the instructions, which - unfortunately - are only available in Japanese. Even after downloading the newest version of Shockwave and the ConnecteD plug-in, getting the video to play is difficult and the picture quality is poor. The first is understandable, given that this is a Japan-only release, but the latter is annoying. Hopefully, the next release's extra will just be a regular DVD.

Suna no oshiro is definitely a worthy successor to still doll. Once again, Kanon and Mana combine to form a great team with two original and stylistically diverse songs that highlight its versatility and creativity. This certainly bodes well for the upcoming album!