Expect a touch of old school on this second album.
After the release of her well-received debut album Tenmade todoke at the start of 2007, Nakamura Ataru delivered a follow up at the end of the same year. The enka vocal style made a return, and more old-fashioned pop songs feature this time around.
The album starts with a slow, enka-inspired ballad, a style which dominates this 11-track release. Heya no katasumi has a moody air and is performed in Ataru's low registered voice rather than with the modern rock/pop vocals she featured on her debut single Yogoreta shitagi. This continues into RINGO uri, her fifth single release and another rather depressing affair supplemented by the melancholy drones of an accordion. The type of song that would be played out gloomily in the corner of a bar full of lost souls, it suits Ataru's deep, emotive delivery. Like many a classic 80's ballad of sorrow, it builds to a grief-stricken climax. The accordion appears to be the instrument of choice on this album as it shows up once again in Mayonaka no CINDERELLA, a slightly perkier song written in the same vein as RINGO uri.
Her sixth single Tori no mure is quite flirty and mischievous in tone, in stark contrast to the other offerings. The ominous cawing of crows is overlaid over some melodramatic cymbal crashing and whining electric guitar in the first thirty seconds, after which the flourishes are dropped and it becomes a more jazzy piece. Ataru sings most of the song with more of a middling voice, but switches quite rapidly between vocal styles when hitting a higher register. As such, during the second half of the song where the volume is ramped up, the vocals unravel and she loses control of the tone. Even so, it is a fun and impressionable song with a fitting show tune ending.
Songs such as Atashi wo seserawaratte yo and Ame no ROMANCE offer a bit of light relief after all of the mourning over doomed love. Both are blues style jazz compositions; the former a calmer affair and the latter given a rock vibe. Watashi ga hoshii nara is an extremely cheerful track reminiscent of 70's era enka with a touch of The Beach Boys thrown in, complete with "bop duwop" backing vocals.
The quiet first minute of ROCK BAND deceives the listener into thinking that it's another simple ballad. However, it lives up to its name as a full ensemble of rock instruments roar into life. This is a welcome rowdy awakening, but it would have worked better as a rock song if it were sung in a way to suit it rather than in the classical style Ataru opted for. She chooses to sing in a more contemporary style in a similar track, Yarikirenai hibi, to better effect.
There are also some soft ballads of the less dramatic kind. AM reiji transitions from a quiet piano piece into a typical power ballad. The final track, Hadaka denkyuu is a soft, sentimental piece that was released as her sixth single. The enka/pop set up is obviously meant appeal to those who enjoyed her most popular song to date, Tomodachi no uta, but this is nowhere near as evocative or as original. The tinkling music box instrument used throughout is cheesy, and the overall arrangement is rather soppy.
When an artist releases a career-defining single and a popular debut album, everything that comes after has a whole lot to live up to. While this album has its moments, the majority of it isn't really anything remarkable, and the vocals are sketchy in places. There's no question that Ataru has great writing ability; it's just a pity that she doesn't display the best of it here.
