Album and Concert Review : Joe Inoue

Joe Inoue is probably most well-known for his song "Closer" from Naruto Shippuden. He writes and performs all vocals and instrumental parts for his music. He does live broadcasts every now and then on Facebook and YouTube. 

JOEpop #1

First off, I was surprised when I saw there was 16 tracks. I was expecting like ten, maybe twelve at most. This album is a variety of different genres which can appeal to anyone and everyone even if you can't understand the Japanese lyrics. "Loner Boner" was a bit awkward to hear at first, but it's now one of my favorites. My top favorite from this album has got to be "Krd". I saw Joe's video commentary about the meaning of the song and thought it was unique and beautiful how he wrote it. 

Pierrot's Rating : 5 of 5

Track Listing

Magic

Joemanian

KRD

Boys and Girls

The One

Straight Up (Killing Me)

Morning Light

Living Dead

Zawawa

Sandomeshi

Funk (Like It's a Sport)

Puck You

Parents

Loner Boner

Panic Attack

Rain

Buy JOEpop #1

Joe Inoue : Live at Izumicon 2017

First of all, I'd like to say seeing Joe Inoue perform live was a dream come true for me. Although I hoped to hear him perform songs from his new albums,  I thought his set list was pretty good and I knew a good amount of the songs he sang. The acoustic version of "Krd" was definitely a highlight of the night. There were some sound issues, but nothing tech couldn't fix in seconds. In between songs, he interacted with the audience. From most of the concerts I've seen in the past, not many people have done that.  He performed "Closer" as his finale and even went live on Facebook for his fans. It was a great way to end the show.

~Connect with Joe~

Twitter

YouTube

Facebook

Instagram

Double Album and Concert review : Kazha

Kazha is a 3-member band from Japan with Kazuha Oda on vocals and bass, Hideki Matsushige on guitar and Masaya Kondo on drums. The drummer who performed at Izumicon was their friend Tatsu, but he still gave an awesome performance. 

Overture

Kazha's first album is pretty cool. It's mixed with Japanese and English lyrics and Kazuha's voice is beautiful. My favorite song on this album is "Unmei ～運命～" because it makes me imagine a fantasy-like setting. Another favorite is "Red" because it sounds so intense at first, but then slows down before picking up again and was awesome to hear live. "Another Day" is a nice song, but doesn't appeal to my ears as much on the album as it did when they performed it.

Pierrot's Rating: 4.5 of 5

Track Listing:

Wake Up

Believe

Unmei ～運命～

I Still Remember

Red

Give it Away

Another Day

Close to you

Breathe Through Your Dreams

Silver White Sunshine

Buy Overture

Evolution

First of all, this is my favorite of the two albums. All tracks English, which is great for anyone introducing Kazha's music to friends who may not understand Japanese. It's hard to pick favorites because I love all the songs.  This gets a perfect score from me mostly because of that reason, but I also feel this album was mixed better than Overture was.

Pierrot's Rating: 5 of 5!

Track Listing:

Wake Up II (Wake Me Up)

You Became the Light

Breathe Again

Face Your Fears

Forever Yours

One Hundred Years

Frozen

Break into Pieces

Tomorrow

Blend & Fly

Buy Evolution

Kazha : Live at Izumicon 2017

It was pretty exciting when the band first came on stage and immediately went into a song. At some point in the first half of the performance, there was a little contest where someone in the audience was randomly chosen to get a special prize. I thought itwas pretty cool since I've never seen anyone do that at a concert before. They performed two covers of American songs, "Sweet Child of Mine" and "Don't Stop Believin'" which were pretty good. I really hope to see Kazha perform again. ^_^

~Connect with Kazha~

Official Website

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube