The Groove Music Life

MORNING MUSUME
“Nanchatte Renai”
(Zetima)
Available on CD, CD/DVD, and through iTunes and JapanFiles.com
Rating:

Let’s get a few things straight. I can’t ever badmouth a Morning Musume single or album. I’d be lying to everyone that reads this blog, and I’ll leave the lying to Fox News. I’ll nitpick MoMusu’s efforts when need be, yes, and I’ll praise them to the heavens when the record deserves it, most definitely, but I’m not one of those “fans” that starts going all OMGWTFBBQ1111!!!!eleventyleven online just because a new Morning Musume record doesn’t sound like something from the so-called “Golden Era” (the occurence of which seems to vary with some really picky fans and tends to lead to really spirited debates).

Now, I like the mature, serious direction that Morning Musume has taken with their last three A-sides (this single included). Like “Naichau Kamo” and “Shouganai Yume Oibito”, “Nanchatte Renai” is an uptempo song whose tone leans minor-key – only more so than the previous two singles. Takitty, Koharu, and Reina are all in fine voice – Koharu surprised the hell out of me especially with her parts on the record. The song seems to turn from minor to major key during the final chorus and coda – nice little composing/arranging trick. This one will take a couple of listens to get into, but it’s worth it – the band’s vocals are spot-on and Tsunku’s songwriting skills are still as sharp as ever. (I still don’t like the hats in the PV, but that was at least one post ago, and I’m writing about the actual music right now.)

“Aki Uhara”, the “main” B-side, whips out the serious disco. Gritty rhythm guitar and a non-clichéd dance rhythm (lots of great interplay between the piano, strings, and analog synth here) back up some great MoMusu harmonies; it’s a surefire winner as far as MoMusu B-sides go. “Subete wa Ai no Chikara”, the alternate B-side on the 40th Single Anniversary Edition, mines a Prince-esque 80’s electro-pop direction for its arrangement – something I don’t think the band has explored before, making this a nice surprise for the ears. (The digital version from JapanFiles contains both B-sides.)

If there’s a problem with the single, it’s probably because, for that is the band’s 40th single release, some fans may have been expecting something other than this. While issuing 40 singles is a hell of a milestone (this will no doubt go top 5, at the very least, on Oricon’s daily and weekly charts), I do admit that maybe a more upbeat A-side would have been more fitting. But it should also be noted that the band had just gotten back from their American performing debut – an even bigger milestone in the band’s career. An upbeat A-side along the lines of “Koko Ni Irusee!” and “Mikan” can’t hurt for single #41, though, but still, come on – with three songs to choose from on this single this time around, certainly at least one of the songs has to hit you over the head right away while the others mature like fine wine. Just get it.

5 out of 5. Here’s to 40 more singles.