AKB48
RIVER
(King Records)
Available on CD/DVD, CD, and on iTunes Japan
Rating:

I’ve been enjoying AKB48’s singles output in the wake of “Oogoe Diamond”, with that song and this past summer’s “Namida Surprise” being personal highlights. Their new single may have broken that streak somewhat.

“RIVER” starts off in an unusual way for a J-pop single. Unison chants from group are accompanied by the sound of stomp dancing. This introduction is different, but at over 40 seconds, it is also a tad overlong. Had this tack been done by an American pop group, the length introduction would have been excuse enough for listeners to reach for the radio dial and change the station – not a good idea when you’re trying to attract new listeners. When the song proper comes in, we do get a good AKB48 song. The problem is, it’s only good enough for an album track – and not as an opener, but more like at the halfway point of an album (where Side Two would traditionally start on a vinyl record) – it doesn’t seem to work as A-side material.

“Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara” (credited to the “Undergirls”, although not the same line-up as on “Tobenai Agehachou” – there’s no Meetan to be found), on the other hand, is more worthy of being the single’s A-side, with the verses recalling the band’s DefSTAR-era material and the choruses being in a similar vein to the band’s more recent singles. Had this song been the A-side, it would have made for a stronger single.

“Hikoukigumo”, credited to the “Theater Girls”, was originally a stage song from Team A’s 5^th Stage that was recorded with an entirely different lineup. While the intent behind having three different lineups on the single – highlighting members that haven’t gotten much exposure on past single releases – is worthy, the fact that producer/lyricist Yasushi Akimoto is recycling material for B-sides (“Shonichi”  from one of Team B’s stages was one of the “Namida Surprise” B-sides) should be some cause for concern. Could this be why we haven’t seen an actual studio album (that wasn’t a soundtrack to one of their stage shows) from the group yet?

For what is probably going to be (if past discographical history is any indication) the last AKB48 single of the year, this three-song disc is unfortunately their weakest of their releases since they switched labels from DefSTAR to King. Hopefully, AKB48 and their creative team can use the next couple of months to recharge and get some stronger material out on the market.

3½ out of 5 stars. (Ouch – looks like AKB just found something in common with Kiss besides being on my iPod.)

This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 7:37 pm and is filed under AKB48, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.