Sakura Fujiwara(藤原さくら) - PLAY Album Thoughts(J-acoustic/Jazz/Rock)

   

      Tracklist

1. My Way
2. Someday
3. 春の歌
4. play with me
5. 赤
6. 好きよ 好きよ 好きよ
7. sakura
8. Necklace
9. Soup
10. play sick
11. SPECIAL DAY
12. はんぶんこ

   

  Not sure if you remember, but I talked about Fuijiwara Sakura in the post about the 2016's drama called Love Song. This was Sakura's acting debut and rise in fame. She had been performing in the underground indie scene for years. Then she was picked out of thousands of girls to play the lead role in Love Song with mega superstar, singer, songwriter, and actor; Masaharu Fukuyama. The basis for him being casted in itself was enough to make this drama a huge success in Japan. Fukuyama also wrote both songs that Sakura performs on the show. With a hit single and hit drama already under her belt, Sakura released her brand new album: Play, a few weeks ago. 

  Play is Fuijiwara's debut as a mainstream artist. I did get the chance to listen to some of her indies albums because I've heard good things about her music before Love Song. The music on these albums actually surprised me considering how good it was. Her talent for creating her own kind of style speaks wonders in the album Full Bloom. Kawaii, the lend single from the album Good Morning is still currently my favorite track by the songstress to date. She even attempts to sing her music in English but I honestly don't care for these songs too much. With all that I have witness about Fuijiwara's music, I was ready to hear her second mainstream effort. Play sounds like the mainstream version of her other albums. A record producer must have been in the shadows overseeing every move that she made and it shows in the album's track selection. Fuijiwara doesn't "play" around with her old habits. In fact she keeps them buried down in this overproduced album. When I say its overproduced, its not an insult. More like this album would have stood on its own without the hiring of all the musicians to play with her. Someday is the album's lead single that has an organ and accordions playing in the instrument for a light cheerful sound. Necklace is an introduction into Fuijiwara's creativity to stand out from the rest of the many many cute female Japanese girls that sing and play guitar. Believe me when I tell you that there are tons of them on Japanese city streets who sings just as good, maybe better than Fuijiwara. She breaks away from these girls crowd by fusing alternative rock with Jazz to create a youthful sound full of adolescence. Necklace is done mostly in English though it can be hard to make out the lyrics at times. I'm not the English police but I really don't like listening to her sing in English normally. Necklace is one of the most catchest and upbeat song on the album if you exclude Someday and Soup. Her slower songs are all interesting enough as well. I really love the chorus of  春の歌 a lot. Her voice along with the background singers sounded so soothing together. Soup and 好きよ 好きよ 好きよ were used in Love song so most people know of these songs. They both have a country music vide to them that isn't well known in Japan. I believe I literally heard cowbells being used in Soup and the way that the cello was being played in 好きよ 好きよ 好きよ put me in mind of a farmland. I'm not repulsed by country music like some other people and the songs have enough pop elements to sit on the borderline of both genres.(Yes, she tried to pull a Taylor Swift...) Sakura was another track that fits into the slow moving feel of acoustic songs that consume most of the album. Fuijiwara really seems to go off into a mellow place after awhile based on the closing numbers on Play. Ninety-nine percent of her lyrics talk about love being the start to a happy ending and most Japanese people like hearing songs like these in an emotional driven form like acoustic guitar performance. If not that then an upbeat song that will make them feel good. Play is an album that has both options. 

  At first, I thought that Fuijiwara Sakura had problems singing. Her tone has this quality like someone is trying to choke her when she hits her high range. Its not that she sounds bad however, it does sound like she's grasping for air. I'm now more used to how her voice sounds so it doesn't bother me. The deep range that she has reminds me of Utada Hikaru in terms of not fitting that stereotypical cute Japanese female voice that Japanese is also known for. She's a decent singer overall. 


  Play wasn't too bad of an album for a girl that's just starting to come into her own as an entertainer in Japan. The album sold pretty well too, getting the number five spot on the Oricon charts. I would love to hear what she has in store for her fans in the future. I do wish she would stop singing in English though…. No shade.[COVERS EYES WITH HANDS]