OverView: Stereopony Music, Vol. 11

Let’s have a running start on the slide. Here we go!

Last “OverView” was all about the first half of OVER THE BORDER, Stereopony’s second full album, released in the middle of 2010. We talked about the songs, their meanings, my impressions on how it was structured, and we reached the conclusion that this album represents Stereopony’s best work until that point in time. Now, we pick up the review at the exact point where we left off: right after “Mousou Jet”.

Tracklist

(…)
8. cherry my…
9. Hanbunko
10. Hoshikuzu Kantera
11. 100 Pararhythms
12. OVER DRIVE
13. Sakune
H1. ~acoustic song~

I know I’ve spoken about a rule that says I’d only write about songs that have not been written about before in other reviews. But given the circumstances, I think I’m about to break that rule a little bit. It’s just that it’s so curious to notice “cherry my…” as the eighth track on the album, especially when you remember this song as one of the B-sides in Hanbunko’s single, along with “Dreamin’”. Yes, I know I’ve expressed my feelings about “Dreamin’” before in saying how much I wished it should have been included in this second album instead of “cherry my…”. Though I admitted that, I just realized it is the first time they included a B-side in one of their albums, and that’s huge considering not even “Stereopony no Tabi wa Tsuzuku” made it. It’s no use wondering why they did that, but I will have to admit that “cherry my…” works well as an intro song for “Habunko”.

“Hoshikuzu Kantera” comes next in line, and this new addition to Stereopony’s repertoire had everyone dancing at their live shows. It was also one of Nohana’s favorite songs to perform at some point. Written by AIMI, “Hoshikuzu” brings joy and encouragement to its listeners, even though a tinge of sadness can be felt once you know the lyrics. The music is contagious and energetic, adding to AIMI’s vocals and apparent enthusiasm. “Hoshikuzu” is a great song for a live performance, because it really has the power to get you dancing as much as you can.

“100 Pararhythms” comes right after, and I must confess that I really thought this song was about our daily routines or something just as ordinary, based on the alarm clock ringing at the beginning of the song. I’m rather surprised to find out it is not! “100 Para” is in fact a love song, written by AIMI, in which she describes how much the persona likes a certain individual, and how much they crave their attention, etc. It is cute how AIMI got around to expressing such infatuation in nonchalant terms, especially if you take notice of the music composition. There is no drama involved, which makes “100 Para” a lovely song about crushes and how we usually spend most of our days thinking about them.

Lastly, but not really, comes “Sakune”, the album’s ballad. This song doesn’t really do much for me, so I don’t have much to tell about it. Written by SHIHO, it basically talks about the need to have confidence in oneself, coming from a really sad, and sometimes hurt, point of view. This track brings us a surprise, though: AIMI wrote and recorded an “acoustic song” dedicated to her fans and you can listen to it by the end of this track. It is short, but it is sweet. After all, the sentiment that counts.

In summary, OVER THE BORDER’s second half does not disappoint. There are some great hits making a comeback here, like “Hanbunko” and “OVER DRIVE”, and some new additions deserving of praise, like “Hoshikuzu Kantera”. Overall, I really enjoyed this album, even if I don’t agree with some of the choices they made.

About the author

wannasalad is a Very Good Days member from Brazil. She manages the Very Good Days’ Tumblr account along with Dereko, co-manages the Facebook and Twitter accounts and is involved in The Encyclopedia Project along with Destonus.