Album Review: Deadstock- SID

Hello, and welcome to my next album review! Yes, it’s another review of my favourite band SID, but I just had to share this with y’all!

I believe in reviewing and sharing stuff most people likely wouldn’t find otherwise. Actually, it’ll pretty much be all Japanese rock and I’d like to up its popularity. Alright, here we go, with Deadstock.

 

Deadstock was released in February 2011. The songs on it range from 2009, when the first single on it was released, to 2011. Deadstock has a lot of SID’s most famous and successful songs, and fared very well on the album charts, reaching #2 (SID’s unlucky number. They’ve never gotten a #1, but are always stuck at #2.)

No LDK

First track off the album. It’s a pretty good song. It starts off with really little beat, with Mao keeping his vocals soft and carrying it through… until it reaches the chorus. And then it just bursts out with this wonderful, catchy tune and Mao shakes his voice in his wonderful way. The whole song is really catchy, even though it’s not really loud and bouncy. 

Shelter

Alright, when I first heard this song, I really liked it, as it was not usual SID-fare, and had this strange, out-of-world guitar work to it. It slowly faded away though. It’s only 2:45 minutes, and that’s a good thing, as it couldn’t satisfactorily be any longer.

Cosmetic

One of the singles SID released prior to the album release. It’s a very addictive song that is jazzy without going over the top like MOM, which I mentioned in my M&W review. This song is one of SID’s #2s, and it’s not hard to hear why. It has definite playback quality.

Ii Hito

(Title means ‘One Person’, or so says Google Translate. I personally thought ‘Ii’ meant ‘good’, but I guess that’s another meaning.) As far as I know, this song was the most popular among the English SID fans (Googling SID Deadstock has ‘Deadstock track #4 download’ come up). This is a really sweet-sounding song, one with a chorus that you might sway along to. There’s also lots of acoustic guitar, and the bass is easy to hear. Mao’s voice is sweet, but strong where he needs to be. Just something you’d like to sing along to. Good song, but can be boring if you’re not into it.

Wife

A song very similar to Shelter in some ways, but different also. This song just… sounds better. A little themed, you might say, like many of the songs on M&W. Like Shelter it’s very short, and it seems to go by in no time.

Rain

One of the singles off Deadstock, and it’s freaking awesome. Oh, sorry, let’s rein it in. Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Rock, but has that melancholy edge to it that you’d expect of SID. Really, it’s the quintessential SID song. Mao’s voice is wonderfully powerful in it, though he can really make it soft and saddened when need be. Really, it’s a song worth listening to over and over. No wonder it reached #2 on the charts.

Dog Run

What a change in tone. From the sad rock of Rain, to the upbeat jazz of Dog Run. I didn’t quite like this song when I first heard it, but it can be quite addictive and catchy. Mao’s blog advertises the ‘catchy chorus’ for a ringtone, but I personally like the parts better. From the few words I understand, the song seems to have sad lyrics, but you really can’t tell from the tune.

One Way

Another of the five singles off the album, and my least favourite to be honest. It’s upbeat rock, and to me it sounds really forgettable and generic. Mao does some good things with his voice, but this song really isn’t up to par with the other singles in my opinion. It reached #3 on the Oricon charts, though.

Nigatsu

My sister says this sounds like an English song. I can kind of see her point. It’s not really what I’d label SID with, but it doesn’t make this a bad song. It’s just… rather plain. Although when I listen to this song, I can imagine the band playing on a rooftop, and Mao in a crisp pink shirt and skinny jeans. I don’t know why.

Oh, wait, it appears to be some sort of take on this picture. Yeah.

 Ranbu no Melody (ALBUM MIX)

A slightly different version of the single they released. The differences aren’t too marked, just a higher guitar tone. I was quite disappointed. Being not the biggest fan of the original song, I expected something fresh done with it, bringing it up to the level I associate with SID singles. Nope.

The song in itself is just some usual-sounding rock song, one you might hear every day. The original single reached #4 or 5 on the Oricon chart.

Sleep

Fifth and last SID single, and my favourite (with Rain, I guess). It is quite similar to Rain–rock, with a sad tune–but different also. Rain was much louder. Sleep is much quieter, and Mao is really fantastic with his vocals. His voice is so haunting and striking in this song, I love it. The melody in itself is really beautiful without being slow (rock, like I said).

Sympathy

Last song off the album. When SID ended their Deadstock 2011 Tour DVD, this was the last song. They said it was because they usually ended their concerts with sad songs, and they wanted something upbeat this time. (I can vouch for this. Of the four concerts I have, they’ve ended twice with Binetsu, the song that makes my heart crack.)

Anyway, this song starts off with Mao making his voice really strong and powerful, which can be pretty misleading. It’s actually an upbeat rock track, and to be honest not my favourite. Perhaps because I’ve never really cared for this type of music from SID, but it just doesn’t stand out. Not the best song to follow Sleep.

Favourite track(s) off album: Sleep, Rain

Least favourite track(s) off album: Sympathy, Shelter

Overall rating: 9/10 (I’m going to start rating out of ten now. Five is just too little)

Well, that’s it for now. I noticed this review was longer than the others, and it’s mainly because Deadstock is a pretty old album (it’s coming up on its 1^st birthday, one week after mine on 15^th February). I’m also greatly attached to this album. It was my first SID album, my first gateway to my beloved band.

So check out SID’s brand-new iTunes page!  (I don’t know what it looks like, really, so it might be in Japanese. Might be handy to have Google Translate on another tab.)

Thanks for reading! xo