Album Review: SID- Outsider

New SID album! *flails*

If you don’t know, SID is my absolute favourite band. Been a fan for over three years now (so proud of that length of time it’s kind of pathetic). This is their first album since their 10^th Anniversary Best and the Side B Collections (1 & 2), and the first one with new songs since… M&W? Wow, it’s been a while. No wonder I was so excited.

So, let’s start!

laser

Opening track. The song itself starts off with some electronic sound, really futuristic-sounding and befitting the name. The song’s a usual uplifting light rock sound, one I like. These types of songs tend to bore me, but I like this one. The best part of the song (to me) is the guitar break which is heavy and hard rock. Very cool.

CANDY

Upbeat and fun, as I expected. Not jazzy though, which I did not expected. It’s just a… groovy song? That’s what I’d call the guitar work, at least: groovy. I can also hear a little keyboard back there once in a while. Mao’s voice in this is really to my liking. He roughs it up once in a while, and it sounds great, it’s really striking. Also, guitar break: very cool.

V.I.P

The first pre-released single off the album. There’s a lot of pre-released singles: 5. That’s almost half the whole album. Well, it has been two years since the last album, and they included every single since M&W, so it’s kind of expected.

V.I.P was the first one they released, if I remember correctly. It marked the beginning of their upbeat songs. The song is quite… happy. Not jazzy, but just happy.

(I was really happy when this song came out. I’d been expecting an upbeat SID song. The singles before this were Nokoriga and ‘S’)

Akai Te

I’m sorry. My Japanese sucks so bad I don’t even know what this title means. To Red, maybe? Like, maybe Becoming Red? I know akai is red, at least.

Dramatic song. Violins playing in the background, and Mao going all out in vocals. The song is not really my favourite though, and the guitar bit is good, but not… original sounding? The third part is beautiful and haunting though.

MUSIC

Another upbeat song, though not too much. More grounded than V.I.P, but the chorus lets loose a bit. Love the bass lines in this song, Aki was superb. Mao also did a couple of high notes that I really liked. The song though is not the best.

Summer Lover

Another pre-released single, my least favourite from the album. A song to move along to, but the chorus kind of killed it for me. Yes, it’s fun and nice to just relax and listen to, and really fit the season it was released. It is a very summer song, and I’m sure a lot of people would love it. I just kind of like it.

Koi ni Ochite

Another pre-released single. I love this one. It’s all dramatic and there is a jazz element. I also really liked the message (because I managed to get translated lyrics to this one), about the ‘friendzone’ and how these supposed Nice Guys act and how they think. There’s also a real retro feeling to it, especially with what Shinji does with the guitar. I liked how there was more than one guitar break.

Meiro

Nice, easy-listening song. Just very sweet-sounding, and Mao keeps his voice soft and gentle. I like this song. The first SID song I’d associate it with is Akikaze, but it sounds a lot like some of their older stuff too. A big contrast from the big sound of Koi ni Ochite. One you’d like to sway along to.

Ah, the title sounds like a Japanese pronunciation of ‘mellow’. How fitting.

darling

Soft sound of Meiro followed up by a straight rock song. Liked the intro a lot. Actually, I especially like the flow of Mao’s words. The chorus is kind of disappointing for me, but maybe because I really like the parts. Loved the guitar break with the acoustic guitar in it. One of the highlights of the song.

hug

SID’s most recent single. Very heartwarming. I adore this song. It actually kind of sounds like a hug in music form. The kind of song you might say is boring, but it isn’t. It’s really warming, to me at least. Something you’d want on a rainy day; one of SID’s specialties.

ANNIVERSARY

Of course this would be the final song. It’s SID’s 10^th Anniversary song. This one, of course, holds a great place in my heart. It’s not the best song on the album, but it makes you feel good. It just lifts your heart, and it does it in a different way from hug. That one felt like it was just giving you comfort when you were low. This one makes you feel like you’re rising.

Rating: 9/10

Favourite song: CANDY

Least favourite song: Summer Lover

Buy this album. Buy it. Get it on iTunes if you want, but this album is pure gold. As expected from SID.