alan – 風の手紙 [5th Single]

September 15, 2008 at 8:30 pm (alan) (alan, Oricon Year 2008 Singles)

alan’s 5th single, entitled 風の手紙, was released on 09.10.08. This single is the third of the five consecutive elemental singles and the associated element of this one is wind.

風の手紙 draws on rock elements to entice the listener from start to finish. Opening the song is a mysterious cold atmosphere and then the instrumentation comes in which had a prettiness to it with slight rock influences. alan’s voice sounds great here as she sings part of the chorus and the following moments of pure instrumentation are heavenly. The first verse then comes in and alan provides smooth vocals to carry the smooth rock sound. The chorus carries a little more emotion and it helps it stand out, catching the listener’s ear. She holds that last note of the chorus very well and it nicely brings that section to an end. She sings “taxi driver” in the second verse and having a phrase in English makes it really pop in the verse before moving onto the pure instrumental section. This is one of the most standout parts of the song as the rock edge becomes more aggressive before returning to alan, who sings slightly higher with such a prettiness to her voice. The song closes with more aggressive instrumentation supported by some great smooth vocalizations from alan. 風の手紙 is a fantastic song that once again shows off alan’s versatility as she perfectly adapts to the rockish style.

The B-side, かごめ, also features some rock tints that allow alan to shine. The song starts off with a cold rock instrumentation driven by the acoustic-guitar that instantly captures the atmosphere of the song. She then comes in with the first verse and the simplicity of the music helps alan’s voice be spotlighted. On the chorus, the instrumentation becomes heavier while still carrying a softness about it that catches the listener’s ear. Once again, the pure instrumentation section sounds fantastic as the music takes on moments of edgy aggression and the soft vocalizing in the background is a nice touch. She nicely holds that last note and then the song finishes with more pretty instrumentation. By coming back to the influences of rock, alan sounds perfectly comfortable and the listener just falls in love.

In order to promote the single, a PV for 風の手紙 was made. Opening and closing the video are spinning flowers in a desolate background, which actually look pretty cool. There are three scenes that comprise the video: alan singing with her band, alan gracefully moving in her pink dress and alan standing in the area with the spinning flowers. There is an element about both the song and video that are reminiscent of Hamasaki Ayumi and the scene of her singing with her band immediately evokes that feeling. The true spotlight scene of this video is of alan moving in the pink dress that she wears on the cover. With the wind blowing, she looks absolutely gorgeous. The video is great, definitely one to look out for.

Single Ranking: A +

Her previous single allowed alan to try more upbeat songs and this single shows alan trying out rock sounds. Her voice suits the songs perfectly, which captures the listener strongly. 風の手紙 and かごめ both have a prettiness about them and the moments when the instrumentation becomes more aggressive are heavenly. This is another fantastic single from alan that absolutely blows the listener away.