SAWA – I Can Fly [Debut Mini Album]
SAWA’s debut major mini album, was released on 07.22.09.
The album starts with I Can Fly. The instrumentation of the track is mellow and pretty nice but SAWA’s vocals sound pretty grating and take away that mellow feeling from the song.
Sing It Back follows. The song starts off with a very pretty and calming instrumental that catches the listener’s ear before SAWA comes in for the first verse. Her vocals are pretty good here, suiting the music quite nicely. The atmosphere of the song continues to get to the listener and then it’s the chorus. Admittedly, it’s a little flat with such similar phrases being repeated often but it’s still manageable. It’s a pretty nice track and shows SAWA’s colors.
Night Desert is the third album track. The song begins with a mysterious and interesting instrumental that has a peaceful quality while also having a haunting feel. Then SAWA sings the first verse and her vocals don’t really bring out anything amazing and the instrumentation doesn’t really continue to shine. The chorus is nice in that there’s a little more energy to it, which is a good change from the verses but it’s nothing that really catches the ear as nicely as other tracks. It’s an okay song but it definitely could have been better.
Up next is I Love You Always Forever. The song starts off with SAWA singing acapella and there’s a really cheerful feeling that comes out, which is nice. Then when she sings the first verse, her vocals sound really weird and the instrumentation sounds so empty so it’s a bad combination. I Love You Always Forever follows the same suit as the last track and it doesn’t stand out at all.
My Sunny Days is the fifth song. Like the last two tracks, the interest just isn’t there, mostly due to SAWA’s vocals. The one positive thing is that the instrumentation of this song is fuller and fits the vocals a little better.
Album Ranking: C
If SAWA’s vocals were stronger and the instrumentation was fuller and more diverse, the overall product might have been more enjoyable. Sing It Back is the only song on the album that actually is manageable.
SAWA – Colors [Debut Mini Album]
SAWA’s debut mini album, entitled Colors, was released on 06.18.08. Many Colors was promoted before the album.
The album begins with Many Colors. The song begins with a sleek electropop instrumental that has a lighter feeling than many of the other current electropop masterpieces before coming into the first verse. SAWA’s vocals are enjoyable although there seems to be a little consistency problem as she hits certain notes higher when it would have sounded much better if she just kept one note. It’s also a bit hard to distinguish when the chorus begins as the music remains the same and there is no vocal change. Although it has its strange moments, Many Colors is actually pretty enjoyable. It’s primarily the music that is the grabbing point but SAWA’s vocals provide some nice moments.
We come to the nice and calming track, blue, next. Opening the song is a sweet and twinkling instrumental that has some electronic flavors to it but it doesn’t really sound all that electropop. SAWA’s vocals sound much more controlled here than on the last track, which is seen on the first verse as she provides smooth and enjoyable vocals. She reaches high and shows off her range at points but it doesn’t sound as random and comes across to the listener as much more enjoyable. Here, the chorus is much more distinguishable as SAWA generally stays in the higher range while the music just stands by and compliments her (even taking a slightly different sound at the end). blue is a very enjoyable track and shows an enjoyable relaxing atmosphere.
yellow is the slowest song on the album with a very simplistic instrumental and clapping to assist the beat. After a nice head-bopping instrumental, the clapping comes in and after a while, it gets to be really annoying. Those opening vocalizations sound a bit piercing but after that, the music gets to a little bit more enjoyable. This song suffers the same problem as Many Colors: the vocals are a bit messy. SAWA reaches too high and it just doesn’t go with the music very nicely. The problem is that unlike in Many Colors, there are so many high vocals that the whole song comes across as awkward. It doesn’t have the same appeal as Many Colors but maybe it would have been catchier had the vocals been taken down a notch.
Coming a little closer to the real taste of electropop is the fourth track, pink. The opening instrumentation is a twinkling electric paradise, pushed by the sweet sounds of the piano. SAWA comes up for the first verse, singing in all English and her vocals sound pretty controlled here, nicely moving with the music. The chorus stands out as her vocals become loud again but they work here and don’t sound so random and thrown around. There is a real cuteness about this song that just works and the instrumentation of this song is easily one of the best (if not the best) of the album. pink is a very good track, showcasing a pretty instrumental and great vocals from SAWA.
The closing song is green, which features a different sound from the rest of the album. Although the opening sounds very abrupt and strange with the vocalizations, the instrumentation really does sound good with a pretty upbeat jazzy flavor that is a welcome change from the preceding songs. SAWA then has a cuteness in her voice on the first verse and her lower vocals really work here although the higher vocals aren’t as welcome here. Had they been saved for certain moments rather than being spread out, it would have been much better. However the instrumentation is so addictive that the listener just falls for SAWA while listening.
Album Ranking: B
SAWA’s debut album definitely has its strong points. The instrumentals for green and pink, for example, are very strong and provide the listener with a constant point to return to. There is something very likeable about Many Colors, despite a little sloppiness of the vocals. The album’s biggest problem is that the vocals tend to be a little too high a little too often. Hopefully her next mini album will feature more strong instrumentals with a little more vocal control.
Amai Wana 