General Information
Album Title: Pure Pure Heart
Artist: Houkago Tea Time (Toyosaki Aki, Hikasa Youko, Satou Satomi, Kotobuki Minako, Taketatsu Ayana)
Catalog Number: PCCG-70075
Release Date: June 2nd, 2010
Tracks
1. Pure Pure Heart
2. Sakuragaoka Joshi Koutougakkou Kouka [Rock Ver.]
3. Pure Pure Heart (Instrumental)
4. Sakuragaoka Joshi Koutougakkou Kouka [Rock Ver.] (Instrumental)
5. Pure Pure Heart (Instrumental [-Guitar1])
6. Pure Pure Heart (Instrumental [-Guitar2])
7. Pure Pure Heart (Instrumental [-Keyboard])
8. Pure Pure Heart (Instrumental [-Bass])
9. Pure Pure Heart (Instrumental [-Drums])
General Thoughts
Okay, maybe the Opening Theme took several times to get used to, but I still can’t get over the screechy voice that Toyosaki Aki gives out because the song is so damn fast. In contrast Hikasa Youko have been the stronger singer as shown with her performance of “Don’t Say Lazy” and Fuwa Fuwa Time. Besides the disappointing vocals in GO! GO! Maniac, I was more impressed with the instrumentals that made these songs pretty rememorable. Fuwa Fuwa Time was a light-hearted song that brought out the other side of Mio’s character. The catchiness and how well the instrumentals made Fuwa Fuwa Time a memorable song off the bat after one listen.
Pure Pure Heart is the song that was played at the tea party commemorating Mio in Episode 7 of K-ON!! Second Season. After the first listen, the song is pretty much on the same level of Fuwa Fuwa Time. Pure Pure Heart is a catchy song and it had good singing and instrumentals. It’s slightly better than Fuwa Fuwa Time mainly because how the song is played that makes it seem powerful. There were a few flaws with the softness, but nothing serious. Just like Fuwa Fuwa Time, Pure Pure Heart is also an enjoyable listen, more so than Crow Song because of marina’s poor performance of the song.
B-Side track, Sakuragaoka Joshi Koutougakkou Kouka is the rock version of the school song the students sung in the first episode of K-ON!! Second Season. The vocals are pretty decent and it each singer takes turns singing. Same feel as the B-side track of Fuwa Fuwa Time, Tsubasa wo Kudasai, but slightly more polished. Still, it was an enjoyable listen.
Like with the Fuwa Fuwa Time Single, Pure Pure Heart also contains separate instrumental tracks for each instrument in addition to the two instrumental tracks for the A and B side tracks.
Overall, I enjoyed listening to the songs from Pure Pure Heart Insert Album. Good vocals and instrumentals is what make the person enjoy and like the song. You can’t have one or the other since it just won’t work. In no doubt Pure Pure Heart will sell well like previous K-ON!! Albums.
In comparison to Angel Beats, besides the OP/ED, the insert songs from Girls Dead Monster, which is a parody of school bands Houkago Tea Time so far disappointed me because the vocals that sound amateurish. I would have thought that they would use the voice actor’s singing voice, but instead take two mediocre, unknown singers, marina and LiSA. All I was left with is six songs that sound out of tune and ruined Maeda Jun’s music composition. Every time I listen to the songs from Girls Dead Monster, I can’t help to think about all the flaws and out of tune vocals that it ruins my enjoyment of these songs. In contrast, I enjoy the songs from K-ON’s voice actors singing of the OP/ED and the insert songs (excluding GO! GO! Maniac) because there isn’t any annoying flaws that would ruin my listening experience. The performance of these songs from the K-ON voice actors just prove that producers shouldn’t even consider using unknown singers and stick them in songs that they can’t sing properly, unless that unknown singer have enough talent. This is true most of the time and I hope the last insert single from Girls Dead Monster won’t disappoint me like the first two did. Then again, I doubt it would ever be better than the songs from K-ON!! because of their prior performance. That shows how little faith I have in Girls Dead Monster after reviewing two of their singles, which is pretty sad.
In my closing remark, definitely give Pure Pure Heart a listen… you won’t be disappointed. :p
Verdict
8.7/10, B+, Outstanding
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