After taking a few years off from releasing full albums, Yo Hitoto returned in 2008 with a set of soulful ballads, her strongest point.
While there's a bit of variety in the arrangements themselves, Hitoto's delivery is (nearly) always similar -- a basic torch song with an extra touch of pathos in her vocals.
It works well for her, however, transitioning from basic piano-driven J-pop ballads such as "Shiori" and "Megumi" to surf rock lounge pieces like "Chabangeki." There's even a hint of Celtic music in "Chandelier." Throughout, though, Hitoto works the lower registers of her voice, dragging the lovelorn emotions out for the world to hear.
Her phrasing changes to match the tone of the music itself, producing some pieces of haunting beauty (such as the title track) and others of a more sultry nature ("Chabangeki").
Aside from one or two tracks, the compositions here aren't generally anything out of the ordinary for the genre -- regular ballads sung by a pretty-voiced female.
However, the female's voice in this case is particularly nice, full of technique and natural range at the same time.
It's the voice that makes the album stand out as something special.
While it may not convert listeners who dislike basic pop ballads, even part-time fans of the form should enjoy this one.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Key | Yo Hitoto | Play | 01:54 | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| 2 | Kuuchuu Buranko | Yo Hitoto | Play | 05:12 | 11 MB | 36 MB |
| 3 | Chuuburarin | Yo Hitoto | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | Tsunaide Te | Yo Hitoto | Play | 04:02 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | Gengetsu | Yo Hitoto | Play | 00:58 | 2 MB | 3 MB |
| 6 | Chandelier | Yo Hitoto | Play | 05:11 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 7 | Moonlight | Yo Hitoto | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 8 | Hitori de ni | Yo Hitoto | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 17 MB |
| 9 | Doorway | Yo Hitoto | Play | 01:14 | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| 10 | Domino | Yo Hitoto | Play | 04:50 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 11 | Ukeirete | Yo Hitoto | Play | 04:06 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 12 | Chabangeki | Yo Hitoto | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 13 | Shiori | Yo Hitoto | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 14 | Tadaima (inside ver.) | Yo Hitoto | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 52 mins | 120 MB | |||||
| 52 mins | 310 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yo Hitoto | Primary Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |