ALBUM REVIEW: SWING HOLIC VOL. 11

Artblock is being a dick towards me, and i have nothing good to do. So i will do some review of this album.

Swing Holic vol. 11 was released at Comiket 84, among other 2hu jazz arrangers like flap+frog, Tokyo Active NEETs and many more. This album contains the arrangement of 2hu PC-98 games soundtracks, with one original tracks

Honestly, i was a rather unsurprised when i found this album. Either it's because that i already had a feeling that well-known circles like them would always release new albums in every big events, or it's because i'm more hyped on Undead Corporation and Rokugen Alice's new album instead.

Okay, enough ranting, let's get serious.

The PC-98 Yuuka with nice, long hair.

The first essence of an album is their cover. This album shows Yuuka Kazami as its cover picture. Moreover, it's PC-98 version of Yuuka, which is pretty relevant to this album's arrangement. Although i prefer short-haired Yuuka, the long-haired ones is fine, too.

That is all for the cover, and let's get down to the tracks:



1) Phantom Night Story
Original: Gensokyo ~ Lotus Land Story
Arr: Swing Holic Band
Okay, the intro is nicely done, although it didn't undergo many changes from their previous albums. This track connects to the next track very well, and the next track of this album is...

2) あなたとわたし
Original: Witching Dream, Decoration Battle
Vocals: A~YA
Arr: Swing Holic Band
Like always, the first vocal of Swing Holic's album are always performed by A~YA. The way she sing the lyrics improved slightly from their last album, Swing Holic vol. 10. Swing Holic Band's arrangement is still nice as usual.

3) Casket of Stars
Original: Vessel of stars - Casket of Stars
Vocals: Meg Natley
Arr: Sanokan
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Meg Natley? I though it was a new member of this circle when i listen to this track for the first time. But as i repeat the tracks several times, i realized that the vocal reminds me of someone. I must say that Meg Natley's vocal is getting more feminine than her last performance. Sanokan also did the arrangement pretty nice, although it was a rather slow to catch up with the lyrics.



4)幽雅な愛の花言葉
Original:「Dream Land」-「幽夢 ～ Inanimate Dream」
Vocal : SYO
Arr: Swing Holic Band
Aside from Meg Natley, SYO's vocal is also getting more feminine, although it didn't undergo much change like the former. She performed really well in this track, and so does the Swing Holic Band on the arrangement.

5)Break the Sabbath
Original:「Break the Sabbath」-「紅響曲 ～ Scarlet Phoneme」
Arr: Atabo
Oh yeah, an acid jazz arrangement from Swing Holic. It is arranged by Atabo (I'm not really sure whether he/she's a guest member or not). Break the Sabbath is really nice. The song's tempo gradually fasten up as the song goes, which is a good change after the first four tracks.

6)伝説のフォークロア
Original: Alice Maestra
Vocal: 709sec.
Arr: Sanokan
To be frankly honest, i don't really like 709sec. Perhaps it's due to his engrish vocals. I'm really glad that he didn't ruin this piece, like what he did in his previous works (Swing/Sound Holic wise). In this track that i must forcefully admit that, 709sec. actually did a good job on singing this track. The arrangements are also catchy, as expected from Sanokan.

7)SHINIGAMI CRISIS
Original: Bad Apple!! - 「霊戦 ～ Perdition crisis」
Arr: Atabo
i actually hate the Bad Apple arrangement due to its overrated status thanks to Alstromeira Record's Bad Apple PV, but this track changed my mind. Thanks to Atabo's nice and catchy arrangement, i realized that Bad Apple!! doesn't sound really crappy at all.

8)黄昏の花
Original: 「Lotus Love」-「眠れる恐怖 ～ Sleeping Terror」
Vocal: きゃろ
Arr: Swing Holic Band
きゃろ (read: Kyaro) is actually my second least-favorite vocalist of the Swing Holic circle after 709sec. I simply don't like mellow arrangements, despite her good vocal. I cannot say much for this piece, but one thing for sure; the tempos are good and well-played.

9)Holy for My Well
Original: Maiden's Capriccio
Vocal: SYO
Arr: Sanokan
Aw yiss, SYO! This song is partially sung in English, but despite that, SYO sings the lyrics pretty well, unlike 709.sec (okay i must stop badmouthing him). The way she said "So sweet" at the end of the song is really... sweet o.o;;
As for the arrangement, Sanokan did his job very well, the jumping tempo makes the plus point of this song.



10)赫い実が
Original: Bad Apple!!
Vocal: A~YA
Arr: Swing Holic Band
One word: Stunning, really stunning. The song's verse and refrain are somehow like two different arrangements. Despite that, Swing Holic Band didn't lose a slight tempo for this piece. A~YA also did her vocal really well.

11)Forbidden Moon
Original: The Inevitably Forbidden Game
Arr: Sanokan
Again, i'm not a fan of mellow tracks. But this longue jazz arrangement of Sanokan is an exception. Unlike track #8, the slow tone in this arrangement is actually more into calming rather than the former's "sad" tone.

And here we are, at the last station...

12)☆Miracle girl
Vocal: A~YA
Arr: Sanokan
This piece is, without doubt, the best track from this album. A~YA's vocal is Rea! lly! Good! despite some engrish part of the song. This track is my second favorite Swing Holic original tracks after Hey John! from Swing Holic vol. 6. Speaking of the arrangement, Sanokan did his job rea! lly! nice! Such miraculous and joyful tempo are played along A~YA's vocal in a! good! way! Okay, i should stop fagging to this song.

Wow, Elly looks sexy there.

To put a conclusion to this review, i will give this album an 8/10. I was intending to give this album a 9/10 but for some mellow tracks, nah.
And i should stop fagging to track #12 too much

That! is! all! for the review, i am sorry if i missed some informations, or maybe if i bashed 709sec. too much.