CD review: ADAMS – せせらぎ(Seseragi)

We know ADAMS from the AVO J-Rock Festival last July, and their I also got to know the duo. They have given their own spin to the music they make. Not long ago, ADAMS released a new single called せせらぎ (Seseragi). The question is, if they still give their own spin to their new songs. I’m super excited to be writing a review, my first, about this single. Keep reading to find out more.

The new single consists of the following songs:

1. せせらぎ (Seseragi)
2. ROMEO
3. One and only

The first song, and the title song of the single is called せせらぎ (Seseragi). The song starts with a simple piano intro with a bass sound in the background. After this a guitar solo follows and it picks up the pace. After the intro the number of instruments go down again. Escorted with the piano ADAM starts singing. Adam sings in a very calm, relaxed manner. You get to hear ADAM his voice really well, since they’re not many instruments playing. After a sort of vocal intro, the Shota’s guitar gets clearer and they pick up the pace again. The chorus contains some long notes which sound very beautiful to me. The song does sound somewhat sad in my opinion, but the song still gives me an energy boost by the pace changes. Very beautiful song, I really enjoyed Shota’s guitar solos and ADAM’s long notes.

The second song is called ROMEO. This song starts with ADAM’s vocals, the intro consists of vocals and guitar and is followed by a rhythm you could easily move on. If I had to imagine how ADAM performs this song on stage, he would be constantly dancing. After the first part of the song there is a small break and the song turns into a rap, sung by Shota, which sounds very catchy in my opinion! Meanwhile you hear ADAM somewhere vaguely in the background, after the rap the nice chorus comes back. This song also consists of a guitar solo from Shota, personally I think this compliments the song well. I really like this song, and it would be hard for me not to move along to this catchy rhythm.

The third song is called One and Only. This number is introduced by a high pace and gives me the idea that I’m flying through a fantasy world. The song sounds very cheerful in the beginning and after a short intro ADAM starts singing. His voice sounds very beautiful and somewhat dreamy. What I notice in this song, is that there are some quiet parts, but the pace remains the same. Shota his guitar is very good to hear in the background. The song is very energetic and reminds me of an anime opening or somewhere down that road. Somewhere halfway you hear can hear a sound that looks suspiciously like Christmas bells. Then the rhythm changes completely and it becomes a bit slower, but this is short-lived. After a few seconds the energetic, busy pace returns. In this song ADAM’s voice is less hearable due to the many instruments, but despite that I still like this song a lot because it is so energetic, dreamy and cheerful!

And of course we can’t forget the new PV! ADAMS didn’t only bring out this new album, but also made a PV for the song せせらぎ (Seseragi)!

In the PV ADAM is in a bathtub which is slowly filling up, he is sitting there sad and lonely. Then the image fades and you see how ADAM and Shota happily walk outside as students, together they throw rocks in the water. This is a flashback, because the next moment you see ADAM in the same exact spot, but alone. Then you see a shot from Shota kissing ADAM. In between these short fragments you can see ADAM and Shota in a completely white scenery, and they are singing and playing the guitar side by side. The story that they’re telling comes across really sad. If you watch the clip, you start to wonder what happened to Shota and why ADAM is so sad and desperate. Eventually, at the end of the video you return to ADAM in the bathtub, who cuts his wrists, then he is slowly being lift out and you can see Shota hugging is lover. The PV is very sad, and presents a good image of what people are capable of when they are in love. The PV was quite shocking, I didn’t expect ADAM to commit suicide in the bath tub, I expected that Shota died and that ADAM would stay alive.

Personally, I think that ADAMS sound as good live as on their album, live is more fun since they can give it even more of a personal touch then. I can really recommend the single せせらぎ (Seseragi)! I think that the album has a lot of variation, the first song sounded somewhat sad, but the third song was very cheerful and energetic. The album has a good variety and you get a good look on what ADAMS is capable of with their talents.

And if you didn’t know yet: ADAMS will be coming to The Netherlands next Spring!

せせらぎ (Seseragi) released November 18^th and is €12,-. The single can be bought at ADAMS 2 Eves. The album can be bought through Amazon Mp3 and iTunes starting December 25^th.