Tsubaki Factory - First Bloom
Tsubaki Factory is an idol group in Hello!Project. They are the sister group to Kobushi Factory. They have 2 generations of members at the time of recording the album. As a unit they are the closest to the “stereotypical” idol group in terms of both sound and looks. Hello!Project has developed a reputation of idols that are “more than just cute.” They generally have a bit of weirdness to them and often the protagonists in their songs are the type of girl who wasn’t the most popular or cutest girl in class (even though the actual girls in H!P likely are the most beautiful girls in their class). A bit jealous, a bit insecure, but still beautiful, youthful, and full of dreams. Until very recently, Tsubaki Factory was the newest group in H!P, but that has changed with Beyooooonds.
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My initial thought after listening to the album was, this album would have been an amazing experience if I had not have obsessively listened to the singles that were on the album as they came out. 11 of the 18 songs were singles that I had heard before I listened to the album. So only 7 songs were “new experiences.” To compare that to the latest Morning Musume album “Thank You, Too,” only had 5 out of the 14 songs that were released as singles on that album. So it was a jarring experience to listening to songs I had a high familiarity with and then a group of songs that were completely new. My favorite song was Date no Hi, my least favorite new song was Happy Cracker.
In my opinion, because Tsubaki is the most “vanilla” idol group in all of Hello!Project, this album is the most digestible album for non-wota (read normal people). I think this would be a great album to get newer people involved in idols or into Hello!Project as a whole. The genres are varied and very accessible.
However, its strengths are its weaknesses for the musically minded like myself. I felt that there was not enough stretching to make there be a real musical statement in the music. There are no standout “utahime” moments, or solos that were just breath-taking, or vocal harmonies that made me stop and say, “my god.” The album was just so safe. For a first album I think that it is a solid introduction to the group and a sturdy post in their discography. I just think they played it safe.
I am becoming a huge fan of Hoshibe Shou, but it seems they are not going for his style on their album, he only composed two songs on the album (the same amount as Tsunku, KOUGA, and Nakajima Takui). I think this album may have one of the most diverse composer credit lists in the recent Hello!Project album releases. This has a “high” amount of outside producers (people who have no track record of consistently making music for Hello!Project) as well. I think that there is value both in: (1) diversity of a varied composer credit list; and (2) the consistency a small composer list can give. I wish the credits were more consistent so the project could have been more consistent and cohesive in theme. This is more of a nitpick than anything. If we include their whole discography KOUGA did their first single. That would make them the most represent composer in their original discography.
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My favorite thing about the album was how much live instrumentation they used. There were synths a plenty and some fully produced songs here and there, but a good amount of this album had actual musicians playing actual music… according to the credits there were 7 songs that had 2 or more musicians playing real instruments. I appreciate that. Of course as a music lover, I would like that number to be closer to 100%. However, I still think the programmed songs are great as well. It is just an aural aesthetic.
My least favorite thing about the album was how there was no show of vocal excellence from the girls (not in singing, not in speaking lines, not in vocal tone, it was all so generic). I feel like the girls contributed very little to the album. I think this was a good album, musically. However, it is like the voices could be changed and I would feel the same about the album. I wish Tsubaki would have shown me a bit more of their talent and personality through their vocal performance. I hate that this album does not sound like an album only Tsubaki could record.
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I give this album 4 stars. Some of the new songs needed to grow on me, but overall I really enjoyed the experience of listening to this album. I think other people will too. I think this album is worth spending your money on. I would highly likely recommend this album to others.
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