aobozu – FORESTONE

1. Esto
2. ハローグッバイ
3. コイントス
4. ピースサイン
5. 僕は狂ってなどいない
6. 空を作りたくなかった
7. 羽化の羽(FORESTONE Ver.)
8. 不滅の太陽
9. 深く潜れ
10. 言葉の森
11. アジサイ

What to say about aobozu, other than that they’re great? I’ve gone from casually listening to some of their tracks to repeating them on my playlist. They’ve nailed the combination that I love so dearly — calm, melodic rock with some proper oomph. While it may seem trivial, some bands tend to veer towards one of the two extremes, either putting me to sleep or tearing my eardrums apart.

Onto favourite tracks, I found myself gravitating towards the more lighthearted“アジサイ” simply because its melody sounds so familiar. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it definitely rings a bell. Either way, it’s got a great summery feel which couldn’t be more appropriate, what with summer just one month away. “言葉の森” delivers my daily rock dosage and is just amazing all the way through (although this could be applied to more than one track), especially with the guitar riff halfway through.

But of the tracks that I found favourable — including “ハローグッバイ”, “ピースサイン”, and “コイントス” — there is one true winner: “空を作りたくなかった”. It’s simply so tranquil, so serene — I think it could quality as a nocturne. Yet, it maintains that balance perfectly with the electric guitar kicking in at the chorus. The whispering at the end, in particular, gets me every time. Even after 20 listens, it still gives me shivers. It’s that good.

I think I listed just about every track — except “僕は狂ってなどいない” because of its creepy circus vibe — so that should be some indication of the album’s quality. Not only that, but the album’s diversity almost guarantees that you’ll find something likable. And if/when you do, it’ll be absolutely fantastic. YouTube after the jump.

CD Japan – CD ONLY, CD+DVD
YesAsia – CD ONLY, CD+DVD
Amazon JP – CD+DVD
HMV JP – CD ONLY