“Himitsuno Gimmy Cat Ufufu Hontouyo” Single Review

 “Himitsuno Gimmy Cat Ufufu Hontouyo” is a single that really makes me wonder what is going on with Puffy.  With Rolly behind this release I was expecting something a little more engaging along the lines of Shiina Ringo’s contributions to Puffy on “Bring it!” (which, eventually, grew on me) but just the opposite it is more like Kaela Kimura’s rock.  It is electronic, soulless and flat.

The electronic route is not a huge surprise, the past few singles (Tomodachi no Wao" “Sweet Drops” and “Datsu Dystopia”) tilt int he electronic direction.  Perhaps this is simply a musical trend in Japan and what Kaela and Puffy have most recently released reflects that.  Regardless, this single being a digital release does not even have a b-side in which to save it.

What I find curious is that vocally, I am not sure if this is Roll's or Puffy's single.  I am making the assumption it is Rolly providing a lot of heavy vocal lifting or the vocals are being so filtered as to give that impression.  Anyways, there are a few snippets of good/interesting vocals but not enough to hold me.  Instruments, what few there are (i.e. a banjo and ukulele  I think…) feel sampled otherwise it is a lot of electronically fabricated instruments.  Musically this is a really disconnected song, just too many things going on and few of them good.  The engineering feels really flat to the point of being soulless to me, even at points that are supposed to sound very theatrical.

I hope it is a momentary lapse in Puffy’s career as “Himitsuno Gimmy Cat Ufufu Hontouyo” is their weakest single to date. However, what is most frustrating is that Puffy has had a lot of time to develop songs given the  three years since their last full album ("Thank You").  I hope this is just a product of a temporary musical trend because an entire album like this is the only thing that would be more disappointing.

Scorecard
Music: D
Singing: C-
Instruments: D
Engineering: D+

P.S.  The Amazon.jp rankings as of this review are #1548 for mp3 albums and specifically #315 in MP3 downloads ? MP3 Albums > J-POP.  

P.S.S.   “Himitsuno Gimmy Cat Ufufu Hontouyo” remains slightly better than "Wake Up, Make Up."

Sony Music Artists 40th Aniversary

Via Puffy's Twitter feed, a pic of Ami and Yumi at the Sony Music Artists' 40th anniversary event on 4/20:

I can only hope their busy appearance schedule is an implication that Puffy is also ramping up for a new album.  As Bonsai pointed out a couple weeks ago, it has been three years since their last release.

“Himitsu no Gimme Cat -Ufufu Honto yo-” on Amazon?

Here is something I did not expect, “Himitsu no Gimme Cat -Ufufu Honto yo-” is available via Amazon.

I plonked down the 99 cents for it, so hopefully I will have it on April 23rd.  I view this as both surprising and encouraging.  My views about how the Japanese media companies distribute and market is no secret, so the fact a new Puffy single is something I can easily buy makes me very happy*.

Here is an interview Puffy did for the new single:

Have a great weekend!

* I'd be even happier of my friends over at cdjapan did it... 

New Single Cover & Billboard Shows

Here is what looks to be the cover for the forthcoming single "Himitsu no Gimme Cat-Ufufu Honto yo-"*, which from what I can tell will be out on 4/23.

Puffy has been scheduled for a couple of Billboard shows: 6/16 Osaka and 6/20 Tokyo.

Apparently there is going to be a rebroadcast of the Inazuma Rock Fes 2013" show, hopefully someone will cap that and be nice enough to share.**

* Translates to:  "I really Ufufu Gimme Cat-secret"
** Not that I encourage that sort of thing... cough...