alan – DREAM EXPRESS ~Mugen Kukan Cho Tokkyu~

August 22, 2013 at 6:55 PM | Posted in alan | Leave a comment

SINGLE REVIEW
alan – DREAM EXPRESS ~Mugen Kukan Cho Tokkyu~

1. DREAM EXPRESS ~Mugen Kukan Cho Tokkyu~
2. alan & Ryosuke Itamiya – First Love ~Hatsukoi~
3. DREAM EXPRESS ~Mugen Kukan Cho Tokkyu~(Instrumental)
4. alan & Ryosuke Itamiya – First Love ~Hatsukoi~ (Instrumental)
5. First Love ~Hatsukoi~ (alan ver.)
5. First Love ~Hatsukoi~ (Ryosuke Itamiya ver.)

DREAM EXPRESS ~Mugen Kukan Cho Tokkyu~ is the sixteenth Japanese single by Tibetan singer alan, released on August 21, 2013. The title song was chosen as the opening theme song for the anime Train Heroes aired by TV Tokyo.

Oh no no no, no. NO. I hate to see the alan + typical anime song combination here, WHERE IS MY ETHEREAL ALAN. Anyway, I guess DREAM EXPRESS ~Mugen Kukan Cho Tokkyu~ works as a song, since it’s actually a bright and uplifting song to listen to. I even like the arrangement, it’s nice and uptempo. It’s just the wrong person singing. This isn’t alan, and even though I was thrilled to see her come with a new Japanese release, this is such a bummer after more than two years.

Is it just me or does First Love ~Hatsukoi~ sound like a typical 90s duet? After the uptempo A-side this next track takes the single to a completely different place. I like this song better since alan herself sounds so much more comfortable and her voice sounds great with Ryosuke Itamiya’s. It takes a minute or two to take in, but then I definitely enjoy this ballad. It’s pretty and unintentionally nostalgic, I like it.

Since the other songs were just instrumentals and semi-karaoke versions, this was a pretty short single. What I’d like to say now is that I’m pretty excited about the fact that alan is still alive and that she hasn’t abandoned the Japanese market (I still prefer her Japanese music over her Chinese tbh), but I certainly didn’t want this single from her. True, it’s not crap or anything, it’s just so not her and I would never want to hear her sing songs like DREAM EXPRESS ever again. The B-side on the other hand was cute and I loved the vocals mixing together. I don’t know where I stand with this one…….

OVERALL RATING

2½ stars