This is getting good!
Girl’s Reform Manifest is the first full-length album from Hanabie. Their first mini-album showed a lot of potential, so I couldn’t wait to sit down and listen to this album. So let’s not waste any more time; it’s time to check it out and rock hard!
Track 1: SUNRISE MISO-SOUP
This reminds me of an angry punk song. Then the beautiful heavy guitar riffs kick you in your teeth, and it’s angry punk time with Yukina, who’s angry in this song.
Again, I have to complain about the chorus that lacks punch, and it doesn’t sound that well. It’s like Matsuri had testicles, and someone castrated her, and the result is the sounds that come out in the chorus. But it could have been worse, I guess, and she makes up for it by rocking that guitar, hard! Overall, this is a funny song to listen to because of the insane guitar riffs. That’s where Matsuri shines and is a genius.
But it just doesn’t work for me when you go from Yukina and then to a voice that lacks testicles. Ouch, sorry, I didn’t mean to say that! I think I will not attend a Hanabie concert soon since I will get a guitar smashed in my face by Matsuri. But it would be interesting to let Yukina take care of most of the singing in some of the songs. It’s not every time the song matches the voice of Matsuri.
Track 2: Sentimental Heroine
This is a heavy song that brings out a lot of noise and some crazy tempo changes. But it’s a little difficult to understand where the song is going sometimes. The chorus is okay, and Matsuri does a fine job in this song, and it fits with the overall sound. This is also a short song that is under 2 minutes. But Yukina does the same thing she does in the first song, so after two songs, I miss more variation from Yukina.
Track 3: BUKKOWASU !!
One thing I notice is how angry the first songs on this album are. This is yet another angry song where Yukina is angry, and it works. Even the chorus is fine where it’s interesting to listen to Yukina and Matsuri switching back and forth in the chorus. But as mentioned, Yukina needs to change things up with the way she’s singing because she has a much bigger vocal range than we have heard in the first three songs. It becomes a little boring, and they shouldn’t have hit on all cylinders with the three first songs since it’s difficult to tell the songs apart because of how samey Yukina sounds.
But my God, the guitar riffs are so catchy and hard, and the breakdown is just beautiful. It rocks so HARD! This is one of the highlights of the album.
Track 4: Our 7days war
Now, this song stands out, and it’s a nice change. The opening of this song sounds beautiful. It’s more dramatic, a cinematic opening. After three songs that punch you in the face and feel too much alike, this one stands out. This is an unusual Hanabie song.
It starts with an awesome and gentle opening with Matsuri who sounds great, and this is her song. Yukina growls a little, but not that much. So we can call this almost a ballad, but after the first chorus, the demon takes over, and it sounds awesome. I didn’t expect that transition. So this is one of the most interesting songs Hanabie has made so far in their career. And I love the hard guitar riffs. I hope that Hanabie can make more songs like Our 7 Days War in the future. They need to change things up more because the talent is there.
Track 5: Reiwa dating apps generation
This is a fun and playful song that sounds like a cinematic rap song with a cool rhythm. The opening is great and cinematic like the previous song. I appreciate that they are trying new things out and that they just don’t stick to the same thing as the first three songs on the album. There are a lot of things going on in this song that make it stand out. It’s the song that together with the previous song has the most spirit and it feels alive.
Matsuri’s voice works fine in this song also. So now we have three goals in the net. They should have switched around some of the tracks so that the first three tracks were spread out more.
Track 6: Invisible wall
The song goes hard straight from the start, and it sounds great with Yukina going hard as hell. I’m sorry, but then the chorus drags down the quality again. Yukina is the one who owns this song, and when Matsuri sings, it doesn’t work in this song at all. The guitar riffs are as hard as Yukina’s vocals, but Matsuri’s singing is more annoying than it should be. She has a problem that she sounds the same in many of the songs. Her vocal range is limited, and that becomes apparent in the songs where she sounds like Axl Rose on a bad day. It’s like watching a heart monitor that flatlines, while Yukina is the defibrillator that makes the heart go BOM-BOM again. But this is one of the weakest songs on the album. It’s not a song you will remember.
Track 7: We love sweets
God, the opening hits hard! This is so much fun with angry Yukina and heavy guitar riffs. The buildup to the chorus is also great, but no! Again, Matsuri comes in, and the chorus is awful. This is such an awesome and hard-hitting song, and luckily, Matsuri steps aside and lets Yukina take over the rest of the song. Sometimes Matsuri is like a mosquito that you can’t get rid of.
Track 8: L. C. G (2019mix)
This is my favorite track on the album. There are a lot of things going on in this song, and it sounds different from most of the songs on the album, together with “Reiwa dating apps generation” and “Our 7days war”. Here is the variation that I feel has been missing on this album. It’s a song I can listen to again and again, and I love everything after the breakdown. It’s so catchy! The real magic begins at 1:54 and lasts till 2:44. It’s just too catchy! And then another magic starts at 3:32 when Matsuri closes the song.
What irritates me is the fantastic ending when Matsuri takes over, it’s so catchy, and it changes the feeling of the song completely. I wish she could have made a song just out of the last 20 seconds. It’s so good, and so is Matsuri when she sings the chorus. This is why I love her singing when she hits the perfect pitch in the chorus. So you can clearly hear that Matsuri has it in her in this song. But it doesn’t happen that often. She will always be my little annoying singing mosquito. But she’s the queen of cool riffs and breakdowns.
Track 9: Genkai NUMA Life
The song opens up hard and heavy with Yukina letting out a loud burp! The loud burps are the highlights of this song as the chorus doesn’t do anything special except of being bland. Yukina is the one who saves this song, and the drumming is also pretty nice. In the end, this is a song that comes and goes, and there’s not much remarkable about it.
Track 10: Want to TIE – UP
Matsuri opens up the song, and it’s mostly her song. It’s more poppy, rocky, and light than the rest of the songs on the album. The breakdown hits hard, and man, I just love it. There is also a cool choir sound towards the end of the song that’s catchy, and Yukina steals the show with her demon voice. The chorus is fine, even though I’m starting to hear little variation in how Matsuri sings.
Conclusion:
Compared to the first mini-album, Girl’s Reform Manifest feels more polished. But what disappoints me the most is the lack of variation here. There are too many songs that sound the same. The choruses aren’t as big of a problem as they were with the first album. The instrumental parts are excellent and fun to listen to. But Matsuri must do something with her pitch in future songs, and Yukina needs to visit the past and listen to what she did with the vocals in a song like ENVY. She and the band must dare to experiment more and not sound the same in too many songs. There’s a lot of noise, but they should also focus more on writing songs like Our 7days war, Reiwa dating apps generation, and L.C.G (2019mix).
The best songs on this album, in my opinion, are BUKKOWASU!!, Our 7days war, Reiwa dating apps generation, We love sweets, and L.C.G (2019mix). I feel there should have been one or two other songs that stood out, but the five that are the best on the album are solid and varied.