S/mileage Is A Group...

Well, they will be, anyway. How do I feel about this?

Honestly all four of the girls have so little personality that I can't say I'm excited to see them interact with each other. Vocally, though, they're a tight group, always sound good live, even though the individual voices don't blow me away or anything.

Perhaps the personality factor will change with time as the girls grow up and get comfortable around each other. Like, I never knew Chinami had a personality of her own until I saw her just interacting with other Berryz members, who she is comfortable with.

Musically, the music for the group hasn't really caught my attention. aMa no Jaku was a great tune with a great verse and after-chorus part (I think it goes into a minor key there...). Which was definitely a step up (speaking in terms of musical creativity) from most other H!P releases.

Asu wa Deeto (etc) was not as good of a song, I think, but once again it was done in an intersting way that I can appreciate even if I didn't myself love it. Suki-chan I really haven't gone out of my way to listen to, and since there is no full version out, I can't really pass judgment.

But that brings me to another important factor of S/mileage that they seem to have over all (and I mean ALL) other H!P acts right now. And that is, great PVs.

All of them had interesting storylines (Asu had death tarot cards, aMa had basketball, and Suki-chan has a picnic of some kind), interesting outfits, and lots of extra footage that was outside of the usual close-up / dance-shot material that usually makes up a H!P PV.

So, if this tradition of Fantastic PVs keeps up, I'll keep following this new group. But I'd like to see some more powerful vocals, not the high-pitched, very unwavering sound we've been given so far. And hopefully as time goes on, the group will develop it's own style and become comfortable enough around eachother so that we can see what these girls are really like.