L'Arc-en-Ciel new album "Smile"

[ElvenPath]

First album from L'Arc-en-Ciel (aka Laruku) in more than 3 years. Contains 10 songs including "Spirit Dreams Inside," "Ready Steady Go," and "Hitomi no Junin". Scheduled for release on March 31, 2004.

Tracklist not available yet.

The only Laruku album I ever appreciated was their first one "Dune".

/me waits for Smile


Source: cdjapan

[Chiaki Nozomi]

Originally Posted by Sway

First album from L'Arc-en-Ciel (aka Laruku) in more than 3 years. Contains 10 songs including "Spirit Dreams Inside," "Ready Steady Go," and "Hitomi no Junin". Scheduled for release on March 31, 2004.

Tracklist not available yet.

The only Laruku album I ever appreciated was their first one "Dune".

/me waits for Smile


Source: cdjapan

You're not the only one!

The title makes me wonder if all the songs would be poppy-happy. I hope not. My favorite songs by Laruku are of the more rock variety. Then I wonder if the songs will sound peppy, but the lyrics are the complete opposite. (I think Hyde's Hello was like that)

Ah hell, I'm just excited there's more Laruku. You know its been too long when you first saw them together on MS Super Live and a feeling of 'finally' comes over you... Okay, so I'm a bit of a fangirl. Its all good. ^^.

[Hellychan]

nya~ha~ =^_^= /me waits for Smile too!

Yeah I also prefer the rock songs among Laruku's discography (Honey, Ibara no Namida, Driver's High, Flower, The Fourth Avenue Cafe, Forbidden lover )

[_murasaki_]

READY!STEADY!GO! is one of the best L'arc en ciel songs i have ever heard I heard
Although I prefer Hyde-ist more than L'arc en ciel but I still cannot wait for it!!!!!!!!!!!
Smile is taking so long.

[diabolistic]

i only liked a few of l'arc en ciel's songs.. honey, driver's high, 4th avenue cafe and the fma opening song ready steady go..

Honey was what got me into jrock.. hopefully, their new album will be better than a lot of their older stuff

[Babak]

Originally Posted by Hellychan

Yeah I also prefer the rock songs among Laruku's discography (Honey, Ibara no Namida, Driver's High, Flower, The Fourth Avenue Cafe, Forbidden lover

Wooh, you sure have a good music taste.

Hmm, what can I say? A new L'Arc~en~Ciel album? WOOH! \o/

[Hellychan]

Originally Posted by diabolistic

Honey was what got me into jrock..

Same here , and that Honey AMV is just so Haido!

OK, now I'm gonna stop my Hyde-fangirl screaming

Originally Posted by Babak

Wooh, you sure have a good music taste.

And so you have

And that Ready Steady Go! can't get out of my head

[Vicious]

L'Arc en Ciel is the best period

Can't wait for their new album! I like the majority of their songs. Hyde's solo albums are extremely good too.

[Chiaki Nozomi]

Originally Posted by Hellychan

nya~ha~ =^_^= /me waits for Smile too!

Yeah I also prefer the rock songs among Laruku's discography (Honey, Ibara no Namida, Driver's High, Flower, The Fourth Avenue Cafe, Forbidden lover )

Wow... The songs you mentioned are what I consider their 'pop' tunes... I was talking more of 'Shout at the Devil', 'lose Control', 'Yokan', ect. But I love them all the same. Ibara no Namida kicks bootay. I didn't care for 4th Ave. Cafe, Honey grated on my nerves after awhile, and Driver's High kicks butt just because of its PV . I also like Heaven's Drive, because any song that does that fast=slow=fast=slow (or visa versa) progression just makes me happy. Gotta give a shout out to 'As if in a dream' too. But in all truth, Laruku has never really rocked 'hard'. ^_~.

Ready Steady Go... My first thought when I heard the single was 'We waited almost three years for this?!' Then.. I listened to it.. and it grew on me. ^^;; Although at MS Super Live (and most of the lives for that matter) Hyde is flat... Stop smoking Hyde! Ken can keep smoking because to see him playing without a smoke is weird...

Most of you like Hyde the best... I like them all equally except for Yukihiro. XP Of the band, Hyde's solo works are the best, but I did like Tetsu's singles (Shinkirou was my fave, although the end of the PV makes me sick.) and Ken is badass just because his band name is the best EVER! ^_~. I laughed endlessly when I first read the name... (Kinda like Plastic Tree and Porno Graffitti - I love those names! XD XD) Yukihiro gets no love from me. I didn't really try to hunt down his techno remixes. Probably because I despise techno unless I'm in a club or playing DDR.

And in other news, the Hitomi no Juunin single will have 'Ken ready' 'Tetsu ready' and Yuki ready' versions with them singing the vocal track! I know Tetsu will sound decent... but Yuki and Ken are getting me worried.... But the -'less' versions on the single magnified how each member is important to the sound...

But including Spirit Dreams Inside is a ripoff. The song is mediocre, and its over 2 years old! It doesn't belong in the 'new' era of Laruku. XP

Hmm.. Maybe I should start an official Laruku thread? There's so much discussion to be had about them! At least I know I can ramble for days!

[ElvenPath]

Originally Posted by Chiaki Nozomi

Hmm.. Maybe I should start an official Laruku thread? There's so much discussion to be had about them! At least I know I can ramble for days!

Please do so

[Tboz]

Heh... I'm not a big L'Arc-en-Ciel fan, but I do listen to their songs. Just gotta love Ken's stage presence with that cigarette in mouth. Hyde is okay (can anyone explain how he sounds like when he is flat?), but I don't quite like his first solo album, it was just too different for me. 666 sounds just right but I haven't gotten the album yet. Tetsu is not bad, the bass solo in Shinkiro is pretty solid in my standard (well I know little about instruments).

Haven't heard Ready Steady Go as well, not sure how it's like. I actually prefer their earlier happier tunes like C'est la vie and Fourth Avenue Cafe. Well heavy ones like The Nepenthes are great as well.

[Chiaki Nozomi]

Originally Posted by Tboz

Heh... I'm not a big L'Arc-en-Ciel fan, but I do listen to their songs. Just gotta love Ken's stage presence with that cigarette in mouth. Hyde is okay (can anyone explain how he sounds like when he is flat?), but I don't quite like his first solo album, it was just too different for me. 666 sounds just right but I haven't gotten the album yet. Tetsu is not bad, the bass solo in Shinkiro is pretty solid in my standard (well I know little about instruments).

Haven't heard Ready Steady Go as well, not sure how it's like. I actually prefer their earlier happier tunes like C'est la vie and Fourth Avenue Cafe. Well heavy ones like The Nepenthes are great as well.

Okay. Hear a single in your head. Now imagine it deeper and more hoarse. That's Hyde's flat voice! Its quite funny, cuz sometimes Tetsu will look at him like 'WTF' out of the corner of his eye. Anyway, during the MS Live, he also sang Honey and it was... O.x;; His Hello was flat too. The recent performances of RSG were a bit off par as well. But Hyde flat still sounds better than most of the other pop acts flat. ^^;;

I liked 666. Hyde's english has improved greatly, although his slur voice makes him sound drunk sometimes.... I liked the first half of the cd better than the second though.

C'est la vie scared me when I first heard it. Kinda like 'I wish' and its chorus... O.o;; But that's the great part about Laruku! So much variety!

And I started the official L'Arc~en~ciel thread! Go there and talk about the band!
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=98932

[koki_2706]

Hmm, I've just preordered the album today, and it seems that the 1st edition comes with a special dvd containing a live footage of "Spirit Dreams Inside" performed in 2001 and a photo card...

I can't wait for March 31 to come, seriously...

[ElvenPath]

Like Chiaki Nozomi posted in the Laruku official thread, Smile is now available for pre-order.

Tracklist:

1. Seppun
2. READY STEADY GO
3. LOVER BOY
4. FEELING FINE
5. TIME GOES ON
6. COMING CLOSER
7. Eien
8. REVELATION
9. Hitomi no juunin
10. SPIRIT DREAMS INSIDE

[Babak]

Hm..
I found a torrent for this CD now.
Aaaand... Wasn't the release date 2004.03.31?

[koki_2706]

After waiting patiently for the past three years, I've finally got my hands on the limited edition of Smile!!! True to my expections, this album really rocks!!! Just to begin, this limited edition comes in a specially made case, with an additional dvd of various concert video clips since 2001 and a serial numbered photo card. I havent watched the dvd yet, but from what I see, it contains clips of 'Spirit Dreams Inside', 'Promised Land', 'Ready Steady Go' and etc, with an additional footage of the Smile recording session.

As for the album itself, it sounds much more poppish compared to their older days, but the new songs are really outstanding. There are seven brand new songs here, with my particular fave being 'Coming Closer'. I've been listening this album for almost 24/7, but I dont feel sick of it. The limited edition is probably sold out, but if you can, buy the ordinary version. Trust me, you really wont regret it... SUPPORT LARUKU!!!

Recommended Songs:

READY STEADY GO
Lover Boy
Feeling Fine
Coming Closer (My fave!!)
Hitomi no juunin
Spirits dreams inside

P.S: I nearly busted my wallet for buying this, but I really think it's worth it...

[baka]

i havent' heard others from them/him/her so i can't really say but i did enjoy it and have actually kept it what are some other sounds i can compare the group/person to so i can check it out.

[Chiaki Nozomi]

Originally Posted by koki_2706

After waiting patiently for the past three years, I've finally got my hands on the limited edition of Smile!!! True to my expections, this album really rocks!!!
As for the album itself, it sounds much more poppish compared to their older days, but the new songs are really outstanding. There are seven brand new songs here, with my particular fave being 'Coming Closer'. I've been listening this album for almost 24/7, but I dont feel sick of it.

P.S: I nearly busted my wallet for buying this, but I really think it's worth it...

Your wallet busted? I had the unfortunate situation of Janne da Arc and Laruku releasing stuff at the same time. (T-T) No new anime or manga this month, that's for sure...

I love SMILE too. I even liked Yukihiro's song. (O.O)
The songs Hyde wrote sound allot like his solo works. <3
I did not like 'Feeling Fine'. The opening riffs sounded like a rip of some old rock and roll song I still can't recall the title of. I skip the song everytime cuz regardless of whether or not it was done on purpose, it pissed me off that they produced something even remotely resembling it. XP
Definately worth the wait.

[Hellychan]

Originally Posted by Chiaki Nozomi

Your wallet busted? I had the unfortunate situation of Janne da Arc and Laruku releasing stuff at the same time. (T-T) No new anime or manga this month, that's for sure...

I too have busted my wallet >< (without mentionning that Tackey & Tsubasa new album will be released soon \o/ so I'm going to bust my wallet a little more! Yay! ^^; ) but that album really worths it! I love it! ^__^

Originally Posted by Chiaki Nozomi

I did not like 'Feeling Fine'. The opening riffs sounded like a rip of some old rock and roll song I still can't recall the title of. I skip the song everytime cuz regardless of whether or not it was done on purpose, it pissed me off that they produced something even remotely resembling it. XP
Definately worth the wait.

Eehh??!! Actually, Feeling Fine is the song that makes me SMILE I don't know why but somehow, it makes me happy ^^;
I love the other songs as well, particularly Hitomi no Jyunin, Lover Boy, Coming Closer and Times Goes On

[koki_2706]

Originally posted by Hellychan

Eehh??!! Actually, Feeling Fine is the song that makes me SMILE I don't know why but somehow, it makes me happy ^^;

Hmm, I agree with Hellychan. For some reason or another, I like ' Feeling Fine' a lot as it is quite different from the other songs in the album. However, my current fave is 'Time Goes on', which I strangely didnt recommend earlier...

P.S: If I was to make an anime featuring Laruku saving the world, I would choose to put 'Coming Closer' and 'Time Goes on' as my OP and ED respectively. Dont ask me why...