Morning Musume '15 - Seishun Kozo ga Naiteiru / Yugure wa Ameagari / Ima Koko Kara RE A single

Title: Seishun Kozo ga Naiteiru / Yugure wa Ameagari / Ima Koko Kara
Artists: Morning Musume '15
Release date: 15 APR 2015
Version: Regular Edition type A

Packaging: Hello!Project tends to go with simple packaging for their releases and this is no exception. There is the jacket booklet, the CD and the jewel case to hold those and that is it. I picked this version for the cover as I thought it was one of the better ones and I liked how it showed the new generation prominently on it. There is one more group shot on the other side of the jacket that is with the group in the same outfits and the 12th generation in the front.

As I pre-ordered the release I did get a first press with the bonus card and I ended up getting Fukumura Mizuki, who like always looks lovely.

Track listing:

1. 青春小僧が泣いている (Seishun Kozo ga Naiteiru)
Truthfully when I first listened to the song I did not like it much at all. With repeated listens I have come to enjoy it much more and it is now my favorite track on the entire CD. Most of it is getting used to the breaks in the song, once you know they are there it is easier to get used to them. It is still very much within the EDM sound that the group has been doing for a while but stands out their other songs in the genre. A part of it from the lines delivered like a cheer and of course those pauses. It changes up quite a bit and that is one of the reasons I enjoy it as it never really repetitive and keeps my attention more with them.

2. 夕暮れは雨上がり (Yugure wa Ameagari)
While I do enjoy this track I tend to forget about it. There just does not seem to be much about it that makes it stand out compared to some of their other recent songs. Though I love the piano intro and I do like that it more melodic than the first song. It still does not break away much from what the group has been releasing before, it is just one of the more slower paced ones. I do like there are a few lines in the verses right before the chorus that have the music give a burst of strong impact. The chorus has more energy than the rest of the song which works well to stop it from sounding monotonous.

3. イマココカラ (Ima Koko Kara)
I love this song but it also annoys me. My annoyance mainly comes from the feeling that it ends too soon without having a real climax to it. It is more of a standard pop song and works well with Oda Sakura having a prominent vocal lead in the song. What I love is from the quiet and soft start it builds and swells to the chorus with an uplifting tone that works well with it being a theme song for one of the Precure films. It is just that instead of ever taking the song anywhere it just stays on that plateau of the chorus and ends. It does try to do something at the end with the focus going to the vocals but it just is not completely satisfying. If it ended with something softer, like how it began I think it would have worked better.

4. 青春小僧が泣いている (Seishun Kozo ga Naiteiru) (instrumental)
5. 夕暮れは雨上がり (Yugure wa Ameagari) (instrumental)
6. イマココカラ (Ima Koko Kara) (instrumental)


Overall: For the first single post-Michishige Sayumi and with the 12th generation it is a solid addition to the Morning Musume discography. It does not stray far from the group had been releasing as Morning Musume '14 so it seems to be more to let fans know there is nothing changing too drastically with the membership change. At least not yet.

So it just feels like a safe single and one they knew they needed to release because they had that Precure tie-in with this.

That said I do wish the new generation would have been pushed to the front more with this being their first single. It would save it from sounding like more of the same, which would have really helped solidify the changes with the group.