SHOCKING5 [w/ DVD, Limited Edition]

C-ute's down to five members now. Kanna Arihara left the group about a year ago and I don't believe she's heard on this album. Erika Umeda graduated at the end of last year and she's heard in at least two of these songs. So that leaves Maimi, Airi, Saki, Chisato and Mai. They adopt a more mature sound and style here, as befitting a group in its late 'teens (well, except for Mai). So we don't get the girlish songs a la "Sakura Chirari" that made up their early repertoire. We hear two of their catchier recent singles, "Everyday Zekkouchou!!" and "Bye Bye Bye!" as well as "Shock!," the newest single at the time of this album. Plus eight songs that were previously unfamiliar to me. They're not the greatest songs I've ever heard on a Hello! Project release. I mean, there's nothing comparable to "Ryuusei Boy," a superb song found on Berryz Kobo's latest album. Other C-ute albums, including their last one, "Akogare My Star," may have had better songs on them, but this one's a much more consistent and enjoyable listen. The girls are all in fine voice and the songs range from good to pretty good. Maimi gets a very nice solo, "Lonely Girl's Night," and Airi gets two, "Aa Koi" and "Zansho Onimai Moushiageamasu," also very nice. They sound great. I would buy Maimi and Airi solo albums. (Or an album just featuring the two of them.) Also, Saki, Chisato and Mai get their own song, "Kimi no Senpou," which includes a dialogue riff about hamburgers. Saki's got a cute, pleasant voice that I'd like hear more. I would have enjoyed a Saki duet with one of the others, maybe Mai...or Airi! All the girls harmonize nicely on track 2, "The Party!" and track 10, "Yume ga Aru Kara." The last song, track 11, "Shochuu Omimai Moushiagemasu (H22 Remix)" is much faster-paced than the others and features some gimmicky studio touches and a rock 'n' roll beat. The CD comes with a DVD that features the music video for the song, "Shigatsu Sengen" (track 8). They wear nice satin mini-dresses in it, but they don't dance at all. They stand around looking (very) pretty in medium and close shots framed against rather shabby backgrounds from an abandoned building and stone structure on the Tokyo waterfront. The PV is followed by 14 lovely minutes of "Making of" footage from the PV-and-photo shoot. I took screen grabs from this DVD to create a C-ute photobook on my blog (March 18, 2010 entry).