Ironic Clown

Tracklist:
1. HIKARI
2. Story
3. HIKARI (Instrumental)
4. Story (Instrumental)

HIKARI is ELISA’s 2nd single, and was released on the 21st of May, 2008. It was the theme song for an anime called Nabari no Ou.

I really didn’t know what to expect of ELISA, as I had never heard of her before, and one day while browsing the internet I stumbled upon her and decided to give her a listen, and I was surprised with HIKARI. The single starts straight away with her singing and some simple piano chords and a harp, before an orchestra is introduced. ELISA has an amazing voice that reaches the high notes extremely well. HIKARI is a slow string based ballad that kept me captivated throughout. I especially like the bit towards the end when it slows down and ELISA is singing softly, and then all of a sudden the arrangement bursts and all the instruments heard throughout the song are played all at once.

Story is the complete opposite of HIKARI as it is a dance track. ELISA’s vocals once again are top notch, however they aren’t as powerful and they sound more relaxed than in HIKARI. The electric guitars throughout make the song sound gritty and aggressive. Towards the end the song has an ingenious electric guitar solo, which I thought was perfect. I thought that Story was high quality material; however I didn’t find it as illuminating as HIKARI.

HIKARI was an amazing find. I admit I did not have big expectations for this single, however when first heard HIKARI I was blown away. While ELISA may not be very well known in the J-Pop community, I think that she should be recognised for putting out this fantastic single, and I highly recommend it.

Rating4 stars