C/C review

All right, I'll review it track by track and give it a score out of 10. 

But first let's talk about the group and the purpose of the single.

High King was made to promote for Morning Musume's 2008 musical with Takarazuka Revue, Cinderella.  The Single is their first (and possibly only?) single to do so as the musical starts in August so they've got to get to work for the actual musical.

Now let's talk about the Songs.

C/C (Cinderella/Complex) is the A-side of the single and after an initial weirded out by the single, It started to grow on me after a few listens to the radio rip and then I fell in love when I saw the entire PV.  It sounds like something I'd hear at my Homecoming, and makes me want to be a DJ so I can play it at my Homecoming.  It's relatively dance-able and can get stuck in your head, especially during the chorus.  The vocals are decent, although sometimes the backing vocals can overpower the singer's voice.  It's got an almost Arabian feel at first.  More Aladdin than Cinderella, but then it kinda changes.  Saki and Maimi's deep voices are like polar opposite to the 3rd lesser Member, Maeda Yuuka's voice, which is your average 13 year old H!P voice, almost like a younger version of Momoko's Buono!  voice.  The song is good, but the only thing I really don't like about is that the background vocals overpower the singer's vocals through a lot of the song. 

8/10

Kioku no Meiro is the B-side.  When the song started and I heard Ai Takahashi sing 2 lines, I immediately thought of it as an anime opening.   The kind that starts slowly with simple, upbeat vocals and then breaks to a synthesized interlude before starting the first verse.  It's vaguely reminiscent of Genki+ from Morning Musume's 8th album, Sexy 8 Beat, only with less of an 'intense' feeling.  I initially expected for Ai and Reina to lead the song like they did in C/C, but I was extremely surprised when Maeda Yuuka started to sing for the second time and got an entire chorus to herself, giving her the most or second most solo lines in the song.  The song is great, in my opinion, and kind of strays from some recent H!P b-sides, with a serious but happpy tone, instead of the happy-go-lucky Sono Bamen de Bibiccha Ikenai Jan! of Morning Musume and Darling, I LOVE YOU of Berryz and C-ute.

9/10

Overall, the single has a refreshing feeling.  Hopefully it'll start a trend with Hello! Project singles and groups and we'll hear more songs like Kioku no Meiro or C/C.

8.5/10 Overall