Heartsdales – Sugar Shine

As I believe I may have mentioned in one of my earlier posts, one of my first exposures to Japanese music was through Kumi Koda and her song from Final Fantasy VII, Real Emotion. It wasn’t long after that before I first heard her collaboration with LISA, Switch. It was a very happenin’ song, with Kumi in the “featured” role. What really blew me away, though, was Salt-N-Pepa. What in the bloody blue blazes was Salt-N-Pepa doing singing on a Japanese song?!?

Okay, I knew it wasn’t really them since I was watching the PV, but if I closed my eyes, I could’ve sworn blind it was them. As I quickly found out, it was Emi and Yumi Sugiyama, Jewels and Rum, of Heartsdales. In my high school years of the early 90s, I was kinda fond of Salt-N-Pepa, so to hear two Japanese girls singing and rapping just as well as, if not better than, S-N-P…I had to investigate further.

Luckily, the first song I heard from their discography was Candy Pop, their sixth single, featuring SOUL’d OUT. It was then and there that I fell in love with the girls (as well as Diggy-MO’s voice, and as a hetero male confident in his orientation, I’m not ashamed to say I fell in love with his voice). What followed was a spiral of getting more and more into their music until I obtained their complete regular album discography as well as their Legend greatest hits collection. So, I thought I would share my love of the girls with you all and review what I consider to be their greatest regular album, Sugar Shine.

Sugar Shine - Album Cover

Sugar Shine - Track List

Body Rock – The album opens with the group’s third single, an incredible dance club track that, regardless of the language barrier, you could take into any dance club across the United States, put it on the playlist, and people would get “down and dah-ty” to it. A relentless funky electronic melody brings the groove and doesn’t let up. You can check out the video for this one here.

Candy Pop (featuring SOUL’d OUT)- The aforementioned sixth single, a hip, catchy duet of duos, with a seriously freakin’ awesome “freeze-frame” retro PV, which can be viewed here.

Baby Boy – A Starsky & Hutch 70s porn-style backbeat is just enough instrumentation for the girls’ raps about liking a boy who, from what little I understand of the lyrics, is just a little tiny bit younger than he probably should be. At that age, though, I’d have loved for either of those two to be singing that to me. Don’t worry, as near as I can tell it’s just harmless flirting. Fun and groovy little song, though.

Oh Girl (featuring Ryohei Yamamoto) – fairly decent little R’n’B number with Ryohei laying down a competent Usher-esque chorus inbetween the girls’ verses.

Rum Interlude/Voice Mail – Ah, album interludes. Infinitely more interesting/amusing if you understand the language they’re recorded in. “Hello, Rum’s not in right now, she’s out recording this album. Don’t worry, though, she’ll be back later to sample her messages for inclusion in the album.” (That’s not sarcasm from me, it’s meant to be all cutesy…I honestly have no idea what’s being said in the actual track.)

Summer Time Blues – Very memorable bluesy track, with a strong piano/guitar melody. Makes me think of summer romances…kinda funny really, since I’m smack dab in the middle of summer as I write this, and I just finished watching the Malibu Sands Beach Club episodes of Saved by the Bell on DVD. This one really captures the urgency and longing of a summertime romance that is doomed to melt in the winter snow. Honestly one of the best tracks on the album, single or otherwise.

Thru With You – I usually like faster-paced r’n’b, but this song makes me wonder what I’ve been missing all this time. Lovely song about a dissolving romance and a girl trying to hold onto her love until she just can’t do it anymore. This was the girls’ fifth single, but sadly I couldn’t find the video for it on either YouTube or Veoh.

Right Now – Sort of 60s/70s groovy funky “skipping record” sound on offer here. Not what I expected to hear on their album at all when I first bought it, but it fits seamlessly with the others, and it’s not the last surprise this album would provide me.

Rainy Days – This one starts off with 30s/40s-style whistling and guys singing, before dissolving into a nice little piano segment segueing into the rap verses. Now that I think about it, the chorus (the same as the beginning of the song) sounds like something they’d actually make you sing in a chorus/music class in school.

Should Have What!? (feat. DOUBLE) – Another semi-slow r’n’b track…honestly, this could have been playing on 102 JAMZ back in high school. Just as strong, just as enticing as Thru With You, with the added appeal of DOUBLE being all silky voiced “like Cafe Mocha”. Their fourth single, also unable to locate a video for this one.

Jewels Interlude/Radio Freestyle – Speaking of 102 JAMZ, I remember Boyz II Men doing the harmony part of Motownphilly on there one time, before doing the station identification. I would’ve paid good money to hear Jewels get all dope on the radio like this. The more interesting of the two interludes on the album.

Block Shot Hustlaz (feat. Furinkazan) – kind of a Run DMC feel to this one, with an overly strong male vocal in the bit leading up to the chorus that kind of makes me giggle. Not bad, just a bit funny in its delivery.

So Tell Me (DJ Fumiya Remix) – Overly electronic synthed-up version of their first single, the original version of which can be heard and viewed here. I’m not one for remixes unless they’re really good, and this one is good enough that I might actually listen to it once in awhile instead of the original version. If a remix of a song can make me do that, then it’s done its job. And this one has.

Ooh Wah! – Is dat sum Latin flava? Heartsdales really do “be kickin’ new flava in my ear”. This one es muy caliente, mes amigos. Along with Summer Time Blues, my favorite non-single track on the album. This was the “other surprise” I mentioned above.

What’s My Name? – Y’know in action movies, they tend to have one sorta electronic “sneaking around spy-type” song for the hero to investigate stuff to? Like Axel F from Beverly Hills Cop? This is Heartsdales’ take on that genre of music.

Baby Shine (feat. Al) (Deckstream Remix) – Decent enough “rock guitar” track, though if I’m honest, the rock guitar sorta overpowers the girls a little bit on this one. Not enough to dislike the track, but I think the emphasis should be just a teeny tiny bit more on the girls than it is in this one.

Wet ‘n Wild (feat. SUITE CHIC) – Now this is how you do a rock guitar track featuring the girls on the focus. It’s interesting that they would put these two so close together on the album, but it doesn’t detract from the awesomeness of this song at all.

Woman (Sugar Shine Version) (feat. Keizo Nakanishi) – Nice little inspiring bit of girl power to round out the album. Keizo’s moaning shortly before the chorus is a little haunting in a spiritual way, and provides just the right touch of otherworldliness to make this track soar.

Rum

Jewels

Overall, this is a great album, one I’d recommend* to anyone who is a fan of J-Urban music or someone who doesn’t believe that music is universal, regardless of language. 9/10

* – You can find it for sale on YesAsia, located here. Alternatively, you might be able to find it on eBay for a reasonable price.