Okay, so I was wrong. In my review of YUKI's last single, "STAND UP! SISTER", I said that we probably wouldn't be hearing from YUKI again for a while, but just three months later, she released this single. She also plans to release one more single and her second album in late March. We're really looking forward to her second album because we loved the first so much. We'll find out if her first album was just a fluke or not in our review of that album. First, let's take a look at this single. 
A shot from the "SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY" promotion video. |
There are three new songs on this single, and all of them seem to have a bit of a folk, or almost country flavor. Somehow, this style seems to suit YUKI's vocal style well, and reminds me a bit of some JUDY AND MARY tracks. I have mixed feelings about this since her album was a pretty big departure from her work with JUDY AND MARY, and that was probably one of the main things that really made it great. On the other hand, JUDY AND MARY could really rock sometimes. SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY is an interesting-sounding song with a twangy guitar in the background. This is accompanied by some very heavy bass, an acccordion, a trumpet and other instruments. As in her last single, this song features instrumentals by some of the members of the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. The vocals in the chorus from YUKI are very powerful. This powerful and unique singing style is really what makes YUKI great, and it is present here to a greater extent than it was in "STAND UP! SISTER". I said in the review of that single, that YUKI was just lacking some of the magic we heard in her album, and I think it can be attributed to the lack of really dramatic and passionate singing that we crave from her. SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY satisfies some of this craving, and is an excellent YUKI song that grows on you in a serious way. Surprisingly though, her vocals in this song remind me more of her work she did with JUDY AND MARY rather than her solo work up to this point. You'll never guess who wrote the second track. It was Andy Sturmer, the same American guy who wrote Puffy's latest album, "NICE.". In "NICE.", Andy Sturmer was able to take Puffy's pre-existing style and use it to make good music that fit the duo well. In this song "arigatou", Sturmer seems to do the same thing with YUKI . I can tell that he understood YUKI's style and used that to his advantage. This song sounds a bit more funky than SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, and it has a very 'trippy' sound to it throughout. Once again, YUKI gives a good, powerful vocal performance that reminds one more of JUDY AND MARY than her solo work. YUKI wrote the lyrics for all three songs on this single, but in the third song, "17-sai", she wrote the music herself as well. YUKI has been writing a few of her own songs here and there, and surprisingly, they have been some of her best songs. "17-sai" is the most upbeat song of the single. I like to hear her sing her scat-like vocals like "da bi du bi da bi du yeah". There is also a part where she sings "sayonara no wake o" and holds out the "o" as "wo-o-o". This reminds me a lot of JUDY AND MARY. I find this song to be ridiculously catchy and memorable, and just a great song overall. SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY is a refreshing single. At first, I wasn't especially impressed with it, but all three songs really grew on me. You'll probably also like this single if you miss JUDY AND MARY. Though the vocal style is similar, the songs are still really nothing quite like any song JUDY AND MARY has ever done. Actually, the songs aren't quite like anything I've heard before. It's an excellent single, and I'm starting to get excited about her upcoming album now.
Buy it here.
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