C. Song by Song Analysis

Hey everyone, this is Ice Angel here, and I'm filling up for Kaoru since she's suffering severe ear trauma from trying to find something nice in Mission 4 Project. Since she's still sick and absolutely refuses to listen to the album, I'll be doing the song by song analysis for her. Kaoru will be coming in every now and then with her comments and it will be colored gray, while mine will be colored black. We'll be doing ratings of each song from 1-10, number 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. Comments, suggestions, complaints, flames etc. on my analysis ONLY can be sent to my e-mail address at iceangel@edsamail.com.ph. Comments to Kaoru can be e-mailed to her at kaoru@edsamail.com.ph. If you would like to send a comment to our analysis in general, e-mail it to domepakorn@edsamail.com.ph

1. "Pbragode Garn" by James, Voy, Joni and Dome

The opening drums of this song fused with synthesizer sounds is quite momentous, you'd be expecting something even cooler to follow up, right? Well...not exactly. They have their own solos in this song, and after the chorus, they sing the verses in the same fashion, without anything making it different from the previous verse. The chorus sounded ok with them singing together but there are parts in where their harmony sounds a little off. The transitions and instrumentals are handled by the same guitar sounds featured in the start of the song. In other words, this song is pretty weak and the sounds used were so repetitive it is bordering on boring. Their voices almost sound the same, they sing their solos in the same fashion, the instrumentals and transitions are the same....you get the picture.

Can you spell Y-U-C-K? This song is contrived and all the solos seem forced since its a first single and they want to tell us listeners that all of the four sing. However, I like the combination between Dome and Voy.

Verdict: 5 out of 10. Can you spell W-E-A-K?
Verdict: Since the first single is supposed to be strong, I'll give it a 6.5 out of 10. It should have been higher but I expected something better for a first single. James=6, Dome=7, Voy=7, Joni=5.

2. "Kon Ngo Ngo" by James

In typical fashion, they release a slow second song in follow-up to their weak first single. The starting guitars sounded like something out of Matchbox 20's previous albums, but the sudden rise of the guitar's pitch gave out the dramatic theme of this song. James starts pretty slow here when it comes to projecting his voice and the real enchillada only comes out in the chorus. The music is very edgy and epitomizes slow rock (think of the Scorpions or those other slow rock bands in the 80s), unfortunately, James' voice doesn't suit the edginess of rock music. In this song, the music achieves its purpose but it fails in James' inability to fuse his voice with the sound. You might like it if you approach it by just listening to one aspect of the song: either the vocals, or just the music. Take your pick.

Unsuccesful attempt at slow rock. Wrong singer, wrong voice, wrong music.

Verdict: 5 out of 10. Aargh. The masochism of this song was almost enough to kill me.
Verdict: Overall=3 out of 10. James doesn't belong here!

3. "Aok Hak Ma Rak Ga Phom" by James, Voy, Joni and Dome

Punk rock seems to be the genre the boys with a mission are tackling here. The song's melody, rhythm and arrangement was able to capture it, but the beat is a bit too simple for its own good. So simple that its easy to perform with instruments. *raises eyebrows* Punk rock requires a very edgy voice, and their vocals lack the edge it calls for. As usual, Dome's voice is the nearest you can get to genuine edginess but it ends up being contrived (yet again) for his voice is sweetened (yet again). James was squeezing as much edge as he can out of his voice to the point that he sounds like whining version of any of the jukebox kings my country had so popularized. The arrangement of their vocals are fresh and new when you listen to it for the first time but after listening for more than once you'll get tired of it eventually. The melody and rhythm does not graduate and there are hardly any unique transitions. The ending was a literal translation of a "smash-boom-bang" ending preferably used in live performances. Unfortunately, this isn't one.

I actually like the combination of Joni and Voy in this song. However, its really a lackluster attempt at punk rock. Are they trying to imitate Green Day?? James DOESN'T BELONG here.

Verdict: 5 out of 10. There's more to edge than just a loud voice, o-kay?
Verdict: 5 out of 10. James=0 out of 10, Dome=7.5, Joni=6, Voy=6.

4. "Kian Wai Tii Hua Jai" by Joni

This song has a very good and happenin' beat. Synthesizer sounds adds life to its simplistic and almost repetitive melody. I love the way the bass just provides a great background to this song: its perfect for the angsty melancholy this song emanates. All in all, the arrangement, especially the transitions from verse to chorus and chorus to coda was well done. The only factor pulling this song down was the voice of the singer himself. I can't really pinpoint what exactly is in Joni's voice that makes it bad in this song but I just don't like it. All I can point out right now is that his voice is too fragile and tends to crack on some vital areas of the song. His vocal acrobatics seem forced and in the end, sounds really contrived. The vocals were saved, surprisingly, by his backup vocals. For once, the rest of the three singers of Mission 4 were ACTUALLY able to compromise their voices for the better of the song. Bravo.

This song has a VERY familiar melody. I think I've heard it before, although I can't really pinpoint it. Joni is also trying to imitate someone with his singing, which will eventually lead to the demise of his voice. He sounds very much like he's in torture, LITERALLY. This song would have been salvageable if someone else sang it. The background vocals saved it, though.

Verdict: 7 out of 10. Someone should remind Joni that you can't use your "Waab Boy" singing technique when it comes to singing a rock song.
Verdict: Music=7 out of 10. Vocals and overall=5.7.

5. "Kwarm Jing Khong Sai Lom" by Voy

So far I'm surprised and impressed with what Voy's vocals has to offer to this album. I've never been a fan of his vocals when he was singing for JR-Voy: his voice is too strong and clear for the usual sappy lovesongs written for him. Yet in this song, he was able to capitalize on the strongness of his voice to make it suit band music. I agree with Sou Chan that he needs to sing the first words of the verses right, for he is pretty lucky the song's chorus and melody shielded his messy start. Other than that, the song itself is promising. The arrangement is quite simple, its your usual mellow rock ballad and the weight of the guitars gives the song a small yet angsty edge. Combined with Voy's mellow voice, this song, though, could do without the inclusion of the other three's voices in the end. Their voices, especially James' (or was it Dome?) made an abrupt -WAY too abrupt- ending for the song, completely changing the song's understated message and turning it into a whiny piece.

This song clearly suits Voy's personality as a bassist: dull and understated. He needs to work a bit on his voice, although this would probably work more with his deeper, non-sweetened voice. Any other voices inserted in the song isn't really necessary. Again: James DOESN'T belong here.

Verdict: 7 out of 10. When it comes to vocals, leave Voy alone, please, he could handle his song on his own.
Verdict: Music=8.5 out of 10. Vocals and overall=7.5, could have scored better without the rest of Mission 4 butting in.

6. "Chob" by Dome

This song has a very happenin' beat! Its enough to make you swing your head in time to the music. The opening parts in where Dome sings a few line with some bass accompanying him was quite a unique start. There is an interesting way of handling the verses: Dome sings a line and someone (James probably) backs him up, almost like they were rapping together. If it was, indeed, James, then they should sing together more often. Instead of a refrain with vocals, this song has an instrumenal refrain, which is rare in Thai music. Too bad it tends to be too repetitive since it is used as a transition for almost all the parts of the song, including the ending. The chorus needs a little more fusing with the verses and instrumentals since it sounded too abrupt and out of place. In the coda, Dome projects his voice ala "Tao Phom" (song from Dome Question) style, which I believe works better if they would just quit sweetening his voice. The instrumental follow-up to the coda was a bit too long and repetitive, but ended quite dramatically. As usual, there are some synthesizer sounds every now and then which added more boost to this song. The ending was handled ok, but it could have been better.

I like the unique handling of the vocals. Finally, James actually sounds like he belongs here! There seems to be no organic unity in the song, though. The verses, chorus and instrumentals seem pasted together. They seemed to have grown lazy in the ending and just repeated the instrumentals.

Verdict: 6 out of 10. If the song grows on me, it would probably be more than a 6.
Verdict: Music=8 out of 10. Vocals=8.5, James was GREAT in this. Overall=7.5

7. "Ngao Kan Song Kon" by James

Finally a song in where James doesn't sound like a whining old man. However, in order to save the beauty of James' voice, they dropped the edgy rock music, which is bad for a rock band. This song seems like a bonus track for James Delivery. In traditional James ballad fashion, this song is slow and has simple arrangement, melody and rhythm, relying completely on James' tenor voice to carry it and portray the sad emotions the song is trying to project. There are some inclusions of the three singing backup every now and then, but as a song, there's really nothing here to strain your ears for.

I'm kinda lost here. This song, like the singer, doesn't seem to belong to this album. Either his voice doesn't suit the music at all, or they had a hard time searching for a melody that suits his voice, simply because they don't belong together at all.

Verdict: 4 out of 10. Someone shove this song to James Delivery!
Verdict: Music=2 out of 10. Overall=3 out of 10.

8. "Ka (Mai) Niyom" by James, Voy, Joni and Dome

The first thing I'd like to pick on here is that their voices are way too low that it sounds so forced in the verses. Nice opening with the guitars, though. The chorus is the most vital part of this song and I have to say its parting vocals in where they fade it in the end with vocal harmonizations is quite unique and blended well with the song. The inclusion of their voices yelling before the instrumental was also a nice inclusion. The ending, sadly, was sort of bleak and abrupt, but then, there's enough highs in the song to make it ignorable.

I swear I have heard this sound before. The voices are unnatural and imitative. Its another attempt to be serious and angsty. But if you see the first two words I wrote, that was the result of their attempt.

Verdict: 6 out of 10. Finally! A song in where their vocals are more than just an accessory.
Verdict: Overall=4.5 out of 10.

9. "Jeb Hoo" by Dome

This song would be perfect as a bonus track for Dome Question. It showcases Dome moving away from the technoish beats and sounds of Dome Question and merging into full rock. He doesn't move too far away though, for what's a Dome song without synthesizer sounds showing up every now and then? This is a rockier version of the melancholic and dramatic "Ter", although unlike the slow songs of Dome Question, this song works well with Dome's sweetened recording voice. However, this song lost its passionate appeal that was present in "Ter" for the sweetening and other toyings with his voice shunted his attempts into doing so. The instrumental is a bit repetitive, but it depends on the listener, since this song does promote sadness and an exciting instrumental would hampen its desired effect. The synthesizing of Dome's voice after the instrumental provided a late yet climactic coda. Unfortunately, the ending, as usual, was too abrupt. In this song, the ending completely cutted Dome off.

Again, I have heard this melody before, but I love it anyhow. I love the way Dome projects the emotion of this song: melancholy and yearning, and he sounded quite honest as he does so even though he was edited by his producers. However, the melody is still familiar to me.

Verdict: 8 out of 10. The complete essence of "Ter" was in the live version. Will it be the same here?
Verdict: Vocals=8 out of 10. Overall=6. This would have been higher if it doesn't seem so familiar.

10. "Chai Dai Loei" by James, Voy, Joni and Dome

This is another group song in where they place background clips of the group in practice. What the hell does it have to do with the song, I have no idea. Maybe to give us listeners an idea on how "raw" and "serious" their sound is? O-kay. Anyhow, this song has a pretty unique start, heavy drum beats punctuate the opening guitars. As usual, they have vocalization problems. Again, their voices sound too low and deep, its easy to notice that they were forcing their voices to go a really lower level. The forced harmonization through two verses before the chorus was too repetitive. Again, the inclusion of synthesizer songs added life to the otherwise bland verse. Back to the vocals, James suffers the same problem he encountered in his solo songs and basically all his solo parts in the album: his voice DOES NOT suit band music. I don't understand why they have to give him so many solo parts in the song! With all those whining he's been doing throughout the album, I often wonder how his vocal chords are doing right now.

So far I agree with what Ice has to say. And may I reiterate again that James doesn't belong in this song?

Verdict: 5 out of 10. Poor James would probably need more hot tea before live performances.
Verdict: Music=7.5 out of 10. Vocals and overall=5. James=0 out of 10. The rest scores a 6.5.

As of typing, Ice Angel is serious that she is feeling something weird in her ear....Kamiya Kaoru, on the other hand, still has yet to recover but is preparing her battleground just in case fans start throwing tomatoes at her.



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