甘い唇から飛び出すラヴストーリーに胸キュン!
2012年にメジャー・デビューして以降、「Fate/Zero」「ソードアート・オンライン」といった話題のアニメ作品でテーマ曲を担当してきた春奈るな。梶浦由記提供の厳かな雰囲気に満ちた“空は高く風は歌う”をはじめ、シングル曲ではスロウ～ミディアム系のナンバーを歌うことが多く、ファースト・アルバム『OVERSKY』もバラード中心の構成だったこともあって、もしかしたら彼女は〈しっとり聴かせる系の歌い手〉というイメージが強いかもしれません。ですが今回のニュー・アルバム『Candy Lips』は、ファッション誌「KERA」では〈妹系〉の読者モデルとしても人気を集める彼女のガーリーな部分にフォーカスした、会心のポップソング集に仕上がっているのです!
〈『Candy Lips』始まるよ♪〉という本人の甘い声をプロローグに、まずはハーレム系ラヴコメ「冴えない彼女の育てかた」のオープニングを飾ったシングル曲“君色シグナル”で幕を開ける本作。そこでホーン入りの華やかなサウンドに乗せて歌われる、女の子の抑えきれない〈好き!〉という気持ちはアルバム全体のムードを象徴するテーマにもなっていて、いつになく甘えた歌声の“みんな絶対キミが好き”や、恋心が元気いっぱいに弾けるポップンロール“SU・KI・DA・YO”など、恋に積極的な女の子を主役にした胸キュン・ソングが次々と飛び出します。GARNiDELiAのメイリアが作詞、tokuが作／編曲を手掛けた“乙女の願い事”も、デートの前日のドキドキと昂揚感をキラキラのエレポップに落とし込んだ、曲間で春奈とメイリアによる〈女子トーク〉風の寸劇も披露される楽しいコラボ曲。さらには、スペイシーなシンセとチョッパー・ベースがクールに駆け抜ける“恋の期限は3年、愛の期限は何年?”なんて必殺のアップ・チューンもあって、さまざまな新しい表情を見せる彼女に胸の高鳴りが止まりません!
もちろん〈しっとり聴かせる〉路線もバッチリ用意されています。河野マリナとのコラボも話題となった田中秀和（MONACA）製の可憐な冬バラード“snowdrop”、代表曲“Overfly”と同じくSakuが提供したエモーショナルなミディアム“Startear”といった先行ナンバーに加え、アルバムのラストを飾る“Beautiful World”がこれまた聴きモノ。恋する思いを星空に投影したロマンティックな歌詞（春奈がみずから作詞）と、切ないメロディーの序盤から、サビで一気にスピード感を増して心を奮わせる曲展開が、どことなくsupercell“君の知らない物語”を思わせる名曲です。
キュートなラヴソングを中心に、その可愛らしいキャンディー・リップスから紡がれる珠玉の歌に、ぜひハートを奪われてください!
[English Translation]
Haruna Luna - "Candy lips"
Text by Hajime Kitano
Heart-pounding love story bouncing out of sweet lips!
Since her major debut in 2012, Haruna Luna has sung some songs for popular anime works like "Fate/Zero" and "Sword Art Online" (both young-adult novels). Her singles were mostly dominated by slow-to-medium numbers, including a solemn atmosphere-filled "Sora wa Takaku Kaze wa Utau (meaning The Sky Is High And The Wind Sings)" produced by Yuki Kajiura (Japanese composer and music producer), and her first album "OVERSKY" consisting mainly of ballads may give one a stronger impression that she is 'a mellow type singer'. However, this new album "Candy Lips" is an excellent collection of pop songs, focusing on the girly aspects of her, who is popular also as a 'younger-sister-esque' reader model for the Japanese fashion magazine "KERA."
Following the prologue of her sweet voice saying [(Let) ‘Candy Lips’ start♪], the album kicks off with the single "Kimiiro Signal (meaning A Signal in Your Color)," an opening song for the harem-style romantic comedy anime "Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata (meaning How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend)". The track describes a girl's uncontainable feelings that 'I’m in love with you/have a crush on you!' on the gorgeous sound with horns, which symbolizes the whole theme of the album. Including "Minna Zettai Kimi Ga Suki (meaning Everyone Definitely Likes You)" sung in an unusual babyish voice and a pop'n'roll "SU・KI・DA・YO" describing the bursting crushes on someone, heart-pounding love songs of a girl who is eager to fall in love come one after another. A brilliant electro-pop "Otome no Negaigoto (meaning Maiden’s Wish)," with words and music/arrangements by the Japanese music unit GARNiDELiA's MARiA (vocalist) and toku (composer/producer) respectively, is an interesting collaborative song, depicting the uplifting, exciting feelings a girl feels the day before going out on a date, with a 'girl's talk'-like conversation skit between Haruna and Maria in the interlude between choruses. Also included is a killer upper tune "Koi no Kigen wa 3nen, Ai no Kigen wa Nan Nen? (meaning Love Lasts 3 Years, but How Long Does True Love Last?)," in which spacy synth and slap bass lines run through in a cool way. Her various expressions appearing in the album keep my heart pounding!
Of course, 'mellow' tunes are also included. In addition to the lead singles of "snowdrop," a pretty winter ballad with music by Hidekazu Tanaka of Japanese creator group MONACA, for which Marina Kawano (Japanese female singer) made some sensational guest performance, and "Startear," an emotional medium written by Saku, Japanese female singer-songwriter who also wrote Runa's signature piece "Overfly," the ending track "Beautiful World" is a must-hear. This is an excellent piece with romantic lyrics (written by Haruna herself) projecting feelings of being in love upon the starry sky as well as with a heart-stirring structure starting with a sentimental melody and exploding into a speedy chorus, likely inspired by Japanese J-pop music group supercell's "Kimino Shiranai Monogatari (meaning The Story You Don’t Know)".
Be fascinated with her cute love songs and pearls of melody coming out of her pretty candy lips!
