Tommy February6
Be My Valentine
Review by David Cirone
Tommy February6 (the brilliant greeen’s Tomoko Kawase) gets the head start on this year’s Valentine’s day holiday with a birthday single, “Be My Valentine.” After my disappointment with her previous holiday-themed release, “Halloween Addiction,” I was worried we’d be in for another hurried, commercially-timed quickie. But man, I’m so happy to be wrong.
“Be My Valentine” is a real pleasure, starting with the simple bass line and a relaxed, soft vocal performance by Tomoko. Tommy’s songs sometimes seem a little familiar, and a few standard tricks show up in production (high-pitched synths and Tomoko’s self-sampling chorus), but “Be My Valentine” is surprisingly fresh and unforced. A fun bonus is the English monologue where Tomoko portrays herself as a starry-eyed romantic before speeding off in the final seconds on her moped (see cover image).
Coupling track “Ai no Ai no Hoshi” puts a sugar-coated candy pop spin on the brilliant green’s 1999 single from Terra 2001. The vocal performance isn’t very different from the original, and the faux-disco musical approach come off as more of a remix than reinterpretation. Still a great song, and a nice little treat before you hit repeat on the title track.
