BAND: Seventh Tarz Armstrong
ALBUM: 7th Tarz and Legend Guitar & Nivan Runder in 2nd E.P.
LABEL: Cutting Edge
CATALOG #: CTCM-65096/B
DURATION: 11:59
RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2007
- good by, my good fellows!! ~life time~
- stretch my arms -4N.R.Eightarm Stringer’s Mix-
- last summer – 4N.R.Epilogue November Mix-
DVD (Region 2, 4:3, Duration: 41 minutes)
- Seventh Tarz Armstrong and Legend Guitar Vol. 2/2
- wonder land – music video [EP. ver]-
The following was reviewed back in 2007
I have written about how I enjoy the music from Seventh Tarz Armstrong but one thing I’m still trying to figure out is what kind of band this is.
Seventh Tarz Armstrong appears to be the alter singing ego of idol singer Hoshii Nanase (part of the girl’s BOX group) but of course, with marketing…Seventh Tarz is a girl that learned English in Cal State University of Bakersfield and then of course, the band is literally a project which features Hoshii but music from various bands.
Having released an album in February 2007 titled “The World is Mine” (which quickly became my Summer hit album of the year), two E.P.’s were released in March 21st titled “7th Tarz and Legend Guitar & Nivan Runder in 1st E.P.” (the other is in 2nd E.P).
Each E.P. comes with three songs but the primary strength in the release is the accompanying DVD.
For the 2nd E.P. version, you have a very cool rock song “good bye, my good fellows!! ~life time~” which is on par with other songs by Seventh Tarz Armstrong which is very good rock music in conjunction with Seventh Tarz’s high pitched vocals. The music and title was written by STRIPE EFFECT.
The second track “stretch my arms -4N.R.Eightarms Stringer’s Mix-” starts out with a feeling of a video game song tied into underground beats but what could have been an awesome song is ruined by the vocals being sped up, so Tarz’s voice becomes more chipmunk. As my friend Hiro would say, “suck desu”. The music and title is written by FACT.
The third track “last summer -4N.R.Epilogue November Mix-” is a remix of “last summer” featured on the “The World is Mine” album. The music is written by STEREO VISION and title by KEI. The older version is way better as the music is more muted and tweaked to where the music can be appreciated when it comes to the drum beat but the overall tweaking is just not my thing.
So, of all the Seventh Tarz Armstrong releases, aside from the one track, the other two are just not great. Hopefully, if you are a Seventh Tarz Armstrong fan, you are purchasing the album with the DVD because as mentioned before.
Sure, the two E.P.’s are going for Y1,000 but what makes this CD+DVD release much more enjoyable is the inclusion of the short film “7th tarz and legend guitar”.
For those who have been looking up Seventh Tarz Armstrong on youtube.com, you may have seen a performance with the Tarz and her band performing on top of a school building. That video was an excerpt from this 41 minute short film about a group of musicians who tend to get into conflicts with a gang. For Tarz, all she cares about is taking care of her guitar.
The legendary guitar has been passed down in generations and prior, it was known as Sixth Tarz. Now Tarz is the new owner thus….”seventh tarz”.
It may sound very cheesy and seem very cheesy and in fact, it is cheesy in a way, especially when Tarz and her band start getting into fights that resemble a kung-fu battle against gang members.
But for those who are fans of Hoshii Nanase/Seventh Tarz Armstrong, this is the best video to watch her perform and act.
As for “Nivan Runder” which is on the E.P. title, Nivan Runder is the comic book that is typically featured on Seventh Tarz Armstrong (her last album and these two E.P.’s).
In this issue, it’s “Nivan Runder EPISODE 2 – The battle over 7 for 7 – VOL. 2/2” which is written by COCKPITS and penciled by RIDE ON 23 OLD-VALLEY. And unfortunately there are four versions of this comic and to get all four volumes, you need to buy all four releases (both CD+DVD and the normal CD versions). This is something that Johnny’s Jimusho idols and Hello! Project idols can pull off but quite surprised this was done for Seventh Tarz Armstrong.
I consider myself a Seventh Tarz Armstrong fan but since the release of “The World is Mine”, it appears that these two E.P.’s and the recent “7 shortracks” are experimental music projects.
Although “7 shortracks” was very cool (but also each song was only 2 minutes or less long), “7th Tarz and Legend Guitar & Nivan Runder” is more of a CD single and thus people could pay Y1,000 and get a cool comic book out of it.
But the strength lies with the DVD because this is the best chance to see who Seventh Tarz Armstrong is and also how Hoshii Nanase has progressed with this character. Moreso, how cool she looks performing in the short film.
Again, the short film is cheesy but it’s more or less, cheesy in an enjoyable and fun way.
So, definitely check out the CD+DVD version for both releases.
