[Glathannus]

Okay, after finally going through everything that this single had to offer (including the bonus DVD), this is what I got from the experience:

Whoever was responsible for recording the 'honeysweeper' performances in the bonus DVD, did an awesome job. I strongly doubt there's any nuances to be heard on the original singles/albums, that I didn't hear on this DVD. Every individual instrument came through with a studio-like clarity, so you really knew how great each of these performers were at what they did.

Now while I respect all the individual performers, none of the compositions ever got a groove on that really resonated with me. I could have picked any one of the four songs, and listened to it four times in a row, rather than listening to each of the four songs once - and the end result for me would have been the same. If I had to choose between replaying the two B-sides and honeysweeper, versus replaying Variety - I would much rather replay Variety, and it's pretty much common knowledge around here that I'm not exactly kermit.gif about Variety.

Is this anywhere near the 'best' that PUFFY can be? With the respect they get from EMF members like Tokyo Jihad and TeslaGuy and digdad, I would like to believe there is really something more to PUFFY that I just haven't heard yet, but man, this sure sounds like generic Japanese pop/rock to me. It's not even that it "fits the profile" of other Japanese pop/rock I've heard (because there is some out there that I like), but that its melody is like cotton candy. You could use any of the honeysweeper tracks as a theme song for an anime, and they would fit into the kawaii otaku-friendly anime subculture far more than Hiyori Hime. And then the B-sides are just kind of "eh" for me, and it's obvious they weren't composed by Shiina Ringo.