[12 Days of Idols] Awakening The Snow in Palet's 'SNOW DISTANCE'.

All thoughts and opinions within this post, they're mine. ALL MINE! Sorry if you dislike what I say, but again. Mine. Oh, and yeah, MINE! If you want to whine about it, do so, but if you want to have others hear your opinions, then write a blog! It's fun, promise~

*This review has come to you rather late due to the fact that yesterday I 1) procrastinated, and 2) was very tired when I eventually did begin to write this review. Because of that, I wanted to leave it a day before serving to you all a review, one that I deemed decent enough to publish. So, with many apologies, here is a very damn late review for my [12 Days of Idols] series!

**Once again, I apologise!

There are only a few days to go even fewer now because of procrastination but Christmas, it will be here soon! However until the 24th, it is still traditionally winter in the minds of others. So, to celebrate what winter brings us all, I wanted to look upon the beauty of the snow, one we may not see with our own human eyes...

When the bell rings out in the woods this winter, the snow drops will slowly awaken from a year long slumber to bring forth winter. Are you ready to look upon the true beauty that is the winters snow?

With 4 Days till Christmas, these Idols sent to me...

Snow in the distance, under wooded trees...

I don't like Palet. I will get this out there and admit that when it comes to Palet, I really don't like them and have honestly never found a reason to care for them, either. So, now you know.

Of course there have been a few things, such as events, that seemed appealing about Palet when I saw updates regarding them, likes games of hide and seek with the fans (now that sounded like fun!) however when it came to their music and overall image, I was... underwhelmed, to say the least. So of course, I barely looked out for them. In terms of what they produced musically, I had never been impressed, so I didn't seek them out only to be unimpressed again and again... and again/

Of course that doesn't stop me from clicking a video every now and again, just to see if they're as forgettable as the last time, so when SNOW DISTANCE came out I was ready to be underwhelmed and unimpressed yet again, because after 2 years of it from this group, it is what I came to expect from them.

Well. Let me tell you...

Ominous opening is ominous

... That this is, surprisingly and shockingly, amazing, and that I was wrong. So very, very wrong, and honestly? I feel bad for wanting to judge SNOW DISTANCE right away based on how I felt towards this group in the past. So Palet, I am sorry - I am sorry for being willingly ready to judge and dislike this song (because my heart is cold and a judgmental brick of ice on the best of days) because of my own view of you. Finally, I can see that you do clearly have talent.

Still doesn't make me like your past songs, however! Your b-sides and album songs may be marginally better, however.

Dead girls in the woods, always an attractive quality in my Idol PV's!

Honestly though, this is a really pretty PV! No, scratch that, it's absolutely gorgeous. Okay, so very little goes on and the passing of time seems very small, but when you look at the video in all of its beautiful glory... well, you can't help but be taken away by it and captured in how ethereal and gentle it is. When I watch this video, I really feel like I have been taken away to another world, one we can never see with our own human eyes, and that I am watching something distant to me.

Huh. I suppose that's why it's called SNOW DISTANCE?

There are a lot of aesthetically pleasing things about SNOW DISTANCE for the viewer, and not just in the beautiful landscape of woods we find the girls of Palet set in; there are really wonderful camera shots, the girls themselves look absolutely stunning in gowns of white that remind me slightly of fairies or, and this is my favourite theory I've come up with regarding the PV, Snow Drops (getit). We also see a few ominous shots in the video as well, ones where we see a mysterious figure in the shadows dancing and ringing a bell, possibly to awaken the sleeping Snow Drops.

All together, despite the lack of passing time in the video, this makes for a very beautiful video, and one that is also pretty enjoyable to watch if you ask me.

Snow Drops sleeping in the trees...

Seriously, whoever this chick is, she's gorgeous! How did you and your divine mouth go under my radar!?

Dead girls in the woods! Murder I say, murder!

So after watching the video a few times, I eventually did come up with a story for it, despite the lack of plot you see in the video, and honestly I do like the story I came up with... though I like most of the story lines I create for PV's, because it's so fun to do and also a nice way to be a bit more creative! Anyway, here goes~

Down in the woods, where the bell rings in the Winter air...

Though a story is unclear, when I watch the video it feels as if I am watching a tale of the awakening of snow. The shadowed figure, a lost member if you will, is dancing in the winter air of the woods and calling forth the snow drops, or snow fairies if you will, via the tinkling of the bell and a dance. It has been a year since the snow last awoke, so when they hear the bell ring, the snow drops slowly begin to awaken from their long slumbers and come to the realisation that, once again, winter is upon us...

And once awoken, the girls begin to dance themselves so that the snow falls and, with her job complete, the mysterious figure runs off into the woods, ready to await the next time she has to wake the lovely snow drops up for another winter...

And that is pretty much it for the story, and honestly the video itself isn't much to go on, however I found that after watching it quite a bit, I felt that the story fit with the idea of the video. Still, I could be wrong, however it's always fun to speculate!

Honestly though, this could just be a very beautifully crafted music video at the end of the day, one without a story, but instead pretty scenery that is very appealing to look at. If that's the case, then I don't mind, however with a video like this its always fun to assume and create something for yourself to really bring it to life, and that's what I did; I brought this video to life with a story, and made it become something more in my mind.

FAIRY CIRCLE!!!

Anyway, leaving the whole story-idea behind, I want to say that, hands-down this is one of the best-looking videos I have seen this winter, possibly all year. I absolutely love how it looks! The different use of magical colours in the video, green, blue and purple, really bring out a mystical, fairy-like quality in the video and capture the essence of an ethereal presence in the girls. Likewise, the gowns they wear really bring about this angelic, almost spiritual, look to them and with the flowers added to their hair, it allows me to think they are more like fairies or creatures of the woods.

Add in some really breath-taking shots, all of which seem to keep a distance until a few close-up shots are added in there, and you have what I would call a beautifully made music video, one which I think should be viewed by many people, even none fans. Seriously, it's glorious; SNOW DISTANCE is a PV worth watching.

Seriously... LOOK AT IT!!! Isn't this gorgeous!? Holy crap, this is breath-taking to the extreme!

And then they broke out the butt-ugly dresses. Great!

... Well, it would look beautiful in full, if only it weren't for these dresses. Okay I admit, the dresses would probably look okay, if only they didn't have some ugly, tacky-ass pom-poms tacked to the front! Seriously!? Couldn't they keep the fairy dresses instead?

This almost ruined the PV, tbh. EW!

That said, even with the pompom dresses thrown in there like a giant sore thumb, this video is really strong; the beauty and feel of it all is so high in quality and the result is so effective for me as a viewer that, even when those dresses that look out of place are thrown in there, it doesn't really matter to me any more - I'm engrossed in SNOW DISTANCE, whether I like it or not (and oh man, I like it!) and nothing can change how I feel about it.

Not even some gross dresses added in for the Idol effect. Nope. Natta.

Regarding the song itself, I really do enjoy it. SNOW DISTANCE is one of the few serious winter songs I have heard this year, but my gosh, isn't it a beautiful one? The sound of it fits so well with the video, too! It has an eerie feel to it, one that is a bit distant to the listener I think, but also clear as a bell (haha, getit? Bell? Cause there's a bell in the video... oh, whatever ¬.¬) and so enjoyable when I listen to it.

Aside from bringing out a great music video at the end of the year, Palet have also managed to capture me with their music as well... in so many ways, SNOW DISTANCE is extremely beautiful and breath-taking, and all of the girls sound amazing as well.

Oh, what is the world coming to!?

And this is, hands down, one of the best ways to use computer-generated snow! It adds a nice mystical element to the overall feel, if you ask me. Also, is that a Snow Dance?

Actually, regarding the dance shot briefly, whilst I actually payed very little attention to the dance itself in the music video (as I was taken in by the imagery more than their choreography), I did enjoy the part of the choreography towards the end where the snow begins to fall as the girls are dancing. That scene really nailed it for me, and allowed me to appreciate just how well-done the video was.

With the added effect of the snow falling down softly as the girls dance in the glade of the woods, with only the light of the world shining behind them, it really did feel like a beautiful winter PV, but one that wasn't cold or even that warm, but instead mystical and fairy-like. In a way, it became a story-like winter, one that is spiritual rather than child-like and fun, but it still worked.

Holy shit, that's ominous!

It has an almost eerie feel when the video opens, but the more you watch it, the more you realise how beautiful SNOW DISTANCE truly is and the true magnificence of Palet's talent. Though I doubt I'll become their fan any time soon, it's undeniable just how amazing SNOW DISTANCE is to me now that I have watched and fallen for it.

When the snow awakens, winter can truly begin...

SNOW DISTANCE, the PV that has somehow changed my view of Palet. A great PV and a wonderful song, one which has become a winter favourite alongside Star Shine Story and Stay with me, but also a PV that is, visually, one of the most appealing that I have seen this year.

This is a great combination in video and song, and whilst I did have my own opinion against Palet before, I really do think that now I need to re-evaluate a little bit, because I do have to give them credit where it's due - they have surely won me over with SNOW DISTANCE and created something breath-taking, a visual stunner that I think many would enjoy, even if you do find it a bit slow and less story-driven than one may like, because really, it is worth it.

If only snow really was this gorgeous.



When the bell rings, the snow begins to awaken in the distance. Without their own call, the snow will not fall...

SNOW DISTANCE, Palet's beautiful winter melody. What did you think of it?

Until next time.

Much Love,
Chiima~