NEXT LEVEL: Truly a Next Level
With it being two weeks since NEXT LEVEL’s release, I realize it’s pretty late to be making a review of it, but it’s one of the main albums I’m listening to right now, and I really think it’s worth talking about.
Containing ten new songs and fourteen songs overall, NEXT LEVEL is Ayumi Hamasaki’s tenth album under the Avex Trax label. The album is pretty different from other albums by Ayu in the sense that it contains quite a bit more electronic, dance, and pop-rock elements. While I awaited it’s release, I anticipated an album much like MY STORY, (miss)understood, and Secret; basically reverting back from her darker rock sounds in her previous album GUILTY. I was quite surprised with the new themes Ayu used in her music.
Bridge to the sky: This is a nice introductory piece with some dance elements and provides some hints as to what the rest of the album holds. 4/5
NEXT LEVEL: Among others, this is a pretty ordinary Ayu song. The lyrics themselves are pretty amazing, but the actual song sounds a bit repetitive of itself as well as other soungs by Ayumi. 2/5
Disco-munication: This…is probably the best interlude piece Ayu has ever done! Wait, I take that back; I don’t think Ayumi could top herself interlude-wise after having released “Prologue” in A Song for ××. Nevertheless, it’s a very good interlude and caught me by surprise after “NEXT LEVEL”. 5/5
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EnergizE: Although I’m not completely certain of myself, I’m pretty sure this is my favorite song of the album. I just love it! It’s fast-paced, has some interesting English bits, and took me by surprise. Again. The only sad thing about this song, which I realized only as I was revising this review, is drum bits at the beginning. They have a cool way of being louder in one ear then in the next. What makes this sad is that Ayu’s deaf in one ear, so she can’t really hear this. Poor Ayu! 5/5
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Sparkle: To be honest, this song didn’t quite live up to my expectations when it was released as a single earlier this year. It seems that throughout the song, Ayumi experiments with different sounds, not really reaching a final consensus. 3/5
rollin’: This is a pretty good electronic-rock based song. It does have a pretty unexpected intro however. In my opinion, without the introduction, “rollin’” is what Sparkle should have been, if not another song like “EnergizE”. 4/5
GREEN: I don’t really know what to say about this track because I have mixed feelings for it. It’s ok, but in my opinion, it sounds very, traditional? Is that the right word? I hope it is. 2/5
Load of the SHUGYO: I’ll have to admit that I started dozing off when I was listening to GREEN, and when this song began playing, I thought I was listening to “Natsuoto” by GLAY. Strange, isn’t it? Kind of like this song. It’s a pretty good rock piece, but it has a strange beginning and an abrupt ending. 3/5
identity: Although this song is a bit repetitive, I really like it. It’s basically the medium between the darker energetic sounds of “Sparkle” and the lighter energetic sounds of “EnergizE” 4/5
Rule: Like Sparkle, I wasn’t particularly impressed with this song either. But to be precise, I liked this one a bit more. But to be fair, I have to confess something. Before the single came out, I believed the two songs were really on one track, and there was some other piece for the other track. Stupid, right? I believe it was because I watched a 30 second preview of the songs and one played right after the other. They sounded so great together! 3/5
LOVE ‘n’ HATE: After hearing so many great songs in this album, there’s nothing that could surprise me again. Even so, I still loved this track. I personally like anything with a violin/other orchestral part, and I especially liked the instrumentals in this. 5/5
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Pieces of SEVEN: If there’s a prize for longest interlude, I think Ayu deserves it. Haha. Well it’s not bad, but it’s pretty random. It kind of separates the album in a strange way. 2/5
Days: This track is one of quite a few songs by Ayumi Hamasaki that I used to dislike but now like. It does have a nice sound to it; I don’t even remember why I didn’t like it before. 4/5
Curtain call: You saw it coming. You knew it was going to happen. A sad song by Ayumi Hamasaki. But anyway: I don’t know about you, but I think this is the most beautiful song in the entire album. I just love it. I even have it added to five of my playlists. (Yes, I have a bit of a disoriented playlist lineup.) Honestly, I don’t think there any other better way to end an album. Except for maybe “girlish” from Duty. 5/5
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Album Score: 3.4/5
Wait, that low? I thought it’d be higher. Either way, it’s a very good album. If you liked listening to the excerpts in this review, you should go ahead and buy it from YesAsia. I would also post a link to the US iTunes Store for this album, but for some reason all Avex Trax music from the iTunes Store disappeared!
Well that concludes the very first album review of JapanOrb Reviews! Loved it? Subscribe to our RSS for more! Want to voice your opinion? Make a comment below. Thanks for reading.
