Track-by-track, oh yeah. This is gonna take a good while.

1. TR∀NSFoRM - Meet the harder little sister of 2009's fan favorite single SCREW. TR∀NSFoRM is a very catchy and nice trance-rock hybrid, but, personally, I was never the biggest fan of SCREW and I'm not totally loving this track right away either. It's not awful to listen to at all, but I just tend to prefer my music slightly more melodic. However, I grew to like SCREW quite a lot, and I think I'll also grow to love TRANSFoRM, because I'm already liking it more than I initially liked SCREW (though that isn't to say much...). Still, a nice way to kick off the album and definitely a good preview of things to come.

2. Mirai Ressha - My god, the amount of cuteness energy in this song. I love Mirai Ressha, hands down. It may be all saccharine and sunshine but hot damn it's catchy and uplifting and a good dose of saccharine music is sometimes very healthy. kz's arrangement is excellent. KOTOKO's chipmunky cute vocals caught me way off guard here though. I think it could have worked with her normal vocals too and might have sounded a bit less... surprising then? But it's very, very nice like this too.

3. Metal Link - This song is quite short by KOTOKO standards - and by I've standards too. It's just a bit over three minutes, which is pretty disctracting when I'm used to KOTOKO's songs being at least four and a half minutes long, lol. Moving on, the chorus is bothering me here. The instrumental becomes a messy wall of music and KOTOKO's vocals just drown in there. It sounds like it was recorded by a garage band that can't afford proper recording equipment. I blame the mixer. Other than that, it's a nice song with a good composition and arrangement. Rock-ier than KOTOKO's usual stuff. I just have a problem with the chorus.

4. Love Letter - Here we have one of my favorite songs on the album. It's really nice and easygoing and KOTOKO sounds damn good. It's also a nice stop for breath with its slower tempo because this album is packed full of fast songs. I think comparing this one and Metal Link (and some other non-I've songs on the album) shows how well I've producers handle KOTOKO's vocals compared to "outsiders" - the difference is pretty clear and I far prefer the I've style. I also applaud this song for perfectly fitting this album while still carrying a distinct I've flavor.

5. Aoi Jeep de - This is also a rock song, but a lot lighter and poppier than many on this album. I guess it could be compared to bumpy-Jumpy!. It's like a faster and slightly rockier bumpy-Jumpy!, more emphasis on the guitars than the synths. It's catchy and energetic and KOTOKO sounds great. Another good song I can't really find anything to nitpick about.

6. mirror garden - Oh boy, KOTOKO should have left this cuter voice in Mirai Ressha where it belongs. This song is far too dark for cute vocals and she sounds completely out of place. It's bothering me to no end, espeacially in the chorus. The way vocals are generally handled in the chorus is quite questionable too - the background "scream" would probably be ear-piercing if played in higher volumes. But even that problem could be solved with a different singing style, I think. This song should come with Abyss vocals instead of Mirai Ressha vocals. Damn you, Natsume Susume (who's apparently the vocal director). Otherwise, it's not too bad of a song. I actually like the arrangement.

7. Command+S - This song sounds a lot like a remix. It starts out like many a remix would and the arrangement in general is giving me huge remix-vibes. I might not even believe it's an original song if the vocals were handled a bit differently and I didn't know better. Command+S is easily the longest song on the album, clocking at slightly over eight and a half minutes. The length doesn't bother me at all since I love long songs the trance arrangement is pretty damn good, KOTOKO's vocals fit in seamlessly and the composition is quite nice. I just wish the instrumental changed a bit more when the chorus comes up, because it doesn't change pretty much at all and that can make the song sound a bit monotonous at first. Tl;dr this song is awesome. Also lulzy lyrics ftw: "I think I was born~, I just sing lalala~"

8. X-kai- - I'm not too crazy about the rapping at the beginning of the verses, but other than that, it's a very good song. This song is dark, with strong rock vibes, and something MELL could also pull off very nicely. The song lacks a real chorus, but it's not a ticket to doom with the verses pulling of their job quite nicely (the same thing never bothered me with MELL's Fascination either). The vocal part just before the lalalas is really lovely, but that final note sounds sooooo off. Really, that's my biggest complaint about this song.

9. Sa.yo.na...ra - Quite a wild song, to put it mildly. The arrangement, especially the synths, is all over the place and only eases down at some parts. Makes me miss Love Letter's simplicity. This song is completely chaotic and can get very annoying at times... but I wouldn't say I hate it. It does have its charms. It maybe one of those songs you love one day and wish they would stop existing the next day. Also probably very polarising, easy to hate but quite easy to like too.

10. beat - A damn great song. Once again, we have a catchy track with trance and rock influences. I just love the part before the chorus where two vocal tracks are layed over each other, it makes a great atmosphere. The chorus is also pure earcandy. Complaints? It's under four minutes long. Shame on you, KOTOKO, shame on you.

11. Kikoeru - For a ballad, it has quite a loud start. It's okay, nothing too spectacular. Really, just one more quite forgettable C.G Mix ballad to add to the pile. But, like Love Letter, it's a nice chance to catch some breath between all these fast and furious songs. And it would be very wrong to accuse it of being unpleasant to listen. I do, however, wish KOTOKO went slightly less cutesy on this one, because I'd like to hear her clearer voice, which might suit a ballad like this better (on the other hand, it might make the song more boring, but... I dunno).

12. Hirake! Sora no Oto - To be honest, this is a very bland piece of pop-rock, especially compared to some of the more stand-out tracks on this album. At least KOTOKO's vocals are very nice. The very out-of-place synth strings at the end of the choruses are quite amusing. Probably my least favorite song on Hiraku Uchuu Pocket, because it's blander than anything else she bothered putting on this album.

13. Chikyuu -TERRA- - This is a very nice song. The chorus is epic and the verses are beautiful. It could probably have a slightly less abrupt transition from chorus to verse, but, really, it's very fine the way it is. One real complaint, however: it's not a fitting last song. I think the last song on an album should leave a complete feeling that makes it clear that the album ends here, thanks for the ride. Usually KOTOKO's albums have succeeded with this (Akai Tama, Aoi Tama, Sekka no Shinwa and LITTLE BABY NOTHING all were fitting final songs), but Chikyuu just seems to end too abruptly and leaves me expecting for more.

Overall: I really liked this album, even with all the minor nitpicks. It's the darkest and rockiest album KOTOKO has ever done, which I wasn't expecting at all. In general, pretty much all of the songs are very catchy and memorable and simply good, with a few bumps in the road here and there. The dominating combination of trance and rock is omni-present and even the slower and poppier songs share similarities in their arrangements that make them feel right at home in this album. Nice flow and a cohesive collection of songs aren't attributes every album just automatically has. I think this album has already climbed to the second-favorite spot on my KOTOKO albums ranking, beating UZU-MAKI but slightly losing to Garasu no Kaze. And, as I was hoping and expecting, it easily puts Epsilon no Fune to shame. I'm probably buying this as soon as I get the chance.

However, I couldn't help but notice that the I've tracks on this album tend to be a notch better than the tracks by the other, newly acquired producers. Especially the handling of KOTOKO's vocals is, at times, a bit shaky when new people are involved and good old I've people clearly do a superior job. I hope it won't become a recurring problem in her post-I've works, because she has a great voice. However, the reason her voice is handled better on the I've Sound produced tracks is most likely because the I've producers have over the years learned how to bring out the best in her and over time, other music makers will probably learn too. Really, these are probably just growth pains, the compulsory blocks on the road, which will be dealt with over time.

Also, I've got to say the booklet looks very cute (KOTOKO popping up from random space pockets, wheeeeeeeee!) and has some very nice shots (the picture next to the credits page is probably one of the best pictures of her I've seen). Which is of utmost importance, of course. Hiraku Uchuu Pocket also beats Epsilon no Fune in terms of booklet, I'd say.

I should probably start a blog or something, the amounts of text I'm spamming here are getting ridiculous. :P