[Raleigh]

Mirror - I always seem to love the preludes and this one leaves little space for disappointment. It reflects the whole spectrum of emotions within the album. It starts off with melancholy tinged with regret and suddenly moves onto anger and bitterness and finally dies down with the fact that she's accepted what has happened to her and moves on carrying her pain with her.

The whole image of self-reflection matches well with her current emotional state, where she's faced with a new reality that she must live with. The lyrics seem to depict how she's still holding on to some stuff and she's not without regret but is realistic enough to realise that she has to move on.

(don't) Leave me alone - Well this song took a while to sink in but once it did I really grew addicted to this song. It's quite a powerful song speaking about her public image and probably attacks how she's perceived by the media and how people keep on prying on her personal life pretending to care.

My complaint was the PV. I know that album PVs are meant to be cheaper but this was a bit too tacky. The setting was fine but there was nothing that stood out and the choreography seemed to be drafted in 5 minutes.

talkin' 2 myself & decision - Strong tracks and manage to feel more at home into this album. Still manages to retain their replay value. However since Japan seems to dislike these darker songs maybe she should've left them for the album.

GUILTY - Not overly crazy over this track but feels like those tracks which grow on you with time.

fated - Okay ballad though feels very dry compared to the other ballads.

Together When... - Best power ballad in a while.

Marionette - Both the prelude and actual song are excellent. It's a sort of new direction for her and it turned out really well. I'm a huge fan of the whole creepy and tragic atmosphere.

The Judgment Day - I like this one very much. Sounds like something you'd listen to on Duty. It has this dramatic and apocalyptic feel that fits really well with this album.

glitter & MY ALL - Sorry to say but these two are a snooze fest and clash horribly with such a sad album. MY ALL sounds a rehash of HONEY and glitter sounds too summer for a dark and wintery album. Guess MY ALL is done for concert purposes and I'll like it once I listen to the concert.

reBIRTH - Okay interlude but was kind of unnecessary for a single song. Sounds like a recycle of RAINBOW with the strings and fantasy element.

untitled ~for her~ - I like this song because it reminds me of a friend who has died last summer. I really like the whole ballad because it seems to reflect the innocence and joy of their friendship. Also her vocals sound so fresh and more relaxed here. The lyrics are beautifully crafted too.

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The interludes are very good but they leave little space for new full songs. I don't know about you guys but for me I feel that an album has to last a year and when the album has a lot of new material you enjoy it more and discover new aspects about the album. This time we're left with only 5 new songs when last year we had 7. Even (miss)understood which had a load of double a-side singles had 6 new songs. It sucks to see so little new material. They should've included more songs to make up for the interludes.

About the album as a whole.. well it wasn't bad though it definitely does feel a bit lacking in some aspects. The album seems focused on the musical quality and only songs like glitter and MY ALL sound substandard.