Quote:
Originally Posted by sxesven
Maybe this is what it seems like if you don't listen closely. I understand HS is the end all be all for some/many people here, and while I would agree it has a certain uniformity in sound, it is - in places! - dull and flat. I cannot, never could, understand the appeal of songs like Beautiful World and Heart Station. I despise both for their polished, unchallenging soullessness. I don't care you love it so much you want to have its babies, for me it's the worst material Hikki has recorded, and, as a fan, I was severely disappointed with Heart Station.
If you don't perceive core themes and sounds on Deep River and ULTRA BLUE that's all good and well, deny it all you want. For me, and for many others, they represent Hikki at her musical and artistic peak. You can observe a clear direction in Hikki's discography, from plain R&B through a more experimental take on it to R&B-infused dream pop, and if you wish to misdefine these gutsy and successful explorations as 'lacking x' then too bad for you, brah. Deep River and ULTRA BLUE are the journey, Heart Station the destination. For me, the treasure is all in the journey. |
I agree with everything I bolded... But does that mean Deep River, Exodus or Ultra Blue have themes as albums? No. Does it mean the songs are bad? No. Actually, some of my favorite Hikki (and pop music) tracks are from those albums. If by your parameters what makes a good album is a lot of strong tracks, I can understand you find those to be masterpieces, cuz they are filled with amazing tracks. By my parameters, a good album will have a theme, a direction, a flow and will propose an aesthetic. The only Hikki albums that reunites all of those are Heart Station and Exodus is close to this.
Also, I love how for the first time ever, Heart Station's Hikki seemed to learn that you don't have to scream on every track to make it emotional, and I love how her singing on songs like Beautiful World and Heart Station (and Stay Gold, Celebrate, Niji-ru Bus, etc.) are more subtle and more delicate than her usual.