[waterballoon]

Wake me up - 10/10
Best song in the album, even my casual Ayu fans friends tell me this song has "her old flavor" back.

Song 4 u - 10/10
Simple, short, wonderful. I love epic songs like these ala progress and Mirrorcle World but those are really long so this length is even better for me.

Missing - 10/10
One of her better ballads... also one of the more unique ones. Wonderful arrangement in this song so it's actually quite a joy to listen to and pick up the little sounds. Lyrics wise I shouldn't need to say they're amazing.

SAKURA - 6.5/10
I think it's good... in a sense it's not a garbage song. However something feels really draggy here and there's a really "flat" sound throughout that makes the song longer than it already is... Not to mention I think the arrangement is way too simple (in the worst way possible). The last minute was the saving grace for this song but I'm afraid not many would pull through to that.

Melody 8.5/10
I think this song has the best melody (No pun intended) in the album... there's a very "gazing at the sunset and reminiscing about the past" feeling in this song... something that's re-occurring in this album very often.

But I kinda detest the arrangement... way too harsh for a sweet song like this. The acoustic piano mix of this in the again mini is my preferred listen.

task'n'bass - 2/5
After taskebab, I think this is a disappointing interlude considering what we had previously was really awesome. Still worse than taskinlude (and taskinllusion was way too predictable).

Bye-bye darling - 9/10
The opening guitar riffs remind me of Maki Goto's "EYES"! Something feels so old-school about this it's almost addicting to listen to. The definition of female solo singers' pop - sassy, catchy, fun to listen and sing along to... it's interesting how Ayu has sang a song like this.

snowy kiss - 7.5/10
Long. Long. This song is really long but luckily not annoying so. I have to say the best part of this song is the bridge where the guitar really shines through... the verses are really good too, but the chorus has some horrible harmonizing going on.

Sweet scar - 10/10
I may say 'Wake me up' is the best song on the album, but only because it screams 'ayumi hamasaki' from start to end. Now Sweet scar is my definite favorite off the album; its existence is a way of proving Ayu can do other genres without failing at all. The very blues feel from this song sets the mood perfectly and I can't exactly find a flaw in this perfect composition. Think Sweet scar as a present from the scars of what we had with "the next LOVE" and "Eyes, Smoke, Magic" in the Party Queen album.

petal - 10/10
Now this is the best album track we have in this album. Continuing with that blues feel in Sweet scar, this song adds a very waltz atmosphere, similar to "Like a doll" in the Love songs album... but this arrangement is way more interesting than the aforementioned. I like that you don't get to hear such songs often in pop music these days, and kudos to Ayu for bringing a different kind of sound.

glasses - 1/5
Honestly I didn't pay much attention to this interlude; I don't exactly remember how it sounds like or what its point is in the album... the songs before and after it aren't exactly very different in tempo or anything, so...

untitled for her... story 2 - 10/10
Okay no lies I give this song a 10/10 because of its lyrics. Everything pales in comparison to its preceder.

Gloria - 10/10
Now remember I said Melody gives off a "gazing at the sunset and reminiscing about the past" vibe? Gloria does the exact same thing except it doesn't leave it at that, it also says, "Let's also look forward to the sunrise". And that's what i love about this song. It's a song you wanna sing to the victims of a disaster; to someone who has just broken up; to people who feel lost... because you believe so much it will lift everyone's spirits up, and it honestly does. And I think it's a huge feat for Ayu cos she hasn't had a good 2011/2012.

Ivy - 10/10
Ivy has really the same feel as Melody and Gloria (honestly put all 3 songs together and you probably could have a song each for your 30th, 40th and 50th year respectively). But Ivy isn't just that... it's a diary in my opinion, and it's a song that makes you think of your life... and Ayu sings just that; every step you've taken from the day you were born to who you are now, and everything that happens around you... I thought it was amazing how she penned such mundane everyday thoughts and feelings into beautiful songs.

You & Me - 8/10
So they used the orchestra version which didn't make much of a difference to me. I thought this song is cute and it's great to dance along to but -2 points cos seriously Ayu? *facepalm*