Okay, I'll go back in time a bit to talk about re(CORD) cause I can see a path she went through with the last albums and I think it makes a lot of sense to look at the bigger picture to understande re(CORD). And it's the end of the decade + start of her 20th anniv, so a re(CAP) is in due time.
It all starts with Bon Voyage, which was a turning point in her career. Until the album's release, she was keeping her already well known habit of releasing a summer single, a winter ballad, some tracks with tie-in being singles as well in the middle, and then having the final actual album sounding like a single playlist. I do like her albums that way, don't get me wrong, it's just that I couldn't see much cohesiveness in her works since secret, except maybe for TRICK, and still it not as much as she had in her first three albums. Then, Bon Voyage came out, and the title was SO RIGHT. She mentioned on interviews she kinda did a recap of what Koda Kumi was, and decided what to take with her on her new journey and what to leave behind. And the album tracklist really portrays that. The first half, from the intro to the interlude, sounds like a singles playlist, with bangers, a summer song, a winter ballad, a rnb-ish track and so on. That's what Koda Kumi had been like for years. And then there's the later half, where she started using much more of that "nasal" or high-pitched voices, the sound was way more urban, even a bit alternative, with lots of hip-hop elements and different stuff thrown in. That was the new journey, the new sound.
From Bon Voyage to W FACE, she was on a roll to me, with each album getting more cohesive. WOML was SO amazing, with rock-inspired tracks, a bunch of upbeat songs, some funky ones and even the cute-happy song fit the album. There was even Dance In The Rain, a song which is pretty unique in her discography. I also loved the new tracks for SUMMER/WINTER of LOVE, she managed to deliver a new sound and still recap her releases up to then, so well done. W FACE was a high point to me, outside was so cohesive, fun and so Koda Kumi-esque, and both albums explored a lot of her identity and style, while still trying something new, like My fun, jazzy songs for outside and so on.
And then, when AND/DNA came out, I kinda withered lol The way she was singing in most tracks of AND really bothered me, and nowadays I listen to basically two songs (ALL RIGHT and IT'S MY LIFE). DNA was a improvement but still there was something off (but at least she delivered SO HARD with HAIRCUT, song and pv-wise).
Then we had the digital singles thing (sorry, I can't call it a project). While they were coming out I was not into the era cause the covers were so hideous and the release pattern seemed so messy, and the LLVL PV being released out of a sudden without being a single like WHY?? idk, it might have worked in Japan, but the strategy to me seemed odd. And then she mention re(CORD) was to be a continuation of AND/DNA so I just lol'ed
But now I think more like AND was where she was trying too many different sounds and ways to sing all at once, at DNA she got the balance a bit better but still had the Koda Kumi-ness missing in most songs, and with re(CORD) she got it just right. There are songs in which she sings in three or four different ways, like GET NAKED, almost to the point of feeling like a girlgroup song. However she layered those styles much better and balanced how much she would use of each one and when she would use them. And she added way more idendity to those songs, like she matched her W FACE signature to the new stuff she had tried with AND/DNA. I got really REALLY proud of the result.
Now to the album tracks themselves
A lot of them, to me, are revisiting older songs and bringing them to new era, which is basically the concept of re(LIVE) as well. R&F is the key track in all of this, since it's basically CHANCES ALL 2.0 but also featuring an artist she already worked with. Put your hand up!!! gives me Lady Go vibes, she talked about Eh Yo being WIND part II, and so much can go on here. again is also a clear example of the album's concept, especially its video. And I like all tracks, some a bit more, but all are great songs. I love the latin vibe of some tracks, the hip-hop sound of others, and as a whole the album has so much energy and power. I think it might be one of my favorite albums of hers already! I wish some things were different of course but song-wise she nailed it this time. I can't wait to see where she'll go next, now she's got her stamina again. Hoping for new surprises and specially new collaborations to spice things up a bit in 2020
