new album "A ONE" 2015.04.08 in stores II

[Deep snow]

I'm surprised that I've managed to restrain myself from listening to the previews.

You guys have very different reactions to the songs I'm now completely unable to guess what they actually sound like

[[H]]

@hayasaki thanks for sharing the previews!!

I just love how No Future made me want to jump out of my chair and run. i need it right now!! My personal highlight of the album.

Story sounds nostalgic and heartwarming. Hopefully the song builds up and we have more high notes on the bridge / last chorus. I can imagine myself sitting down and thinking about warm memories while listening to this song. My 2nd highlight

The Show Must Go On is a more exciting version of snowy kiss, but i don't like the repetitive "the show must go on..yeaayeayyeay". I like the verse thou

WARNING -> i picture this an exciting opener. I don't know whether the lalala will get annoying along the way

Don't really care for the GIFT -> I just can't understand why would she choose this song, but maybe the lyrics will resonate better. It's a big meh right now.

Out of control seems to be a filler song for me -> it sounds like something in Party Queen and similar to Life.

Hearing the previews got my hopes up quite high for A ONE. Ayu has done everything (even slight rapping) in her discography, so some songs do sound similar, and these songs have a bit of this and that. But it does have the Ayu sound and feeling.

[orbitalaspect]

Originally Posted by js_surrealism

^ The whole LS album sounded cheap. All of TK's compositions (apart from the title track) sounded like cheap globe rejects.

And uh, hate to break it to you bud, but every single frigging one of Ayu's songs is about Love so that's not really saying anything.

Aural cohesiveness is kind of irrelevant when it comes to Ayu. Regardless of what record she puts out, there will be an upbeat track, a ballad, a rockish track, a more cutesy one. It's a formula that's worked for her since My Story (seriously).

No doubt some records have more of a 'concept' than others (Party Queen, Colours, I'd say RAINBOW as well) but for the most part, I find it more productive to evaluate her albums in terms of "did I enjoy listening to the whole thing or not"

Her albums were not loaded down with love shit before Ls. RnRC, for example, had a shit ton of self-reflective (Microphone, count down, Last Links, RED LINE, Don't look back) party, fashion-forward songs (Lady Dynamite, Sexy little things, Sunrise). 8 of the 15 tracks had nothing to do with intimate relationships. Everything from RnRC back to A Song for XX is a variety of stuff, from isolation to anxiety to freedom to music to personal stuff. Ls, however, was her first album all about relationships with another person or her dog or her fans.

Even Colours is drenched with love crap. From Ftl to Wifl to Pray, Angel, Mgr, N&4E. Over half of that record is about love.

I think the album formula has been pretty solid with her since Duty. Duty had upbeats like (vogue and AUDIENCE), ballads (SEASONS and SCAR), rock (End of the World), and a cutesy track (girlish).

And I'd love to agree with you on the "did I enjoy listening to it or not" if it wasn't honestly 100% subjective and affected by everything from mood to life circumstances to whether you're in need of food, medication, or something else. There are some good albums out there I don't enjoy listening to. There are also some bad albums I actually enjoy.

I do not like Namie Amuro's FEEL or Uncontrolled, but both were very well received by fans. I also absolutely love Secret though I don't know another Ayu fan who thinks it was a good record. So, I tend to lean on more concrete, popular opinion/review/sales-based information rather than say "Oh, I didn't enjoy this album so it's bad." But I will let numbers speak for themselves. Numbers usually speak for a lot. And a consistent 40% drop in sales from album to album, from PQ to La to Colours, tells me fans didn't want another record like Ls, and definitely didn't want THREE more consecutively.

It's also interesting to look at her drops over the years.

04-06 From MS to (m): ~30% drop.
06 to S: ~34% drop.
08 to G: ~15% drop.
09 to NL: ~33% drop.
10 to RnRC: ~16% drop.
10 to Ls: ~15% drop.
12 to PQ: ~47% drop.
13 to La: ~40% drop.
14 to C: ~40% drop.

Like, we are all well aware of how she kind of peaked at A BEST and very slowly descended from there, but she had a sudden huge drop with singles starting at forgiveness in 03 and with albums at Memorial Address / MY STORY in 03-04.

It's even more crazy to think she tallied 25 consecutive #1 singles after her peak, in the middle of these huge drops in sales, in the middle of the announcement about her hearing, in the middle of her pulling back on being a "product" for avex.

Anyway, I don't think the numbers for A ONE will be amazing, but I hope for a reasonable drop this time at least. Like, I'm shooting for a 20-30% drop at max, that 35,000-40,000 range in sales. If she somehow manages to sell closer to Colours, I'll be shocked. I think FW will be somewhere around 25-30k. But still. I seriously want to see Koda's numbers. But I am going to have my own little mini heart attack if Koda's first week is shockingly abysmal... like, imagine how crazy it would feel to see Koda do less than 20k in the first week?? It would just feel weird.

Yeah. Numbers. NUMBAHS. I love 'em. But I still support Ayu and Koda anywho. I just want A ONE to feel more complete than any of these records over the last few years. I get PQ having its place, and La was good because I beat it into my own head that it could be a good record (though two years later it really, honestly, unfortunately just is not). And I know everyone hated XOXO, and I danced my butt off to it because it was really different from anything Ayu has done, but Colours was really just a sloppy album... I mean, very sloppy. Like they did all the decision-making after Ayu had her wisdom teeth pulled and before the drugs wore off. But I'd like see A ONE be a decent record for Ayu's sake... because one day she's going to have to look back at her career from 2010-2015, and you know she's going to notice how bad the fonts on her covers are, and she's going to wonder where the fuck her arm disappeared to on the cover of PQ, or why she was rubbing a shoe on her face in another cover of PQ, or how many xanax bars she was on to be too damn lazy to come up with a name other than LOVE again for an album that included all the tracks from two mini-albums titled LOVE and again, one of which wasn't even technically a mini-album. That's going to hurt. So I hope A ONE is where Ayu said, "You know, I'm drawing the line at everything before here." And then we can say that CDL 14-15 was her last trashy thing from this era.

[truehappiness]

Secret is up there as one of my favorites ever from her...

To think it was a mini album at one point... so strange.

As far as recent numbers go, a large part of it is that there simply is no promotion. People don't know something new is coming out and there are nearly no tie-ins of note to let people know songs are out there. It also doesn't help that the market in general is becoming idolcentral. There is no denying Ayu is selling less than ever before, but so is just about everyone else.

[douggn]

I'm liking what I'm hearing from the HQ previews, the sound of the album sort of reminds me sort of a mix from the past few albums, as in some of the songs could of fitted in with those past albums.

WARNING chorus reminds of the type of song that could be used for a Panasonic CM.
The GIFT I this this will do well live at her tours (I actually don't mind the sound of The GIFT, I like it better than the sound of Out of control).
NO FUTURE 'Like a doll' comes to mind but I think that's just the instruments used in the song but its much better than Like a doll
Out of control Not much opinion on this song yet
The Show Must Go On I could see this used as an opening to an Anime (I do get the snowy kiss feel too from it, but I love the sound of snowy kiss)
Story I could see this as being the ending song to an Anime

My two most favourite songs so far are WARNING and Out of control, from the sound of the songs from the HQ preview.

[pepper]

I want those 2 tracks to be full songs t_t

[douggn]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Secret is up there as one of my favorites ever from her...

To think it was a mini album at one point... so strange.

As far as recent numbers go, a large part of it is that there simply is no promotion. People don't know something new is coming out and there are nearly no tie-ins of note to let people know songs are out there. It also doesn't help that the market in general is becoming idolcentral. There is no denying Ayu is selling less than ever before, but so is just about everyone else.

Sad but true. The music giants were too slow to get with the times with the age of the internet. Its pretty much the music industry's fault to were it is today. But going on 17 years non-stop, ayus doing very well. Not many solo/bands can last the test of time

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by js_surrealism

For all of the constant criticisms of Ayu's work it's easy to forget that her last really weak album was Love songs. Everything from Party Queen onwards (including A One, if the single + previews are anything to go by) has been rock solid.

Lmao is this a joke?

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by orbitalaspect

If you think of Party Queen as a concept record, sure. It follows this progression after the end of a relationship. From the party phase where she feels so happy to be free and single (Party Queen, NaNaNa, Shake It<3) then into confusion and anger (call, Letter, reminds me), then to sadness (reminds me, Return Road, Tell me why), then avoiding the things she normally does to give herself time to heal and learn to move on (the next LOVE, Eyes, Smoke, Magic) and then ends on a reflective song that sounds like Ayu but still somehow different (how beautiful you are). But that's about it. It's starkly incohesive if the concept wasn't there to hold the record together.

Still, when you think about it, it's a brilliant concept to follow Ls with.

I will argue that Ls is a more cohesive record than PQ. The songs share some variety, but it's Ayu's sound. Every song on there is about love in some way. Whether it's songs like Love Song, Sending Mail, Last angel, blossom, Sweet Season, November, and Virgin Road which talk about loving someone specific... or it's MOON, which was written after Ayu's pet passed away... or it's Thank U, about her fans. I think Ls was better compiled, though I wish the interludes didn't sound so cheap.

To me, Love songs doesn't feel all that cohesive because it's basically 2/3 TK, which all has a very distinct sound, but the rest is sloppily produced and sounds nothing like the TK parts. Whereas PQ is very consistent in its (bad lol) production and has a little bit of everything without too much of anything and is set up in a manner that flows very well etc. All the songs on PQ feel like they belong on PQ, while on Love songs there are tracks that sound totally different from the rest, in this case in terms of production not genre/arrangement/whatever

[JinHamasaki]

I am trying to resist listening to the previews, but I am happy that it seems that Ayu has returned to the classic "ayu" sound and emotion.

[thinkingoutloud89]

all these comparisons make me want to bulge similiar songs in playlists together

[DogboyShugo]

The Previews sound great!

[Chibi-Chan]

I'm disappointed. Four ballads, plus one midtempo and Last minute? I love Last minute and I'm sure I will like Warning and No Future. But as a whole this album won't do anything for me.

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by artcika

why is everyone so obsessed with cohesivness, doesn't it feel like you're listening to ONE HUGE track?

lol i know right. ayu has made it abundantly clear with albums like MY STORY, (miss)understood, Rock'n'Roll Circus, and Colours that she has no intention to be defined strictly by one type of 'sound'. imo Ayu is up there with some of pop music's greats in terms of being a musical chameleon.

Loosely tying things together allows listeners to more easily produce their own impressions and interpretations of an artist's work. tbh I have no need for "concept albums" like the ones pretentious indie acts shove in your face (literally, shove in your face, by explaining to death in interviews pretty much every aspect of the album from its conception, meaning, etc. which not only takes the fun out of being able to attach your own personal experiences to the work, but also shows how wildly insecure the musician is. I've always liked how Ayu is purposely vague and feels no need to over-explain the minutiae of her musical decisions)

from WARNING:

Yes, you don't know
I don't show you
You don't know the real me
I don't feel like sharing
I don't plan on exposing myself
I'm mine only

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan

I'm disappointed. Four ballads, plus one midtempo and Last minute? I love Last minute and I'm sure I will like Warning and No Future. But as a whole this album won't do anything for me.

Well, this IS kind of what happens when you do a triple ballad single just beforehand. There was no way she was going to not have a few ballads in there that were new.

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Well, this IS kind of what happens when you do a triple ballad single just beforehand.

Not really... Nobody's holding a gun to her head saying there have to be new ballad tracks on the album lol ESPECIALLY not 3/half of them.

[Coelacanth]

I wish Last minute would've gotten the same treatment as Out of control. It got way too digital after the first chorus.

Out of control has CMJK written all over it.

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by Tom Punks

Not really... Nobody's holding a gun to her head saying there have to be new ballad tracks on the album lol ESPECIALLY not 3/half of them.

I know, but this is Ayu we're talking about here. She's never really not had new ballads or midtempos on albums. Her fewest is probably NEXT LEVEL or FIVE.

[pepper]

Okayish, listening to previews.

The GIFT sounds NOTHING original. It sound just like beloved/untitled/untitled2/random ballad.

WARNING is pretty awesome, I even like "lalalai~" part, I don't dig the "circus" atmosphere of guitars, but still, it's a strong, huge track

No future is very catchy, is pretty like Like a doll ~part 2~ but more uptempo and more emotional. This track sounds like LOVEppears/Duty era, really. Very oldschool feeling!

Out of control... The verses sounds pretty boring/forgetable, but I like rocky-emotional chorus which reminds me of Letter/call (yeah, I really like whole Party Queen album which) When I will hear music in HQ, i should appriciate it more

Show must go on really sounds like snowy kiss 2. I almost sang ANATAAAAAAAAAAA WO.... lol. It's not bad... I don't have feelings about it because snowy kiss is TOO LONG and it bores me.

Story sounds like another sappy ballad ~part 293918273821738~

the main problem of them are those songs are pretty much SIMILAR to some from her past albums. But WARNING and NO FUTURE have pretty strong catchy melodies.
and ballads are pretty weak... LOVE again had some pretty memorable ballads - Sweet scar is one of her original ballads since BALLAD on RnRC... Also Ivy and Melody had pretty much catchy choruses. Those two are pretty forgetable. Same instruments as always, emotional chorus etc.

[Coelacanth]

when has Ayu NOT released an album comprised of mostly ballads/midtempo pop-rock tho? NEXT LEVEL is really it. An album full of STEP you's is NEVER GONNA HAPPEN. It didn't even happen with Colours, an album full of Western producers! the only true upbeat songs were XOXO and Lelio, the rest of the songs had ballady/slower tempo sections.