NEXT LEVEL album thoughts

[hikaricore]

^Totally agreed.
What does everyone expect this...craziness from Ayu?
NEXT LEVEL is an amazing album, the best she's put out since, IMO, My Story, although I'm a huge fan of Guilty and Secret. Musically, it's the most appealing and market-able stuff she's put out and fans should be happy with that...

I just don't understand all the...mean criticism.

[a_kingdom21]

d album may be different with her old album..
n when i first heard d full album i was surprised..
it seems not ayu album..
but i'm still able to go with d flow by d rhytm n enjoy it..

n bout emotional lyric..
stop complainin it..
ayu has written hundred lyric..ne..
n they r all have deep poetic lyric..

n until now on this album..
i guess d lyric still remaind d same..
still have d deep meaning..

n they r all have their own theme..
not like d other artist whose lyric have d same old same old lyric such as LOVE..
BROKEN HEART..
n d all kind of love theme..
ayu keep standin on her poetic lyric..n have various theme..
until now i'm still able to feel it on NL..
i still dont understand why there are many of u keep on blaming d album lyric..

make ur own lyric for ur song..
if u r still objected by this album..
CAN U...???

[Aozora]

Before I'm attacked for this... remember it's just my opinion :p...

I don't like this album.

To be honest... it ranks last on my list of my favorite albums of her underneath A Song for XX. And I honestly tried liking this album. I kept listening to songs and tried to listen during different moods... nope... I just don't like it.

I never really cared about the lyrics since I don't understand Japanese anyway... so I don't know how her lyrics compare and it wouldn't matter to me anyway, and I loved the melody of her songs... it just seemed... something was lacking?

All of the songs on this album had the potential to be amazing, they all had great melodies and I think they are easy to remember for the most part. However, my favorite part about Ayu's music was how it started softly and kept building up towards the end when her chorus was the strongest. It seems like on NEXT LEVEL the songs have the opposite effect. The beginnings of the songs were amazing (especially LOVE 'n' HATE) but after that... it seemed repetitive and nothing really built up. If it had... this would have easily beaten GUILTY for me.

My plays for her NEXT LEVEL songs on iTunes are really low compared to her other songs because I'll listen to a song and halfway through... I'll get bored and want to listen to a different one :p.

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by Aozora

However, my favorite part about Ayu's music was how it started softly and kept building up towards the end when her chorus was the strongest. It seems like on NEXT LEVEL the songs have the opposite effect. The beginnings of the songs were amazing (especially LOVE 'n' HATE) but after that... it seemed repetitive and nothing really built up. If it had... this would have easily beaten GUILTY for me.

I think that's probably the thing I don't like about this album. All the new songs have pretty weak climaxes..

I think NEXT LEVEL is the weakest album track. Does this song even have a climax? And was I the only one shocked that this was a DAI composition? It has a good melody and stuff, but by DAI's standards it's barely impressive.

rollin' is pretty sweet. It reminds me of a 21st century version of too late on acid. However, I think the song would have definitely benefited from an interesting bridge to build up to the final chorus. In addition to that, I think the mixing is strange.. like there isn't enough "boom" to it. This might just be due to the fact that the song is completely programmed though.

identity reminds me a lot of B'z, which is definitely a good thing. What's great about the song though, is that it sounds even better if it's played consecutively with decision and 1LOVE. It's a lot like those two songs, except a little funkier and with better instrumentation. The bass and drums sound a lot more prominent in this song as well. Actually, the drummer on the record is Josh Freese (who formerly worked with Nine Inch Nails and is the current drummer for A Perfect Circle) and the bassist in Chris Chaney (who also played bass on Together When...). The breakdown in the middle is just, wow.. badass.

LOVE 'n' HATE is pretty good. I'm so glad she decided to do a song with a little bit of an urban flavor. But I mean.. the sound is a lot like American pop/R&B circa.. 2004? I mean, it sounds really dated and forced. I think Yuta should stick with the rock arrangements. It's still pretty "fierce" though, it should probably be good live. Did anybody notice how sexy her voice sounds when she's counting?

EnergizE is really fun. I don't get all the hate for it at all. It's up there with her other "fun" songs like AUDIENCE and independent (which both have clapping lol), while not being too upbeat and chaotic like until that Day... and evolution

Curtain call is alright. It's the new song I've least listened to, to be honest. I don't feel like, this ~amazing~ emotional connection to it like some of the power ballads on GUILTY. I will say that the instrumentation is well done though, it reminds me of "Hey Jude" from the Across the Universe OST, very well done. I would have gotten emotional if the melody was just a little stronger..

Rule has grown on me a lot. I used to think that its melody was really weak and unmoving, but I think I've finally connected with the energy of the song. The verses are really strong. The chorus is too, just not by itself lol. The song flows very smoothly.

Sparkle is pure awesomeness. I love the filthy electro-ness and all the rough synthy sounds throughout the song. I love how the chorus just explodes. The energy is all there. Only complaint is that the ~no, no, no~ part carried on a little too long.

Days, loved it since I first heard it. Nostalgic sound. Wonderful vocals. Gives a feeling off that I can't really explain.. it makes me feel happy, even though I feel like it shouldn't.

GREEN is great. It feels totally out of place on the album because it's the only time Yukumi and tasuku appear, so the song has a really different feel, but this is an excellent, excellent song. It shows that tasuku is still a very strong arranger. I'm really proud of Ayu because the song has some very nice vocal moments.

And finally, yeah, the interludes.. I like them all. Probably won't listen to most of them again though except for maybe Bridge to the sky. Pieces of SEVEN surprised me. I didn't think HAL would actually change things up. Sounds nice though.

That wraps up my overall thoughts on the album I guess. Not sure yet how it stacks up to her other albums, definitely in the lower half though. Duh, lol.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Aozora

The beginnings of the songs were amazing (especially LOVE 'n' HATE) but after that... it seemed repetitive and nothing really built up. If it had... this would have easily beaten GUILTY for me.

My plays for her NEXT LEVEL songs on iTunes are really low compared to her other songs because I'll listen to a song and halfway through... I'll get bored and want to listen to a different one :p.

I think you just nailed a big part of the problem. I really truly, have tried to like this album. I've been really wanting to like it, because I want to be blown away by Ayu again. And I do indeed love parts of it, but I feel the same as you. Even though I've only been listening to it a few days, I'm already skipping past the songs once they have only played about half way. You are right about the "no build up" in these songs. They start great and then they just kind of flatten out.

As for the emotional aspect: Yes, I do feel this album comparatively lacks emotion to her previous efforts. It has nothing to do with whether the songs are happy or sad, but all in how they are delivered. Songs like Fly High, Trauma, Naturally, And Then, Immature etc etc, all indeed has an emotional component to them because you really felt something through her voice and the presentation of the song. I'm wondering if the lack of connection many are feeling to her voice in this album is maybe because the vocals rely a lot more on production in this album (and I'm not just talking about vocoder effects) and that tends to deaden vocals more.

Originally Posted by maikaru

I dont think at all she is just putting out songs for the sake of releasing songs, saying "Oh, I must put out songs, so whatever, let's do it."
If that were the case, she would not have had the long time in between Mirrorcle World and Green.

I think that with the album tracks though, that was indeed the case. I think its pretty obvious that the whole reason that this album was made at the last minute in the first place was that Avex wanted an album from her no matter what by March 31st. Just like Avex is releasing something from basically everyone of their artists this month seemingly in an attempt to raise their company value before the end of the Japanese financial year.

That's why I have a hard time believing that these tracks are coming from an organic and authentic place but more like "I have to put an album out now."

Originally Posted by maikaru

The major thing is.. I think it's her voice. If her vocal status was great, and hitting such high notes, and clear, I dont think anyone would have a problem with this album, but there's so many problems, and so much processing, that it is hard to look past it. Lets be honest here, her vocal performance isnt the best of her albums. But for me, Duty was the worst vocal quality, and NEXT LEVEL is a step above.. but she can do better. I wish that in the next year, her vocal status returns to 100%, and she can give us great vocals.

I'm glad that you at least agree with this part especially since we are usually at odds when it comes to issues about her vocals. But this is another reason why I think a rest would be good for her - so she can heal her vocal chords. I really truly think her vocals have been getting progressively worse since after the release of miss understood. Or actually I can get even more specific and say that it started around the time of Jewel's release. Each time that I saw her live (in concert) since then I thought her vocals were getting a little worse each time. If you collect her tv performances and especially HDTV performances (because the vocal tracks are more prominent than the music usually) you can actually trace the gradual degradation of her vocals over the past two years. This is not an issue of whether someone likes her high or low voice better (in fact I'd even say that her voice may even have been deeper in 03 than it is now) but just strictly on the basis of her power in her voice, the steadiness of it and her ability to hold notes. A good example of this would be to see how many times in 03, she actually pulled the mic really far away from her mouth when hitting power notes, because she actually had the power in her voice to do it then - nowadays though, I don't think the mic ever really left her lips in any of her tv performances last year and if it did, her voice cut out soon after. I'm seeing now after people have heard the album that the vocal issue is becoming a topic on japanese bbs too.

Sorry to go on a bit of a tangent there. But I do think it is relevant to the sound of this album.

[ArchangelLegend]

Originally Posted by asongforXX

Bridge to the sky
I don't like this intro. Usually, Ayu has good if not amazing intros. This is quite mediocre.

NEXT LEVEL
This song sounds so much like "Beautiful Fighters" mixed with "BLUE BIRD". It's like a softer version of these songs! The song is not terrible, but not that good. It annoys me that it sounds like the 2 songs. XD

Disco-munication
I like the beat of this interlude, very nice. I wish they didn't add Ayu's remixed voice in the song though. It kinda ruins it.

EnergizE
The English part sounds like something Koda would sing, LOL! The verses sounds like something Morning Musume would sing. XD How weird? This track is actually not bad. The beat is quite catchy! I like the rockish chorus. Sounds kinda like HandMC's style? What a weird mix!

Sparkle
Sounds too much like "MW". I don't really like this track...

rollin'
This is pretty good. I like the beat. I have a feeling that it's gonna be forgettable though.

GREEN
DO NOT LIKE. PERIOD.

Load of the SHUGYO
Wow, major difference from "GREEN" much? I LOVE IT. <3 I wish it was a full track. Ayu should do this kind of rock more often.

identity
Ayu's "Yeah, yeah, yeah" are so ANNOYING. She must stop that already. Anyway, the song isn't too bad. Sounds like a mixture of so many of her songs though. And gosh, those "yeah, yeah, yeah"s...

Rule
Disappointing rock track. DO NOT LIKE.

LOVE 'n' HATE
I like the beat of this song so much! The singing isn't as good as the instruments though. I didn't though it really fitted together? But the background music is GENIUS!

Pieces of SEVEN
I don't really like this interlude.

Days
Decent mid-tempo ballad. Her voice sounds a bit strange though. But overall, I like it.

Curtain call
This song sounds so sad. I love the piano. It's beautiful, but sort of forgettable. Doesn't go in my top ballads.


-OVERALL- Well, I don't think I enjoy this album that much. The only song I would say I love is an interlude. Something is wrong!? "NEXT LEVEL" will probably end up like "GUILTY" and "Secret" which means album I do not care for and skip. It's unfortunate. I guess Ayu's music style is not my type anymore?

For most of those songs, I have the exact opposite feelings. But I too am not a big fan of this album. But then again I was never a fan of any album, I'm the kind of guy that cherry picks songs and disregard everything else. I prefer good songs/bad album over bad songs/good album.

[IYFreak]

This album didn't really do it for me, I have to say the singles were better. To me all the song seem to have that empty pop feeling, like she just made tons of electro-songs to finish an album on time. Usually would find atleast one song addicting in an Ayu album but I really don't know..........I still think she had had way more better albums than this one. I'm alittle disappointed. and I'm a sucker for ballads but Curtain call just seemed plain and bland and not much going on for it, it reminds me of a school song that you would sing at graduation.

[Me, Myself & Music]

I actually really enjoy Next Level. I'm not a huge fan of Ayumi, I like her, some of her past material has been really meh and bland for me. It's a good album and it doesn't hurt my head like Guilty did!

[Lady_Eowyn]

To me, she hasn't loose her touch with lyrics. She is as talented as she always has been.

Some people is complaining about the way she is writing, or singing, or arranging her music right now and well, i understand that not everyone can enjoy the album on the same level, or cannot connect with the lyrics or the music, and it's fine, their arguments are reasonable and they are in their whole right to express their thoughts.

I disagree however, with the idea about telling her music is not being emotional. One thing is putting music on an album just for the sake of it, and one thing very different is that you are unable to empathize with something she is saying. I don't speak japanese, however, i think sometimes i'm able to understand -more or less- what an artist is saying just because of the way he/she is singing or expressing himself/herself. The emotion sometimes says much more than the lyrics, in my opinion. This clearly happened to me actually, with the Dr. song by Namie. I had no idea what she was saying but somehow i immediatly got hooked with it. Few weeks later, when i read the translation in one of the chorus, i was shocked because ( i know it sounds weird, but it's true) i kind of knew what she was saying! maybe that was just a coincidence... but i think i got my point.

However, I can't say everyone is being fair. Some of the complaints ( not all, of course) i'm reading now have to be the lamest excuses for arguments. Plain ridiculous

Ps.- i'll continue with my review later on (got a bit tired... hehehehe )

[tenshi no hane]

I'm not really feeling this album as much as I did with her other ones but it's still pretty good. LOVE 'n' HATE is the greatest track imo. identity is quite good too and I love Disco-munication <3
What's missing for me is a good ballad or two. Sadly I'm not big fan of GREEN, Days nor Curtain Call whilst I usually like Ayu's ballads the most so that's a big loss to me.
All together I do like the techno-rock theme this album has got going, but it just doesn't really stand out to me enough to be totally in love with it.

[Kaiouforever]

This album is not Ayu's best, nor do I think she took it to the "next level." That said, this is not a BAD album, but I look forward to her next single, and hopefully she will impress me more.

[Kikaru]

Now that I give the album a few days to digest...

I actually rather like NICE LEVELl, because it has the calming affect on me. I can easily picturing myself biking and walking around on a bright sunny day while listening to this song, so that's nice. However, I do think out of the new songs it's the least stand out one.

EnergizE is really fun, and the beat's great. I kind of wish they didn't digitize the arrangement as much because the composition reminds me of a 50s song, and I kind of wish it's more powered by just the clap beats. And I like the fact that this song didn't feel sugary.

Rollin' is...weird. Took me a few listens to get it because the vocoder voice in the beginning reminds me of something I'd seen on the old-school gray alien on the Scifi channel or something. But the chorus is really nice and I have it stuck in my head as I speak.

Identity has the weirdest bridge, but I feel like it has the composition of decision and the arrangement of 1LOVE or the more rockish part of Rule. The only part that bugs me is the "yeah yeah yeah" in the beginning.

Love 'n' Hate is actually the first song that caught my attention. The chorus and verses composition vise reminds me hitomi shimatani for some reason. But it manage to be urban and still maintain some of her more rock-influenced elements in there.

Sparkle is fun and dance-y, and I really like the chorus.

Rule has been one of my top playing songs for a while. The chorus is catchy and it has a good beat.

GREEN will never cease to wow me. As much as I am a newly converted more "pop" person I love the arrangement and composition of the song. I love how it uses the more oriental sound and I think the way she sings it really compliments the arrangement.

Days is heartwarming and reminds me of the holidays.

I love Curtain Call's simplicity. Even with the chorus there's a down-to-earthness about this song that I really love, although I do think it's one of those songs that I'll need to be in the mood in.

Overall for me this album beats RAINBOW and LOVEppears as a pop album. And I love the fact that although it's a pop-driven album, I don't feel the sugary or excessively cutesy. I do think that the flow for this album isn't great (although I'm glad, especially because it's a more pop-oriented album, if it flows too well I have trouble really liking the tracks individually a la LOVEppears which poses a problem for me since I listen to songs on Shuffle and I like to distinguish different songs).

I still think that Orchestral Rock is by far Ayu's most well-done style, and I like the fact that I feel NEXT LEVEL gives the dark atmosphere a burst of color, but at the same time it's not a totally different environment. (And I just realize that this paragraph sounds really weird...)

[mcluva420]

i personally think NEXT LEVEL is much better than GUILTY .

[a_kingdom21]

Originally Posted by mcluva420

i personally think NEXT LEVEL is much better than GUILTY .

so do i.........

[ayu_ready?]

Originally Posted by mcluva420

i personally think NEXT LEVEL is much better than GUILTY .

YESSSSSSSSS

[se7entheaven]

I've listened to the album and well, this is ayu's best album-period-
It's just refreshing and not dark. EnergizE is just great, I imagine it will be put in the cute section of her tour. And LOVEnHATE...WOW!!! Her vocal is amazing and I love how she sings and act cool in the song intro ^^ The rest are just great...Take out GREEN and put in Mirrorcle World or some other songs then this album will be (almost) perfect

[love in music]

yeah i agree that this album is a lot better than GUILTY. it's so upbeat and addicting. GUILTY had some amazing songs but not ones you really want to put on repeat forever (besides glitter).

[Hachimitsu]

I can't believe how awful that picture on the Discommunication page of the booklet is.

[Meat Pao]

I have no idea why the single tracks (Days, GREEN, Rule & Sparkle) apparently sound louder compared to the album tracks when listening to the album on my stereo ._. Weird.

[elvis810]

I like albums which spark controversies instead of consistent comments! Which is why i like m(u) a lot(different comments and great variety of songs) and don't care much towards Secret and MY STORY(unanimously jpop/ayu-ish/rock) and GUILTY(unanimously dark).

Oh well, I will insist to not listen until i get my copy, my persistence is weakening tough...
However, if CMJK is the main producer/arranger, NEXT LEVEL has a higher chance to score high in my mind.