A ONE thoughts and reviews

[jbrat2219]

I have been listening to A ONE for a while now and have calmed down from the excitement of a new ayu album to finally digest what I've heard. I'm not very tech-savvy when it comes to music and I don’t have an outstanding knowledge of J-pop music like some awesome members and contributors so this is purely my opinion.

I appreciate the discussion that has been going on and I agree with a lot of things said. I like this album a lot and I appreciate what ayu did here. I agree and disagree that this is “back-to-basics” ayu. As far as lyrics and PVs I do think that ayu is returning to her very early roots. But as far as music arrangement there is definitely a lot that has been considered ayu’s “signature sound” for a long time now.

To be honest, I think that this album following COLOURS was a good move because I think both albums represent both sides of ayu fandom: the fans who love classic ayu and the fans who love experimental ayu. Love it or hate it, COLOURS was a bold release. From the music to the visuals.

A ONE has a much more toned down music and visual. The arrangements are typical piano+strings+guitars, the album largely consists of ballads and the PVs are very simple (even WARNING). I think it’s because what A ONE hopes to emphasize this time around is something that most ayu fans adore ayu for: her lyrics. In A ONE, the boldest thing here is not the composition, arrangements, musical direction, booklet photos but her expressing her feelings in more directly than I can remember in some cases.

I mean, when is the last time we got lyrics that stung like WARNING?! I felt like she just kicked my ass with those lyrics lol. And how often do we get lyrics like The Show Must Go On that explicitly shows how much ayu cares for her fans. Even her often revisited theme of loneliness feels fresh here. I’m not saying that there is anything groundbreaking in this album that we haven’t seen before or felt we’ve heard/seen a hundred times in her long career.

However, this time it everything feels raw yet not overdone. It’s nothing dramatic, no grand sweeping ballads with all-star production, no gut-punching rock music or J-pop songs that were obviously designed to top charts. I think that’s what I love about this album the most and why I rank this album as good as my beloved Love songs. Not because I think it “sounds” as good as far as music production and quality, but because it feels as good (to me at least).

Now, because I obviously haven’t written enough, I’ll go track by track lol:

a Bell

I love ayu album openers, but for me this one fell a bit flat. It sounds beautiful but it also sounds like an ‘interlude,’ not an opener. But despite coming before WARNING, it does set the tone of the album and prepare you for what you will hear the majority of the time, so in that regard it does it’s job. ------- 6/10

WARNING

I like WARNING, but not because I was desperate for another ayu rock song. To be honest, I don’t think this is as much of an ayu rock song as much as it is an ayu sassy song. It reminds me more of 1 LOVE more than it reminds me of Microphone for example. The lyrics definitely prove as such, too. Overall, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the lyrics so this song kind of gets a higher score by default lol. ------- 9/10

NO FUTURE

So…. This is kind of my Holy Grail so please pardon my exaggerated love for this song lol. From the moment I heard the preview for this song I just knew, felt it in my soul, that this song was going to be my new favorite ayu song of all time. And the full version did NOT disappoint. I know a lot of fans would be like “really, fav of all time?” but yes, I adore everything about this song. I can’t describe it but it just hit me in a certain way and held on to me and I can’t shake it off.

I’m not surprised that this was written by TK, not only can you hear it all over the song but he kind of wrote my previous favorite of all time (November) so it was destined from the start with NO FUTURE. I know that most fans consider A Song for XX (album) to be ayu’s worst album… I have to be honest, I LOVE that album lol. And the composition of this song reminds me a lot of that album (especially during the bridge, it sounds EXACTLY like FRIEND II) to hear that kind of throw-back was a very pleasant surprise.

Quick story, I was playing this song at a friend’s house, he has lived in Japan and his wife is from Japan and they both agree that this sounds like “classic” ayu and it was one of the best songs of hers that they’ve heard in a while. I didn’t even really explain the song that much but it caught their attention very quickly ------- a million/10 Sorry, but I warned I would exaggerate lol.

Anything for you

After NO FUTURE, I had high expectations for this song but once the preview came out on YouTube came out, I realized it didn’t meet those expectations. I liked the song a lot first listen but it just didn’t grab me like NO FUTURE or any of his previous works. However, when the full song came out I went through a sequence of thoughts: at first I’m like “zzzzZZZZzzz” then the chorus kicked in and then repeated in true TK fashion and I’m like “Well, it’s really pretty! But will this turn into another snowy kiss where the song never ends and drags on for forever?”

But the ending…. (excuse my language) fucking makes the song. I may be going overboard but I think it was brilliant. It took the song from a dark atmosphere to an optimistic one in one key change. Just when I was getting a bit bored with the song, they key change literally lifted my head up and made me pay attention to the song. And I felt it. I felt the song. Just like that it became one of my favorites on the album. This song is really well done. And the fact that it’s not overdone with grand sweeping gestures makes the song great. You get to feel it without much distraction. ------- 9/10

Last minute

I saw this song get compared to memorial address a few times but like some fans said, it’s not really as good “musically”, but I do think it has a very similar atmosphere and if memorial address had a PV I think it would be like Last minute. When I saw her in the red dress it reminded me of a memorial address performance she did (for some concert, can’t remember which, she has too many lol). I love the rawness of the PV, I honestly can’t see how it could have been done any other way. I think some people listen to a song like this and want a PV that infuses the rawness with symbolism and ambiguity but in my opinion it wouldn’t have done the song justice. The song is straight forward so why not the PV? ------- 8/10

Zutto...

I am in the minority who (initially) thought Zutto… was the best song on the single. That was my own ignorance lol. I wanted to save Last minute and Walk for later for some odd reason lol. I knew the album was right around the corner so I wanted those two songs to be fresh. Having heard those two songs and now A ONE, I think Zutto… is one of the weaker songs but in my opinion still a good listen. This has very class ayu winter single vibes and in that aspect it fulfills its purpose well enough. It’s still not better than You were… (fav winter song+PV ) for me but it stands up well. ------- 7/10

Out of control

I don’t really get the dislike for this song! I think maybe because the title is misleading? It does give the impression that it will be a very dark song and maybe there are some darker channels that she could have explored with a song like this. It sounds surprisingly light-hearted lol. Maybe the contrast means something (I don’t feel like analyzing it, sorry). I love the lyrics and I really enjoy the song. But I also really enjoyed call and Letter so maybe that’s why lol.

I think these kind of songs are necessary in ayu’s discography. They are easy listeners, nothing special, just nice songs to listen to on a calm day. I think that’s why I love Sweet Season on Love songs so much and ended up listening to it more than I would have expected because on a nice day, outside with a nice breeze and good book - I don’t know - the songs fit lol. Not everything has to be wild and out there for me, I rather enjoy her easy listeners. ------- 9/10

Story

I kind of consider this song to be like Out of control in that it’s an easy going ballad. It’s really cute though. I feel like this song could have been on Secret though, maybe after meaning of Love? lol Again, lyrics are great, but what stands out for me are her vocals. They’re so cute lol. ------- 8/10

The GIFT

Again, I feel like I’m in the minority lol. I loved this song from the first time I heard it. And the PV is fantastic, I even loved JJ lipsyncing the lyrics, so cuteeeeee! For me personally, the composition does stand out from the rest of the songs in the album. I was in Asia for a little while and I feel like this is “the thing” (natives, correct me if I’m wrong). This song sounds like something someone like Jay Chou could have sung or other Asian artists but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. It’s about time ayu reached out to other Asian composers outside of Japan. So in that sense, The GIFT is a really fresh song for me. And the piano intro/outro gives the song a really nice touch. My only complaint is that the song didn’t keep that vibe the entire song but it’s still really good. ------- 8/10

The Show Must Go On

I don’t think of snowy kiss when I hear this song. Not because it doesn’t sound exactly like it but because it’s overall so much better. This song makes me wanna get up and dance wildly in my living room and scream “THE SHOW MUST GO ON” (Which I’m sure I did one night after two bottles of wine…. ;D). There’s just so much energy in this song. I wish this song got a PV, something like Fly high but with more energy and with ayu surrounded by fans!!! It would have given me (excuse my language) so much fucking life!!!! ------- 10/10

Walk

I didn’t hear Walk in full until the A ONE. I avoided it on Zutto… and I only listened to the preview once. I call myself holding out until the album but I had no excuse, this song is everything lol. A lot of people make comparisons to Anything for you, and at first I heard it too. But after listening to both songs in full I can’t hear it anymore for some reason lol. They’re both so distinct to me now that even though the chorus progression is exactly the same, one doesn’t come to mind when I hear the other. I don’t know what happened to be honest. All I know is that both songs are great, but Walk is better in my opinion. When she hits those high notes I feel my soul lift. I do have to admit, when I hear the very beginning, I start singing Virgin Road… I’m like wtf?! ------- 10/10

I’m not going to talk about the Utada cover, we all know it’s fabulous lol. But like some else suggested, I put that track with COLOURS.

Over all I think this album really shines. I want to write a more refined conclusion but I am going to be late for work OMGGGGGG. I’ll write another post when I get back.


But really quickly, even though I love the album, I do agree that the mastering is… um… well…. let’s just say I agree lol.

I’d love to hear more thoughts on that and if people would better receive this album if it were re-mastered because I think the musical elements are there but they don’t shine as much as they could… OKAY BYE!!! *rushes out the door*