No 'Next Level' of her Career

I appreciate the sentiment. Apparently Ayumi knows she's been recycling things for far too long, and so she set out to step up to the 'next level' of her career. With the release of the Rule/Sparkle single shortly before the album, there appeared to be a glimmer of hope that the album would live up to it's name and actually be different.

However, old habits die hard, and this album is filled with Ayu's usual problems. First off, the singles are all over the place and, aside from Sparkle, are completely rehashed and old news. The other songs to get PVs (Next Level, and Curtain Call) aren't exactly standouts either. The title track is actually a pleasant, upbeat poppy number, but it has some moments that are so much like fairyland/Blue Bird/glitter that it makes me uncomfortable. I cringe at the pre-chorus every time. The last minute switch up of melody saves it from being the same song (for the 4th time), but it's still too similar. Curtain Call is strange. It feels like it was trying to be powerful and epic, but it's too raw and naked to have the impact it was aiming for. It feels completely disconnected from the album, and is an awkward way to end it.

Other tracks are just pure failure.. EnergizE is an awkward mix of corny peppy-pop melody and this new 'rock with electronic noises' production that is prominent in this album. A lot of the new album tracks just feel like songs she could have done before, but are styled with this new production sound. In a lot of ways her 'Next Level' is superficial - it's a bit of a face-lift, but there's no real change to the substance. She does fool around with a couple tracks (rollin', Love 'n' Hate, sorta), and it's greatly appreciated. Now it's time to move forward and make an entire album with new sounds and ideas.

There were a couple of things that really crippled this album for me. First off, the singles don't really sit well. Sparkle is fine, Rule does alright, but Days and Green just can't mesh with the album. Green has a pretty good transition from rollin' that greatly helps it settle, and they really tried on the way out too. But when you think of the song itself compared to the album, it just doesn't fit. Days is simply too poppy. It shouldn't be here.

Despite some new ideas, and some fresh material, Ayu manages to make most everything sound like old news with her vocals. She approaches these songs the exact same way she's approached all of her material since Memorial Address. She sings every song the same way, and it's infuriating. Of course, every singer has their own style, but a good vocalist would adapt themselves to new types of music in some way. Ayu simply doesn't She just doesn't invest enough of herself into this 'new stage' of her career to actually put some renewed effort into her vocal delivery.

The other thing that bogs this release down is the lack of new material, and the lack of REAL material.
The album has 14 tracks;
subtract the 4 single tracks, we have 10 tracks left;
minus the 2 songs released with the PVs prior to the album, we have 8 tracks;
take away the interludes and introduction, and we're left with 4 tracks.
Yes, out of a possible 8 new songs, half of them are short interludes, and two of the full-length songs are crap. Now some of those interludes are rather neat and could've made decent full-length tracks. They probably wouldn't have feasibly been made into the type of pop that Ayu does, but that only would have increased the credibility of the concept of the album. It should be completely different from her other works, but it honestly feels like they just chickened out partway through and decided to play it safe with a mostly typical Ayu pop-rock feel (with an electro edge) and cheaped out by filling the rest with interludes.

I really do appreciate the sentiment, and it's LOADS better than Guilty. But really, the next time she decides to make a big deal about changing her sound and moving on to the next part of her career, it'd better be for real. It's a step-up, but it's too superficial to be completely convincing. Ayu, next time, put your money where your mouth is.