Really Good!

Black Cherry was a disaster, and I wasn't interested in any of the singles that followed. While I was interested in Kingdom's release, I was a little nervous that it would be a piece of crap.
To my surprise and delight, Kingdom is a strong, fluid, and coherent pop album filled with Kuu's trademark J-Urban sounds. The majority of the tracks fall under the urban/hip-pop vibe ('Anata ga Shite Kureta Koto', 'Amai Wana',' Under', 'Black Cherry', Last Angel, etc), but Kuu also branches out into other genres; some we've seen her do (dance, cutesy, ballad), others (like the jazz vibe to 'MORE'), are completely new.
While there are so many styles in use in this album, the tracks tend to flow quite well and give the disc a feeling of connection and solidarity. They did an excellent job avoiding the schizophrenic mess of Black Cherry. While track order certainly plays a part in that, another key factor is that while the tracks are varied in style, they're not nearly as extreme as they were in her previous album.
The single tracks failed to interest me much throughout the year, but I found them much more appealing on the album. Particularly Aisho, which is just gorgeous and cool. I've even warmed up to the weirdness of BUT. The last-minute single anytime is really sweet, but I feel it really wasn't strong enough to be a single. It would've been better left as a pleasant surprise on the album. I could probably say that for a good chunk of the singles though, as I truly enjoyed the album tracks more this time around. Who could say no to the simple and stylish urban feel of 'Anata ga Shite Kureta Koto', or 'Himitsu'? Or the gorgeous and uniquely sweet introduction piece?
Kuu was really on point for the majority of this album. The only misses were the formulaic cute tracks 'Koi no Mahou' and 'Wonderland' (which is an assault on the senses and needs some serious Ritalin). The bonus full length of the introduction to Black Cherry is weak, disconnected, noisy, awkward, out of place, and generally a waste of time. They need to learn that her introductions are cool, but should be left alone. Only Get It On is allowed.
For its minor ups and downs, Kingdom plays well. It's a strong effort, and I really enjoyed it. There's something about it that really reminds me of the good old days of secret. It has the same feeling, and quality level of secret, and has become one of my favourite Kuu albums (alongside secret and Best - Second Session -). I'd love to see Kuu Continue with this level of quality in all of her work.