I don't want to overload this blog with music posts but so many new albums are coming out recently. Especially from female artists in Japan. More posts related to other topics are coming soon. I just started watching a new drama too but for the moment, let's be blinded by the light that is Jpop legend, Hikaru Utada's return to music.
01. Michi [道] [03:36]
02. Ore no Kanojo [俺の彼女] [05:04]
03. Hanataba wo Kimi ni [花束を君に] [04:39]
04. Nijikan Dake no Vacance feat. Shiina Ringo [二時間だけのバカンス featuring 椎名林檎] [04:42]
05. Ningyo [人魚] [04:16]
06. Tomodachi with Kobukuro Nariaki [ともだち with 小袋成彬] [04:23]
07. Manatsu no Tooriame [真夏の通り雨] [05:39]
08. Kouya no Ookami [荒野の狼] [04:35]
09. Boukyaku feat. KOHH [忘却 featuring KOHH] [05:05
10. Jinsei Saikou no Hi [人生最高の日] [03:11]
11. Sakura Nagashi [桜流し] [04:41]
After six years of absence and after Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts has used "Simple and Clean" so many times that her bank account exploded, Utada finally announced that she was going to return to music. Just in time for her to provide a new theme song for Kingdom Heart's next installment.(Come on, your not fooling anyone here.) You can't help but wonder what kind of Utada we will get this time after all the event she has gone through in the past six years. The horrible death of her mother, marriage, and the birth of her first child, would make for great subject for Utada to take the pen to the paper. She has done just that, stating that this album could only be made now and another album like it would never be made again. Which is where the album's name "Fantome" might have come from. It sounds like the word phantom, a mythical being thats there one minute and then gone the next.
Utada is mostly labeled as a Jpop, RnB, Dance Electronica artist. For me she can't truly be labeled in one category. Many of her albums have a experimental style thats not afraid to test the boundaries of whats normally popular music in Japan and whats just artistry. Fantome stands on this boundary then jumps over it only to stand on it again. She seems to be over trying to be a chart toping artists and wants to just make music that expresses her feeling as a new mother as well as the love she had for her late mother. Plenty of tracks sound like the old Utada we love with tracks like "道", "花束を君に", "真夏の通り雨", etc. Don't let the familiar sounds fool you because Utada still shows growth in maturity within the lyrics and the way she sings. I hear the vocals of a women who has a lot to sing about but she also feels free in this release of expression. Fantom's style variates from funky RnB tracks, ballads, to dance pop. I was glad to hear "二時間だけのバカンス" with Ringo Shiina as the album's main single. The track is a great up beat drum number that utilizes both singers voices in a productive way. You never know what your going to get when you listen to a Utada album. I could have sworn that she mixed two different genres of music in one song and played it off like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Utada's vocal darkness is what she's most know for. Even when she sings happy songs, that deep tone gives a slight edge to the song. Her mother also had this same vocal quality. If you didn't know, Utada's mother was a top selling artist too so she comes from a musically inclined family. Her voice fluctuates from low to high then high to low in controlled succession. Both ranges are beautiful to the ears. Much of her discography can't sound complete unless she sings it. No offense to the artists who did her tribute albums but their Utada's songs for a reason.
The biggest problem I believe everyone is talking about is how Utada will be received in today's Japanese music industry. "Jpop is dead" isn't a phrase you should believe in unless your an over obsessed Kpop fan. Japanese CD selling market is falling fast which is the reason for artists having such low sales in recent years. Its sad that Japanese doesnt know how to handle this problem but they better learn fast. Japanese people's taste in music also constantly changes. Idol groups were once dominating the charts but now they barely get the top spot. Anime soundtracks, voice actors, rock bands, and girl idol groups are whats popular right now. Utada will do fine because she will be that artist to bring something fresh to Japanese audiences that have been waiting for her return. One con about the album to me is that it might be too slow for listeners who like a more active sound but on the other hand her lyrics will resonate with listeners who are tired of hearing songs about plain old love. I have songs on the album that I like more than others. I also felt that some songs were too short and could have been a little longer.
As a fan, I'm very happy with "Fantome". I can't wait to play the album a few more times so I can learn the words to sing along. I'm pretty sure this album will get the a top ten spot on the charts if not the top spot just because of who she is. I'll be cheering her on while humming "二時間だけのバカンス". iTunes sales show that the album is doing great in the US and in France. Now lets see those CD sales in Japan. *** Fingers Crossed***
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