Kaela Kimura(木村カエラ) - Punky Album Thoughts(J-Rock/Pop)

1. There is love

1. Bokutachi no Uta (僕たちのうた; Our Song)

1. EGG

1. THE SIXTH SENSE

1. Obatanan Tenaisa (オバケなんてないさ; There's No Ghost)

1. SHOW TIME

1. Daisuki (好き; I Love You)

1. Koiwazurai no Buta (恋煩いの豚; Lovestruck Pig)

1. PUNKY

1. BOX

1. Himawari (向日葵; Sunflower)

1. Happy na Happo (Happyな半被; Semi-Happy)

   Biracial singer, Kimura Kaela is back with her tenth album, "Punky". The original release was suppose to a mini album but the final release turned into a full album. I was pretty excited to hear her new material when a new album was announced. Most of the singles leading up to the album also made my desire to hear this album more apparent. Nowadays, Her greatest hits album, "10 Years" has been on repeat. Minus that ring a ding dong song.

    I'm going to get straight to the point of my overall opinion, Punky was a major disappointment for me. Kaela came with some pretty strong singles for Punky. "Egg" was the track that put her back on my radar since I forgot about her completely. I hadn't listened to any of her music since I was young. The last time was during her "Happiness" era. If your a fan of her's then you know that was awhile ago. Who knows what the musical direction of this album was suppose to be. I didn't know who I was listening to a lot of the time. A few tracks like "There is love" sounded like pieces of the fun, weird, rocker girl that I knew but this album feels like a product that was out of her control. "THE SIXTH SENSE" might be the best track on the album where Kimura mixes different genres of Pop and Rock underlaid with a shorten vibe. The lyrics urge listeners to stay true to their artistry no matter what. She should take her own advice honestly. The promotional track for the titled "Box" was another track thats a very fun listen. I love the way she sings this song with the same type of conviction she had when she sang "THE SIXTH SENSE". The track is light but well produced with playing piano and a full band of drums along with guitars. Punky's best bet would have been to have stayed a mini album in my opinion.

  Her vocals go from sounding like she always sounds to strangely animated. I'm not sure why this girl has certain times in her career where she goes off the edge a little bit. "Ring a Ding Dong" was the track that I think had many of Kaela's foreigner fanbase scratching their heads. Japan loved the single though as it was the eight best selling song of that year. I wonder what she chose to go that direction with her music just like I wonder why she tried to get wacky with her vocals on this album. I enjoy the Kimura Kaela that just sings normally to a catchy tune. Not this new version who can't hold a decent note properly.

   With her new hair style and the album titled "Punky", I thought Kimura Kaela was going to bring the truth with this album but she slid in the mud instead. About four tracks are good out of the whole album.  I think I will stick to her greatest hits album and pray that the next album has better music.