Ai Otsuka(大塚愛) - Love Honey Album Thoughts(J-pop)

 

CD Tracklist

1. HONEY
2. 私 (I)
3. QueeN
4. TOKYO散歩 (Tokyo Stroll)
5. サクラハラハラ(Fluttering Cherry Blossoms)
6. HEART BREAK
7. Monochrome (モノクロ)
8. make up
9. FrogFlag
10. HEY!BEAR
11. Starting Pistol (スターターピストル)
12. 日々、生きていれば(Everyday, As Long As I Live)

   Love Honey is Ai Otsuka's Eight album to be released in Japan. The era of 2000 - 2008 was Otsuka's time of huge success in Japan. She then to a long break from music to give birth to a child. This might have been one of the worst choices she could have made in terms of her music career. In 2014, she was met with moderate success when her new album Love Fantastic hit stores. The album only sold a couple thousand units and was her first to not debut in the top twenty on the Oricon Charts. Otsuka chose not to take this time of a huge decline in sales as a totally lost. Choosing to experiment with her sound in the surprising release of album, Love Tricky.  Love Honey also showcases Otsuka in her most artistic form. The album's music feels like Otsuka has control of what her music is to be. I hear a more solid foundation in pop sound. Watashi(means "I" in Japanese.) is mature with its resonate violin solos paired with a digital trance pop style. Heartbreak revives the era when she sang melodic ballads that didn't lack lyrical depth or influence on the listener. I was actually surprised that she brought back this style with her and an acoustic guitar brought in at the chorus after a calming sequence of pop beats. A maturity is here that feels natural. Having a child must have really changed her outlook on music. Honey's cuteness is fun to listen to in a non annoying way. I'm not a fan of squeaky voice  Japanese singers but I like Ai Otsuka's music. Honey has her go into the high range in her voice to be use effectively. She's effortless at being mature was a cute edge. Was Frogflag even sung by Otsuka Ai?? One thing I always noticed about Otsuka is that she sounds very different when she sings Jazz. Its like a middle aged women comes out of her and her voice gets more vibrant. That cute high voice listeners are used to disappears somewhere during this time….. Other tracks such as Queen and make up are inspiration from Love Tricky that didn't make the album. Power Pop tracks that raise her appeal at turning new styles into music that fits her as a musician. HeyBear can be easily forgotten because of all these great tracks. You know her lable had to put one track on here that reminded me why I didn't like every song Otsuka came out with in the past. I will say that I enjoyed more songs on Love Honey than I did any of her older albums.

   Otsuka isn't the best singer in Japan. I wouldn't even list her name if I had to create a list of I thought the best vocalists in Japan were. Ok, I might list her name but it wouldn't be the first name that I would write down. Her voice does have a tonality to it that connect with listeners. Voices like her are also like the face of female singers Japan at one point. Well, that was until Japan realized that mature voices are also attractive. I'm a big fan of her's when she sings songs that fit her voice while not getting too typical in making her voice fit into that stereotypical cute category box. Older tracks in her discography, for example, Planetarium, Kingyo Hanabi(Gold Fishfireworks), and Cherish are all my favorite works by Otsuka. These tracks are her vocals at their best. She has a special charm that makes you like her music. Something that a lot of singers wish they had but just don't. Love Honey brings out the times when her vocals sound the best once again. She's experimenting with different methods of singing and It makes for a more variety in vocal. Producers keep using the backup singers from her older albums the accompany Otsuka during Honey and Heartbreak. I've never heard such a interesting kind of harmony that this women's music seems to have with her backup vocalists. It's almost like her voice is prerecorded then copied a couple times to be used together in the harmony.

  Otsuka Ai's Love Honey is one of her best albums if not the best. I get excited seeing all these female artists getting more artsy with their music after child birth. Hikaru Utada did it effectively with her latest album and Otsuka is following suit.