Eir Aoi(藍井エイル) FRAGMENT Album Thoughts(J-pop/Rock)

 

Tracklist

1. 約束(Promise)
2. SINGULARITY
3. 流星(Meteor)
4. UNLIMITED
5. Grow Up (グローアップ)
6. 螺旋世界(Spiral World)
7. Puzzle Telepathy (パズルテレパシー)
8. FROATIN
9. Iris (アイリス)
10. 今(Now)
11. Fragment (フラグメント)
    Digital stores "Special Edition" bonus track:
12. シンシアの光 RE BLUE LIVE ver. 

   Eir Aoi has always been that singer who plugs songs for anime and video games. I don't know why I would expect anything different. Fragment pretty much was the name soundtrack of our lives. Eir Aoi went one a year and a half break back in 2016 then returned refreshed in 2018 but her take on music hasn't really evolved once you listen to her new body of work. She's truly the anime soundtrack queen as heard of Fragment's tracks that sound like a big playtime of one track after listening to about six songs. What I will say is that Eir knows her lane, the singer's talent continues to shine through Fragment's strong pop rock songs but there's no spice to make listeners outside of Otaku fan boys interested long enough to get her a number one hit album in Japan. I found a few tracks that I liked as a rock fan too.(Spiral World, Promise, Now etc.) Aoi needs to escape the anime world for a while… or maybe have one foot in that world and one foot out. I would like to hear her be a bit more adventurous. You would think a break would cause her to have a new take on her artistry….. I must have been mistaken. Fragment's cover is the most plain I've seen of Eir Aoi's album covers.


   Eir Aoi was always placed in the "big voice female anime songstress" category along with fellow singer LISA by yours truly. Both singers sing for anime theme songs and the can wail like no other pop rock Japanese female singer. I'm more of a fan of LISA because she has a presence without anime wherein I alway felt Eir Aoi did not. When most people think of Eir Aoi, they think of Sword Art Online because she most known for singing the theme songs. Same idea when speaking of LISA except she's attempted to have a career pass the anime she's sang for. Eir Aoi constantly goes back to singing for Sword Art Online like it's a life line for her. I wonder if she'll be singing anime jingles when she's fifty-five?

  Fragment would probably please you if you want the same old style from her. Nothing new really progresses in her new effort which is sad since Eir Aoi has the talent to wow us with something so out of left field that she might have sold more than fifteen thousand units had she taken a risk.