AZU - AZyoU - *love* *hug*

Thanks to Jaylee from Gaijin Kanpai for the recommendation today!

I didn't realize it when I first started listening to this album, but I actually have listened to AZU before. I even reviewed one of her singles. ...Yeah...

Of course, it only took hearing the opening for "Broken Heart" and I just about jumped out of my seat with excitement. It's been over a month and that songs is still good.

I was surprised, but I really liked this ablum. Although it's not a pop revolution like ICONIQ's "Change Myself" or JASMINE's "GOLD," it's as easy to listen to as warm water is to slip into. The tracks range between quiet and slightly sad to quiet and slightly upbeat - only "AKS99" breaks the trance midway through the album with a much more energetic, refreshing sound. AZU's voice is beautiful, and the collaborations - with Yunhak from Choushinsei, SEAMO and K&G, and Hinouchi Emi - work with her voice and into the style of the album to compliment it. Unlike a some collaborations that stick out like awkward hairy moles that ruin an otherwise good face, these collaborations a more like cute Shiina Ringo moles that make a good album just a little better.

AZU's collaborations	BENNIE BECCA

Still, the album wasn't perfect. It takes a bit of a downturn with "Tashika na Koto," which isn't really bad so much as it's "meh." The album stays just inside "meh" territory until "AKS99" comes in and shakes things up and gets them back on track. But even with that minor downtun the sound is fairly homogenous but with just enough variation to keep it from being boring, each track leading easily into the next and making for a relaxing overall experience. This solid balance is something that most artists blatantly fail at, so this no small achievement on AZU's part.

Also, as if in answer to my prayers, AZU used precious little in the way of chimes in this album. The first time I listened to it I didn't notice them at all, and even when I went back specifically to find them they were so few and so subtle that most were still pretty hard to notice. I was delighted. GOOD JOB, AZU! you win a cookie!

Triple Feature Tuesday - AZU, Monkey Majik, Yaida Hitomi

AZU - Broken Heart
This is a lovely single, if nothing spectacular. AZU's vocals are pretty and sweet, and the music can stand up to repeated listens. (I listened to this single every day for a week and a half straight, and I'm still excited when I hear "Broken Heart" start up. If that's not a test, I don't know what is... and you have unreasonably high standards.) My favorite track is "Tsuyoku Tsuyoku," which has a great balance between the heavier bass and lighter synth elements. Other than the instrumentals (none of which should have been added - they drag the single down), all the tracks are good, but "Ring M&M" is probably the least spectacular. Although it's well performed, it's just a very basic pop song without a lot to recommend it. Still, if you like pop, you could do worse than take a listen.

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Monkey Majik - westview

There is a single perfect word for this album: laid-back. (Yes, hyphenated words count as a single word.) Although it struggles a little at the beginning to find its footing, starting around "Yume no Sekai" the album just chills right out and every track is good. When you listen to "westview" you can tell that Monkey Majik was on vacation on some tiny Grecian island in the sun when they recorded it. Not all the tracks are as laid back as the others - "Disco Girl," for example, kicks up the energy a bit - but 90% of the tracks are acoustic-lead and have a John Mayer-eqsue easiness about them. My favorite is probably "Everything is going to be alright," which combines the chill with a little extra upbeat energy. This is music to listen to as you drive down a long highway along the beach, or through a long stretch of corn and wheat fields running golden to the horizon. I thoroughly approve.

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Yaida Hitomi - Simple is Best

Yaida Hitomi gives us some rock with her chill. "Simple is Best" is a good, simple rock song with easy elements that would probably be boring if she didn't put so much of herself into the performance. It's high-energy, has high re-listen value, and doesn't take itself too seriously or try to make itself more intense than it needs to be. "Wakannai," on the other hand, is a quiet, warm song. The feeling it gives me reminds me of the country albums that my dad played when we went on long roadtrips to my grandma's house when I was a kid. Maybe Trisha Yearwood's self-titled album (yeah, from 1991!). I haven't heard the album in years, so I have no idea if they're musically similar, but when I listen to "Wakannai," I feel like I should be curled up in the back seat of the van, a big fluffy blanket all around me, my brothers and sister asleep a few inches away, while I stare out at the grass and road and signs and sky flashing past my window and listen to a quiet and sincere country ballad.

Oh, you don't like country?

Well you can shut your face.

Except your ears. Open them to listen to "Wakannai." It's good for you.