I'm listening to JAPONESQUE now. I'm DEAD. Here's the epic track by track review:
Prologue ~JAPONESQUE~
Sounds different from her previous intros, but it's not a bad thing. Not at all. It's pretty nice, actually. It's epic. I can imagine this as a opening video song for her new tour which was cancelled. Oh well, maybe she'll uses it as a opening for her comeback live in November then... *_*
10/10
So Nice
I was very surprised about how good this is. It's like a remix of Candy, Get It On and JUICY, at least. I also got this Rihanna feeling from this song, which made me love it even more. I can't even express how much I love this song now. I'm a sucker for American R&B, I can confess you that, and this sounds like one in my ears. Eargasmic. *___*
10/10
Boom Boom Boys
Preview wasn't good imo. This song made me worried that TRICK will happen again (=I won't like the album itself at all) but the moment I heard the full version of this song, I realized how awesome this actually is. It sounds so much better in full than it did as a short clip, which is always good. It's still growing on me though, but I like how fierce this is.
8/10
V.I.P (album version)
Epic fail. T-Pain ruined this song for me completely. But since I don't like modifying albums' track listings, I'm keeping it here. Maybe it's going to grow on me someday but not right now. T-Pain can be great when he wants to be but in this song he wasn't.
4,5/10
Slow
Another very cool westernized R&B song. *__* I really loved Omarion's voice here tbh. It was so sweet, like a R&B voice should be.
This song made chills go through my spine much like Yume no Uta does so this song is awesome. I think I also cried more or less while listening to this, actually. So touching and beautiful. Masterpiece.
10/10
Brave
So this is the song that was recorded during TRICK production. Tbh, it sounds like it would have been on the album instead of Ai wo kotoba.
It also sounds like a b-side for stay with me (btw, thanks for the translation, tenshi~) but at the moment I didn't really feel anything for this song. I need to listen to it more before I can really judge it. [B]7/10[B]
Everyday
I love her cute songs so of course I love this too. 8D Not as good as Love Technique but it's not bad either. Reminds me a bit of anytime from Kingdom, too.
9/10
IN THE AIR
I still love this song though I haven't listened to it enough so it still feels new and fresh to me. I love the production very much. It's different~
9/10
You are not alone (acoustic version)
I'm not sure whether I love this or those live versions more, but even so, this song is really beautiful and a perfect end for the first half of JAPONESQUE. I really like the arrangement and I'm happy that this version is included on the album instead of the happier version on Ai wo tomenaide because I'm a sucker for Acoustic Versions.
10/10
Interlude ~JAPONESQUE~
Epic. Nuff said.
10/10
ESCALATE
I really love this song too. Awesome hip hop/R&B song, imo. I know I'm gonna listen to this on repeat one of these days because this is beyond amazeness. Seriously. One of the best songs on the album.
10/10
Love Me Back
Yeah, bling bling, check check~
10/10
No Man's Land
Someone kill me because this song totally surprised me. I remember the preview was awesome but this is even more awesome in full. Seriously. This is probably her best rock song ever made. Yes, it has that Can We Go Back vibe on it, but it's actually even better (at least to me). I also get a some kind of a Kelly Clarkson vibe from this song, which isn't actually a bad thing because Kelly is a awesome pop/rock singer.
10/10
Ai wo tomenaide
Has been beautiful since the first listen as is still beautiful as hell. Nothing else to add but that it makes me cry.
10/10
KO-SO-KO-SO
Sexy song, and probably will always be my favorite 4TIMES song.
10/10
Lay Down
Holy moly! This song is just so sexy!
I can imagine how this is played in some club at nights.
I kinda get this certain Kana Nishino vibe from this too. She has some party songs like this too which are mostly sung in English (ONLY ONE, Every Boy Every Girl etc...) and I kinda like these songs. This song though is very Kuuish and I think there's no other song in her discography you can compare it to.
10/10
Love Technique
Nice westernized cute pop song.
I knew I'm gonna love it. I'm just wondering if Kuu's a fan of k-pop because I really get that vibe from this too. It doesn't really bother me since I'm a fan too. I like this song because it sounds very different compared to her other cute songs. This will never be forgotten imo, it's just too different.
10/10
Poppin' love cocktai
Never been a huge fan of this song for some reason. I mean, I like the music and the lyrics too, but I'm not a big fan of this after all. It's still growing on me.
7/10
All for you
As I said before, I'm into acoustic versions. I don't care if it's a acapella, piano or guitar, I will definitely love it into bits. This is a acoustic studio version so it's even better. I love her voice here. I can't wait for the translation because this song has become one of my favorite songs ever released by Kuu. And I feel like listening to a concert audio rip now, hehe.
So beautiful~
10/10
Summary
I don't know if this is her best album or close to it, but I can say that I think it's one of her best work. Apart from amazing, outstandingly gorgeus singles (yes, I'm a stan. What do you expect???! 8D) I think the most outstanding album songs are Love Technique, No Man's Land, So Nice, Slow, ESCALATE and Lay Down, which really blew me away already as preview clips. In full these songs are even more awesome. So, this is definitely another masterpiece by Koddess.
10/10
I had more stuff I wanted to say but I just can't because I'm too amazed. First UNIVERSE ate my heart again, then Dejavu made me even more obsessed, and now JAPONESQUE blew me away completely. There're only few j-pop artists that can amaze me like this: Kuu, Kana, Namie and Utada. But anyhoo, I'll stop writing now because my head hurts and I'm hungry ->