[chocopockymaster]

lol I find it hilarious how the pictures of the promo buses were taken in exactly the same place. They must have been parked at the McDonald's close to TR in Shibuya.

Thoughts on JAPONESQUE...

1. Introduction ~JAPONESQUE~: Never have I heard such a flawless intro for an album. It's pretty good at setting the tone for what's to come in terms of the shamisen-sounding strings with a little hip hop beat and a taste of Kuu's enticing vocals. LOVE. And the breath at the end sets the stage perfectly for So Nice. 10/10

2. So Nice feat. Mr. Blistah: I was a big fan of her other collabs with Mr. Blistah…though this was clearly in the same vein, I don't like it quite as much. On first listen I was really not impressed, but the PV convinced me to give it a second try. I suppose I'll keep it around, but I don't see myself listening to it too much. Good thing it's short. 5/10

3. Boom Boom Boys: It's pretty obvious that from the opening notes this is the most perfect girls-going-out party anthem to ever see the light of day…but it wasn't until the chorus hit that I truly knew how much I was going to love this song. I could listen to it forever and not get bored of it. 10/10

4. V.I.P feat. T-Pain: I never liked this song. In fact, I hated it so much that it completely dissuaded me from listening to the rest of 4 Times. As cute as her banshee screams are, this song is terrible. T-Pain makes it worse. 0/10

5. Slow feat. Omarion: I could do without some of the auto-tuning, and I don't really have an opinion one way or another about Omarion's appearance, but this song is catchy as hell. 9/10 (minus a point for the autotuning)

6. Brave: This song is so basic I could only listen to it once, and then deleted it swiftly after. 0/10

7. Everyday: As soon as I heard this song, I started singing 'anytime'. It's like she plagiarized herself. Even the titles are similar. What the hell? 0/10

8. IN THE AIR: I blame V.I.P. for the fact that I didn't hear this flawless summery pop song until the dead of winter. It's catchy, and I'm sure it'll be lots of fun when she comes back to the touring scene! 8/10

9. You are not alone (Acoustic): ….oh, that huge chorus does not bode well. I can get behind the lyrics and the message of the song, but the chorus and the plodding beat just kill me. No thank you. 2/10

10. Interlude ~JAPONESQUE~: Not quite as flawless as its sister track…I could do without the random voices towards the end. Still love it, though. 7/10

11. ESCALATE: I find this song basic as hell. Next, please. 2/10

12. Love Me Back: Another one of Kuu's mediocre singles from 2011. I never found the whole "diamonds, and sapphires, and you, oh my" hook as catchy as everyone else on the planet did. Plus, the chorus is super annoying. DNW. 0/10

13. No Man's Land: I knew this was one of the most anticipated tracks on the album, and it really did not disappoint. I love her hard rock songs like Selfish, Ningyohime, etc. This one seems a lot darker. I LOVE IT. 10/10

14. Ai wo tomenaide: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Not only is this song snooze-worthy and totally unmemorable when placed next to some of her other epic ballads, the placement on the album couldn't be worse. 0/10

15. KO-SO-KO-SO: I can't decide if I love the 80's-esque beat or I hate it. I guess it works. But Kuu, please, one song like this is enough. Please don't try it again. 4/10

16. Lay Down: Normally I can handle Kuu's Engrish, but here it just makes my ears bleed. (Though I got a chuckle out of 'we poppin' bottles".) I don't find the song particularly memorable either…just repetitive, and grating. 1/10

17. Love Technique: There are a handful of Kuu's cutesy songs that I really like, and this definitely just got added to the list. I like! 7/10

18. Poppin love cocktail: This song is a travesty. I can't. 00000/10

19. All for you: I really want to like this song. I do. I love studio live recordings but this one really hurts my ears. :/ I can't decide whether I want to keep it around or not. It's one of the worst produced tracks I've ever heard. Contrary to popular belief, it IS possible to produce a song with this feeling in this environment without sounding like you used your grandfather's half-broken tape recorder. 2/10

Average score: 4/10...yikes.

I have to say that on the whole, the quality/listenability of the album tracks far exceeds the mediocre (at best) singles she released in 2011. Had she left some songs off the album I think it would have flowed better and sounded more cohesive...and I wouldn't have wasted my time downloading 19 tracks when I only really liked 8 of them.