[koumori]

tasky - Gorgeous intro, definitely one of the best of her entire career. I really feel this represents how Ayu sees herself as an artist as well. 5/5!

FLOWER - tasky leads perfectly into FLOWER, and together they're a powerful beginning to the album. I really love her vocals here as well. 5/5

Mad World - Where did this come from?! Another powerful song... very emotional. I really love the effort she put into it. Another 5/5 from me.

Breakdown - This is so 'Ayu' it almost hurts! Very melodic. I feel like she is really trying to weave a story here, and not just through the lyrics. The abrupt ending to leave us hanging is very poignant. 4/5

Survivor - I actually love this! I get (Miss)understood vibes? The chorus is again very powerful but for a different reason than the first two songs. I can really visualise Ayu singing her heart out to record this in the studio. Lots of positive emotion. 5/5

You are the only one - A beautiful ballad, something refreshing and very well done. I'm usually not a huge fan of her ballads but I really loved this one. The ending of it just made it another obvious 5/5 for me.

TODAY - A medium-ballad that could have fitted on A ONE/Love again/Love songs for me. It's nice and Ayu's vocals are smooth, but there's no initial hook here for me that is of the same standard as the rest of the album so far. 2/5

Mr.Darling - A cute song, but having both TODAY and Mr.Darling running together just makes this part of the album feel a bit sameish. I like the guitars though and her little high notes three quarters through feels quite nostalgic. 3/5

Summer Love - It feels a bit out of place, I think an additional interlude inbetween this and Mr.Darling would have helped it fit a bit more into the album for me. It's a good EDM track though - catchy, nice hooks, good vocals. Not really my thing but it's obvious that Ayu had fun with this one and wanted a new upbeat dance track for lives. 2/5


Overall
A strong new album - I do miss her interludes and I think an additional one or two would have helped piece together the different genres at work here. That said, the first six tracks are the most solid I have heard from her in a long time and I really love what ideas she incorporated. I read elsewhere that someone felt she really had a message to share... I feel that here, too. Overall a 3.5/5!