[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Kacku

I agree completely, "flat" and "stacked" feel like perfect descriptions for how the song sounds (especially the chorus, it's not as much of an issue in the less busy verses). It's annoying that this is a persistent issue, I really hoped it would get better after TROUBLE. I just re-listened to MADE IN JAPAN yesterday and I really feel like it didn't have this issue (at least to the same extent, and maybe that's just because the songs weren't so busy)...

I'm not fully in love with Dreamed a Dream, but it has many great things going for it: the synth riff is mad catchy (I've had it stuck in my head and found myself tapping it over the past few days), the melody is pretty great, and Ayu sounds great, she's got attitude for DAYS. I'm really happy to hear her sounding so good even though her hearing is getting worse, I'm glad she's finding ways to make it work. I wish the production didn't sound so cheap (I don't like how the percussion and the high-pitched synth strings sound) but I also feel like the slight dated feeling might be intentional (it is a TK joint after all, and the lyrics talk about the past quite a bit). I'm torn on how I feel about the ending... the slowed-down final stanza is such a cliché for Ayu at this point... but on the other hand, this might be one of those instances where it really fits the song.

I agree. While I'm happy she finally released something that isn't super safe sounding, it has the same issue as many of her releases for years now - the mixing is super flat. There is just a problem with her mixing, period. How this hasn't been addressed yet is insane to me.