[News] New Album TROUBLE on August 15th ~III~

[ストロボ・EdGE]

@loggman and/or? @andrenekoi
Whaaa. I won’t indulge your decidedly inchoate defenses, but sir/ma’am, Ayu WAS the zeitgeist. She’s no longer capable. I suggest you read a little on semiotics and semantics, but you might be a lost cause as far as communication, but I’m sure you redeem yourself to your loved ones in other admirable ways. In the end, you have good taste in some music so you’re probably swell.

Ayu sliced open her stomach to paint on the canvasses of I am..., etc with her viscera. Trouble is more like a burp in a box. It’s how I felt. Or a paper snake in a can.

@love in music
No shade cause I’ve always thought you’re smart and interesting. But in reply: Dramatic? Probably but that’s part of my personality. I think sobriety on a forum for j-pop music has that flexibility in social mores, but that’s just me. AHS should hardly be thought of as a microcosmic utopia of “idealized” human behavior, but again, it’s how I see web interaction with strangers, and I don’t know any Ayu fans so there we are.

I really don’t get why we can’t all get along. It’s OK to not be simulacra of each other all feeling the same things at once. Read a book.

[ストロボ・EdGE]

I think in the end, after two years of silence while all over the world the state of things are reaching an all-time low, Ayu being Earthian I expected Ayu to deliver something... balmy? I’ve always thought that entertainers shouldn’t be expected to be embassadors of the human race and All That Is Good blah blah, but she willingly accepted that onus herself, a long time ago, so I’m just chagrined at this delivery.

[Evan Odinson]

Well, when you create a "perfect image" of someone who is just another human you can get really disspointed, not only in cases like this but also on your daily life. About the discussion, ストロボ・EdGE and others have said that they didn't like it and that's their opinion, if they cried, kicked and/or screamed that's just their problem, I mean I don't get why others took it that badly, it's not like they are throwing negativity or said those annoying comments such as "she (or her career) is over, she is trash, she should retire, etc". Saying I don't like x thing is not something to be offended, most of you hate Party Queen while I love it but I don't attack anyone over it don't attack each others guys!

I liked TROUBLE, it's not great but good imo, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't kind of dissapointed with the ammount of tracks and WATQ and WORDS being included but well that's just how things are, nothing to do about it, I'll just keep waiting for the concerts releases and hopefuly a new announcement soon.

[Yoake]

Originally Posted by Yagami Raito

Hey guys, I don't wanna create any fake hopes
yet don't you remember this Insta story posted on June 21?!




She was in the sudio with Tasuku and Nobita yet the tracks that were revealed do not involved those 2 guys...
Where did this song go?! ⬅️

Maybe it's a bonus/secret track that will be released on 08/13 on AWA Who know.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by Evan Odinson

Well, when you create a "perfect image" of someone who is just another human you can get really disspointed, not only in cases like this but also on your daily life. About the discussion, ストロボ・EdGE and others have said that they didn't like it and that's their opinion, if they cried, kicked and/or screamed that's just their problem, I mean I don't get why others took it that badly, it's not like they are throwing negativity or said those annoying comments such as "she (or her career) is over, she is trash, she should retire, etc". Saying I don't like x thing is not something to be offended, most of you hate Party Queen while I love it but I don't attack anyone over it don't attack each others guys!

I liked TROUBLE, it's not great but good imo, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't kind of dissapointed with the ammount of tracks and WATQ and WORDS being included but well that's just how things are, nothing to do about it, I'll just keep waiting for the concerts releases and hopefuly a new announcement soon.

I just found it odd crying over a disliked music release Doesn't sound very healthy, but I'm not anybody's mother either.

[JackieRos]

Well the name of this album is really accurate

[LOGMAN]

For me, it was the whole "my life is so awesome and I'm a totally successful and happy person, yet I'm throwing a tantrum online because a Japanese pop singer in Japan is not singing songs about being a POC in America" that I found bizarre.

Originally Posted by orbitalaspect

And yet, here you are too... Peculiar? I dare say. I shall. Here you are too.

Not sure what you're getting at here. I was just pointing out how strange it is to say "my life is awesome" after you've been online to also state you've been crying because some music isn't good.

[Klauser_Bateson]

Aside from aeternal, which I can't seem to get into, I like TROUBLE. I would place sixxxxxx and Memorial address above it, and I would place TROUBLE above FIVE. I really didn't care for FIVE all that much.

[Party_King]

Much ado about nothing.

You all should calm down a little bit!
It's just a release of some music and there'll be something coming afterwards...
If you're disappointed, well move on and wait for a new release or quit.
If you're happy with this release, it's fine, enjoy it!
Everybody has another taste in music, lyrics and imagery, right?
And everybody has a reason for liking something or not...
We don't have a need to fight about our tastes... that's unnecessary, right?
If you have your opinion, you're free to communicate it...
But please pay some attention to your words!
It's not fair to blame ayu or someone here on AHS for your taste!

Thank you

[hidekirby]

Originally Posted by primavera♥

I would kind of like to know what's on her mind outside of song lyrics honestly.

It's a question I'm asking myself more and more while seeing the artistic decisions made for a while now. I even really wonder if she really has any deep artistic vision in term of melody/composition/arrangements or if she relies on her team a lot. Or that she just may have low standards herself.
I know it can sound a bit harsh but I genuinely wonder about it and TROUBLE is the perfect demonstration.

We are the QUEENS
It’s a bit like Mirrorcle World ugly and evil twin sister. You know the one that you keep locked and chained in the attic, away from the outside world, the darkest secret of the whole family, afraid that one night she will break free taking her revenge while you sleep. The fake orchestra and cheap sounds bother me a lot. I could never understand the way the «orchestra» part of the bridge is introduced… It just starts out of nowhere, cutting into the beat and the mood. I may be the only one having this feeling though because nobody complained haha! I can understand why people like this song though.

aeternal
When I first listened to the first demo version I thought it would only be another uninspired / lazy type of happy song with the same structure, progression, arrangements she has been doing for more than 10 years now. But I was wrong. Not only it has the same structure, progression, arrangements she has been doing for more than 10 years now, it also has vocals that are not my cup of tea at all. Well I totally understand some people might like those vocals over high-pitched ones. Unfortunately I don’t… She sounds hoarse and breathless to me. I like the sad part of the bridge with guitars and the little glass-like sounds just after. I really don’t like (I’m censoring myself here) the same beatbox she uses in every summer song (no, in fact it is even in songs like momentum), the HAL chimes and the fake violins all over the song…

WORDS
Her voice is contrasting so much with the previous track. This is the perfect example of a pretty safe song, nothing groundbreaking, nothing really creative, but everything works for me here (hello Love songs !). I dont know... It feels genuine to me. And her voice… It's still giving me eargasms after almost one year. This is the voice I felt in love with and I love to death… It may be forced and unnatural… but I can’t help. I’m still not tired of this song at all. <3

W
I'm SO glad she sticks with rock inspired songs as they don't seem to be really popular with her Japanese fanbase. Those are most of the time the songs that make me still be a fan despite disappointments (my god FLOWER... what a amazingly fresh song... And after almost 20 years of intense production). Always had a soft spot for military marching drums. I understand when people say the chorus feels incomplete but it doesn’t really bother me… It’s adding to the rawness / roughness of the song IMO. It may be the closest «rock» song she has done with alterna. It is not as great though, but good enough to me. At least it feels unique in her discography.

The way I am
The beginning tells everything… Like with aeternal I can almost picture the whole song already. It is quite annoying. Same arrangements as always with this type of song. The fake violins are just irritating. Like really. I like the melody though but it is not enough. This song could have been much more… I just want to skip it. Her voice is better here than in aeternal IMO.

So…
What a really peculiar release. It indeed feels forced and planned last minute to content fans. I would have prefer to wait longer and have a real album with a complete conception.

I will just feel the need to listen to WORDS over again and W.
Two years after her last album I just hold on to one new track and a previous digital release… It is quite underwhelming indeed. Looking forward to her next release...

Oh guys!! What if AWA announcement is... Poetry Reading for the other 4 songs?
Kidding.

[MissElin_]

In not gonna quote your whole post because it was quite long. But...

Originally Posted by hidekirby

So…
What a really peculiar release. It indeed feels forced and planned last minute to content fans. I would have prefer to wait longer and have a real album with a complete conception.

I will just feel the need to listen to WORDS over again and W.
Two years after her last album I just hold on to one new track and a previous digital release… It is quite underwhelming indeed. Looking forward to her next release...

I agree to many points in your post. Now I don't have to write it out myself, thank you.

TROUBLE is just another late era Ayu release for me. These days, I generally think I will not be very interested but maybe a track or two will turn into a happy surprise. Me and Ayu go way back (not way, way back like from the start, but from 2002) and somehow the latest 7 years I've gotten used to not feel the same as I did before. Many reasons behind that, not Ayu's fault. She developed as an artist and in the same time I also grew up from being an youngster to just an adult. Also music industry changed and J-pop lost it's golden era.

I will always love love love the nostalgic songs Ayu made, my heavens they mean so much to me. This newer stuff generally doesn't attract me but a little now and then she hit it off in my taste buds. I have to admit that realizing that me and Ayu didn't click as good anymore was though for a hard core fan like me. But I got used to it and I respect her and her new music even if it's not to my liking. If this is her style now that's totally fine, I will forever cherish the music I already got.

However I will always feel bothered with her over acting on stage lately, I've been to so many lives and POW 20th was close to horrendous.

[ストロボ・EdGE]

I feel the need to say before I go back into ahs hibernation that I didn’t like weep, guys. Two minims tops but apparently “cried” is synonymous with suicidal.

And Logman, you completely miss the point. Obviously Ayu isn’t going to sing about Trump and Black genocide, but why bother explicating anymore. It’s that the humanity I expected is absent in a time like this. And also, yeah, my life IS pretty fucking awesome, haha. I just wish my ex musical soulmate was part of it. Ayu.

We all have our different shit bro

[wednesday]

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE

I feel the need to say before I go back into ahs hibernation that I didn’t like weep, guys. Two minims tops but apparently “cried” is synonymous with suicidal.

And Logman, you completely miss the point. Obviously Ayu isn’t going to sing about Trump and Black genocide, but why bother explicating anymore. It’s that the humanity I expected is absent in a time like this. And also, yeah, my life IS pretty fucking awesome, haha. I just wish my ex musical soulmate was part of it. Ayu.

We all have our different shit bro

Boo, I assume you don't remember me cause I have a different account now, but you and I had some great conversations back in the day. You were cool beans. I was Love Shine... and then something else? Don't remember.

I hope its not the tone of the forum that's put you off. I find that these days Ayu gets slammed left right and center by supposed "fans" that the rest of the group can get a little defensive. You say one thing you don't like and some member comes along and says all sorts of stupid shit to make you feel bad about having a valid opition, and others just egg them on. They are tired of seeing criticism of her and start jumping on the wrong people. Not an excuse, though.

It is pretty funny to see some of the stuff that goes on here now a days though

--

I wanna watch those performances, but I will have to wait till I'm home, boo.

[maxikot]

According to this tweet: "The songs from TROUBLE are topping the japanese daily charts on KKBOX WOW at Singapore *o*"
https://twitter.com/roque_sf/status/1026952057335541760

[Katsuyuki012]

æternal seems to be pretty strong (iirc it is her highest song on AWA from this album, isn't it?)! Anyway, that's really nice! Also glad to see WORDS (and obviously the rest) up there too.

[maxikot]

After 2 days, AWA statistics are as follows:
1. aeternal 19,839
2. The way I am 16,691
3. W 13,084
4. WORDS 11,515
5. We are the queens 7,600

aeternal also has currently most plays on spotify 4,151. This track definitely stands out for most people currently.

[Chris_Duvall]

I really really hope Trouble will have strong sales. The number of streams don’t look too bad :-)

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by Chris_Duvall

I really really hope Trouble will have strong sales. The number of streams don’t look too bad :-)

Strong sales probably not but 'okay sales' seem likely. I wonder if they're planning other promo aside from the Tower Records stuff and MUSIC FAIR.

[Chris_Duvall]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Strong sales probably not but 'okay sales' seem likely. I wonder if they're planning other promo aside from the Tower Records stuff and MUSIC FAIR.

Probably not... but I really do hope it sells fairly well.
I'd be surprised if they'd do more promo tbh.

[RealLight]

I say she'll end up selling between 35k~40k. Slightly over 40k if she's lucky.