NEXT LEVEL album thoughts

[ayumisrael]

I'm really satisfied with the results came from this album!

Bridge to the sky - Giving a great energy as an album opener and a good transition into NEXT LEVEL. - 8.5
NEVEL LEVEL - Really nice song, I love that it sounds half up-beat and half mid-tempo (beatwise), it's a soothing song and though the PV wasn't anything special the song is a good and fun. - 8.5
Disco-munication - I like this interlude a lot though I think that I favor the others from the album but it's hard to choose... I like how it starts and going into electro. - 7.5
EnergizE - It's really not awful as people thought it would be, it kind of sounds like something morning musume would sing but still it's not too much and I think it's a really fun song and I love ayu's english in it. XD
ayu also doesn't sound terribly cute which is good. - 8
Sparkle - I loved this song from the first time I've heard it (and it was fast came my ringtone). - 10
rollin' - To me the Marionette -prelude- sound at the beginning was like "oh you thought you are going to get GUILTY's material here?" and when the electro part started "well, you were wrong". This song is really a pumper and parts of it reminds me of perfume's electro pop and it's really nice. - 9
GREEN - I like its chinese beats and of course the whole song though it's my least favorite single song on the album, I do like it still, the chorus is really catchy I couldn't stop flipping it in my head when the CM was out.
GREEN though sounds kind of out of place. I guess it's the use of synths. - 8
Load of the SHUGYO - I LOVE this interlude to death! One of ayu's best interludes yet! This one turns the electro pop into electro-rock part.
identity - I like it a lot!! Like rollin' it's sound like "GUILTY material" but it has the electro NEXT LEVEL things inserted to it, and ayu didn't want to fully put her rock out. - 10
Rule - Great great rock track, I can dance do it with no stops =D 9
LOVE 'n' HATE - My favorite of the album tracks!!! I love love love (not hate) this song, when I heard that I was like "ayu, you did this!?" and was really impressed. I guess this song is kind of LOVE or HATE it kind of song lol. As some people loved it and some people didn't. I can't stop listening to it with all honesty (and identity and rollin' at the moment). - 10
Pieces of SEVEN - One of the best interludes that HAL made to that day. I love how it starts HALish and then goes a bit electronic though the 2 ballads section are coming after this so this part kind of sounded out of place though like GREEN I think it might be from the reason that Days isn't a quite ballad (unlike Curtain call but Curtain call comes after Days). - 8.5
Days - My favorite ballad of ayu (took Moments place), No need to say more. I also think this kind of ballad does fit NEXT LEVEL because of the synth beats. - 10
Curtain call - Huge album ender, ayu's piano ballads rocks and this song so needed a choir and it got it, really emotion love song and I love it. - 9.5

Overall Rank - 8.5/10

This album is great, what I wanted ayu to do for some time.
She really gave the experiment and tried the electro thing in, even putting a bit of the "last level" with electro rock tracks and up-beat synth rock like Rule.
This is indeed the NEXT LEVEL, and unlike some users I wouldn't put songs from the past inside of it since it's complete as it is and I support ayu full time in it (glad I bought the 2CD+DVD version).
It's not my favorite album of her, I do like it more than all of her albums since Memorial address (and I like them all).
GUILTY is still coming right after NEXT LEVEL in my rank of course.
I do wish GREEN would have a more standing out place since it's kind of doesn't fit there and even though it's a good song the synths doesn't make its belonging obvious enough for the album since the other songs in it have much more electro and/or synths.

Bottom line, thank you ayu for bringing on a solid experimental and diverse album I really like it

(I'm also convinced the cd quality tracks will sound better since Sparkle and co. from this leak are kind of bassy messy so the 320kbps one should be oragsmic).