NEXT LEVEL album thoughts

[chloeM]

oh oh........... i listened to this album when i was driving... SO SURREAL~! love it

[SolarAngel]

^Haha i feel fans will run Next Level through their heads when driving along lonely winding roads instead of Country Road.

[UHPlus]

I don't like the idea of having all the great songs at the second half of the album and all the meaningless interludes. So I rearranged the album in my MP3 player:

01.Bridge to the sky
02.GREEN
03.identity
04.EnergizE
05.Sparkle
06.NEXT LEVEL
07.Days
08.Disco-munication
09.Rule
10.rollin'
11.LOVE 'n' HATE
12.Curtain call

^ Now I really enjoyed listening to the full album unlike previously when i skipped the first half and start listening to GREEN onwards...

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

out of curiosity, do people appreciate the album more now that it's been a month+ since it's release? or do people still dislike it as much as when they first heard it? Has time caused you to enjoy it more, or do people still group this as "one of her worst albums ever~~~!!!" haha, just curious

(i'm speaking mostly to the people who originally didn't really like the album ^_^)

[njanjayrp]

So after I've been listening to the album for the past couple of weeks, I have to say that it somehow feels way better as most of the songs grew on me. The first part of the album is amazing, though GREEN kinda kills the flow (even though the song itself is a state of art). The only problem with rock part is LOVE'n'HATE which still lacks the hook and a real chorus (imo the weakest song on the album), identity is better but in a way a bit recycled. Over all I only tend to skip Days and LOVE'n'HATE at times, even though I prefer rock songs and ballads, I think the first part of the album + Rule and the interludes are a better part of NEXT LEVEL. But to answer the ^ question, yes my opinion on the album has changed a bit - for better.

[waterballoon]

The album has grown even more on me, and songs that I didn't really like in the past (EnergizE) have grown on me. The album rocks even more, and every song has like a big "oomph" in it (at least for me)... like I just love how the songs are arranged... so layered and rich, and not loud like I am...

[ayumixfan]

For me, the only album Next Level can beat is GUILTY, and not by much. The album reflects the cover, which was very "eccentric" >_>

She definitely changed it up this time around with the electronic effects, but all the new album songs sound like other songs I've heard before with the "electronic effect" placed upon it for me. The singles for me were not even that great. The only song I liked was days, but then again I could just listen to her old songs to get that :S ~! Next Level the title song was good. It was composed by DAI so i'm nto surprised that its one of the rare tracks I like on this album besides days and probably 2 of her interludes >_> The only rule she broke for that song was with the music video. She looked fatter in black... breaking the rule black makes you look skinnier :S She looked skinnier in the Sparkle PV. Sparke wasn't even likable for me... yes I'm one of the rare people. It sounded like three different songs mashed up into one total mess for me. GREEN was just boring, I Don't know how else to describe it for me and the music video was a waste of money.

You guys probably think I'm being very critical of her, but thats how I really feel =/ I was shocked to read that people think this album could be one of their favourites. Secret will beat this album for me any day. Secret to me is really underrated. Although it may not be experimental, it was a decent album that got me listening to it.

Her lyrics are so messy now :S. Sure they're bettter than a lot of other artists, but compared to before, I think they've gone down hill by a lot.

Her music videos have REALLY been focused on making her look sexy, which really does not work for me. Unlike kuu she doesn't have the body shape for this image to work. I think she looked REALLY silly especially in Sparkle... The music video was just silly and unappealing for me. I thought the drive for Next Level's music video was WAY better than her weird vinyl scene or w.e. the material was, they should've just stuck with the opening scene because I liked that part the most for the mv.

I'm not surprised at the sales of the album because I think the album wasn't very good. If she's going to release this type of electo-pop, I'd prefer it if she left it for perfume. I feel Ayu is definitely not putting enough effort in her music and too much in her tours. I mean, ur tours are going to fall if no1 likes your music anymore :S

I personally don't really care about emotion. Its nice to have, but a song could be good without the emotion. The only problem for me was that I didn't receive emotion and I still didn't like the songs.

I really hope her next album will actually be a step up, not another album that will just sprial downwards.

[majrakun]

I only got my copy last week, and I managed to resist all attempts to download it beforehand. I do like the overall flow of the album, although GREEN being the lone different track from the others made it quite random since it was placed in between rollin' and Load of the SHUGYO (Not to mention it was also randomly put in between HOPE or PAIN and Days in the tour).

I am really in love with Load of the SHUGYO, identity and LOVE 'n' HATE. I kept these three in their own special playlist for a few days. I think the only thing that kind of annoys me is the last "Zero" in L'n'H, but that's probably just me. NEXT LEVEL and Curtain Call unfortunately felt pretty dull, and I grew tired of Rule and Days by the time this album came out.

As for the PVs, agh. I'm still so bumped about the fact that there are only 6 PVs. I just watched my (miss)understood DVD then and wondered why can't Ayu made more PVs like she used to in the good old days? Not only that, what she lost in quantity, she didn't even made up in quality.

The best ones were probably Days and Rule, but they definitely could not beat the beauty of momentum. Takahide Ishii should stick to ballad PVs.

I actually quite like Sparkle, since the whole overacting suits the mood of the song. But I still cringe while watching GREEN. Oh my God, Ayu, please stop avoiding people on the street that way next time. I think it would have been better if she rode on a carriage the way the singers often do.

NEXT LEVEL and Curtain Call, bleh. I fell asleep halfway through, and it wasn't even that long. Pride was definitely the better one done by Luis Hernandez. Besides that, what's with him and his PVs? They almost only involve one scene, and not much of a storyline. I have to admit, the way he portrays the PV and the cinematography is really beautiful though.

I wish there was at least a PV for identity, but given the choice of directors we have today, I'm actually quite glad it didn't.

There were no really hard rock in this album unfortunately, other than Rule. This album is so bright and colourful (in terms of both look and music) unlike dark on' GUILTY. This is probably why, unlike other people, I'm still in love with GUILTY. Think about it, even the ballads like Together when... and fated had a hint of rock in them. But yes, NEXT LEVEL is really starting to grow on me.

[SolarAngel]

Originally Posted by UHPlus

I don't like the idea of having all the great songs at the second half of the album and all the meaningless interludes.

Totally agree with you (except for Next Level which is tolerable). So many interludes seem pretentious somehow, adding unsubstantial bulk to a short album.

[noidea]

I loved the album in the beginning and now think it's an OK album, definitly not her best, in my list, it would be something like this:

GUILTY
Memorial Address
I Am.../MY STORY/(miss)understood
NEXT LEVEL
Rainbow/Duty
Secret
A Song for XX
LOVEppears

At first I put NEXT LEVEL on top/second place with GUILTY, but I dont think it will drop more in my list, I begin to like the songs more again which i started to dislike(LOVE 'n' HATE grew so boring)

[NintendoHTF1242]

LOVE 'n' HATE has a cool introduction. But then when Ayu keeps counting down over and over. It gets so annoying and it just distracts too much from the song. I wish Ayu didn't bother counting down all the time in the song.

[dreamland2.0]

^ The counting is my favourite part!!
And I really like the album, however I like it better as individual tracks, even the interludes, rather than a 'story' album like Guilty, which I like listening to from start to finish.
I find, even though I just like the song, EnergizE is stick in my head, all the time!!

[waterballoon]

^ Yeah I think GUILTY is an amazing album, but maybe the songs aren't like "whoa epic" as individuals.

[love in music]

to me, this album you really need to rearrange the songs because listening to it in the 'correct' order makes it less enjoyable imo, pieces of SEVEN before Rule is perfect, having it before Days kind of pissed me off LOL

[waterballoon]

^ For this, I kind of listened to NEXT LEVEL in the order of AT 09... way cooler.

[noidea]

^ I actually have an AT09 playlist on my iPod from the day the setlist became official because it flows so damn well xD

[JackieRos]

I like all of the songs but i really don't understand why ayu has to go all neon
i mean she never done that before i really dont like the album theme ~my opinion~

[noidea]

^ dito, + it doesnt fit the musical theme THAT well, I think Sparkle and Disco-munication are the only songs fitting the visual style 100%

[Lanz16]

I've received my copy (CD+DVD) since last week and it came along with GUILTY (CD+DVD OS version).

This is my very first purchase of an album.
Anyways...




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I am going to give my thoughts on each tracks:

Bridge to the sky - "nice intro! I love the opening! It really takes me to the sky! hehehe..."
*Musicality styling rate: 7 (the ending was too sudden )



NEXT LEVEL - "Cool song for the road trip! A new summery song in this album!"
*Musicality styling rate: 9.5 (There are times I feel the dullness in this track)



Disco-munication - "Very catchy and danceable! I think this is the interlude I really love to dance with. The opening sounds like a chain-saw!"
"I hope it was longer (about 2 minutes more)"
*Musicality styling rate: 10
*FAVORITE TRACK!!!



EnergizE - "WOAH! This is the coolest track ever! Very bouncy and the lyrics was so nice! Another Beautiful Fighters indeed!"
*Musically styling rate: 9.8 (The guitar is a little bit heavy for the cheerful themed song)
*FAVORITE TRACK EVAHHHH!!!



Sparkle - "WHAT THE?!? A Britney song?!? LOLZ!"
"I like the dark themed techno and its really refreshing from the genres she used to"
"Lyrics-wise, it reminds me of Boys & girls. Musicality wise, it reminds me of alterna"
*Musicality styling rate: 10



rollin' - "Hmmm a ballad... no! ANOTHER Eletronica-pop! YAHOOO!!!"
"highly addictive especially the choruses and Ayu turned robot?!? Cool!!!"
"I like how it fused the traditional with Eletronica and dance."
"The ending is really weird, it sounds like Pacman being died on the arcade".
*Musicality styling rate: 10
*FAVORITE TRACK EVAHHHH!!!



GREEN - "I love the traditional Chinese style opening on this track, and the vocals are great!"
*Musicality styling rate: 9.0 (I love the artistic appeal, but there are some parts left me bored or something)



Load of the SHUGYO - "It reminds me of Mortal Kombat, the only interlude that I can do a head bang".
*Musicality styling rate: 7 (I found this interlude somewhat too loud)



identity - "The 'yeah yeahs' are so addicting! I love the edgy rock musicality stylings especially the drum beat! Great opening track for the rock-themed tracks".
*Musicality styling rate: 9.8
*FAVORITE TRACK EVAHHHH!!!



Rule - "One of the best Ayu rock songs I've heard, I love Miki Watanabe composistion and this is one of my faves."
*Musicality styling rate: 9.8



LOVE 'n' HATE - "WOAH! An R n B! The lyrics is so strong as the music does".
"The 1,2,3 part was very interesting!
*Musicality styling rate: 9.5
*FAVORITE TRACK EVAHHHH!!!



Pieces of SEVEN - "This is would be the most interesting interlude I've heard so far. The fast phased rock effect is a blast and really groovy!"
*Musicality styling rate: 10/9.5 (10 for the excellent composition and 9.5 for the transition)



Days - "My favorite winter ballad ever and I really love the lyrics. Very touching and warm". "There's a peace and Christmas-y factor on this track, that's why I love this song so much".
*Musicality styling rate: 10
*FAVORITE TRACK!!!



Curtain call - *silence* "I love... how the album ends with this song, very calm and soothing".
"The piano and lyrics are amazing".
*Musicality styling rate: 9.9 (I love the song but she uses her vibrato TOO MUCH!)
*FAVORITE TRACK!!!

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Overall, this album is a great leap from the dark and heavily emoted GUILTY.



The album art is really interesting: futuristic and colorful.
Im somewhat disappointed on the CD art and the back cover of an album cover.






My Overall rating
Album Art: 9.5
CD art: 6.0 (Solid color was too simple for a wonderful album)
Musicality: 10
Theme used: 10 (very refreshing and bright)


That's it! And Im getting tired
I type this for 4 hours and repeatingly listen to the album.

[JaysenRyan]

the interludes, while good, really ruin the album. i mean, the songs are amazing, and then you hear this really amazing music, but it ends before you can even really enjoy it. They should have been full songs. Overall the album is solid. Not as good as Secret (my fav alltime ayu album).