NEXT LEVEL album thoughts

[Jeremy911]

This album is tied with (miss)understood for best album in my opinion.

[Mari-chan]

Hmm... listening this Album, let me reminds a little bit to the 80th.. so much electronic Musik. But.. thats ok.
I really love Curtain Call.. such a beautiful song.
And... seems like a lot of people like that Song... I really dislike Love 'n' Hate. It is one of her worst songs for me. I really can't stand that song.
So.. this Album is ok.... but not as good as Secret or Guilty.

[Zeke.]

I really love the album!

EnergizE is really addicting!
identity is my favorite. The chorus is perfect!

So far I would rank them in this order:
identity
EnergizE
rollin'
NEXT LEVEL
Curtain call
LOVE 'n' HATE

I LOVE THE OPENING! everlasting dream is my favorite interlude so this even better for me! I wish it were a full song!

I don't like LOVE 'n' HATE like everyone else does. The chorus is boring and I hate R&B. Definitely not like my name's WOMEN because that has more to it.

This is such a great album Better than GUILTY, Secret, and (miss)understood for me as a whole.

[Zeke.]

I really love the album!

EnergizE is really addicting!
identity is my favorite. The chorus is perfect!

So far I would rank them in this order:
identity
EnergizE
rollin'
NEXT LEVEL
Curtain call
LOVE 'n' HATE

I LOVE THE OPENING! everlasting dream is my favorite interlude so this even better for me! I wish it were a full song!

I don't like LOVE 'n' HATE like everyone else does. The chorus is boring and I hate R&B. Definitely not like my name's WOMEN because that has more to it.

This is such a great album Better than GUILTY, Secret, and (miss)understood for me as a whole.

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

^^Don't worry Emiko - I read it! Mine will be lengthy too. lol.

aww thanks

This album is really like candy. Tastes great at first and is fun, but it'll get stale soon. And if you eat too much, you'll get sick.

I see a lot of people giving out 10s easily, but I rarely will rate a song a 10, because that is like you are saying the song is just as good as Surreal, Evolution, Boys & Girls etc. Only if a song really truly deserves such a high ranking will I give it.

I also agree with those that say this album is lacking an emotional connection. Most of the tracks are interchangeable with each other and don't have an emotional core, which is usually Ayu's main draw. I definitely notice a lack of "Ayu-ness" - any other artist could be doing these same tracks; they are not that unique. But at the same time, its nice that Ayu did something she doesn't normally do, even if what she's doing isn't really unique.

I agree. With the analogy, with people giving 10s

About the lack of connection, I felt it was from the fact that her vocals weren't as outstanding as in her other songs. Like...they weren't the center of attention as always...except in maybe GREEN, Days, and Curtain Call.

Maybe that's it? I'm not sure. For me, I feel emotion through the music...through the chords and the notes and the instruments...so...it's a little different for me...but I definitely noticed the lack of really..."connecting" vocals lol.

[Corvina]

It's a nice album, different on so much ways.
I like the style, but it seems somehow strange for Ayu... well, maybe just because of the difference.
This album is not as deep as her others.
Like SunshineSlayer said most of the songs could be sung by other artists as well.
But it's nice to see Ayu experimenting, a fresh sound, a NEXT LEVEL for her indeed.
I like it. I hope she will do a good mixture in the future.

Favourite: EnergizE, Sparkle, Rule, identity, Curtain Call.
Least: GREEN, Days - the whole single is a no for me, Bridge to the skye, Disco-munication.

[Jeremy911]

Am i the only one who absolutely loves LOVE 'n' HATE? I know it is different then what ayu would usually do, But i think its wonderful, And fresh.

[Beauty4123]

overall, i really love it. the interludes and singles are probbably most of my favorite tracks, though. but i love "LOVE n' HATE" the most

it's alot better than GUILTY for me.

[TOBEAYU]

I LOVE "LOVE 'N' HATE" specially that parts when she does the count.... "1, 2, 3" That sounds soooooo damn sexy

[DogboyShugo]

I just finished listening and it's an alright album. There's a few awesome ones and others, meh.

First off, theres too many interludes! Two is okay but 4? Maybe on a 20 track album but not a 14. I enjoyed all the tracks except for Curtain Call. I'm not a ballad hater it's just that song never stuck out to me.

My favorites are:
Sparkle
Rule
Next Level
EnergizE
Love n Hate
Identity
Bridge To The Sky

[~X2RADialbomber~]

Gosh... this album is terrible. :\ The single tracks are AMAZING but these album tracks... really REALLY suck :|

[gogirlanime]

excellent tracks and vocals. Curtain Call is just gorgeous, the PVs are excellent. L&H and identity are excellent. Love it way more than GUILTY

[Larien]

Originally Posted by Corvina

It's a nice album, different on so much ways.
I like the style, but it seems somehow strange for Ayu... well, maybe just because of the difference.
This album is not as deep as her others.
Like SunshineSlayer said most of the songs could be sung by other artists as well.
But it's nice to see Ayu experimenting, a fresh sound, a NEXT LEVEL for her indeed.
I like it. I hope she will do a good mixture in the future.

I agree with most of your points. I think I'm in the minority for not being wild about this album. It's...interesting, I guess, but it doesn't feel special. It doesn't feel like Ayu. A number of the songs had me picturing Namie Amuro or Koda Kumi. The synth voices and electropop sounds just sounded kind of cheap to me. Also, the ordering of the songs really didn't seem to work! :s
That said, songs I -did- like are Bridge to the Sky, NEXT LEVEL, Sparkle, Days, GREEN, and Pieces of SEVEN is interesting. I really don't know how to feel about the rest. I may come to like it more after a few more listens, but it's just so different. I guess that's part of it, but I don't want Ayu to sell out by manufacturing the type of mechanized candy pop that so many people seem to love. :-/
I never really thought of Ayu as a "pop star" in the commercial, plastic sense until listening to this album, and as a Ayu lover, that's something I don't want to think.

[ll moments ll]

i think "NEXT LEVEL" is a pretty decent album. i think it's great in a sense that it's different from her previous works post "Memorial address" (though "(miss)understood" was different too). it's very positive/uplifting, electro-influenced, & contains very few heavy-rock songs we've been hearing since "MY STORY". however, the only true downfall of this album are her vocals. i really think she's needs to rest them, but with her touring & whatnot, i don't think it's gonna happen anytime soon.

_TRACKS:
01. Bridge to the sky: i don't think it's my favorite album intro ("Mirror" probably is...), but i really like it!
02. NEXT LEVEL: finally! a very cute title track. i think it sets the mood of the album. you know this isn't anything like "GUILTY". this is probably her most laid back title track. all her other ones have been...heavy or like...depressing-sounding, lol (A Song for XX, Duty, GUILTY, etc.)
03. Disco-munication: WOW. i think this my favorite interlude of the album. i just love the electro-vibe to it.
04. EnergizE: lol. it's sooo cute. but that's pretty much it. it would make a good concert song, though. i prefer "HONEY". xD
05. Sparkle: UMM. THIS IS LIKE MY FAVORITE SONG FROM AYU IN A WHILE. it's pure hotness.
06. rollin': i think this song is one of my favorite album tracks, if not my favorite. i like the creepy intro. xD
07. GREEN: if "Sparkle" wasn't released in a single, i would've said that this was my favorite single track on the album. i love the oriental sound to it.
08. Load of the SHUGYO: i like the vibe of this rock-type interlude. it sets off the mood to the only rock section of the album. i likey.
09. identity: hmmmm, this is like the only song on the album that sounds like it could've been on her previous albums. not a favorite, but somewhat decent.
10. Rule: i think it was her weakest single track, imo. however, i don't think it's the weakest track on the album.
11. LOVE 'n' HATE: it's definitely a rock track, but i love the inclusion of beats & synths. it's definitely one of the standout tracks, IMO.
12. Pieces of SEVEN: ahhh, the usual "LABYRINTH"-ish interlude. ngl, i love these interludes, lol. i was surprised at the end though. i wasn't expecting it to explode the way it did.
13. Days: i love "Days"! it's a sweet ballad.
14. Curtain call: i don't think it's my favorite album closer (...that will always be "Memorial address"), but i do think her vocals suffer here. it's pretty though.

i think "NEXT LEVEL" will be somewhere clumped in the middle if we're going to rank by favorite albums. "Duty", "Memorial address", & "Secret" are forever my favorite albums from Ayu.

[milky_way]

After listening to the album, I can't really see this getting much play on my iPod. The only album track that I really enjoy is NEXT LEVEL, and I still love the single tracks, so it's not a total loss.

I'll still support Ayu and buy her stuff, but I'm still disappointed that I didn't enjoy this as much as I did with GUILTY.

[sugarbasil]

I haven't finished it yet (got about halfway through Identity), but I sorta have mixed feelings already.

I'm not sure if I like Energize or Rollin'...I'm stuck between thinking they're pretty good and despising them. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Identity, though, and I think the interludes are pure awesome so far.

Despite everything, though, I feel it's arrangement is INCREDIBLY messy, and I'm actually surprised no one else has mentioned the same. The song genres are just SCATTERED everywhere, sometimes having a few similar songs next to each other, but then putting the same type of song later on. For example, GREEN should have gone after NEXT LEVEL, imo. It would have fit perfectly there. And I really think it was kinda of pointless and silly to put an interlude right after the first song. That kind of ticked me off, to be honest.

But I'm just not sure how I feel yet. I definitely don't dislike it, I'm just not sure how much I like it yet. I have a 6-hour drive tomorrow, so I'll listen to it through then.

[Kirshwasser]

EnergiZe is so addicting.. and identity sounds good.. !!

[kotora]

PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER... then.. eh I dont know what she sings.

My comment: Four words for this album - CONFESSIONS OF NEXT LEVEL.

[freedreamer]

^lol actually i posted it slightly earlier...o well
Mods can combine it

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by sugarbasil

Despite everything, though, I feel it's arrangement is INCREDIBLY messy, and I'm actually surprised no one else has mentioned the same. The song genres are just SCATTERED everywhere, sometimes having a few similar songs next to each other, but then putting the same type of song later on. For example, GREEN should have gone after NEXT LEVEL, imo. It would have fit perfectly there. And I really think it was kinda of pointless and silly to put an interlude right after the first song. That kind of ticked me off, to be honest.

I did

No, but seriously, I was talking to one of my friends, and the best word I could use to describe the album was "messy" in every aspect of the word...

the response was...the album was bound to be messy with all the genres and different singles and stuff...

but I kinda think even the arrangements of the individual songs are messy...but not as much as like you said, the entire album...

Do you think it could have been fixed if like...there were more tracks in between? or the interludes made better transitions? How do you think she could have fixed it?