LOVE again thoughts?

[Jawdarna]

So, since half the album has leaked already, I thought I'd create this thread!

How do you feel about LOVE again (so far?)

I was a disappointed when I first heard the leaked album tracks, as I could no longer hear that distinct Ayu sound present. I feel like I'm listening to a different artist rather than Hamasaki Ayumi. But, everything changes and I have to remind myself that every Ayu album is different from the last (this one is just very different hehe).

After heavy rotation though, I don't mind them at all!

petal is my favourite so far. Initially from the preview I thought that it reminded me quite a bit of Duty, but I feel this is very wrong indeed. It reminds me much more of the ballads from (miss)Understood, Secret, and GUILTY. I'm still a bit undecided on the verses. They feel slightly weak, and a bit awkward in places. But, this is my only qualm.

I was hoping that SAKURA would be that extra vigour that this album desperately needs, but I realize that this album isn't meant to be full on like (miss)Understood, and to some extent, even Love songs. I believe it is purposely meant to be a bit understated, and even...melancholy? It's so interesting though, as this is perhaps the most powerful ballad present after Missing, and I feel that it encapsulates this meekness perfectly.

untitled for her...story 2 was my least favourite of the previews, but I actually like the full version! You can hear the emotion in her voice, and that really carries this simplistic composition along.

Bye-bye Darling is the one I think will take me a while to appreciate. It's very generic, and it has to compete with snowy kiss and Wake me up. It's a lot 'weaker' (I don't like using this word) than the previously mentioned tracks, and although it's catchy, it really misses out on that fierceness that the other two boast.

I'm a bit scared to hear Gloria. It was my favourite from the previews, and considering that these tracks are so different from their first impressions, I'm not getting my hopes up.

I think this time overall, Ayu has chosen the better songs to be pre-released as singles/on mini albums. Song 4 u, Missing, Melody, Wake me up, snowy kiss, Sweet scar, and Ivy really are the stars this time around.

[xLuna&1LOVE]

The mini-albums songs are my favourites, the album tracks are good too, but they need to grow on me. However, SAKURA and petal are loveable tracks! Can't wait 'til official CD leak.

[Not~Yet]

I just fell in love with Gloria so bad. omg. I don't know what it is, the optimistic chorus is just perfect for me. And her voice is soo nice aside from the beginning. The verses make it interesting and different.

Ok, from beginning till ending. Wake me up is still raw and awesome. S4U is still growing on me, so it's just okay. My favourite parts are ironically the "yeah yeah"s this time I recently started adoring the other LOVE tracks though (and now Melody is like one of my absolute favourites).. Missing chorus is so beautfiul too, how could I not like it?

SAKURA is so mellow I'm not loving it, but I think it is a great follow-up for Missing. Thank god it builds up at the end and gets some oomph so I won't probably have to skip it too often Then my new love Melody I absolutely love it's sound now. Wah.

Bye-bye darling is a nice throwback to Wake me up with it's rock and electronic sound and is among the standout tracks. Omg I almost forgot snowy kiss was gonna be here, how could I? The middle section is definitely not boring or mellow. At this point I'm actually starting to realize how good LOVE again actually is, it's far less "dragging" than I imagined, even though I figured I would like it anyway.

Snowy kiss -> Sweet scar is like a crash and the silence after it lol. I suppose it's very much on purpose, and it actually works. I still like Sweet scar's blue tone and arrangement. Petal doesn't stand out as much after listening to the previous tracks, but is still dramatic and beautiful at the same time. untitled... story 2 is touching, not a standout musically but lyrically and emotionally. Then Gloria I actually didn't adore it as much as others from the preview but the real thing just speaks to me so much. I love the way she expresses optimism in it. Whoops I forgot Ivy existed, even though I like it a lot It's a good ending song. (oh right there's You&Me........) Anyway I love how the album ends on a good and optimistic note. You & Me might actually fit as the ending, if it sounds bad I'll just replace it with the A CLASSICAL version

I'm not sure of the "love" circle here. is the optimistic ending the part where you have found love, or the part where you are alone and have faith there will be love again someday? I suppose it's the latter. Looking forward to analyses about this

I just so adore the arrangements and compositions on this album. Soooo much. They're vibrant and emotional, and connect to each other. The guitar which appears here and there is really nice. Her vocals have improved hugely and deserve a mention. And what I love is that the sound is kind of timeless, well maybe it's already a bit "dated" sounding lol, but I don't think this album will suffer from "eww this sounds so like, 2013.." somewhere in the future Glad she's doing her thing. now I just wanna hear glasses and.. the other one. Bet I'll like them as well

[Bad Wolf]

I'm actually really, really surprised by this album. I enjoyed the mini tracks a lot, so I wasn't expecting to NOT like the album but I have to say, for an album I was expecting to sound really soft and refreshing this album is surprisingly dark, bitter and just... painful. It's definitely the 'darker' side of her "Love songs" style, which all felt strangely refreshing, even if some of the songs were about similar subject matter (struggling with hidden emotions, not knowing how to live honestly, torn between dreams and reality, etc.).

There's just something about this album that's uncomfortable for me, and that's a first with any Ayu record. I just feel like I'm seeing a part of her that's so vulnerable and raw, and it's invasive on my part. I wonder if she was aware of that when approaching this work? It really does just feel like such a significantly more tormented work than her characteristically darker albums previously.

I truly feel for the first time that releasing "LOVE" and "again" was such a MASSIVE injustice for this album. I liked the remixes we got on both of them, but it was so unfair to an album that's really quite strong and distinct on its own that it's now made to look "cheap" by comparison to the previous two releases.

[kouga]

A very melodic album, i mean, many violin and piano... in some way it reminds me a little to A BALLADS... cos it is plenty of ballads, in that time she wanted to give that hand album "healing" songs, like RAINBOW, let's say that LOVE again it's based on broken relationships, it must have that kind of songs too. For me it's a nice album to listen but anyway i will always love upbeat and other more rocking songs

[maxikot]

Very nice album, i find most of the songs here great for amvs xD

[Andrenekoi]

Just listened to it once... but I believe Ayu released an album that will be among my favorites for the 3rd time in a row. I'm impressed.

Even more considering I was expecting something boring, generic and bad.

[kalikagai]

My TOP-1 definitely. Can't write any review right now, I'm totally inadequate atm lol.

P.S. Bye-bye darling eats my brain and drives me completely crazy (god, finally I see what that really means!)

[tourniquet]

the new songs bore me to tears. the interludes were great and should've been made into full songs (as usual) and Gloria was bearable, but the rest... just no. I'm just over these recycled cut n paste melodies with generic string + guitar arrangements. speaks for itself that A Classical will soon overtake Party Queen with scrobbles in my library and this probably won't even come close. I thought the album would be more upbeat like the LOVE and again singles. disappointing.

[love in music]

I love it. I am so impressed with her ballads and vocals lately. But what's even more impressive are the lyrics this time around. I felt detached from most of her lyrics for a while but I'm really liking and connecting to these ones.. especially Gloria, SAKURA, and petal.

[Kirshwasser]

Im really happy with the album..
Sakura is such a sweet ballad, its the song i will always listen to when i feel depressed. Petal reminds me of marionette, but it has different atmosphere like darker. Bye bye darling, the verse is very catchy but not fond with the chorus, too repetitive. Untitled for her.. Story 2, i can feel her sadness in this song, feel like i wanna cry together with her.. And gloria, amazing, a song that i will listen to when i need encouragement, especially the bridge part.. And i dont see any cut and paste songs in this album.. Overall i give this album 8.8/10

[Tom Punks]

I'm kind of ambivalent. Wake me up → Song 4 u is still pretty unforgivable to me, and I feel like I'm going to be skipping straight to track 6 every time I listen, aside from maybe Wake me up and SAKURA.

The album tracks sound... cheap and dated somehow? I don't know; it's not really even a complaint because I feel like the sound is kind of refreshing. The interludes, while I like them, sound like they were made in FL Studio or GarageBand... or something. idk.

I do like it, and I find the new tracks (plus Wake me up and Sweet scar) really pleasant listens. But there's just too many ballads (and really awful flow at the beginning) for me to consider it one of her stronger albums. It's just sort of safe and middle of the road, but that's okay, I guess.

[Jason]

Originally Posted by Bad Wolf

I'm actually really, really surprised by this album. I enjoyed the mini tracks a lot, so I wasn't expecting to NOT like the album but I have to say, for an album I was expecting to sound really soft and refreshing this album is surprisingly dark, bitter and just... painful. It's definitely the 'darker' side of her "Love songs" style, which all felt strangely refreshing, even if some of the songs were about similar subject matter (struggling with hidden emotions, not knowing how to live honestly, torn between dreams and reality, etc.).

There's just something about this album that's uncomfortable for me, and that's a first with any Ayu record. I just feel like I'm seeing a part of her that's so vulnerable and raw, and it's invasive on my part. I wonder if she was aware of that when approaching this work? It really does just feel like such a significantly more tormented work than her characteristically darker albums previously.

I truly feel for the first time that releasing "LOVE" and "again" was such a MASSIVE injustice for this album. I liked the remixes we got on both of them, but it was so unfair to an album that's really quite strong and distinct on its own that it's now made to look "cheap" by comparison to the previous two releases.

I agree with pretty much everything you just said.

I was pleasantly surprised listening to this album. I... I can't even form a proper opinion on it yet! I love it. Definitely one of her top 5 albums for me

[Chibi-Chan]

Boring, it's boring as hell. I like/love most of the tracks, but it just doesn't work as a whole album. And to put "glasses" before "untitled for her...story 2"... I just don't get it.

[Maemi]

Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan

Boring, it's boring as hell. I like/love most of the tracks, but it just doesn't work as a whole album. And to put "glasses" before "untitled for her...story 2"... I just don't get it.

agree

[gogirlanime]

untitled for her... story 2 sounds waaaaaaay too much like X Japan's "Tears" (look it up / download it)

As usual, I don't like all the new album only tracks, maybe some will grow on me, the one I like the most is Gloria but even then that's not saying much. Gloria is the least filler-sounding to me.

This album has turned into Rock'n'roll Circus Part II for me, full of crappy rock/pop filler.

This album shouldn't have been made, plain and simple

as always, give me a month, I might feel different.

Originally Posted by tourniquet

the new songs bore me to tears. the interludes were great and should've been made into full songs (as usual) and Gloria was bearable, but the rest... just no. I'm just over these recycled cut n paste melodies with generic string + guitar arrangements. speaks for itself that A Classical will soon overtake Party Queen with scrobbles in my library and this probably won't even come close. I thought the album would be more upbeat like the LOVE and again singles. disappointing.

+1

[salina]

Boring, it's boring as hell. I like/love most of the tracks, but it just doesn't work as a whole album. And to put "glasses" before "untitled for her...story 2"... I just don't get it.

[Maraschino]

I'm dying to see the PhotoBook, it must be wonderful!
and, is it by Leslie Kee and Ryan Chan as well? is there any infos about the photobook?

and, I don't know how i feel about the new album. it's complicated...
well, the songs are good if you listen to either of them. but, it's weird being a full album.
i can't say exactly what's wrong, but it doesn't make me feel like a album...

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by gogirlanime

untitled for her... story 2 sounds waaaaaaay too much like X Japan's "Tears" (look it up / download it)

Wow, they do sound a lot alike lol

[relmy]

This album doesn't seem bitter or painful, at all. It is rather melancholic, but it's all rather light and airy, save for snowy kiss - which to be honest, just feels like a poor version of Last angel. Even untitled for her... story 2 - you can tell she's still hurting, but it does feel more reflective, especially compared the to the angst driven original.

The first two tracks and You & Me (why is this even on the album?) feel horribly out of place. Well, Wake me up works because it's nice opener for the album, but the anime feel of Song 4 u doesn't flow well at all. I also feel like Missing, SAKURA, Melody together is a really bad choice, especially after the two upbeat opening tracks. They're all nice songs, but they do feel like one big song together. As for Sweet Scar, eh, I don't really like it.

I like bye-bye darling, it would be nice if she performed this live in an acoustic encore set or something. There's something nice and refreshing about it. Petal is a nice, but it does feel like the light mid-tempo soft version of tracks like Marionette, which is a bit disappointing. I feel like she did rock for too long, but I think it would have worked here, especially as the album is getting slightly (I hate to say it) tedious by this point.

Gloria should have closed the album - Ivy before it, and no You & Me. Either missing or melody should have been cut, my vote goes for missing staying.

The interludes... oh dear, they just don't work. At all.

I give it, eh, 6/10 maybe, maybe? My favourites are Bye-bye darling, Ivy and Wake me up.