Track Listing

1. Ai no Kisetsu
2. Emily
3. It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday

1. Ai no Kisetsu

It’s been a while since we had a new single from Angela and she returns with a pretty nice sounding single.  It might not carry itself like “Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~, but Ai no Kisetsu is another song that’s strong from her.  Though she does say the English translation of the song as well ~season of love~.  I thought that was pretty cool.  Not as strong, but still good otherwise.

2. Emily

Though the first B-side is such a good feeling.  It’s quite upbeat and has a certain Ben Folds sound which is pleasant to hear since they collaborated on her last album, “ANSWER”.  I just love the bouncy piano melody and Angela sounded really nice singing along with happiness and giddyness.  I’m more impressed with this song more than “Ai no Kisetsu”.

3. It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday

As usual, Angela features another cover, this time from the R&B boyband Boyz II Men.  She does begin with the chorus which is in English and she sounds good, even though the original sounded strong because of the 5 guys singing together.  Angela doesn’t do too bad and she’s rather sings strongly even during her JPN parts of the song. 

Angela returns to singing after a nice break after “ANSWER” and continues to release consistently strong singles.  Ai no Kisetsu might not be better than her last single, but it’s a nice little tune.  Emily however was the stronger track as it’s light and just happy to hear.  The cover track was nice, but I think the original still beats this…

Track Listing

1. Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~
2. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
3. ANSWER
4. Somebody Stop Me
5. Dahlia
6. final destination
7. Our Story
8. Tasogare
9. We’re All Alone
10. Reflection
11. Requiem
12. Black Glasses
13. Fighter

1. Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~

Once again, another album starting with an A-side, except this was the only A-side to represent this album so that means a bunch of new ones.  Back to Tegami, it’s a great song and I love how catchy the verses were and how powerful she was in the chorus.  I was thrown off at the fact later in the song the mood changes pretty quickly.  Like gospel singing almost.  Great song to begin ANSWER.

2. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door

Ahhhh, a cover of a classic Bob Dylan track.  Angela’s is more of a piano cover of the original of course so you know it’s going to be a tad different.  Of coruse whenever she covers something she mixes some Japanese to make it somewhat different which is probably the best thing to do with a cover most of the time.  Angela sounds really good almost as good as “Still Fighting It”.

3. ANSWER

ANSWER comes up next and actually has a very upbeat mood and including the electric guitar was so different for her.  I like the fire in her singing and giving so much power.  I don’t know if she has a track that’s similar but right now, this stands out to me.

4. Somebody Stop Me

Somebody Stop Me right from the start is very melancholic with the low piano chords that sounds like sadness.  Even Angela’s voice sounds quiet and vulnerable.  Sadly it doesn’t really make an impact with me and just left me wishing that she had a more explosive point to it.  The random xylophone part threw me off and how Angela was holding ~Stooooooooooooooooooop~ was just weird. 

5. Dahlia

Dahlia start out a bit differently because it’s strings rather than a piano…but it’s shortlived because piano comes in again practically by itself.  I know she’s a good pianist, but she should cut back a little so we can get more differentiation between songs.  Dahlia just becomes a little forgetful at the end.

6. final destination

I could’ve lived without having, the B-side appear on the album.  Luckily it does kind of stand out at this point of the album because just like “ANSWER” it’s upbeat and not all focused on the piano.  It’s still prominent and final destination has a nice laidback feel to it, but I rather would’ve seen “Still Fighting It” take this spot.

7. Our Story

I love the piano opening to Our Story a lot.  Angela sounds like she’s very anxious and the piano playing is bouncy and quite cool.  I found her deeper vocals just so much more better and under better control.  It’s one of my favorite tracks off this album for sure.

8. Tasogare

Tasogare just sounds so sad and depressing.  I kind of like songs where artists just pour out their feelings in the song and Tasogare is especially fitting for this perspective.  It’s about not letting go with your past and I thought the calm arrangement definitly fit the mood.

9. We’re All Alone

I’m not sure why she brought this song back from her indies album, “ONE”.  It’s the 2nd cover track on the album, being a Boz Scaggs track.  I do love her here as well because her vocals are just beyond powerful and even though the lyrics are kind of a punch to the stomachs, it’s still a sweet track, even those it’s the 2nd time we’ve seen it on her discography.

10. Reflection

Reflection is very bizarre.  Right from the start, it’s reggae and I mean stereotypical reggae.  At first I didn’t know what to say because it’s just a big wrench thrown into the album.  Angela’s vocals don’t seem as strong and supported as in the last few tracks, but the lively music sounds nice and even though I wouldn’t want her to try this again, it’s a good track.

11. Requiem

Requiem is by far the longest track to be featured on the album.  It’s about her grandfather who passed away during the making of this track, so Angela decided to dedicate a song to him like he did with “Sakurairo” being a track for her grandmother who passed during then.  Now piano tracks that range into 10 minutes is quite unbearable for me, but Angela keeps things very interesting.  As the song goes on, it gets way louder and then when the piano gets so fast, the song gets wild.  Angela speeds up her singing and the music gains some drums and a muted sax, how sweeet.  It kind of goes back and forth for the rest of the song and ends smoothly.  Sweet, but long.

12. Black Glasses

Angela Aki got together with Ben Folds for this all-English song.  I immediatly caught on that actually Ben is playing and joining in the chorus.  It’s funny cuz it’s like his voice sounds like chick, but I really understood how giddy and how much it related to Ben’s songs because Black Glasses really does sound like Ben Folds collaboration with Regina Spektor.  Somewhat alike if you look at the piano melody.  It’s a nice track to me.

13. Fighter

To finish our album out, Angela brings out an ethereal tune in Fighter.  It doesn’t sound like any of the other tracks and it seems like very chill and with Angela’s good vocals, created such a happy feeling and knowing she played the piano notes backwards and with the small amount of synth, it’s ended the album on a good note.

Tracks Recommended

•  Black Glasses
• Fighter
• Our Story
• Tasogare
• Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~

I haven’t heard the rest of her stuff, but this album is wow.  A lot of the songs seem to grasp her mood and meanings.  I was a little surprised at how she was trying some different things especially in Reflection.  She could’ve strived for a little more diversity in the songs, but this album is of good quality and I’m amazed at her vocals.  Such strongs vocals.

Track Listing

1. Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~
2. final destination
3. Still Fighting It
4. Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ -strings version-

1. Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~

Since it is my first song that introduced me into Angela Aki, I was unsure about what I was going to get and I was pleasantly surprised at what I’ve came across.  Angela’s voice is quite powerful and to a piano accompainiment makes it so much more nicer.  She knows how to make some great music, and to know what the song means, makes it so much more understandable.  She written a letter to her future self and the song is kind of all the changes that happened since then.  It’s such an intricate topic.  The clapping area was a bit surprising, but made the song so much more vibrant.  Great song.

2. final destination

final destination is about regrets basically.  The song is a bit more lively than the A-side.  I’m pretty sure that the giddy arrangement throws the listener off, especially if you read the liner notes beforehand.  It’s pretty good though, especially her English lines, she’s definitly great at it.  It’s not as good as “Tegami” but it’s alright on here.

3. Still Fighting It

Surprisingly the only track not to make it on “ANSWER” is a cover of a Ben Folds track, but given the Japanese twist.  I also have to say, this is another favorite of mine because of how powerful she sounds throughout.  It’s quite surprising that she doesn’t really add any instruments in her songs because I think she could benefit majorly from it.  Still, being a cover song, it’s done very well.

4. Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ -strings version-

See this is what I mean by adding more instruments makes songs more better.  Even though it’s just one addition, the strings, it makes more difference.  It’s still basically the same song with same meanings and such.  Pretty song though.

The only single to represent “ANSWER”, Angela scored major points with this release.  All the songs really catchy and showcased Angela perfectly.  final destination was a little on the disappointing side, but it isn’t that bad so it’s not of worry.  Great song to represent the album.