Track Listing
- -prologue-
- DEJAVU
- No Way Back
- C.O.L
- Tomorrow
- First Name
- -Interlude-
- Kiss The Sky
- Gotta Love Me
- Beat Together
- LIFE
- -epilogue-
1. -prologue-
As the intro to the album, I was kind of curious with the arrangement I was listening with kind of an ominous sound that also has a little bit of an electronic side to it. Despite it being a minute long intro, -prologue- is kind of an intriguing way to open the album up.
2. DEJAVU
As the promotional song for the album, it does kind of lead from the intro, but the mood of the track itself couldn’t be any different. I like the opening and then the sudden dropout to Nissy’s opening line. It is still a little bit odd with no Chiaki singing with the group and now with Hidaka singing it’s just odd. Then the chorus hits and I’m given vibes to “Jamboree!!” with the bopping beat and bright sound. It’s just interesting and they’re giving Shuta & Shinji more tougher lines for their unique vocals as well. I quite liked this one!
3. No Way Back
As the first single released for the album (and first single without Chiaki) I was definitely curious to see how a 6-nin AAA would handle themselves here! I just remembered that I enjoyed the song’s funky vibes and like “DEJAVU”, the group utilizing members is showing more and more. It’s a pretty fun song and while Misako got the short end of the stick, she still had appearances and the song all-around was great!
4. C.O.L
What is it with AAA giving us decent songs on this album? The next new track off the album, C.O.L continues to bring more of that funky guitar riff, but the song feels something more akin to their earlier hits that have somewhat of a Summer-y vibe. There’s just a chill vibe here and I’m enjoying the kind of happy-go-lucky mood its giving me. Really nice song here!
5. Tomorrow
I was wondering where was the AAA ballad in this era and it feels like they were delegated to the album. Although at first I thought it was going to be a simple piano/strings ballad, after Nissy’s first line and Urata comes in, the track shifts to kind of of an acoustic ballad. While I can say they don’t have many of these in their collection, it’s nice to just see them relaxed. Hell, even the pseudo-rap from Hidaka isn’t coming off awkward here. Simple, but effective here.
6. First Name
It seems we also get split groupings on the album and I’m happy to say it’s just two songs off the album. First Name is just between Shuta & Shinji here and I was happy to hear Shinji singing first and in English (Shuta does as well). The song feels like a ballad at first and I was alright with this, but then the chorus kicks in and we’re getting that Tropical House sound and I was a little disappointed, but the song’s lowkey groove works out in a way to show difference between the two arrangements. Though I feel the latter part is riding on that K-pop wave with the tropical house style (which was more or less a ride on Justin Bieber’s popular sound then).
7. -Interlude-
An interlude to give a bit of breathing space, unlike the “-prologue-“, this is kind of nice and relaxing since it uses light synths to get by. I do like when the low bass synth kicks into the song, but then once this rush of sound hits it tapers off and just fades out from there as well…kind of an odd 50 second track.
8. Kiss The Sky
Next track up and I thought it kind of reminded me of “C.O.L” but this one sticks to its dance beat feel and I’m loving the soundscapey feel to it due to the echoes but it slowly but surely builds itself into a full on dance track and I’ve kind of missed this side to AAA’s music (like “HEARTFUL” era). It’s definitely my favorite from the album down-pat!!
9. Gotta Love Me
The other coupling song with the remaining members, (Misako, Nissy, Urata, and Hidaka). The track is quite unique on the album as it feels more R&B-ish in comparison to the rest of the album and there’s a lot of Misako to be had here and I’ve definitely noticed a lack of her here on the album. I think this track has a certain “depArture”” vibe that kind of resonates with me…kind of a sweet track!
10. Beat Together
Since “Gotta Love Me” is the last of the new tracks, we got two more tracks to deal with starting with the B-side from “No Way Back”! I definitely remember loving the track when I first heard it and hearing it again on the album doesn’t really change much of my opinion on it. It’s upbeat and the chanting just adds a lot of energy behind it! Great song and I’m happy it made the cut.
11. LIFE
As the 2nd A-side released, LIFE was an interesting release since it was the song and just its instrumental and it still reminds me of older Summer song releases they’ve had. I love the energy as well and it fits quite nicely coming after “Beat Together”.
12. -epilogue-
As the closing outro, epilogue starts with a kind of funky style, but the track is filtered and muted slightly and the melody isn’t something I’m familiar of (perhaps a preview?) I don’t know why but midway, it kind of statics out and we’re left with this ethereal synth arrangement that follows what the first half had but no lyrics and funky guitars/bass…and then it just ends. Odd…I would think they’d use this as a full song but I guess not?
Tracks Recommended
- Kiss The Sky
- C.O.L
- DEJAVU
- Beat Together
- Gotta Love Me
Song of Avoidance
- Tomorrow
You know what, I think AAA will be perfectly fine without Chiaki as COLOR A LIFE is way damn good album even moreso than their last couple of albums at least not since “GOLD SYMPHONY”. I think something must’ve changed between this and “WAY OF GLORY” because a lot of the songs here are quite nice and just one of their strongest albums to date. I mean even the worst song, Tomorrow is not even bad, I just had to choose my least favorite here. Yeah, definitely an album to check out *RECOMMENDED*
