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Tracklist
1) Tegmai ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ (Letters ~To My 15 Year Old Self~)
2) Knockin’ On Heavens Door
3) ANSWER
4) Somebody Stop Me
5) ダリア (Dahlia)
6) Final Destination
7) Our Story
8) 黄昏 (Tasogare)
9) We’re All Alone
10) リフレクション (Reflection)
11) レクイエム (Requiem)
12) Black Glasses
13) ファイター (Fighter)
ANSWER is the third studio album from artist Angela Aki, and her fifth overall including her indies album, These Words, and the indies EP One. It was released on the 25th of February, 2009.
Angela is one of the few artists I can safely say that I have enjoyed since discovering her, and I’ve never changed that opinion. When it comes to techno-pop, it’s fun and happy at first, but it gets old fast. When it comes to Angela, her songs have meaning that can make them even more enjoyable to listen to, but she also puts these meanings into her upbeat songs instead of turning into an airhead.
TODAY was a mixed bag with its sounds, and it sounds like that’s the way Angela’s staying, because ANSWER is another album fill of different experiments and sounds, and it’s probably her deepest album to date, with the different meanings and depths of emotion put into the different songs making it even better.
If there’s one thing that Angela is known for, it has to be her piano ballads. And, keeping with her tradition, ANSWER is full of them. The only single of the era, Tegami, is a rather confusing song in its sound, as while it can pass as a ballad, at times it really doesn’t sound like it. The meaning of writing a letter to her teenage self based on a real letter she wrote at those stages of her life was an interesting take lyrically, as well. Then, in contrast, Somebody Stop Me takes it down to an even slower level, with a melancholic piano-heavy arrangement and lyrics about losing control, while still keeping things at least a little surprising by throwing in a xylophone.
Tasogare takes things to a more comfortable level, with the almost marching drum-like accompaniment adding a bit more to the sound of this song, along with the ethereal bursts of sound from Angela and a possible choir in the background after the chorus. And probably the most meaningful song on the album, Requiem, clocks in at 10:37 in length, being basically two songs in one: A solemn ballad, and a tribute to her grandfather, who died halfway through recording the song, giving it the most meaning to Angela and possibly the listeners out of any on the album.
However, on every album, Angela always knows how to bring some happiness and life into the mix, with the best example of this being ANSWER, a high-energy song akin to Again from her last album, with its slowly rising verses and near-explosive chorus, backed with a faint electric guitar as a few of these songs from her have in the past. It leaves me to wonder if this is an answer to her Tegami single, with that meaning letter and all… That’s something to keep in mind. Of course, there’s also the simple pop song Final Destination, the b-side to the only single in the era, about reaching your goals, and the regrets of focusing too much on reaching your goals while aiming for it.
Probably the most surprising addition would be Reflection, a surpsisingly great trip into the realm of reggae music. Our Story breaks the barriers a bit, giving an upbeat piano song with a message about happy endings, how they don’t always occur, and reminding you of why you have to hang in there. The closing track of the album, Fighter, isn’t the most upbeat song, but the ethereal effect of the digital effects and reversed piano sections give the song a refreshing ethereal feel that suit the obvious message of the song well: There’s a fighter in all of us.
Surprisingly, ANSWER also has quite a few covers for a full-length Angela album, as well as one collaboration. The first to appear, Knockin’ On Heavens Door, a cover of the Bob Dylan song, is a refreshing mid-tempo reworking of the song into the Japanese language that comes off sounding rather interesting, while still being a downer of sorts due to the message relating to accepting “death”, understanding what it means to live, and coming to terms with these emotions. All long-time Angela fans should be familiar with We’re All Alone, a piano-only cover version of the Boz Scagg’s song, that also appeared on her ONE EP, and isn’t any less out-of-place here as it was there. The last of these was a rather expected collaboration with Ben Folds, Black Glasses, referring to the glasses they both wear and how they can act as a mask of sorts. It has a rather simple arrangement, and somewhat cheesy lyrics, but both give brilliant performances in their respective roles in the song.
TODAY was definitely Angela’s best album up to that point, but it’s safe to say that ANSWER blows it well out of the water. It has a much deeper core to it compared to TODAY, and contains some of her best material today. Every track brought something to the table, and it allowed Angela to try out new styles of music, and new techniques, throughout its entirety. A brilliant addition to her discography.
Album Score
A+
Favorite Tracks
1) ANSWER
2) Fighter
3) Our Story
4) We’re All Alone
5) Somebody Stop Me
(Okay, I kind of gushed a bit too much when it came to this review. It’s my first attempt at the prose format, so I don’t overly understand how it should work yet. Any tips from people who use this style would be great, as well as opinions from other readers!)
Tracklisting
1. Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ (紙 ～拝啓 十五の君へ～ , lit. Letters ~To Your 15 Year Old Self~)
2. final destination
3. Still Fighting It
4. Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ (Strings Version)
Tegami is Angela Aki’s 8th single overall, and was released on the 17th of September, 2008. It is the first single in her newest era.
I’m sure Angela fans have been waiting for this single for quite a while, and I doubt many will be disappointed with the result. Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ is a simple song that relies heavily on Angela’s vocals and the piano, and while I don’t really see it as an overly sad song just from listening to it, it definitely gives you a feeling of melancholy. Angela’s voice is once again full of emotion, and the minimal accompaniment to the instrument and Angela’s vocals helps makes the song seem a lot more sincere, which helps further the mood. At around 3:00, the song actually takes an upbeat turn, with a happier piano tune, clapping in the background, and some back-up vocals that could be heard ad libbing throughout the song. The “la la la ~Keep on believin’~” segment also helps give a bit more meaning to the song, and it all ends by turning back into a simple piano ballad. While it lacks change for the majority of the song, I think the emotion it carries helps to further the song.
The next song is a lot different in comparison. final destination is a pop song, quite reminiscent of Otome Gokoro from her TODAY album. It once again opens with just Angela singing and the piano playing, but is soon followed by the instruments you should come to expect from an Angela Aki pop song, namely the drums and guitar. The sudden movement into the chorus is surprisingly well done, but something still ends up sounding a bit generic, when it comes to this song. It’s definitely a great song, but it lacks the level of emotion that Tegami had, and it ends up coming off as seeming a little emotionless, despite how much feeling she continues to put into her vocals.
The final new song on the single is Still Fighting It, a cover of the song of the same name by the American singer Ben Folds, former member of the band Ben Folds Five. The song is converted into Japanese, with a few English phrases popping up throughout. It once again focuses mainly on the piano, and sounds a lot more like a ballad than Tegami does, as it has a more downcast feeling to it. However, being placed after final destination makes the previous song come off as even more emotionless, but it’s the emotion that Angela puts into the song that makes it sound as good as it does, and both songs are brilliant in their own respects.
The Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ Strings Version sounds exactly the same as the original, with one obvious addition: Strings. They aren’t present all throughout the verses, but they always come in at exactly the right time to make the song that I originally expected Tegami to be, instead of the piano ballad that it turned out as. But by no means is the original inferior: They just both carry their emotions at different levels due to the different instruments, and the lone piano in the original version still allows the song to sound more sincere, while the strings in this version give the emotion a more powerful presence in the song. It’s really up to which you prefer.
Single Score
A+
Favorite Song
Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~, Still Fighting It
Every song on this single sounds great, and as a whole, it was definitely worth the wait that we were forced through after we got TODAY. The only gripe I really had was how final destination sounds a bit bland in comparison to the ballads on this single, but that’s easily forgiven if you’re a fan of her pop songs. The different levels of emotions in the three ballads, and the laid back style of final destination help keep the single interesting throughout.
TODAY is Angela Aki’s third album overall, and her second on a major label. It debuted at #1 on the Oricon charts, which was also its debut weekly rank, and was released on the 19th of September, 2007.
Tracklisting
1. Sakurairo (サクラ色; Sakura Colour)
2. Again
3. TODAY
4. Ai no Uta (愛のうた; Love Song)
5. Tashika ni (たしかに; Surely)
6. Silent Girl
7. Moral no Soushiki (モラルの葬式; The Funeral of Morals)
8. Otome Gokoro (乙女心; The Feelings of a Girl)
9. One Melody
10. Tomo no Shirushi (友のしるし; Friend Symbol)
11. Kodoku no Kakera (孤独のカケラ; Fragments of Solitude)
12. On&On
13. Surrender
To be completely honest, I’ve never been a real ballad fan. While this is the case, Sakurairo is one of the few ballads that can keep me entertained throughout, which instantly makes it a favorite of mine. The verses can sound a bit dull, with the slow, quiet, yet cheerful piano and instrumental accompaniment, but once the orchestra comes in for the bridge and chorus, the song instantly becomes ten times more interesting. I’m a sucker for orchestras in pop songs, ballads or otherwise, so this is a huge plus, and it’s also what makes this song so great. One of Angela’s best. However, I won’t leave out one gripe that I have: Sometimes it sounds like she’s struggling to reach a note and just doesn’t quite make it. It might just be me, but that’s how I hear it.
We now come to something different. Again is one of Angela’s synth-driven pop songs, and placing it after Sakurairo was a good idea because of this, because it helps show newcomers some of her versatility when it comes to music. However, she seems to have the same problem of struggling and failing to reach a note, so it brings it down. She has better, but it’s still a great song.
And again (pun, maybe?), we’re treated to a different style of music. TODAY is actually the same kind of song as Again, except that it’s a bit slower. It’s a synth-driven pop song, still with Angela’s trademark piano. What makes it so different to Again is the slight rock sound that the song gains in the chorus, mainly due to the utilization of electric guitars, which Angela never really used before. Her voice is still great in this song, as it always is, and she never sounds like she’s struggling this time, which is great.
For some reason, Angela’s version (Come on, every J-Pop needs a song with this name, it’s almost customary, AM I RIGHT?!), and no one elses, of Ai no Uta makes me think of that Gamecube game Pikmin, cause it was the first song of this title that I heard after learning that Ai no Uta was a commercial song for that game. Anyway, back on topic, Ai no Uta is another of Angela’s brilliant ballads, and that’s mainly due to this song’s AMAZING arrangement. I’m a huge fan of piano solo songs, and while Ai no Uta isn’t exactly a piano solo, the majority of it focuses solely on the piano, so it counts. The orchestral arrangement just makes the song even better. I actually prefer this to Sakurairo.
Next is probably the most cheerful song on this album. I’ve listened to Angela ever since I discovered her ONE mini-album, but I was a passing listener. The first song that REALLY dragged me in was this one: Tashika ni. It’s a fast paced, upbeat, happy song, that focuses a LOT more on the synth and drums than the piano, which is another odd choice for Angela. I love how it opens (which DOES prominently feature a piano), and it doesn’t disappoint throughout. It can be a bit repetitive, but it uses short verses and somewhat constant choruses to make a great mix that’ll keep you from getting bored too fast. A great cheer-up song. It probably has one of my favorite meanings in it too: Love surely (Or definitely, I’m getting multiple meanings for Tashika ni) exists.
The opening for Silent Girl instantly reminds me of Ai no Uta, apart from Angela’s singing of the title opening the song, then having the piano follow. Throughout, it’s easily compared to the aforementioned ballad, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it’s a great song in its own right. It has a beauitufl chorus to it, which is the main part that keeps it original.
Moral no Soushiki opens with some dark, eerie synth, followed by Angela’s looping piano solo, and quickly followed by the lyrics. It’s another fast song, and Angela sings pretty fast to keep up with it, and while the verses are somewhat boring, the bridge gains a slightly more epic sound, before exploding into the awesome chorus, which as usual, is the highlight of the song. Her use of the phrase “Pater Noster”, or Father’s Prayer, is interesting too, as it ends the bridge to lead into the chorus.
We now come to one of my top three songs on this album: The first being Ai no Uta, the second being this song, Otome Gokoro. It’s another bright, cheery song, and I absolutely LOVE the piano that opens this song, as well as the electric guitar usage. The vocals are great, as usual, with none of the struggles that the first songs posed. I can’t help but smile when I hear it, for some reason, and if it has a sad meaning behind it, I couldn’t tell, because it sounds way too damn happy.
We now come to the half of the album that I can never really remember. One Melody has a pretty piano opening to it, but the verses seem to at first consist of random piano pressings and Angela singing over them. Not too interesting if you ask me. The chorus isn’t too compelling either, really. This song is just sort of a bore to me, despite being at least half of a piano solo. I’ll admit, the instruments in the second half help make it a bit more interesting, but not enough.
Tomo no Shirushi is another familiar song. It has an interesting acoustic opening, before bringing in the piano, and a synth backing that reminds me, oddly enough, of a light hearted Moral no Soushiki. It’s quite odd, but I like the effect it has. Its also a bit slower than Moral, which isn’t a huge change, really, but still. It’s a nice song.
Kodoku no Kakera is probably one of the only ballads that can even come close to matching Sakurairo. However, something about it just makes me lose interest. I can’t think of what it actually is, but I can never really listen to it, despite how far it goes to strive for rivalry of it’s older sister/brother, a.k.a. Sakurairo.
We now come to the final upbeat song before the end of the album. On&On is probably Angela’s most aggressive song. The barrage of sound given by the heavy instruments in the song actually compliments the piano well, and Angela’s voice is great here, especially when she’s hitting the higher notes in the chorus. This would’ve made a great A-side to a single. Too bad Sakurairo replaced it… This ties for a place in the top three with one other track…
…Namely, Surrender. This is, actually, my number one song on this album, despite what I may have said before. It opens beautifully with a sweeping piano and orchestral arrangement, before slowing down to enter the first verse. The lyrics in this song are outrageously cute when they want to be, and they’re all in English, which makes it even better. It has a wonderful meaning to it, which should be easy to understand if you pay enough attention. I could ramble about Surrender for hours, but I’ll leave it here by saying: Best song ever.
Album Grade
A+
Favorite Tracks
Surrender, On&On, Otome Gokoro, Sakurairo, Ai no Uta
This album acts as probably the best piece of proof available as to why Angela Aki is currently my favorite J-Pop artist. Despite what I may say about Ami and Perfume being at the top, no one can ever really knock Angela from the top spot. The only downside to her, and this album in general, are that they mark the start of Angela’s ten month hiatus, which is quickly becoming 12 months. I’m hoping we hear more from her soon.
Tashika Ni is Angela Aki’s 7th overall single, and her final single in the TODAY era. It was used as the CM song for au LISMO. It debuted at #13, with a weekly rank of #15 and a peak of #11. It has sold over 11,217 copies as of the 30th of September, ‘07. It was released on the 11th of September, 2007.
Track Listing
1. Tashika Ni (たしかに, lit. Surely)
2. Tashika Ni (たしかに, lit. Surely) -piano version-
Tashika Ni opens with a fast, light hearted piano, followed quickly by Angela Aki singing a short line mainly consisting of the song’s title, followed by an equally short ad lib before the song starts. It follows the same suit as the opening: It’s a fast paced, upbeat song consisting mainly of the piano, drums and what I’m pretty sure is violins in the background. Angela’s voice is once again absolutely perfect, and it just helps compliment the song and give it a brighter feeling to it. The chorus can be a bit repetitive, as it mainly consists, again, of the title. Compared to the two previous ballad singles Angela released, I felt this was a great change. The meaning fits the upbeat style of the song, too: Love surely exists. It’s great to hear Angela sing songs like this, as she seems to love ballads and slower songs quite a bit.
The next track wasn’t really as good, in my eyes. To be perfectly blunt, it’s the same thing. That’s also kind of vague, as it ditches the other instruments from the other song and, as the title says, focuses solely on the piano and Angela’s vocals. While Angela’s vocals are still top notch, I just felt the song was a bit boring without the inclusion of the other instruments. It detracts from the song quite a bit, but the piano sort of plays at a lower key, and has a heavier sound to it, so it sounds somewhat different. Give me the normal version any day, this just doesn’t fit. It’s a whole minute and ten seconds shorter, too.
Overall Grade
B
Favorite Song
Tashika Ni
Tashika Ni itself is a great song, probably one of my favorites from Angela, save for the repetitiveness in the chorus, but I could’ve done without the piano mix. It just doesn’t fit a song like this, so it sort of lowered the quality of the single overall.
Kodoku no Kakera is Angela Aki’s 6th overall single. It debuted at #8 on the Oricon charts, with a weekly rank of #9, and has sold a total of 31,534 copies. It was released on the 23rd of May, 2007.
Track Listing
1. Kodoku no Kakera
2. Kodoku no Kakera -piano version-
3. Solitude
A simple piano opens the first song, with more orchestral instruments joining in before Angela starts singing to the lone piano tune, soon joined by the other instruments once again. It’s a slow, simple song that makes me think quite a bit of Sakurairo for some reason, although not as epic. Angela seems to do quite a few songs like this (A lot of them seem to be slow piano tunes), but it works for her, so hey, she may as well stick with it. Of course, we all know it doesn’t last forever…
Now we come to the simpler version of a song that was already simple. The piano version of Kodoku no Kakera is even more simple when compared to the actual version, and it actually sounds sort of lacking. It’s not really a song that’s suited to be played just using a piano. I mean, it’s still good, but it just loses a bit of the epic feeling to it without the rest of the band chipping in.
Solitude is basically a reworking of Kodoku no Kakera, again played using only the piano. This is basically the instrumental of the single, as there are no vocals this time around. It sounds very similar to the piano version of the song, while still having an original sound to it. It’s not that great, the removal of the vocals seem to make this song a little less enjoyable. I’ll admit, it’s got a cute tune, but it’s not much. Let’s just call this a remix of the instrumental and leave it at that.
Overall Score
B-
Favorite Song
Kodoku no Kakera
Kodoku’s a great song in its own right. I don’t mind it, I just wish Angela released some of the more experimental songs as singles instead of these piano ballads we hear her sing so much. The next single was more what I was hoping she’d release, but anyway.
Sakurairo is Angela Aki’s fifth single overall, and is her first from the “TODAY” era. It debuted on the Oricon charts at #9, #8 for the week of release, and has sold a total of 105,796 copies. It was released on the 7th of March, 2007.
Track Listing
1. Sakurairo
2. On&On
3. Power of MUSIC
4. HOME -Piano Version-
Sakurairo opens with a piano, like most of Angela’s works, that sounds sort of bright and optimistic, which mirrors the verses, while also having a melancholic feeling to them, which seems to follow the chorus and bridge more. Angela’s vocals are just superb in this song, the amount of emotion she throws into this song just make it worth listening to. I’ve listened to this song many times, and it’s never gotten boring. It’s just one of those epic ballads that you can’t help but love, especially because ballads are what Angela is best at, what with her piano skills and strong voice.
On&On showcases a different style compared to what we’ve heard from Angela so far. The song opens with an aggressive piano tune, before the drums come in and raise the aggressive feeling. The verses are sort of calmer, but overall it is a fast song, and with the bridge that slowly builds up to the aggressive chorus of the song just give it an interesting feeling, instead of it being one of those songs that just keeps the one tune and ends up boring you. While it sounds like Angela’s just shouting most of the chorus, it suits the tone of the song perfectly.
While I wasn’t a total fan of the original MUSIC song, Power of MUSIC (which is a re-arrangement of the original) had the complete opposite effect. I didn’t expect much, but this song blew me away. It’s a lot like Angela’s other piano heavy songs, except that it has more synth than I can remember hearing in an Angela song, which is what makes the chorus shine more than it would’ve without it, as it just helps give the song a more interesting sound.
The single closes on a slower note, with the piano-only version of HOME. This was a song that I always loved from Angela, but for some reason, it sounds better when it’s played using only a piano. The song has an optimistic sound to it overall, and while usually having only a piano might drag the song down, it only seems to help this song, as Angela’s vocals stand out better than they do in most songs.
Overall Score
A+
Favorite Tracks
All
They seemed to put all the right songs onto this single. They all fit together well, and showcase the stronger side of Angela Aki. I’ll admit, she isn’t always perfect, but she just seems to be on this single, which is why it’s definitely one of my favorites.
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