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Tracklisting
1) Bridge to the sky
2) NEXT LEVEL
3) Disco-munication
4) EnergizE
5) Sparkle
6) rollin’
7) GREEN
8) Load of the SHUGYO
9) identity
10) Rule
11) LOVE ‘n’ HATE
12) Pieces of SEVEN
13) Days
14) Curtain Call
NEXT LEVEL is the tenth full-length studio album from Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released in four formats: CD Only, CD+DVD, 2CD+DVD and USB. The title track, NEXT LEVEL, was used to promote Panasonic’s Lumix FX 40 in their CMs. The album peaked at #1 on the Oricon Weekly Charts, stayed on there for 11 weeks and sold 361,717 in its first week. It was released on the 25th of March, 2009.
I am the furthest thing from an Ayumi Hamasaki fan. The only album of hers I had listened to before this was GUILTY, and I hated it. A lot. That is, in fact, the reason why Ayumi Hamasaki’s latest album, NEXT LEVEL, baffles me so much.
Instead of the heavier rock sound that GUILTY used, NEXT LEVEL takes on a slightly more retro synthed-up sound, with a few exceptions spread around here and there in the from of rock songs or 
ballads. This, and the hype Sparkle was gaining, are what made me listen to the album. Needless to say, I was impressed. Very impressed.
As much as I wish I didn’t have to say it, there’s a lot to love here. Synth-dominated dance tracks like EnergizE, Sparkle and rollin’ are the obvious highlights here, as they all manage to catch your interest and keep you listening for the long run, despite rollin’ having a rough start with those overly vocodered vocals. Another surprise stand-out was, unfortunately, a badly produced track. I say it was badly produced, because it’s an interlude. Disco-munication had the potential to be the BEST song on this album, bar none. However, they stuck it as an interlude. I just call that bad planning, and poor production choices, and so I’m a little sour over that.
The rock tracks aren’t really much to write home about (yes, including Rule), but LOVE ‘n’ HATE is an absolute gem in this section. It’s a heavy mixture of electric guitars and synths mixed into one slightly diverse package. I’m not really feeling Ayu’s vocals (I’ll go in-depth on that in a minute), but she does have her moments in this song. That counting from one to seven and ending with zero is actually rather clever once you hear the story behind it, but if you don’t it does have the potential to ruin the song for you. If not for Sparkle, that overly infectious piece of synthed-up sex, this would be the winning track of the album.
It’s not all smiles and sunshine though. Despite the large number of tracks, you have to keep in mind that there are four a-sides here, and an astounding number of FOUR interludes throughout the album, which is just a BIT too much considering most albums don’t even bother with them. Of the first three tracks, two of them are interludes as well, so the positioning on the album isn’t that great even later on. So as a whole, there are only about six new tracks on the album, which isn’t too bad. When the majority of them aren’t really that good, though, it doesn’t really help the album that much.
Honestly, I can’t get into Ayu’s singing, either. THIS is what the queen of J-Pop has to offer us? I don’t know why you’re all impressed, but I have to say that I think she’s a rather horrid vocalist when it actually comes to singing properly. There are a few cases where it can be forgiven (Sparkle, rollin’, LOVE ‘n’ HATE), but as a whole, it just seems really shoddy to me.
Also, while I’m here, I will say I don’t get the hype about her ballads. None of them really connected with me, and they all just seemed to be of a really poor quality to me. If that kind of stuff appeals to you, then I get why you’re liking it, but honestly, I’d rather she just made an album without them. Fat chance, I know, but whatever.
Album Score
B-
Favorite Tracks
1) Sparkle
2) LOVE ‘n’ HATE
3) rollin’
4) EnergizE
Despite being the farthest thing from an Ayu fan, I have to give the girl some credit. She actually did make a somewhat bearable album. There was quite a bit here that appealed to me, but as a whole, it kind of fell flat to me. I’m very intrigued to see where she takes herself next, but at the moment, I can’t say I’ve been converted into a fan by this album. Maybe next time.
I was looking for someone to replace melody. on Vitamin Drop, since she’s gone for now, and… Well… I’ve been mulling over a few, but… I give in.
I give up. I admit it. As much as I hate to say it, Ayumi Hamasaki has actually released an album that I LIKE. Or, don’t hate. I’m still going over what I truly think about it, but I just have to admit that the NEXT LEVEL era is dazzling. As such, I’ll be reviewing her from the NEXT LEVEL, ignoring Mirrorcle World and starting on Days / GREEN. Look out for it~
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