AND
28.03.2018
As usual Koda Kumi comes back with another album this year called AND which is the first part of another double album project which includes also the album DNA to be released not simultaneously in 2018.
W FACE was a double album too and while -outside- was a great body of work, -inside- felt uninspired and the presence of old recycled songs like Bring It On and Kimi Omoi made the short
10-track album a bit boring.
Luckily those two albums were released simultaneously so every fan could still make a great personal playlist with the 20 tracks given. In that sense so W FACE worked and proved to be a great effort bringing Kuuchan on the Oricon Chart with a historic record debuting at #1 and #2 on the weekly chart with two different albums at the same time.
After taking this into consideration, since AND was going to be released on its own without the support of another 10 songs, I was expecting a stronger tracklist in comparison to W FACE -inside- but in all honesty, I wasn't feeling the usual hype this time around.
Let's see if Kumi was able to wow me once again with her 15th album, you can also check the lyrics and translations by clicking on the songs' titles.
AND:
01. PARTY
The album starts with a party song cleverly called PARTY, thanks Kumi for such originality!
The track mixes tired sounds like Big Room, Trap and Dubstep resulting in a fun production yes, but that doesn't excite me as it feels dated and abrasive.
To make things worse there's a really repetitive melody line, especially in the dumb chorus that gets actually annoying after a while.
The bridge is the Dubstep moment of the track and it's just as cringy and dated as you would expect, getting good only after the instrumental break down.
PARTY is barely ok to me but I got it played a few times at a local gay club and it proved to be a nice club jam to get stupid with some friends
5.5/10
02. SWEETEST TABOO
At first this track really stood out and became immediately my favorite of the bunch, especially thanks to the beautiful bridge which is pure gold.
Having said that, after reading the basic lyrics I kinda lost interest for this.
Also, the mastering of this track is really bad with a very mediocre dynamic range value of 3 resulting in highly compressed vocals that sound thin and in an overwhelming and distorted bass throughout the song. SWEETEST TABOO is still a hot production but it could have been put together in a better way
7.5/10
03. GOT ME GOING'
If I'm not mistaken this is the third Jessie J written song Koda Kumi has recorded after VIP and Sometimes Dreams Come True. Out of the three this is probably the best written song with a really nice and functional structure: verses are good, chorus is catchy, we have backing vocals, ad-libs and a subtle bridge. The sound of GOT ME GOING' is nothing new but it's always nice to have Kuuchan play with this retro-pop style, I think it really suits her well. Lyrics are generic and vocals are very screechy especially through the end of the song making GOT ME GOING' a tad excessive but it's still pretty catchy and cool
7/10
04. WHO
The preview of this song was one of the most interesting but unfortunately the whole thing is underwhelming. The track sounds dated like 2012-13 à la Jason Derulo's Talk Dirty and it's just tacky and cringy to me. The bridge then is just a repetition of the good pre-chorus but it fails to elevate the song. The lyrics are a plus as they convey a sense of empowerment that ultimately save WHO from being a boring filler, the pre-chorus is also a very strong moment on the album
6/10
05. OUTTA MY HEAD
Halfway though the album and finally things start to heat up with a beautiful midtempo with deep and meaningful lyrics which can be seen as a meditation on a personal relationship or more interestingly on her career and relationship with us fans.
OUTTA MY HEAD is also the most contemporary production of the album sounding much like recent Max Martin's songs for Taylor Swift and Katy Perry but with a subtle darker alt-rock twist which really strengthens the lyrics. The last ad lib is a slightly too nasal but overall this is one of the strongest moments on the album
8/10
06. NEVER ENOUGH
We all know Koda Kumi is the queen of ballads and I'm very impressed by how she was able to keep recording different kinds of them in the last few years breaking down that boring cycle made of the usual Japanese type of Power Ballads. NEVER ENOUGH is a stripped down, elegant and powerful song with poetic and inspiring lyrics and the result is a little gem that also sounds new and fresh for Kumi. The vocal production is totally innovative for our Kuuchan who is still capable of using her voice in new ways conveying more and more emotions as she grows as an artist and vocalist
9/10
07. ALL RIGHT
A very safe J-Pop song written by Kuuchan's husband. Lyrics are really nice with a strong positive energy, there are a few good vocals and the bridge is nice. It's a good throwback filler but it doesn't add nothing new to Kuuchan's career as it feels just too basic
6.5/10
08. LIT
Another song by Kumi's husband and this is a much more detailed and fun production with its surf music influence from the 60s making for a rather charming summer track.
The chorus is catchy enough and the bridge is super fun! I also noticed an improvement with the master with a Dynamic Range value of 7 against the single version stuck at a mediocre 5, now sounding warmer and more relaxed in comparison to the thinner and louder vocals of the older release
7.5/10
09. BRAIN
Gurl...what's this!?!? With a length of 2:32, this sounds unfinished and rushed.
Honestly the beginning of the song is quite cool and promising but then it's repeated obnoxiously: verse-pre chorus-chorus (BLEIN BLEIN BLEIN BLEIN) x3.
The vocals also are kinda ugly with Kumi sounding just plain bad. With a better vocal production and a good bridge to add another layer to the composition it could have been the nice "weird" song of the album but all we got is a boring and flat demo track
5/10
10. IT'S MY LIFE
A fitting closing song, IT'S MY LIFE brings the quintessential Koda Kumi lyrics to the table with an electronic production. I like the piano passage after the chorus but I feel I'm missing something.
It's a good album track, just not my favorite cup of tea but I'm thirsty
7.5/10
After only 33 minutes AND ends abruptly with only a few great tracks in the mix that can't possibly compensate the rest of the basic songs and the result is a weak album that suffers in the same way of W FACE -inside-
With only 10 songs Kuuchan needs more bops to craft a solid body of work that can compete with her best albums. W FACE -outside- was a great release, is the next DNA going to be yet another masterpiece o not?
AND is conceived mainly as a Fan Club album with a synergic Fan Club Tour. This explains the weak commercial performance of the album which debuted at #2 of the Oricon Daily Chart with 9858 copies sold and only at #6 of the Oricon Weekly Chart with 14538 copies sold.
On its second week of release AND falls to #44 with another 1196 copies sold.
In conclusion it seems that AND, despite the good songs featured and the inspiring lyrics, is not really one of Koda Kumi's strongest albums.
Having said that, the tracklist is well put together and album, while very short, flows nicely and has a cool summer vibe to it.
AND
7/10
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