Secret by Ayumi Hamasaki
1.) Not yet
2.) until that Day…
3.) Startin’
4.) 1 LOVE
5.) It was
6.) LABYRINTH
7.) JEWEL
8.) momentum
9.) taskinst
10.) Born To Be…
11.) Beautiful Fighters
12.) BLUE BIRD
13.) kiss o’ kill
14.) Secret
Secret is Ayu’s 8th album release. Like all her other albums, this reached #1 with no trouble. The production was a tough one for Ayu since this was originally a mini-album, but avex said it’d be a full album and Ayu had a few weeks to make up a lot of new songs. taskinst has brought a lot of drama due to the fact it sounds like a Hoobastank song. until that Day… was originally an interlude, while It was was gonna be used in (miss)understood but was left off. The singles released beforehand were Startin’ / Born To Be… and BLUE BIRD. JEWEL, momentum, and 1 LOVE were used as promotional tracks.
Not yet, in short, is amazing. The introduction starts off a bit quietly with bells and ominous sounds. Ayu’s vocals are alright in this song. The song then suddenly turns into a House/Techno song. The beat will captivate you because it is gorgeous. This introduction is so catchy and I wish it were a full track ;-;
until that Day… is like a watered down version of Not yet. The guitar riff is catchy and all, but Ayu is pretty much repeating everything in this song. She goes laaaa and sings over and over. It’s repetitive and boring. This should have stayed an interlude, rather a full track.
I still don’t really like Startin’. I don’t hate this song, but I just don’t like it XD It’s a bit boring.
1 LOVE ditches that electronica sound we’ve been hearing and goes into rock. The opening for this song is really catchy, and you might find yourself replaying that part over and over. The way Ayu sings the melody in the chorus is catchy. But that’s about it.
It was is the most amazing track ever. I fell hard for this song when I first heard it. Probably because it’s a more calmer version of (miss)understood. The introduction is quiet, and Ayu’s vocals are great. The chorus explodes with sounds and I fall in love <3 This song, in short, is the best song by Ayu ever (excluding Because of You ;D)
LABYRINTH is our first interlude and is complete filler. This is a boring transitional interlude and I think that her arranger could have done a better job on this.
JEWEL is probably one of Ayu’s most known songs out there. Anyway the piano that starts this song off is GORGEOUS. I cannot get enough of it. Ayu does overpower the instrumentation with her voice though. Her voice is ear grating in the chorus because of how she’s singing. The instrumentation and pretty PV save this song for me though.
momentum is another song that I fell hard for. This song is gorgeous, while providing a vibe of loneliness and sadness, along with loss o: The instrumentation is like a better version of M, and so are Ayu’s vocals. The chorus is catchy, and the instrumentation is catchy. I love this song xD The PV is also really sad, you should go watch it :3
taskinst starts with a music box sound before an explosion of sounds are introduced near the end. This interlude is quite nice, but doesn’t really transition momentum into Born To Be… because of how random this is.
Born To Be… is alright still (totally not a Lily Allen pun). The song does have energetic vocals and all, but nothing interesting to note.
Ugh, Beautiful Fighters sucks. The song is too sugary-pop for me. This genre just isn’t something I’m into unless it’s interesting (like HONEY).
BLUE BIRD is super random on this album. The introduction is so pretty, but this is fairyland with a more aggressive instrumental. I still hate how she always has long interludes in the middle of the song. I lose interest after them xD
kiss o’ kill is like 1 LOVE, just less aggressive. The intro to this song is beyond random. I always disliked this song because I just couldn’t get into it. Something is missing from this song to make it interesting.
After all the amazing title tracks we have been getting, Secret just ruined the trend. This is a boring ballad with some lackluster vocals. I know Ayu was pressured on time and all, but her performance here SUCKED and this is a bland way to end the album.
Favorite Tracks:
1.) It was
2.) momentum
3.) Not yet
Secret was a let-down after (miss)understood. The album tracks felt rushed (minus the ones in my favorite xD) and just were bland. Secret and kiss o’ kill ended the album on a bad note. Maybe avex shouldn’t have pushed Ayu to make this a full album. Maybe next time Ayu.
B
