This is the One

Wednesday, 8 April 2009 in Music
Tags: american, come back to me, comeback, hikaru, hikki, j-pop, merry christmas mr. lawrence - fyi, music, music reviews, R&B, review, stargate, this is the one, tricky, Utada

If Rufus Wainwright is the western artist who has inspired me to be the person I am today, Utada Hikaru (宇多田ヒカル) would be the equivalent in the realm of Japanese music. I have spent most of my college years intensely listening to her music, in the depth of Rochester winters, so much so that her works has become part of who I am today.

Utada has recently released her second English album, titled This Is the One. Indeed, she has previously released another album in 2004 titled Exodus, which in her words it was “very experimental” as she declared that this followup is her true debut.

In a sense this is a very difficult review for me, simply due to the fact that i know so much about her and it’s so easy for me to nitpick and dismiss this album as not the one. You can find out everything about her on her wikipedia page, but since she’s starting anew as a fresh artist here, this review will be based solely on her US efforts.

Produced by the latest and greatest US hit makers Stargate and Tricky, This Is the One is labelled as a mainstream R&B album as she put herself in direct competition with Beyonce and Rihanna, and in that regard it succeeds tremendously. Most of the songs in the album are radio friendly and the lyrics are easy to remember, but as you dive deeper with each additional listen you’ll discover something new. The lyrics may not be have the deepest meanings, but it’s almost like finding easter eggs on a warm Sunday morning, “Did she just give a shoutout to Captain Picard?”

Well yes she did.

Just like Brandy’s Human, most of Utada’s album consists of R&B ballads. But what’s different between hers and Brandy’s is that her track list consists of merely 10 songs as opposed to 16. More may be more, but in this case the album is over in 37 minutes and the songs leave you yearning for more. Taking My Money Back is the power anthem many teenagers have been waiting for, while This One (Crying like a Child) would be my personal favorite for this album.

Utada says This Is The One (Image via Utada.com)

I was initially very excited for this track called Automatic Pt. II, mostly in part I was hoping for an extension to her first breakout single in Japan. (This is as far as I will be in comparing to her Japanese works.) Nonetheless, it is a cute and funky electronica that interludes into her faster, raunchier side. Dirty Desire is very seductive and sexy, and pretty much what The Workout and Hotel Lobby should have sounded like in her past album.

Did she just sing about “Dreaming of Sixty-nine?”
Well yes she did.

But just like the Brandy’s Warm It Up (With Love), I cannot stand songs with an annoying loop in the background. They are the new epidemic, and even Utada cannot escape this catastrophe in her last song On and On. Whereas the loop only existed in the chorus for Warm It Up (With Love), the incessant shouting of “yeah” lasts through On and On in its entirety. The loop makes the song title sounds like a warning label; it is that bad.

Still, with the one exception to the last song I have not been able to put this one down since the day I bought it. As superfluously simple this album may be, This Is the One has succeeded its objective in introducing Utada to the American audience. Overall recommended.

Check out Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence – FYI below and the track listing with the recommended ones marked with an asterisk*:

1. Come Back to Me*
2. Me Muero*
3. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence – FYI*
4. Apple and Cinnamon*
5. Taking My Money Back*
6. This One (Crying Like a Child)*
7. Automatic, Pt. II*
8. Dirty Desire*
9. Poppin’*
10. On and On