Oh, Hikki - Heart Station Album Review

I'm not the biggest Utada fan. I know whenever she releases an album she shuts the game down, but this is the first album of hers that I've listened to in its entirety and so, I'm not in the position to compare Heart Station to any of her other efforts. With that said, after listening to this album, it's obvious why Utada is always on top; she's just that much more talented than damn near everyone else in j-pop.

Continue reading...

The album starts off with the brilliant Fight the Blues. The song has so much attitude and flair that you almost understand why it was released to Japanese radio as her seventh single from this album. Almost. Next up is the title track Heart Station, which I loved upon first listen. Flavor of Life, originally released as a single over a year ago, still holds up as one of the best songs on the album. Kiss & Cry took a while to grow on me, but grow on me it has; with it's saucy beat, it's one of the few songs on the disc that get me moving. Stay Gold, the standout track on the album for me, is a light, pretty ballad with lyrics reminiscent of those from Simple and Clean. It's simple and beautiful and I can never listen to it just once.

Even when Heart Station flounders, you only notice because it isn't up to par with the rest of the album's sheer brilliance. The second half of the album isn't as strong as the first, with the exception of Prisoner of Love. I didn't connect with Celebrate or Niji-iro Bus and honestly, since it was released way back in 2006, I think Utada could have gotten away with excluding Boku wa Kuma from the tracklist altogether. The sing-songy nature of the song doesn't mesh with the overall tone of the album and it deserved the bonus track treatment more than that other, lamer version of Flavor of Life.

Some artists are successful because they fill a certain niche really well. But, there's something about Utada's talent that's so left field. She doesn't sound like anyone, no one could hope to sound like her; there's only one Utada Hikaru. So, with this album, I'm officially a fan. It's astounding the number of hits included on the tracklist, and Utada is vocally and lyrically on point. I doubt I'd have to recommend this to anyone already into the j-pop scene, but if you're not, this is a great starting point.