_genic [CD+Blu-ray]

Namie's latest album is a lot of fun and packed with many awesome tracks to jam to, but my personal favorites are "Golden Touch, "Birthday", "Space Invader" and the ballad "Anything". So many of these are a great dancing to for jamming to in the car, over your headphones on the bus or at a party. When I first saw the title "Space Invader" I immediately thought of that old video game from the 1980s and wasn't sure what to expect. The lyrics for this song are surprisingly rather clever and just so much fun. "Anything" while somewhat simplistic is very beautiful and reminds us all that we can achieve what we want in our lives no matter what lies in our way as long as we work hard at it. It really touches me every time I hear it. The MVs are all fantastic, though I'm not a big fan of the blue outfit she wears in the Fashionista video. Regardless it's still a good and fun video nonetheless. I also love the concept and execution of the MVs for "Birthday" and "Anything" the most. However, there is another flaw that appears on more than one track, which is just her pronunciation of the English language. I'm a native English speaker, and yet I still hear her incorrectly on a number of occasions throughout the album. I really feel she should continue to work on her pronunciation more. Lastly, the packaging. I got the digipak myself, which is lovely. It's a shiny silver colored outer layer with a couple holes in the front allowing for her face to pop through. This is actually the booklet hidden inside this frontal flap, which just slides out from the side. If you flip the case open you'll find both disks in jewel case slabs. Inside the booklet you'll find the main booklet with the lyrics all listed very organized on numerous black pages, and a couple very nice photos of the singer. Also included is a grey folded sheet of the English songs' translations into Japanese, which I'm guessing is for those in Japan who don't speak English. Over all, really excellent album.

Namie delivers one of the best albums of the year! He English has greatly improved and her style has exceeded all expectations! This girl knows how to bring her A-game! With 80s and 90s vibes and synthetic beats throughout the whole album. Here's my track by track review: 1) Photogenic (5 stars) A perfect intro song to the album! This song was truly written for her because she really is so "photogenic"! "Here you go paparazzi"! 2) Time Has Come (5 stars) This is my favorite track on the entire album! The piano in the verses bring a sensational chill along with the rhythmic pop. And her vocals are so crisp and perfect English! 3) Golden Touch (4 stars) This song has great potential! The mv was very interesting but the music is top of the line! Japanese and English are used here, but if you ask me, she should've done all English but it's still an amazing track! 4) Birthday (5 stars) I was instantly attracted to this song! This song has that catchy chorus that gets stuck in your head all day, but it can stay there! I love it! 5) It (4 stars) This song has very precise lyrics that greatly improve the album by offering a unique twist. "If loves a game I just wanna be It"! 6) Scream (3 stars) Though I adore all of her songs, this one would be my least favorite. It's great with heavy auto tune. Still amazing! 7) Fashionista (4 stars) The video is amazing and she really brings the beat! 8) Fly (5 stars) I was instantly attracted to this song as well! It deserved a mv! Just listen and you'll see! 9) B Who I Want to B (4 stars) Perfect song for the _genic feel! I just wish it was longer! The robotic sound and feel is really club sounding! 10) Stranger (5 stars) This music video was by far the best of all! The music itself was amazing! You can really tell that Zedd hand crafted this for Namie! 11) Every Woman (4 stars) Cute and wonderful English! A woman empowerment anthem for sure! 12) Space Invader (5 stars) The of the best lyrically written tracks on here! I can't stop listening to it! 13) Anything (5 stars) An amazing and inspirational ballad to end all ballads! 14) What I Did for Love (5 stars) David Guetta with Namie Amuro = a masterpiece! A perfect a ding to a great album! This was the first time I ordered a CD through CDJapan and I have absolutely no regrets!

+ range of genres this time, (rather than just EDM and ballad,) with a shrewd selection of songs from each + lots of key changes, timing shifts, and experimentation + very little replication of existing tracks in her retinue + where she performs already released tracks, ('What I did,' etc) she knocks it out of the park with her version, and more than justifies revisiting the song + her English pronunciation is much, much improved over previous attempts + videos are full of visual candy, both in terms of camera time for her, but also in terms of conceptual art - Golden Touch and Stranger excel + presentation is flawless - stretches her voice in places, (although it's still good to see her play with things she might not have been allowed to attempt under her previous management) - some of the English 'rap' she attempts sounds a little cheesy to a native speaker, where it probably doesn't as loan words Overall, it's great to see her back with such a fresh sounding album. Classics such as Feel don't need replicating - they'll always have their place in her live rotation - so to see her play with new sounds and styles is great. Sounds not just as though she's broken free from the restrictions of her previous contract, but also from the template 'safe' sound she was required to adhere to while signed to it. Expecting great things over the next few years from her.