Amata

Sasagawa Miwa's second album, released some fourteen months after "jijitsu", her first, is pretty much in the same vein - burnished vocals and breathtaking choral arrangements layered over a combination of pop sense with traditional and folk leanings and influences. "amata", however, does see Sasagawa venturing out to experiment more - "gotoku" sounds robotic with its rock sound, while the electronic "saki" is littered with beeps and claps, and "mouja" is smoky jazz. It is, however, the familiar material like "hachimitsu" and "toki", both piano-backed pieces, and the single tracks that save the album - the heavily percussive "anata atashi" is delightfully warm, while "tomenaide" is an evergreen ballad that does not wear out on repeat playing, and the acoustic rock of "utsukushii kage" is a refreshing change. Having said all that, the album lacks an overall sense of identity, something which "jijitsu" possessed very well, which is ultimately the weakest point of "amata". Still recommended, but "jijitsu" is a far stronger affair.