DISC ONE
01. GIVE TAKE
I can't quite put my finger on this one. It's certainly a uniquely neat song. It kinda reminds me of NOT CRAZY TO ME, but is more of an anthem. I'm kinda on the fence...but you know what? Yeah...it's a good song. Interesting choice for an intro...
02. DIVA
The titular track and also the lone single from the album. The single version is different, however. This one is a little more graceful in proving that Nakamori can adapt with the times. It's a dance track with a nice little rock tinge to it. Maybe the singing could have a little more force, but it definitely works well.
03. thinking of you
A softer track, but one that doesn't let up on the pop theme of the album so far. The beat is a little more subtle than what she was working with at the start of the decade and for that I would say that it has aged much better. Not exactly timeless, but still a really nice song to jam out to at any time.
04. REVERSE
As the title suggests, it is the exact opposite of the previous track. Well, it has it's good moments when it picks up speed, but the rest is just 2000s sludge.
05. Aena kute
A decent ballad. Nakamori sounds just a little bit tired. It's more on the verge of singing rather than full-on singing. I give it points for being pretty original. Kinda like those rare times Michael Jackson sang with his natural deep voice.
06. X lady
Random rock song?? Sure. I know I have a tendency to say that Nakamori can get retro at times, but I'm usually referring to the 80s. This song wouldn't be out of place in her 1995 era of music. This isn't bad at all. Hahaa.
07. HEARTBREAK
Auto-tune? What are yooou doing here??
A mild dance track this is on par with GIVE TAKE. Has the make-up of a song that would destined to be a single, but it never was released as one. It is certainly of it's time. Late 00s? Yep. You might not be humming it later, but it'll definitely leave an impression.
08. with
OK, we're running out of random words to name songs after.
This one is a little bit smoother, but definitely on the livelier side. Again, this sounds a little bit 90s...outside of the harsh synth tone. It's a pretty decent song, though. I like the light rapping toward the end.
09. Akane-iro no kaze
I can pretty much say all the same things I said about thinking of you above. A softer song that still has some lighter pop elements and good singing.
10. Going home
We're going out on a lighter ballad. This one is pretty breathy and largely generic on the music side. As I mentioned before, ballads aren't entirely my thing given how inoffensive they tend to be. This one is pretty good and has that ever-present comfort of a song you've likely heard already.
DISC TWO
01. DIVA -michitomo remix-
I spent a few extra dollars on my copy of DIVA. As a result, I got a purple variant cover and a bonus disc featuring two remixes...
An even heavier and dancier version of DIVA. As far as I can work out, this is the only place to get this version since the single only included the Karaoke version. It's alright if extended dance mixes heavy on the drum'n bass are you thing. It's cool to have on in the background and makes wonderful use of the chorus.
02. Heartache -michitomo remix-
Kind of an auto-tune mess. It slides a faster beat on an existing song and screws with the vocals. Yeah, I'm not a big fan of this type of remix either...
OVERALL: I'm not entirely sure where to begin on this one. While this album isn't as dated sounding as some of Nakamori's work from the other side of the decade, it can't escape the lashings of that whole glam thing that everyone was into in the late 2000s. While it may be an unbalance mix of timelessness and cheese, it at the very minimum missed being an album of pure junk. I can't say that I give this album a lot of attention, but maybe it'll be worth even further examination in the future. I can't say I'll ever pine for the glory days of 2009, but you never know... This album might grow on me more later on.
Unfortunately, Akina Nakamori made an announcement after this album's release that she was indefinitely suspending all activities for health reasons. Will the dark diva rise again??
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