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Suilen's Best of 2015 / Albums HM / Recap in the OP
ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 9/2/2011
Posts: 21,728
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_genic was such a mixed bag But it did have some great bops.
BoA's album was good, but I only really listened to it once!
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 35,912
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kalafina, daoko, teddyloid & boa
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Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
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Namie Amuro, I love her
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Member Since: 8/23/2011
Posts: 52,519
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Woah
The Ai Otsuka song is amazing
I am in AWE
Oh btw, Sleepless Night slays by default
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Member Since: 11/1/2011
Posts: 1,846
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Thanks for introducing me to Yulia and Emi Maria... I'm addicted to "GOGO"!
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Member Since: 2/17/2012
Posts: 33,611
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I liked Genic but yeah she can do better.
I can't find Daoko's album yet but I want to listen to it so bad.
Kiss My Lips was so MEH for me besides the title track. BoA can do way way way better.
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 6,864
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Thank you for the comments, everyone!
@madonnas it's on jpopsuki, pm me if you need an invite.
@halien4life, thank you, king! Her album is COMING.
10. Ai Otsuka - LOVE TRiCKY
Genres/tags: j-pop, ethereal, LOVE, poor her peers, unexpected slayage
Commentary: I can't say I'm a big Otsuka fan (though that may change once I explore her discography properly again), but she came HARD with LOVE TRiCKY. The album has a trancy feel about it with some twists and turns resulting in bops like I'm lonely or absolute gems like reach for the moon which annihilates careers. Great job, sis.
Highlights: reach for the moon, end and and ~10,000 hearts~, I'm lonely
Rating: / 10 (for putting her peers and seniors to shame)
9. BORIS - Urban Dance / Warpath / Asia
Genres/tags: noise, unknown, acclaimed music, long-ass songs, background music
Commentary: I doubt that anyone knows BORIS here, but let me tell you that BORIS is the orinigal f(x) in the sense of being an Asian band that receives acclaim from Western critics (look it up if you don't believe me). This triple album is a departure from their usual metal sound and since I wanted to get into at some point, this was a great start. Yes, it's noise / drone, but what NOISE. Some artists are struggling to make their properly produced staff listenable. I was hesistating to put them in the list, but no one bothered putting them on their lists in the Internet or even reviewing the album, so at least they are somewhere.
Highlights: terracotta warrior, surrender, endless
Rating: / 10 (for being great background music)
8. lecca - maemuki
Genres/tags: reggae, upbeat, kween of bops, unique vocals, ballad of the year including
Commentary: Kween lecca came through with probably her best album in 2015. All the songs are solid and somehow she manages to make sad topics a bit more positive (except Shine, a cluster**** of emotions). She's been in the game longer than such titans as EMI MARIA and JASMINE and her sound is as fresh as the air around Mount Fuji. Take notes, girls.
Highlights: Shine, live again, つまずいて転べ
Rating: / 10 (for being the queen of reggae)
7. f(x) - 4 Walls
Genres/tags: k-pop, swagger like jagger, bye sulli, acclaimed music, acid house
Commentary: Is there even an Asian countdown without this monster of an album? (8thPrince's probably) I was stanning for it hard when it was released and now the hype is gone a bit, but it's still my fave album by them and a very good k-pop effort. There are some blunders here and there (bops only or go home) that are overshadowed by the killer tracks anyway. Let's forget about it for the time being and focus on celebrating the effort.
Highlights: 4 Walls, Diamond, Cash Me Out
Rating: / 10 (for being better than ever without sulki)
6. Suiyoubi no Campanella - Zipang
Genres/tags: electro, sings of the year, breakthrough artist, bigger MV budget than Ayu, slay
Commentary: Suiyoubi no Campanella are the winners of this year. They came out of blue and destroyed mainstream j-pop with their quality MVs and music. Zipang is an insane and well-rounded album filled with potential SOTYs. How often does that happen? Let's celebrate them and the fact that they don't use English titles to pander to the Western audience yet manage to win over us regardless.
Highlights: Medusa, Ra, ライト兄弟
Rating: / 10 (for reviving Japanese music)
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Member Since: 8/17/2013
Posts: 20,947
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Zipang.
Amazing album, but I still need to get into their full discog, ugh.
And mess @ 4 Walls being your fave f(x) album, but okay.
The title track grew on me v much, but I don't LOVE anything besides that, Rude Love, When I'm Alone and Papi.
And yes, Ai slayed. affair is still one of the best songs I've heard this year.
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Member Since: 2/17/2012
Posts: 33,611
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You like 4 Walls more than Red Light and the Pink Tape?!
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 6,864
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Quote:
Originally posted by AMIT
And mess @ 4 Walls being your fave f(x) album, but okay.
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Quote:
Originally posted by madonnas
You like 4 Walls more than Red Light and the Pink Tape?!
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I prefer it to them by a small margin. Some individual tracks from Red Quran and Pink Bible are better than everything on 4 Walls, but in its entirety the album sounds better and fluid to me.
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 10,195
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LOVE TRiCKY is too low.
Idk BORIS so can't really say much.
Lecca I still need to get in to, her voice reminds of Shakira from what I've heard though.
Mess at 2/3 of your 4 Walls highlights being the songs I don't care for.
ZIpangu was good but definitely their weakest album.
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 6,864
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kxvk
LOVE TRiCKY is too low.
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It was #6 at first, but then I realized that I love more tracks from other albums. It's still great.
Prepare for the mess the next update will serve.
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Member Since: 2/17/2012
Posts: 33,611
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Quote:
Originally posted by Suilen
I prefer it to them by a small margin. Some individual tracks from Red Quran and Pink Bible are better than everything on 4 Walls, but in its entirety the album sounds better and fluid to me.
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Oh yeah it's definitely their most cohesive album, which is probably why some people were let down
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Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
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4 Walls is amazing!
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 9/2/2011
Posts: 21,728
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Love Tricky was interesting! Might give it another go
I looooove 4 walls obviously but I'd say it's tied for second with Pink Tape. I LOVE Red Light and its probably my favourite kpop album ever.
Then again, f(x) have yet to really release something I don't like (except for La Cha Ta I guess n).
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Member Since: 10/3/2009
Posts: 35,844
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f(x)
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Member Since: 1/6/2014
Posts: 21,185
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Yeah I agree that 4 Walls is better than Red Light (which is obvs. g0dly)
Overall nice set!
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 6,864
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Thanks for the comments! 4 Walls stanning
5. Akiko Shikata - Wokashi
Genres/tags: ~real music~, ethereal, traditional / ethnic influence, talent, avex
Commentary: Akiko-san is one my favourite Asian artists and the performer of one of my ultimate fave songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3BUxQNgbyo. I discovered her with the help of that trash Umineko adaptation which didn't do any justice to the most tragic love story of our times and the aforementioned track was used in the visual novel itself. I didn't care for her 2013 album aside from the SOTY Arabesque and the track that shared its title with one of the best anime of all time, but Wokashi is a different and better beast. Unfortunately, it has only 7 tracks, though each serves QUALITY. One of the reasons talent wins this year.
Highlights: オトシモ, 籠の鳥, をかし
Rating: / 10
(for being the queen of folk)
4. ESNO - release
Genres/tags: electro, daoko her impact, ethereal, instrumental, quality music
Commentary: Yes, ANOTHER of DAOKO's collaborators is making the list (will her reign ever stop? This year is hers). I simply love those random instrumentals with some cryptic female vocals over it (the antithesis of this was supercell, RIP). The only issue with this album is that half of the slayage has already been served, but the remixes aren't your usual "just eat it and **** off" type and rival the originals.
Highlights: 夕暮れパラレリズム feat. daoko -rework-, Afterwardness
Rating: / 10
(for making me feel like I'm in another dimension)
3. a MEI / AMIT - AMIT 2
Genres/tags: chinese, rock, kween, the new confucius, bombs go off when I enter the building
Commentary: WHEW. I knew that user AMIT was the coolest on ATRL the moment I saw his Shiina avi, but when I discovered the slayage behind his username... AMIT 2 is the reason this countdown is named "Asian", though my fams and I are getting into c-pop bit by bit, so expect more unknown GOSPELS next year. Alright, as for the album, it has a certain epic feeling about it that is first instigated by the opening track, Rite of War. The closing track is no less epic. The rest is elegy. It's tickling my rock/metal roots and I can't help giving in to the temptation.
Highlights: Put The Works, A Bloody Love Story, Freak Show
Rating: / 10
(for being the queen of Taiwan, rock, etc.)
2. Wonder Girls - REBOOT
Genres/tags: k-pop, flawless, kweens, poor korea her taste and lack of money, nostalgia feel
Commentary: Welcome the Korean AOTY, REBOOT. I've always low-key stanned the queens of k-pop, but I can't say their music has never let me down. Thus REBOOT hit me harder than I expected. I Feel You was truly a blessing and one of those rare cases in k-pop when the first single is ON PAR with the album tracks. The asthetics of the group is also something I like immensely about the group. The others are trying, but the queens remain original and untouchable. Well, when it comes my fave tracks, then I'm probably in minority, but the things about REBOOT is that all of them SLAY and I guess they just change with my mood.
Highlights: One Black Night, Rewind, I Feel You
Rating: / 10
(honestly, for being one of the oldest active acts in the game and serving ANTHEMS, GOSPELS and HYMNS)
1. EMI MARIA - EUPHORIA
Genres/tags: rnb, sings of the year, parental music done right, suitable title, QUEEN
Commentary: Pretty anti-climatic, isn't it? Yes, EUPHORIA is my (and several other people's) Asian and Japanese AOTY and probably the most well-rounded record since... one of Utada's albums? Why? I don't know. Though I AM WATER, its best song and the SOTY, is pretentious, EUPHORIA is a fun and (kind of for me) relatable record. What makes the album stand out is its sleek and seamless production (by HOLY MARIA herself) and the fact that she knows it's not that deep and flows with it. EUPHORIA is also a considerable quality bump in comparison with her previous albums, though they are far from being tragic. I would describe each ANTHEM in details, but everyone is pressed and fed up with the goddess, so let me stop here and challenge your faves to try harder next year (unless your fave is Utada who might be coming with some parental HYMNS of her own hihi).
Highlights: Every.Single.Track.
Rating: 10/10
(for destroying your faves, being a cool mom, saving music in general, preventing global warming, being friends with JASMINE)
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 10,195
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I've heard some of Akiko's stuff but I don't have it any more, let me put freeleech to work.
Idk her.
That was the first album I've heard by her and it's good!
YAS one of the best releases this year, I have a signed copy.
I'm truly shocked this your number one album, really.
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Member Since: 8/17/2013
Posts: 20,947
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YASS @ A-Mei. I wasn't expecting her slay to be so hard on you.
But seriously, I loved the album, really worthy of being the continuation of the first AMIT album. The ballads were a bit ehh for me, though, when I know she can do much better (especially given the ones on her last album), but it doesn't matter! No Sleep is one of my fave A-Mei songs ever. The last few seconds get me every damn time.
Also thanks for the shout-out!
Truly the K-AOTY, the girls didn't disappoint! One Black Night / Baby Don't Play / Candle.
And girl, this year has been all about pop for me so hopefully I can get back into R&B next year and give EMI a try.
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