Did you ever work out what it reminded you of? The part where she sings "ikite iru, ikite yuku" (I think it's the chorus) reminds me heavily of something, but I just can't figure out what...

What's so funny? She does. Like the beginning of KyuruKyuruKyuru for example, where she does all those annoying wails and woos. So damn cute, and so annoying at the same time. I almost want to stop the song before it even starts.

There there no need to get your knickers in a knot.

Maybe I am using the wrong words. To me, the nasal register of her voice with the current arrangements on her new album, make it harder for me to take her seriously. I'm not saying I can't, I'm just saying that it makes the learning curve a lot higher. DG is probably right that her earlier stuff is less 'pop' so I'll have to go check it out. (not that I necessarily have an issue with pop, especially since Ayu is one of my top 5 all time favourite performers)

Other artists like SR and YUKI tend towards that sort of vocal styling as well, except SR also has a beautiful lower register that she uses a lot, and her arrangements balance out a lot of her material, right from the get go on MM. YUKI, post JAM, has also acquired a more varied vocal style which appeals to me. I also had a hard time getting into singers like CHARA, and it was only post Hatsukoi, having heard her voice in context of less saccharine production, that I grew to appreciate her style as a whole (and I am now a big fan.) I don't hear this just yet on Sennou, and I have no doubt that she is capable of it.

EDIT:

Yea as I thought. I just had the chance to listen to Mahou ga tsukaenai nara shinitai, and it really casts a new light on what she's like as a musician, and makes me appreciate the production on Sennou a lot more. I'll probably be paying closer attention to her from now on. Goto Mariko, however, I still cannot get into.

I have a feeling that the cutesy vocals are all an act, because at the show I was at she didn't use them at all. Her voice got VERY Ringo-y at times too, growling and snarling and croaking and screaming. It was great.

that's certainly possible. read a couple of her translated interviews and it's not always apparent how self aware she is and how calculated an attempt at satirizing idol pop is. not that it matters since the music is for the large part enjoyable. I can't quite tell her voice apart from morning musume on this record though, for better or for worse. (full disclosure - MM between 2000-2004 was such a guilty pleasure of mine)

Haha, before I found Ringo I was really into Morning Musume, but the initial first couple of years (they still have a couple of really solid pop albums with impressive harmonizing)

What! I want to see this side of her on an album.

I think she just wanted to make her idea of an "idol" album on Sennou to get it out of her system. We saw the build up to this across all of her albums thus far.

I was traveling today and finally had a chance to loop the album, listen to it about four times, and really familiarize myself with the songs. They're all really good, not a single dud. In some ways it reminded me of classic Tamio Okuda era PUFFY, where he would write the girls songs in a variety of styles and just nail every one.

One observation and one complaint. On some songs I couldn't detect anything uniquely Oomori at all. And the second half of Omake ~Super Free Pop~ is far too short.

^ Re: not hearing anything uniquely Oomori: I'm not sure about that, though granted I am pretty obsessed with her so I hear the Oomori-isms in all the tracks. I'd need examples. The only one I can think of showing the least amount of her old style is Imitation Girl.

The only song I'm indifferent about is "Nostalgic J-pop". It's kind of boring and predictable, especially the vocal melody.