I agree with Maou about the production--Izawa is often hard to hear, and Kameda's bass is often too bassy/boomy. Keep in mind that I love Kameda's playing, as always, but something is off with his tone. Maybe the album has more of a J-pop production, maybe it's that new Yamaha BB bass that he's using, which I always think sounds a bit dull (I love the old BB1200 basses from the late '70s...Paul McCartney used one on McCartney II and Tug of War).
This album is a lot more rock than their last two...lots of guitar distortion, and a lot of the songs are fairly straightforward structurally. Everyone hates on Variety, but at least each member's personality shone--they were having fun. To me, it sounded like they were playing the kind of music they want to play. (By the way, besides "Mirrorball" and "Fukushuu," I love Variety.) The band reigned it in an little for Sports, which I think struck a nice balance. I went back and listened to Sports yesterday, and it was a lot more experimental and fun than I remembered.
天国へようこそ For The Disc: This sounds like an opening track and little more. I don't have an opinion on it, really, and I don't know what the other version is that people are talking about.
6
絶対値対相対値: It's nice to have a distorted, rocking TJ song that I actually enjoy. I'm not much a heavy rock guy, so I generally prefer TJ when they're more funk/jazz/pop/proggy, but I can get behind this. Still, though, I don't like the bass sound in this song...way too boomy.
6.7
新しい文明開化: Solid Tokyo Jihen, but TOO BASSY! A bit like "Killer Tune," though slightly less impressive. And what's Izawa doing? I can hardly hear him. I hear the spacey synth sounds, but is he playing organ too? Maybe not. Nice solo from Uki, but I could use even more Uki guitar quirk on this track. By the way, is anybody else reminded is the same rhythm as "1, 2, 3, 4, I declare a thumb war" during the "1, 2, 3, 4" part?
8.1
電気のない都市: I always hate these lame ballads like "Superstar" and "Tegami," but somehow I actually enjoy this one! Maybe it's Izawa's nice piano playing, but I'm actually moved a little for once. I like Uki's guitar at 2:52, as well as Kameda's little lick that aligns with Shiina's melody. Normally I don't connect with this type of song, but something is clicking. Very nice slow piano ending as well.
7.8
海底に巣くう男: This song is very Variety, but I like it okay. I always welcome Izawa's Rhodes (one reason I like Variety so much). Way better than "Mirrorball" (both versions), and better than FOUL. I don't know, the slight bluesy-ness gives the album a bit more variety. I don't find the song grating, as some of you seem to. Again, though, boomy bass--WTF?
7.5
禁じられた遊び: See, the bass is NOT boomy on this song. Love the slap bass, LOVE Izawa's piano.
7.7
ドーパミント！ BPM103: Jazzy without being showtunesy. It's sounds like a bit of a throwaway to me, but it's rather enjoyable...nice guitar and piano.
7.0
恐るべき大人達: YES. Charming, funky Uki, Rhodes piano...2 Rhodes solos!
. Classic chorus. Shiina's vocals sound great...I like the reverb/delay. I suppose this song is the most Adult. Interesting that so many of you are pointing to this as a standout, because I thought many of you guys didn't like when TJ played in this style.
9.0
21世紀宇宙の子: This sounds like Senkou Soujo if they rewrote it an made it GOOD and sound like Tokyo Jihen rather than generic J-pop. I love the proggy organ in this one.
8.3
かつては男と女: Is that fretless bass? I've never seen Kameda play fretless, but it doesn't sound like upright to me. I'm a fretless bass player, so this distinction matters to me! Either way, why is the bass slightly distorted! I hate that! Seriously, Kameda, what is going on? Anyway, why this song is nothing particularly special, I enjoy it...though I would enjoy it a lot more if Kameda would figure out his tone. Some nice organ playing.
7.5
空が鳴っている: This song sounds pretty generic/vanilla to me, but I kind of like the chorus, Kameda's slidey bass, and the bell sound. It's a little confusing to me when TJ writes these kind of songs, though, because the band seems a bit above them.
6.3
風に肖って行け: This songs sounds very '90s, and I can't say I particularly enjoy it. I don't like Izawa's synth sounds much either. Who wrote this one? Uki?
5.8
女の子は誰でも: As others have said, this shouldn't be on an TJ album. I don't know why they had to be so faithful to the showtunes genre here. They could have started with this and the TJ-ified it to make it unique. At least add some more guitar! I mean, who is playing the brass and the harp? Not Tokyo Jihen!
5.0
天国へようこそ For The Tube: Sounds like it belongs on Heisei Fuzoku. Pretty weak and boring to me.
5.2
Overall, I enjoy the album, but nothing impressed me. The band members don't display their virtuosity as much as they do on the past three album. I'm not sure I'd place it above Sports or Variety yet. Nothing here passes "絶体絶命" or "Killer Tune." I need to listen more, and I need to listen to the other albums more to compare. Kyoiku is always at the bottom for me because I find the production unlistenable. Adult will probably always be at the top because it's so damn consistent. Still, I've enjoyed every new TJ album, and I can always listen to them way more times than most other new bands.
I haven't bought a physical copy yet, but does anybody know who produced it? The production on Sports has a lot more oomph. And who produced their other albums?