My review: (ps - I don't speak Japanese)
I really, really love this album. I don't write well, I'm kinda drunk and I don't know how to describe music well. But in short: I am not disappointed at all!
I can actually stand all the songs in the first place. Most albums had at least one to three songs that I just had to delete or skip. This one, I ordered from Taiwan and converted to FLAC format for my MP3 player. I plan to keep all the songs in the folder.
In this album, she covers many styles: slow rock, faster rock, jazz, vocal... If you like Shiina Ringo for how she experiments with music, and especially if you appreciate the Jazzy aspects mostly used in her Tokyo Jihen albums, mixed with the instrumental style of Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana, you will love this. I really feel like this is Tokyo Jihen meets KZK and even a bit of Heizei Fuuzoku's style, which in my mind would be *magical movie instrumental* style, whatever that means.
I received this album this morning and listened about 2-3 times, but here is a song by song commentary, short and innacurate due to current drunken state and having listened too little to this gem yet:
1 - Ryuukou (流行, fashion, vogue)
A rock/jazzy song, very appealing if you liked songs like Himitsu. You will be able to listen to this song forever, you will like it at first, but it's not a very deep and complicated song. Very good as a first album song since it appeals to a wider mass of people. It has a catchy refrain, some fun rap/lyrics from a man which add more style.
2- Rōdōsha (労働者, laborer)
Probably the most pop-rock song of the album, I see this playing on the radio to annoy people. It's pleasant and I will listen to it, but I probably wouldn't load that song on it's own.
3- Mittei Monogatari (密偵物語, the secret agent story)
WONDERFUL! The first 10 seconds (which reoccurs a few times) is so stupid and lovely, I rewind this song over and over to get that stupid beat into my head. It's a very jazzy song, with a really cool flute. If you liked the flute from Ishiki, I think you will adore this! It's different, faster, cooler... I'm drooling (or vomiting due to alcohol) over my keyboard! My current top 3 of this album!
4- O chiten kara (〇地点から, From point O)
A pretty boring and slow song. Maybe it will grow on my in time. Reminds me of Izonshou from Shouso Strip a LITTLE. Don't read too much into this since this is a slow song. Anyway, moving on....
5- Karisome Otome (カリソメ乙女, temporary virgin)
Okay, this song is seriously going to turn me gay or gayer at least. At some point a male, probably the drummer, goes... *.... ONE TIME!*... *TWO TIMES... yeah... (I'm cool and you're writing a review on a forum)!*... *THREEEEEEE TIMES!* (I get laid and you don't)... *UUUUUUHHHHHHHHHH BAM! BAM!*. I wanna have sex with him, right here, in front of everyone! He's so stupid-cool, it's hilarious, cool in an Elvis-haircut-on-a-Japanese-head-in-2009 style... or something cooler and funnier than my description. The other 90% is also really fun, very jazzy with some cool trumpet or other similar instruments. Again, like #3 this will appeal to people who liked Himitsu's style. And really cool men
Nearly all vocals are Ringo though.
6- Tsugou no ii Karada (都合の好い身体, the convenient body)
A magical instrumental song with vocals. Magical movie soundtrack-like, a bit like Heizei Fuuzoku but which has aspects you could find in the soundtrack to the Wheel of Fortune or Dynasty (if that was an American TV show... it was called Dynasty in french...) The great thing about this song is that overall, I don't like it much (like Heizei Fuuzoku) but like most great songs, it has this 5-10 seconds (at 2 different spots) that I absolutely adore! This is a deep song with a shell you might dislike, but I think it can grow on you due to these deep parts or fun refrains here and there. The part from 1:39 to 1:46, yes, only 7 seconds, is probably among my favorite 7 second part of her whole discography, even moreso because I don't completely love the rest of the song! Maybe this won't sound contradictory to some...
7- Shun (旬, season)
A piano/vocal with light drum/violin orchestra accompaniment. It has a very lovely melody. The melody makes it a very easy listening. It also has some cool off-key piano parts that I like which add depth to it and which build to a climax of vocal/orchestral violin that I love.
8- Futari-bocchi Jikan (二人ぼっち時間, Time of just the two of us)
A very cute and lovely jazz song with the instrumental focus on brass instruments! The focus is on the brass orchestra and the vocals. Thanks to a LOT of listening to old-school Puerto Rican salsa/Mambo music from the 50s 70s, I'm quite open minded about those types of brass instruments used in such an old-school manner. If you aren't into that type of music, I do think that after 5-10 listenings, this song could grow on you.
9- Mayakashi Yasaotoko (マヤカシ優男, counterfeit gentleman)
I don't know what style this song fits in... I will give a description very few people will understand: this would have been a great battle song for the videogame Breath of Fire 3! It fits in with that videogame soundtrack style. Cool jazz with piano for a great Battle Theme, but with some lyrics on top here. It has some slower parts with a trumpet/sax solo (not sure which is which, sorry) which is great too. It has some great brass "responses" to her vocals (example: 2:41 to 2:52), it is as if the sax/whatever is responding to her lyrics which sounds really cool. This is a very, very deep song which you will like more and more as you listen to it multiple times I believe.
10- Togatta Teguchi (尖った手口, sharp practice)
Has some aspects of the early part of Byoushou public... Most will disagree, I think it has the same "feel" of hard rock-style. The refrain is upbeat. I don't even know how to describe Ringo in musical terms, like what style she belongs to... Anyway, this is her harder-rock type of song but using some effects on the guitars. I think. Anyway, it sounds really good, it has a cool melody, and a nice techno-ish part at 1:34 to 1:40 which leads you to better notice these techno-ish instruments in other parts of the song that you might have missed the first time around.
11- Irokoizata (色恋沙汰, love affair)
Re-read my description of #8, this song has the same style and appeal but mixed with some of the magical-movie-soundtrack aspects from Heisei Fuuzoku (see song #6 description). If you like old-school Puerto Rican salsa/mambo songs, on another beat, with Shiina singing, mixed with that magic I describe, you will like this. It has a very easy to appreciate melody, but you'll need to like the style above all.
12- Bonsai Hada (凡才肌, ordinary ability?)
First, I love the weird accordeon beginning, it reminds me of some level from Super Mario 1. Anyway.... the focus here is all on the vocals entirely. She seems to have improved her voice a lot! For such a song, she seems to control her voice a lot more than in her other vocal songs. It has a really nice melody (like most 90% vocal songs). The accordion is nice too and leads the melody. This song will appeal to you if you liked: Onaji Yoru and Odaijini and I think another song I forget. So take the enjoyment you got from the vocal melody of these songs, improve the voice control, add a bit of magic and you get this song.
13- Yokyou (余興, entertainment, parlor trick)
A rock song (guitar, bass, vocals, slighly catchy refrain) with a bit of a feel like Huey Lewis and the News, of course, better. I hope. The only great part about this song, is that for a rock song that will appeal to everyone, at least it has 2-3 different interesting parts instead of just 1 catchy refrain.
14- Marunouchi Sadistic (丸の内サディスティック, Marunouchi Sadistic)
This version starts with english lyrics. With the words "Playing cops and robbers..." It sounds odd if you aren't used to these English lyrics but it's done really well with a choir of backup singers. I think this is the style called "soul" but I'm clueless about terminology. Then it switches to a rap beat with the lyrics in JAPANESE. I think the mix of English/Japanese is done well here. I usually hate all her English/French songs (I speak both), but this one I like despite that. Maybe because I really love the original. So if you love Marunouchi Sadistic, I think this song is a good complement. I would definitely once in a while listen to either this version, the Muzai Moratorium version, the Meet the World Beat live soundtrack version, or the version from that old solo concert she did.
Overall, this is now among my top Shiina Ringo albums! It has some of the aspects from Heizei Fuuzoku and KZK some people will more-or-less like, with the complexity and jazz aspects of her 3 main Tokyo Jihen albums, while being rock enough to appeal to lovers of her early solo albums. I think this one could appeal to all her fans, and it has no really weak songs, certainly no bad ones at all.