1) Laugh away 2) My Generation 3) Find me 4) No way 5) Namidairo (Tears) 6) Daydreamer 7) Love is all 8) I will love you 9) We will go 10) OH YEAH 11) My friend 12) LOVE & TRUTH 13) Am I wrong ?
I LOVED YESTERDAY is YUI's 3rd studio album offering . It was released on 9th April this year & it includes 3 singles excluding of Understand which's the 2nd A-side of her 9th single My Generation / Understand .
Understand was eventually included as track 12 in YUI's 1st B-side compilation album MY SHORT STORIES .
Laugh away is the 1st track to kick things off & it's no doubt the best album track in I LOVED YESTERDAY . It's also the only non single to receive a music video of its own & it so deserved it for sure . The guitar hooks are extremely catchy & I like that YUI sounds very upbeat/positive .
My Generation is the 1st A-side song of YUI's 9th single . Her 9th single is also so far her 1st double A-side single release as well . There's nothing extra to say about My Generation other than the fact that it's classic YUI . Incidentally My Generation / Understand is also her very 1st single that shot straight to #1 on the Oricon singles chart .
Find me flows really well after My Generation although I must admit that it took me quite a while to remember how does this album track sounds . It was a bit unmemorable for my liking but now it's good to go for me .
No way is the shortest track in I LOVED YESTERDAY at 1:17 mins . Just like RUIDO in CAN'T BUY MY LOVE , I really like No way & like what I said before , I feel both tracks should have been extended by a few mins or so as I feel RUIDO & No way have great potential to sound rocking as full length tracks .
Unlike RUIDO , YUI incorporated a much heavier hard rock edge in the melody for No way which's great .
Namidairo (Tears) is YUI's 11th single & frankly the sound transition from No way to Namidairo is not there as from a rock song , in comes a rather depressing mid tempo guitar driven ballad .
Having said that , I really like Namidairo as there's something sincere in the way that YUI delivered in this no. .
Daydreamer is what I'm talking about & YUI should have slotted in Daydreamer after No way as both are really heavier & more edgier rock songs . The reason on why I say Daydreamer is 1 of my fave album tracks in I LOVED YESTERDAY as I like the way the melody of the song's being delivered & it's really kicking .
The song can probably be classified in the same music vein as her 8th single , the extremely rocking & very catchy/infectious tune Rolling star .
Love is all took me quite a while to remember how it sounds in which I had the same problem with Find me as well as the music bridge & etc wasn't as strong as I hope it will be but after a few listens , I don't have any problems with this pretty cool mid tempo guitar driven song .
I will love you is probably 1 of the few ballads in I LOVED YESTERDAY & just as the song title suggests , it's a very earnest no. that YUI delivers . Music wise , it's more simplified than her other album tracks . Definitely 1 of my fave songs on the album .
We will go has a really upbeat catchy guitar & drums hook . I find the song a bit shaky initially as it took me quite sometime to remember how the song sounds but after that's out of the way , I have no problems recalling how this feisty no. sounds like now .
OH YEAH is another classic YUI song in which she shows that she has a flair for creating infectious/catchy guitar pop driven no.s & this song's no exception . I definitely love this song on 1st listen & she probably likes the song a lot , so much so that she also released a ~YUI Acoustic Version~ of the song as a digital download in which I have to say both the original & the acoustic version are great tunes .
My friend is probably the only album track which has a piano driven no. & it's also the 2nd ballad of sorts after I will love you . I just like how this song sounds , YUI sounds very calm & lifted while singing My friend . She has pretty good control in her vocals in this no. .
LOVE & TRUTH is YUI's 10th single & it's her 2nd #1 single after My Generation / Understand . The song was used to promote the Japanese movie Closed Note which stars Erika Sawajiri .
This's probably so far the most dramatic & depressing ballad that she has put out to date in her career . Despite this , I just like how epic sounding like she sounds in LOVE & TRUTH . She pour out a lot of feelings into delivering this powerful orchestra like tune which frankly blows me away on 1st listen .
I guess you can say that this's also so far 1 of her most experimental tunes that she has put out to date in her music career too which frankly to me works really well in her favor .
Am I wrong ? is the final track before wrapping things up in I LOVED YESTERDAY . I didn't like Am I wrong ? at 1st because I find it quite on the filler side as I must admit it doesn't sound as good as what I have hope for but it's a decent song to conclude things .
I LOVED YESTERDAY is YUI's most mature sounding album to date although frankly the album tracks were not as strong & didn't had much of an impact/identity as what I have hoped for as her previous album CAN'T BUY MY LOVE managed to accomplish this feat .
It took me quite a very long time to remember how each of the album tracks in I LOVED YESTERDAY sounds like as some of them tend to sound the same as each other & I also had problems with the sound transition/consistency in the album , something that I didn't had any problems with her 1st 2 albums .
Other than that , the singles that made the cut in the album are great & also the more prominent album tracks in I LOVED YESTERDAY sounds even better as each listen goes by & the ones that don't began to form an identity of their own after I gave I LOVED YESTERDAY extensive listens over & over again .
I do hope to see YUI back with new material after she returns back from a well deserved hiatus real soon .
Blog Personnel
Karen Pang
# 10th Jan
# #1 BREAKERZ fan in Singapore since 2008 debut single ♥
# My music blog consists of JPop/Rock singles & albums reviews that I put my heart , efforts & soul into writing them as I'm disgusted with the way that JPop/Rock music is being treated/written/reviewed in Singapore so to the local media (yes you TEENS , Teenage Magazine & The Strait Times) , screw you all . I basically can write better JPop/Rock reviews , period
