CD A
1) We are the QUEENS
2) æternal
3) WORDS
4) W
5) The way I am
CD B
1) The way I am
2) W
3) WORDS
4) æternal
5) We are the QUEENS
ayumi's last physical release was 2016's M(A)DE IN JAPAN .
For TROUBLE EP , the tracklist for both CD versions are reversed & switched .
2 songs that were already released digitally prior to TROUBLE are included in the new mini album . We are the QUEENS was 1st released digitally on 30th Sept 2016 & it was used to promote the smart phone game CLASH OF QUEENS , with ayumi starring in the ads herself .
While the 2nd song WORDS was 1st released digitally last year on 6th Sept & it was available for online purchase until last year on 30th Nov .
This's possibility the shortest ayumi related review I've written on my blog on a release of hers & for that , it's not a good thing especially since I've been her fan for a very long time .
This year is ayumi's 20th anniversary but yet for her to release a mini album , it hardly feels worth celebrating for especially since not many musicians are lucky to been around for 20 years & more .
Regarding the 3 new songs in TROUBLE , W is my least favourite as it's just noise while æternal + The way I am are pleasant sounding mid tempo tracks , they sound like something that ayumi has already done before .
Also I find nothing special about the TROUBLE covers as it looks like another typical magazine fashion shoot that ayumi has done countless times before . Even though the material is weak , at most the covers should have been something that emphasised her 20th anniversary & not this .
I thought ayumi's 10th & 15th anniversaries were non existent celebration wise but this year is the worst . I know ayumi's focus when comes to releasing music and/or making music videos ain't the same as before but this's still really bad .
For a 20th anniversary milestone , ayumi should go all out with a bang & not just focus on touring back to back non stop and only put out a sub par mini album . I would prefer she release another best album as she's long overdue to put out a new 1 since 2008's A COMPLETE ~ALL SINGLES~ .
Being her fan for a long time , it kind of saddens me to see ayumi to be a pale shadow of her former self as compared to when she 1st started out in the industry 20 years ago . In recent years it has been getting from bad to worst but at times , she still managed to pull out some nice surprises like M(A)DE IN JAPAN which I unexpectedly enjoyed a lot .
End of the day , ayumi still holds a place in my heart as she was the 1st Japanese artiste I started listening to when I began listening to Japanese music . Just that I hope TROUBLE is not the only new release she put out this year as if so , that's hardly worth it on every single level .