OngakuSociety

AWAKE is probably one of the most eagerly awaited Laruku albums, second only to SMILE, and is probably one of the few Laruku albums that I have mixed feelings with. I love it and then on other days.... I don't. The only exception is ??? (Jyojyoushi) because I just CAN'T stop listening to it. ;^_^

Some fans have commented that AWAKE sounds something more like Hyde's solo work (probably because 5 of the 12 songs are composed by him), but I beg to disagree. While some songs such as Ophelia and ?? (Hoshizora) do sound like they're more like 666 (my favorite Hyde solo album) material, most of the songs still have a unique sound to them.

But, first things first. Allow me to list down each song's rating and write a very brief comment:

New World (Words: Yukihiro / Music: Hyde & Yukihiro)
    A very good song to start the album. Also, I believe that this is the first and, so far, only song where Hyde and Yukihiro teamed up to compose the music. Rating: 4.5/5

Lost Heaven (Words: Hyde / Music: Ken)
   I was unsure if I liked this song at first. But I have to admit that the chorus was VERY catchy even on the first run. Rating: 3.5/5

??? (Jyojyoushi) (Words: Hyde / Music: Ken)
    If I could give more than 5 out of 5 for this song, I would. IMHO, this is the best song in this album and arguably, the best Laruku ballad so far. Rating: 5/5

Trust (Words: Hyde / Music: Tetsu)
   I really, REALLY like this song. Not as much as I love Jyojyoushi, but this is still a winner. The back-up vocals (Hyde with Ken and Tetsu) are very good. They can actually form a choir. O.o Rating: 4.5/5

Killing Me (Words & Music: Hyde)
    Not a favorite, but I can imagine it as a kick-ass song for an anime soundtrack. Rating: 3/5

As One (Words & Music: Hyde)
    Simply put: This song rocks. Very hard. Rating: 5/5

My Dear (Words & Music: Hyde)
   I didn't recognize Hyde's voice in the first few stanzas at first. He sounded... different somehow. But like Trust, I really like this song. The harpsichord (?) at the beginning adds a very nice touch. Rating: 4/5

Existence (Words: Hyde / Music: Ken)
   I love, LOVE this song. Ken never fails to deliver really good and catchy songs without sounding too poppish (sorry, Tetchan! But sometimes your songs do get a little too poppish). Rating: 5/5

?????? (Jiyuu e no shoutai) (Words: Hyde / Music: Tetsu)
   I don't know why I don't love this song as much as I did. Sadly, this is, in my opinion, the weakest song in this album (read more to find out why). Rating: 2.75/5

Ophelia (Words & Music: Hyde)
   I actually didn't extremely love this song at first, but then I was about halfway through the song when I realized that I liked it. This ballad is on the same level as Anemone (which is, coincidentally, also composed by Hyde). But this sounds more "un-L'Arc~en~Ciel." Why so? Because I have NEVER heard a ballad like this from them, nor have I expected them to come up with something like this. It's a beautiful jazzy ballad, though not as beautiful as Jyojyoushi (again). Rating: 4/5

?? (Hoshizora) (Words & Music: Hyde)
   This really sounded like a song you would expect from one of Hyde's solo albums. However, it still sounded different enough to be something that you could expect from Laruku. The thing is with Hyde's solo works and true enough, the others' solo works as well -- they're good, but their solo works lack the diversity that you can expect from them as a band. Rating: 3.5/5

Twinkle, Twinkle (Words & Music: Ken)
   I think this is a good song to end the album. It's genki (lively) and is comparable with Feeling Fine, but it's not AS candy poppish. Surprising that this comes from Ken, which again reminds me why he's my favorite composer. ;D It's that kind of song that makes you want to sway your head from side to side, but it doesn't sound corny enough that you'd go around screaming. XD Rating: 3.5/5

I think the Laruku members' decision to go solo in 2001 - 2003 had truly established their own unique style outside the band -- and this reflects in AWAKE. If you would compare each member's solo works to the song/s that he composed for AWAKE, you would definitely see a pattern. However, maybe I'm being biased since I still love them more as a band, but their collective efforts to create a song make it sound a lot better than it would've otherwise. For example Hoshizora reminds me of Hyde's Fruits Of Chaos and Horizon (off his 666 album), but I think Hoshizora sounds better because it has a dash of that unique Laruku flavor: Tetsu's amazing bass lines, Ken's awesome guitar solo and Yukihiro's trademark drumming. I guess the best way to put it is, each member has great talent, but together, they can rule the world with their music.

This is not to say that the album is without flaws though. Personally, I think the weakest track is Jiyuu e no shoutai, which is kinda surprising because it's composed by Tetsu and I'm a big Tetsu fan. I believe the major reason why I don't like it so much is it's an old song and I've heard it hundreds or even thousands of times already before the album was released, which is sad because I really liked the song when it was released.

Come to think of it, the songs that I don't like much are the older ones (Jiyuu e no shoutai and Killing Me). It's at these times when I wish Laruku wouldn't include several-months-old songs in a new album. It could really spoil it.

But enough about that; what about the songs that really shine?

As mentioned, Jyojyoushi has a really special place in my heart. There's something so wonderful about this song that I can never, ever, get tired of listening to it. Considering that this is composed by Ken, Laruku fans who have followed the band for quite some time know that he is usually not the balladeer in the band. Such position is usually taken by either Tetsu (Anata, Hitomi no Juunin) or Hyde (Anemone). Regardless of this fact, Ken manages to make a very beautiful ballad without sounding awfully cliche. To top it all off, Hyde does a magnificent job singing this song. You know his voice can truly shine when he sings ballads with so much emotion you'd wonder if he was thinking of someone specifically during the recording. ^_~ I mean, I can hardly understand Japanese except for your stock phrases nicked from watching too much anime, but the song really sends this "I'm so in love with you I can only sing this song to prove to you how much." The chorus is most especially lovely and Hyde really sounds like he's singing from the bottom of his heart. I still get goosebumps listening to it.

Ophelia is another favorite. I'm not quite certain why a good number of Laruku fans don't seem to like this song. Though I don't love it as much as I love Jyojyoushi, I think this song gives the album a really unique and, dare I say, an un-Laruku sound to it. Indeed, this is something which you could probably expect from a solo album from Hyde. It may sound out of place, sure, but I still believe that including this song was a good call. Hyde-esque as it may sound, there's still something about the song that makes it really good -- thanks again to that dash of unique Laruku flavor.

Another song to note is As One. I was a little surprised when I first heard this song and found out that it was Hyde's composition. It sounded something that Yukihiro would compose, really. This is the ONLY song in the album with a very hard sound, which is why I love it to pieces. Some people may not, especially the ones who don't like Laruku's harder and edgier side. But to me this is the song that I wouldn't mind playing over and over again, just because it makes the rocker in me happy. And did I mention that Yukihiro's drumming ROCKS here?

Overall? My first impression of the album can be summed up in a few sentences: It doesn't sound very impressive on the first run and the track listing seems messed up with no coherent flow. But then again, Laruku have never claimed that their track listings are coherent nor have they attempted to do so in their previous albums.

However, on the second run, it sounds a LOT better. There's still no coherence, but now I'm beginning to understand why the album's called AWAKE. Each song is distinctive and shows us, again, L'Arc~en~Ciel's colorful musical style -- from a somewhat candy-pop song (Jiyuu e no shoutai), to a beautiful ballad (Jyojyoushi), to a unique jazzy sound (Ophelia), to a pure, unapologetic hard rock (As One). Maybe what Laruku wants to do is awaken our senses and expose us to a wide variety of musical styles?

As a Laruku fan for more than 5 years, the answer seems a definite yes. ;)

Note: I will also have a very short review of the album's cover and insert, hopefully with scans. ^_^