Keys to Everything

1. Step into my world
2. Love Paradox
3. LOVE SWEET CANDY
4. Without A Goodbye
5. Vanilla
6. Nothin’ to lose
7. Lost at Sea
8. Communication!!!
9. Not Too Bad
10. BxKxRxxx
11. Under The Same Sky
12. Thank You

I’ve been back from Egypt for a day and a bit now – and have just adjusted to the difference in temperature (When we left Egypt it was 42 degrees, when we landed at Manchester it was 14!) – On my secondary blog you can find an entry about my being unusually excited about hearing this album so I won’t go into detail here. I’ve only just downloaded it and listened to two album tracks so this is pretty much first impressions + a little bias.

Step into my world is the opener and, for me, it’s a little more thrilling than IMPOSSIBLE was on her first album. The song is pop-funk – along the same lines as Vanilla but it has a very dated, 90s feel about it in places. Leah doesn’t particularly impress vocally here. The lines in between the Step into my world, babys come off sounding wrong but it’s not too painful. A little uncomfortable but not ear-drum rupturing. It’s a well put together track, if a little formulaic, and a good opening track… but lets face it the next track owns it into the next century.

Track Rating; B+

Love Paradox was badly reviewed last time. I’ll try again. The first thing that struck me about this song is how fitting it is for Leah’s voice. The melody seems to be absolutely perfect for the nasal quality of her voice and, well, her lack of control. There’s not much to do wrong vocally so it’s wonderfully listenable from that perspective, but also it conjures memories of the first fews times I listened to Namie Amuro. The synthy, dance style mixed with hip-hop and R’n'B is undoubtedly something pioneered by the aforementioned artist and Leah takes up the reigns of the style for this track and it works brilliantly.

Track Rating; A*

LOVE SWEET CANDY; See Vanilla

Track Rating; A

Without a goodbye is the first ballad and, as I said in the review linked above, one must always be cautious when entering the realms of a Leah Dizon ballad. This is probably the most impressive song I’ve heard from Leah. I say that when I’ve expressed similar sentiments about Love Paradox but there’s something about Without a goodbye that makes it warrant that statement even more. Leah sings like you’ve never heard her before – her tone is rich and strong (a little man-ish) and her execution is powerful and emotional. If I’d heard this song completely out of context I probably wouldn’t have guessed that she was the one singing it. The actual song is a very western-ised ballad. It feels pop-rock in places and the arrangement is pretty dense but not overpowering and it all matches with the unusually impressive voice displayed. My favourite Leah ballad – it even beats Kanashimi to Egao no Naka de which was top since I reviewed it.

Track Rating; A+/A*

Vanilla; See Vanilla

Track Rating; B+/A-

Nothin’ to Lose is a dance track that wouldn’t sound of place on various American charts. English is the language of the day and the lyrics are really good. According to wikipedia Leah wrote/co-wrote ten of the twelve tracks and I get the feeling this is one that she put quite a bit of effort into. This is probably my favourite track so far - it feels at bit like Love Paradox but with it being in English and her vocals retaining the strength shown in Without a goodbye it has its own identity. If you don’t think Leah is any use to the music industry then hear this (I’ve read/heard this opinion before, it saddened me), this is most definitely the first MUST-Listen from either of her albums.

Track Rating; A*

Lost at Sea is another ballad, but this time a rock ballad. Think Avril Lavigne’s I’m With You, if you don;t like Avril Lavigne… don’t. The opening is a bit odd, the guitars and the oohs, and when it gets into some singing… Leah disappoints. She uses her “uncertain voice” the one where she never really sounds as if she knows what a microphone is. It’s pitchy and over-shot during the chorus, she tries too hard and ultimately it fails her. English again as far as I can hear (I’m not at my laptop and the mp3 I’m using doesn’t go very loud) with Japanese strewn throughout – The lyrics sound as if they should be good but the vocals kinda ruin it.

Track Rating; C

Onto the title track. Communication!!!. I think Leah’s found her niche. Dance tracks seem to be her forte as everyone I’ve heard from her have been her best songs, her pop pales in comparison. The whole presentation of this is pretty damn slick – Leah’s back to sounding good, with a couple of slips here and there, and the pace, sound and lyrics all make this a truly great song. This is written to be performed live, as proved by the dance break and I would be interested to see that (though I probably never will)

Track Rating; A

Not Too Bad gives me flashes of Lee Hyori. The light, cuteish tone of the melody and the bare arrangement of the song all point towards classic Hyori and it’s a very surreal experience. If this is any indication Leah should either sing deeper or cuter !? It’s an odd theory but not, in my opinion, an unsubstantiated one. This is the simplest track, all there is is a lead and backing vocal and some drums and synth. I love this because it feels quirky and is actually just good.

Track Rating; A+

BxKxRxxx has a curious title. She sounds a little out of her depth in some parts of the opening melody but… just… wow. When the chorus hits it hits hard. A rock song on a Leah Dizon album? Who would’ve thunk? Despite a very shaky opening everything seems to start going the right way when Leah goes into the chorus. It’s hard to explain but this is probably the biggest surprise and a borderline hidden gem. If she releases a single post-album, this should be it. It’s another dimension to add to her somewhat fledgling career.

Track Rating; A/A+

Under The Same Sky was Love Paradox’s B-side and this is when I started to think that I may have possibly overlooked something. Not her best vocal, three guesses as to where that award goes, but definitely a decent one. She loses the plot once or twice but it doesn’t ruin the song and she does admirably in other parts. Under The Same Sky heralded the start of some real improvement on Leah’s part (or maybe just the end of my ignorance XD) because, lets face it, Love Paradox isn’t that hard to sing really. Under The Same Sky feels misty and dreamlike and I’ve always like it.

Track Rating; B

Last track time and this feels like a final track. Thank You immediately made me think “Wow, she sounds so good!” and reminded me somewhat of the big dance scene in the Jessica Alba film Honey. It’s a hopeful little track and the lyrics are, unusually enough, rather thankful. Leah really does sound very good and even though not much happens here it’s worth listening to just for that reason. Basically, Communication!!! goes out on a high note… and just the right one. It feels final and right.

Track Rating; A

Overall… for me this was far more interesting than Destiny Line. Communication!!! has some awesomely strong track and ultimately this was a real surprise. If Love Paradox hadn’t come along and made me give Leah Dizon another chance I get the feeling I would really have missed out. I truly and thoroughly enjoyed every track apart from Lost at Sea - which did have unmet potential – and I’m very glad my birthday is soon because I want the DVD edition.

Overall Rating; A-/A