Keys to Everything

Ah Yuna, Yuna, Yuna. I’ve often wondered what I’m going to do with the copy of HEART that I’ve only listened to twice all the way through.

I didn’t even bother to buy WISH.

and now I feel mean but I only speak the truth.

 Yuna Ito is one of those artists that it takes one song to get into, and one album to be disappointed by.

Yes, ENDLESS STORY was fantastic but almost the entirety of Yuna’s debut album, HEART, was pure dross.

I stumbled through the tracklist being ever more saddened that the voice I admired so much when I first heard ENDLESS STORY and then Precious was being given, essentially, substandard material to work with.

WISH did not look up much. The single tracks were good. The album track were not. And when I’ve gone back to listen to it again I don’t even like the singles as much as I did then. But it’s all of a relatively good standard when compared with HEART, most of which sounded like it wouldn’t be out of place as BGM in a daytime soap opera. Imagine beach-houses, illicit affairs and someone contracting cancer to the opening strains of Tender Is The Night.

Which brings me to DREAM, if we’re following the pattern of pointless capitilisation.

This is easily her best album yet. There are only three tracks (out of eleven) that I wouldn’t put on repeat without good reason.

The Good;

- Most of it actually. The singles leading up to this release were quality, no doubt, but this hasn’t stopped the album from being unfortunate before. But hey, I digress.

The tracks that I’d say really standout are trust you, miss you and two album tracks BAILA BAILA and LOVE MACHINE GUN. Two great ballads and two upbeat tracks that don’t sound like Yuna has to resort to yelling to get through the song. Nice.

The Bad;

- No one else and Body. The latter of which sounds slightly sleazy and totally not a song Yuna should try. No one else is every song on HEART mixed together with different lyrics. But that’s all I’d say was bad.

The Ugly?

- I don’t much like the cover? And love you sounds like an abandoned Hinouchi Emi song. Beyond that…. nope.

Simply put DREAM is Yuna’s best show yet and I hope that this is indicative of what may be to come with her next singles. There are probably people out there who would readily dispute my outward display of malice towards her first and second albums but in terms of quality neither of them can even touch DREAM.
All my faith has been restored in Yuna and I can’t wait to see what happens next.