KODA KUMI: JAPONESQUE

Release Date

Label

I almost started this review by proclaiming that Koda Kumi is back but the reality is that she’s never left.

On the contrary, she’s been releasing singles and albums non-stop for over a decade now, Japonesque being her tenth studio album. It would be correct, however, to say that R&B Koda Kumi is back as this album finds her diving headfirst into the sort of R&B and hip-hop flavored material that dominated her first few albums.  It’s a bit of a surprise because she found herself much more successful once she’d mostly abandoned those influences for more of a modern pop sound on her more recent releases.  In fact, it was just on her last album, Dejavu, that she proclaimed herself a “Pop Diva” in one of the fantastic album’s best songs.

Returning to her roots, perhaps bringing things full-circle, might not have been such a bad move for Kumi if she was actually a bonafide R&B queen.  Unfortunately, she really is not and those songs are generally unmemorable. There are some pop gems to be found among Japonesque’s seventeen tracks but they’re largely outnumbered by the R&B.  The album’s best song is “Boom Boom Boys,” a catchy pop metal song with the sort of heavy guitars Ayumi Hamasaki is famous for. 

Another highlight, “No Man’s Land,” also features guitars, though it’s more of a traditional pop rock song than metal. Both of these songs are irresistible with infectious hooks.  The album’s low point is “V.I.P,” a cocky but otherwise forgettable R&B song with a short and pointless rap by T-Pain.  “Slow” featuring Omario is another mid-tempo, R&B-flavored number and one with slightly better results, calling to mind Mariah Carey’s recent work. All in all, whether you like this album or not will largely depend on whether you’re an R&B fan.  It’s perhaps ironic then that Kumi has called this album Japonesque when it sounds less like J-Pop and more like American R&B. -Michael McCarthy