Trick (First Press Limited Edition)(Japan Version)

Featuring her usual team of musicians behind the scenes, Trick combines dance, R&B, bubble gum pop, and ballads into a perfect potential concert playlist. Filled with bombastic bass and overproduced arrangements, the album is a perfect culmination of the Koda Kumi musical style: entertaining, fun, and a little trashy. After a short introduction interlude, the album starts off with single Taboo (Track 2), a dance track in the provocative, teasing style that fans of Kumi should be familiar with by now. With a heavier emphasis on production and rhythm than vocal performance, Taboo fulfills the requirement of a Koda Kumi album opening track, and would make the perfect opening track for a concert.

The fun continues with Show Girl (Track 2), another dance track that flaunts Kumi's talents as a performer. In addition to the bombastic production and some messy composition by Kamikaoru and Tomokazu Matsuzawa, Kumi's vocal performance has plenty of cool attitude to spare. With both Taboo and Show Girl, Kumi proudly announces the return of Japan's favorite "sexy-cool" pop star, and she couldn't have picked a better way to do it.

Not so surprisingly, dance and R&B are the strongest genres on Trick, with the two spectacular opening tracks representing the album's overall attitude. However, the album's side tracks of the same genre are nowhere near as strong. Driving (Track 7) and Hurry Up (Track 10) both convey a similar attitude with palpable energy, but both songs also feature crowded arrangements and uninspiring composition that tire and overwhelm rather than engage.

However, it's the same kind of overwhelming energy that prevents the R&B-hip-hop section of Trick from turning into a complete embarrassment. The small section starts with Bling Bling Bling (Track 8), which features cringe-inducing English lyrics about "money money money" and "blinging it long time" that is most intriguing when analyzed as a Japanese impression of American hip-hop. The overblown arrangement helps sell the song on a pure attitude level and hides the fact that song doesn't really feature any sort of composition. Bling Bling Bling is the perfect example of a song that would be enhanced in a live concert setting.

The other song of the section, That Ain't Cool (Track 9), is a collaboration track between Black Eye Peas singer Fergie and Kumi that relies on catchy repetition and a consistent beat that would appeal to a Western audience. However, the song itself, including the repetitive chorus, is not all that well-written, resulting in a song that is too annoying to be worth remembering. While Fergie holds up her sometimes-bad girl attitude nicely in her native language, Kumi's subpar English rapping proves why she shouldn't cross over to hip-hop anytime soon.

Despite having to uphold her "sexy-cool" status throughout Trick, Kumi also does fairly well with lighter dance tracks such as Just the Way You Are (Track 12). With an upbeat, R&B-driven arrangement, Kumi effectively shows her more cheerful side with a spirited vocal performance that complements the generally fun nature of the song. On the other hand, Joyful (Track 13) isn't able to find enough balance between its gospel compositional root and its J-pop influence to fit Kumi's style, resulting in a fairly forgettable dance track.

While the uptempo tracks dominate Trick, the ballads of the album are certainly not just filler tracks. Stay with Me (Track 5) is an R&B ballad with the typical commercial sensibility that one can expect to hear in a song written for a television ad (surprisingly, it hasn't been featured in any commercial so far). Nevertheless, that's not a reason to dismiss the song's competent composition and Kumi's strong vocal performance. Faring even better is Moon Crying (Track 11), a more traditional ballad that features better production and a more memorable composition than Stay with Me. With a more emotional melody, Kumi's performance is naturally also more expressive and more affecting, making it the most memorable ballad on the album.

Despite all of the album's flaws, Koda Kumi has proven once again to be an exceptional entertainer with Trick. It's an immensely entertaining album that moves at a brisk pace and never overstays its welcome (though it ends with a weak cover of Venus). Even though her musical style leans towards R&B this time, Trick proves Kumi's musical versatility and her ability to reinvent herself even over the length of an album. It certainly won't change the mind of her naysayers, who still believe that she's simply using sex appeal to sell her music (in fact, she's toned down that image slightly in recent years), but it also shouldn't change the mind of those who still believe she's one of the best pop entertainers in recent J-pop, either.

Recommended Tracks - Taboo (Track 2), Show Girl (Track 3), Stay With Me (Track 5), Moon Crying (Track 11), Just the Way You Are (Track 12)

by Kevin Ma