rickified's rants:

by
Jun 4th, 2009; 11:37 pm (GMT+8) 0




"Exodus '04" is the 3rd English single by Utada and co-written by herself and Timbaland. It was released on June 21st 2005. It hit number 24 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Airplay chart.

Remixes


rickified's rants:

by
Jun 3rd, 2009; 4:15 pm (GMT+8) 0




"Devil Inside" is Utada's 2nd English single. It is the second single from Exodus, and the first physical single in the US. Though it received little mainstream attention, "Devil Inside" did do well on dance charts and hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Airplay chart. The single was released on September 14th 2004.

The single's cover art looks cool, like straight up from an anime. My pick would be the Scumfrog Vocal Mix, it's the usual club mix length. =)

Tracks

Remixes


dirrtyfeature:

Utada - "Exodus" Album Review

Jun 3rd, 2009; 1:00 pm (GMT+8) 0




Doing a review for an 'old' CD seems out of place, but since it's a hidden gem and requests for her remixes, I've decided to give it a proper critic. Exodus is the debut English language album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Utada, released in 2004. It was released on September 9th 2004 in Japan, on October 5th 2004 on the US, and the UK version was released about a year after on September 26th 2005.

First Impressions

rickified:
Though the album was a flop in the west, sales were good in Japan. Compared to her usual japanese releases, this album is rather dark and unconventional. All songs are written by Utada and only a couple of the songs aren co-written with Timbaland. Not going with a safe attempt to ensure good sales, Utada experiments with Electronica. Does it work??? Yes, in technical sense, but not many would appreciate this album, cause it doesn't sound mainstream. Hence, this album is deemed as underrated (in my perpective).

Standout Tracks

  • Devil Inside
    2nd single. Rumbling drum beats paired with the moody syth. It feels different, not the weird kind though. Chorus is catchy.

  • Exodus '04
    3rd single. Co-written with Timbaland. Not your typical club banger sound. It lean more towards the midtempo side. I like the lyrics at the chorus. =)

  • Easy Breezy
    1st single. The infamous Japaneezy song that either fans love or hate. I think it's cute. This is the closest to getting a bright pop song from the album.

  • Hotel Lobby
    Weird title right. You can hear the obvious middle eastern influence though. The song sounds very intriguing.

  • Wonder 'Bout
    Standard Timbaland beats. Quite unique. Love the syth beats.

Final Verdict

rickified:
This album is very experimental. As you see (or hear), the singles are much easier to 'digest' than the rest of the tracks from the album. I wouldn't put this album in the same league as 'TITO', which is her 2nd english album released early this year. TITO is more mainstream. everyone could relate too. As for this album, it show thats Utada is able to push boundaries by writing almost all the the tracks. Even though it's not commercially successful, It has an identity of it's own and proves to be a cult favourite.

Rating

rickified:        


Recommended Tracks



rickified's rants:

Utada - Easy Breezy

Jun 2nd, 2009; 10:28 pm (GMT+8) 0




"Easy Breezy" is Utada's debut English single for the western market. It is also the first single from the "Exodus" Album. For this release, she is under Island Def Jam records for her label, under the name of Utada, rather than Hikaru Utada which was used for her Japanese releases. The song was used as the Nintendo DS CM theme song and also been used in several Nintendo DS endorsements featuring Utada.

In this song, you can find the only two Japanese words that is used for the entire album. The words "Konnichiwa" and "Sayōnara". Fun fact. She displays her signature kooky lyrics as usual. Take the chorus for example. "You're easy breezy and I'm Japaneezy". That's Utada for you. =)

Tracks/Remixes


rickified rants:

by
Jun 1st, 2009; 6:16 pm (GMT+8) 0




"Evacuate the Dancefloor" will be the first single released from Cascada's third and upcoming album, also titled as "Evacuate the Dancefloor". The song will be released on June 29, 2009 with the album to follow a week later on July 6. It first received airplay on BBC Radio 1's Floor Filler show with Scott Mills on May 15.

It seems like the techno-sound has been tamed. Compared to her megahit, "Everytime We Touch", it sounds mild on the original. As for the remixes, Wideboys did a good treatment on the song, especially on the chorus. =)

Remixes

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