AAA - depArture

Those who bought the regular press of AAA’s album depArture on February 11, 2009 did not only get a CD with thirteen songs but also the whole box in a noble paper sleeve.

Fitting with the jacket artwork, which depicts excitement, departure and traveling, is the intro; it tells of the start of flight “AAA” and seems to be recorded directly in the concourse of an airport. The lighthearted, funny and funky MUSIC!!! marks the first real musical work on the CD and creates a good mood. It also delights with some very nice vocals. The song SAVE YOUR SOUL can be described as much more individual, though it's not that catchy. It does have a strong atmosphere, however. Afterward, the more casual and faster Jamboree!! with its Caribbean beats comes out of the speakers. This ode to the women of the world produces bright, shrill melodies with a funky groove; the retro bridge is one of the highlights of the song. Then it's time for the first ballad of the album: Misako and Takahiro unite themselves once more for an sensitive love song with soft strings and piano titled Deai no chikara III. Another ballad follows, but here Chiaki shows her talent and delivers an impressive performance.

Powerful and mysterious, the ecstatic synthesizer and bass beats of ZERØ break out and after just a few seconds you are caught up by the great guitars and the well-rounded vocals. Fresh, bright and sugar-sweet is HORIZON, which is followed by the single BEYOND~karada no kanata and its weird structure and serious lyrics. The next song is wonderfully retro; Mosaic is not only entertaining and fast, but also stands out because of its wild romantic lyrics and the very nice bridge. Hajimari no kiseki develops from a soft ballad to a lighthearted, fast hymn with kitschy charm and changing tempo. As for the track Tabidachi no uta, Avex colleague Komorita Minoru was responsible for the arrangements, and so the last song is a quiet, appeasing ballad. You get the feeling that AAA is apologizing for the upcoming hiatus, and they are wishing everyone a nice time until then.

Even though there are a few unconvincing songs and a bit more variety would have been good for the album, there are still some nice gems in the track list like MUSIC!!!, a piece of my word, ZERØ and Mosaic. The concept of traveling is carried through nicely, and depArture is definitely a fun album that allows for a musical trip to the Caribbean with Jamboree!!.