荒井由実* – Cobalt Hour

Am I the only one to be intrigued by similarities beetween Yumi's "Nani Mo kikanaide" and Jacques Dutronc's Gentleman cambrioleur?(https://www.discogs.com/Jacques-Dutronc-Gentleman-Cambrioleur/master/259236).
Cannot find anything about that relation but pretty sure it was inspired as she already paid tribute to Dutronc's wife Françoise Hardy on Misslim's Watashi no Françoise.
If any one has clues about that I'd be happy to know.

Yuming's third album shows her in an experimental phase. While she had already shown an interest in dabbling in multiple genres on her first two albums, that predisposition is more pronounced here. The result is a very diverse selection of tracks that unfortunately does not quite cohese as well as her first two albums. However, the tracks themselves remain consistently strong, making for a very listenable album overall. (I mean, there is a reason I chose my username based on its title.) The other thing you'll notice is that the songwriting is even more pop-oriented and hooky this time around. However, the musicianship is as strong as ever, so it certainly doesn't feel like Yuming "sold out" or compromised herself as an artist.

Album Highlights:
*Cobalt Hour (A funky number drenched in Rhodes piano and Yumi's double-tracked vocals. A strong start to the album and one of Yuming's catchiest tracks.)
*Soutsugyou Shashin (One of the artist's signature songs. A mellow '70s ballad that could easily have become corny and dated, but ends up being timeless. This is chiefly due to its bluesy arrangement and an impassioned vocal from Yuming, both of which unlock the beauty of the song's melody.)
*Hanakikou (Short and simple, but quite beautiful with it's baroque-style melody and keyboard-reliant arrangement. Something about the stripped-back style allows Yuming's understated vocal performance to really shine.)
*Rouge no Dengon (Another signature song and Yuming's first real hit. It's got a heinously catchy '50s throwback beat, a memorable hook, and some surprising black-comedy-esque lyrics. You may also recognize it from the opening credits of the film Kiki's Delivery Service.)
*Koukai Nisshi (A song that seems fairly middling on first listen, but gradually reveals itself to be a deeply affecting ballad. Very jazzy, with some drop-dead gorgeous orchestra work.)
*Africa e Ikitai (An intriguing and explosive finale. The jazz-funk style is a good fit for Ms. Arai and the session musicians, and the song is unusually complex for a pop song.)