Hamasaki Ayumi – Mirrorcle World

Mirrorcle World was Hamasaki Ayumi’s 43rd single. It was released April 8, 2008. It sold 145,576 copies in it it’s first week, 193,016 overall and reached #1 on the charts. Mirrorcle World was used in “Panasonic FX-35″ commercials while Life was used in “music.jp” commercials.

Tracklist

1. Mirrorcle World

2. Life

3. YOU (10th Anniversary version)

4. Depend on you (10th Anniversary version)

5. Mirrorcle World (Instrumental)

6. Life (Instrumental)

7. YOU (10th Anniversary version-Instrumental-)

8. Depend on you (10th Anniversary version-Instrumental-)

Being a longer version of the interlude track Mirror on Ayumi’s “GUILTY” album, Mirrorcle World surely does not disappoint. Starting with around 50 seconds of some great orchestra work, some marching drums kick in. The song has a creepy edge to it which is contrasted by Ayumi’s vocals. They sound dark, especially during the chorus. The verses are pretty short and feature Ayumi and the drumming, along with keyboards and some low pitched orchestra instruments. As if the verses weren’t good enough, the phenomenal chorus kicks right away with a bang. An insane amount of rock sound covers the song and Ayumi’s vocals are more amazing than ever. The first chorus is gone as quick as it came and you want only for it to come back. Truly an amazing song. The best rock song I’ve heard from Ayumi and on top regarding new songs this year.

Life, being a b-side, can’t be expected too much from and compared to the first track, seems like total boring-ness(well, most songs after Mirrorcle World will seem dull). Either way, Life is a soft rock song with a mellow atmosphere and a touch of sadness to it. The instruments are light during the verses and get a bit heavier during the chorus, but Ayumi’s vocals are what get center attention in this song. A pretty good b-side that kind of opposites the a-side.

The 10th Anniversary version of Depend on you features a different beginning, along with a more rock inspired sound. You can really tell the difference between Ayumi’s vocals now and than due to how much lower it is now. This is a pretty good new edition of a great song.

Once again giving a fresher, rockier style to the song, YOU (10th Anniversary version-Instrumental-) manages to do the same to the original as the previous track did. I personally preferred the remake of Depend on you but that’s just because I enjoy that song more than YOU. Both of these tracks make good additions to the single.

There’s no doubt that Mirrorcle World is one of the best songs I have EVER heard. It’s truly one of the best works you will find from Ayumi. The extra material was also nice, Life proved to be a worth b-side while the new versions of the older songs were there to celebrate her 10 years in the music business and make good additions. I recommend this single to anyone that’s interested in music that’s just plain good.

♠Single Rating♠