Hikaru Utada Bad Mode news dump. Album tracklist, "Bad Mode" music video preview and vinyl re-releases.

Hikaru Utada’s album release is upon us, and we finally have the tracklist. And y’all. We know the drill with Japanese album releases. By the time the damn thing comes around we’ve heard most of it already. But even so, I wasn't quite prepared for Hikaru to do us like us. Even in the wake of Hikaru Utada pulling similar shit with Heart Station back in 2008.

Disappointingly, Bad Mode only has 10 tracks, which means only 3 of the songs on this album at time of posting (2 by the time you get to the end of this post) haven't been heard in any form or capacity.

1. Bad Mode
2. Kimi ni Muchuu
3. One Last Kiss
4. Pink Blood
5. Time
6. Kibun Janai no
7. Dare ni mo Iwanai
8. Find Love
9. Face My Fears (Japanese version)
10. Somewhere Near Marseilles

Bonus Tracks

• Beautiful World (Da Capo Version)
• Kirei na Hito (The Japanese version of Find Love)
• Face My Fears (English Version)
• Face My Fears (A.G. Cook Remix)

Hikaru Utada had tweeted that they were working on an English version of “Kimi Ni Muchuu”, and as we can clearly see, it’s not on this album. I didn’t expect it to be, given that they had tweet that at a point when the album was more than likely locked for mastering. So I do wonder when and how it will show up, and if it will at all. “Somewhere Near Marseilles” is probabaly a song to Hikaru's son about where Francesco is.

I know this is standard fare when it comes to J-Pop releases. Shit. It’s even becoming standard fare with albums released by artists in the US, with all these instant grats, buzz singles and song releases for pre-orders. Mariah Carey’s Caution (also a Sony release) got done the same way. A 10 track album, of which half of it was released before the album even came out, and only one of the songs was a promotional single. But this long period of singles and promotional tie-ins eating up album tracks, to then end up with an album after almost 2 years that we've pretty much already heard is something that I’ve long said needs to change, because it's just a mess. There’s little incentive to buy these J-pop albums other than to just own it physically; which is probably why Bad Mode is getting a vinyl release, which is smart. Daddy Utada knows.

It's a shame that an artist like Namie did what I wish more artists did with her album _genic (recorded a whole new album which featured not ONE single) and then fucking retired - because I strongly feel that had an artist like Namie had made a standard of saying 'Fuck the singles', that more artists would have slowly followed. Hikaru is also at a point in her career where she could do the same, but they don't seem like the type of artist to just go into a studio and crank songs out how Namie does.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. But I played myself. I should have seen this coming. And I’d be less disappointed if I actually really fucked with more of these songs, but I don’t. The only song that got me fired up was “Find Love”. But Hikaru’s songs be like this for me every single time. I’m lukewarm on the singles, and then I warm up to them far later.

The special edition of Bad Mode comes in what looks like a white Amazon shipping box and white slipcovers, with a selection of photo cards. It looks like Sony said ‘Fuck it’ because they couldn't get regular CD jewel cases for the bonus edition printed on time.

The album title is starting to make a lot more sense to me now. 

If like me you’re feeling a little down, rejoice at a short preview of the album title track, which has Clubkaru Discotada giving me the vibes I was missing from the singles. Along with a A LOOK.

I know everybody is sick of disco, but I really could’ve gone for a whole album in this disco, city pop adjacent vibe. 

And because Daddy Utada knows that this album release on its own looks bad (pun not intended) on paper, we’re also getting vinyl releases of all of Hikaru Utada’s albums; which marks the first time that Ultra Blue, Heart Station and Fantôme have ever been released on vinyl. The vinyl versions of First Love, Distance, Deep River will be released on March 10th, with Ultra Blue, Heart Station, Fantôme, Hatsukoi and Bad Mode all releasing on April 27. Obviously there’s no vinyl releases of Exodus or This Is the One, because Teruzane don’t care about those.

We may not be getting a great deal of newness from Bad Mode, but there’s at least enough around the release to look forward to. A recorded performance, a new music video for what sounds like an absolute jam and Recordkaru Vinyltada. Daddy Utada knows what’s up.

💿 Singlekaru Reviewtada: Pink Blood | One Last Kiss | Dare ni mo Iwanai | Time
💿 Albumkaru Reviewtada: Hatsukoi | Fantôme | This is the One | Heart Station | Ultra Blue | Exodus | Deep River | Distance | First Love

🎧 Spotifykaru Playlistada: Slaykaru Queentada | Hikaru Utada: R&B | Hikaru Utada: Ballads | Hikaru Utada: Bops | Hikaru Utada: Remixes