HMB - HubMeBro

Probably my single favorite thing about this album is that it's AZKi's first concept album! Kinda, sorta... you see, i'm not 100% sure that it was intentional, but as the title of this post implies, the tracks are arranged in such a way to evoke the image of a daily routine, and the thoughts and emotions that each period of the day represent. I'll get into it as we go along but the reason i'm not super sure about this being like a strong concept in the album is that while the arrangement and the feel of each track does give off that vibe, their lyrical content is a lot more varied than a proper concept album would be, so while i'm kinda sure it is what she was going for, i'm not completely betting on it.

Lazy - waking up

No AZKi it's a workday you can't go back to sleep

First of all, i absolutely love this for an album starter, the way it begins with just her voice and the little synth hits not only sells the vibe of "your brain booting up in the morning", but it also serves as a sweet introduction to AZKi's "Temperature of the Voice" motif that this album and the subsequent Live have been leaning on, we start with just her voice (kinda), and that alone sets the mood for the remaining of the track.

Love this one verse in particular:

"As winter alone makes the temperature of my voice visible I wonder if it disappears in the spring, summer or autumn? Surely it's stil here, tangible, and dancing As if saying 'I'm here, i'm right here' From directly within my heart."

I seriously cannot recommend enough that you add this track to your morning routine, especially if it involves going outside for like getting breakfast or just taking a walk, the soft instrumentals make for a perfect match to the tender sunlight of the early morning, while AZKi's voice both puts you at ease with its texture and gets you ready for the day with the honestly very catchy rap-esque flow, and finally, the lyrics, which describe a variety of scenes taking place in the winter morning, painting a picture of a very lively world, even with all the coldness in the air.

Probably what i love the most about this one is that while it's very much in AZKi ReD territory, it's not a format that she's ever done before (the closest i can think is 'Time Capsule'), i'm not one to compare songs, but this seriously reminds me of 'fake news' by Nagase Yuka, with how it describes the world around you in this catchy, but laid back and not overly melodic rap-ish singing, over this very chill beat. Put it short, it's not a song that gets you paying attention to it as much as it gets you to look at everything around you.

+1 vote for more AZKi and Akki in the future

Entropy - opening credits

Look i know we're going off "theme" already but this is seriously the best way i can explain how it feels when this song comes up right after Lazy, like, literally the first thing that came to my mind was the opening scene of Madoka Magica Rebellion, where like you get this whole montage of Madoka getting ready to go to school and then "Colorful" begins playing once she sets off.

Though, to be fair, this song very much still aludes to a morning setting, specifically, going out in the morning to face the day, which is why i had that thought in the first place:

"I tightly hold this clear blue sky As today is yet another sunny day"

Surprisingly, my favorite thing about this song is not even that it was made by Wataru Sena (though i do 100% love that, my gosh have you heard that snare?), but that under the cheery singing and uplifiting instrumentals, this song is actually pretty melancholic (......just like "Real Melancholy", which is also by Wataru Sena... huh). The song is about this "feeling" that she can't put a name to, but it's the idea of being someone's light, and to keep looking up to the big blue sky even though she herself is burdened by her own sorrow and pain to carry.

"If i can shine light upon someone If i can lead someone to salvation I feel like even i could make a single miracle happen" "My singing melts away and becomes itself the morning Embracing sadness itself, i turn somewhat feverish And the sky remains warm and beautiful"

This feeling that she says she can't explain, i strongly believe that it should be called 'Life'.

So for a crash course, entropy is basically the idea of thermal equilibrium from the laws of thermodynamics taken up a notch, that is, in a closed system, there's only a limited amount of energy that can be used, and everything that happens inside this system uses up that energy, turning it from usable to unusable. The more unusable energy there is, the more the entropy increases, until it reaches its highest point, that is, there's no more usable energy left in the system, which means it reached its state of equilibrium.

In a macroscopical level, it sort of goes into the idea that once something in the everything in the universe has been formed, it can only decay, a plant withers, mountains erode, stars burn up, galaxies run out of gas, etc, etc.

Life, though, always seeks to make more of itself, to keep its lineage going, even if yeah, it is futile in the grand scheme of things. Life is one of the, if not the only thing in this universe that doesn't just stay in place, waiting for its existence to burn out, but is always seeking to persist one way or another, "it'll find a way", and the song goes on to say exactly that:

"If a flower is only to wither once it blooms Then by planting its seeds it shall live on Doesn't that mean 'fate' never meant anything to begin with? So bloom with pride, and smile as you're scattered away."

Just as there is meaning to life persisting in the face of the cold and uncaring universe, there is meaning to keeping your head up and being kind in the face of the struggles of the world, because it is exactly our sorrows that drive us to keep on going and do better.

My Strategy! - the challenges of the day

information war!

Something i find really clever about this song is how it's about this philosophy of self discipline and being proactive about your tasks, but not in a particularly positive way, but rather how it's a very "unhuman" way to go about things. And with that in mind, the instrumentals and main melody line being very Wafuu makes you wonder what exactly she could be refering to... hmmm."

I really like the little bridge with the beat change, not only because it sounds kinda cool, but also because i think it has the best verse of the song:

"The aim of self reflection is to keep the laziness of daily life in check Such a drastic kaizen doesn't allow aimlessness or personal involvement. This system of perfection goes... against levelheaded thinking. 'Hey, hey', the unexpected goes, 'hey, hey', clogging up the mind"

("Kaizen" is a japanese philosophy of continuous self improvement, it's often left untranslated)

This song is very much about the self perpetuating duality of trying to conform to uptight standards, and how it makes intrusive thoughts all the more alluring, which characterizes the "information war" she mentions. Though while i have some ideas, i'm not really sure what exactly she refers to when she says "can i go even further with you?" in the chorus.

Also i wanna highlight this line in the first pre-chorus:

"Once i get dizzy from being too restless, i'll just sing me a song."

Hmmm....

Operation Z - the crushing routine

Ok i can't be the only one who listened to this one and immediately went "this is a Tokino Sora song", like, this is straight out of Futurity Step and it seriously surprised me that it wasn't one of the returning composers from that album.

I'm a bit conflicted about this song, because on one hand the lyrics are really interesting if you know AZKi, and also very relevant if you're in that same spot. But at the same time, the song itself doesn't do it for me, i don't know if it's because it comes right after another "cutesy" song with a similar theme, but this really isn't a song i see myself going out of my way to listen. Maybe it'll grow on me in time but i don't know i just don't feel it right now.

Which sucks because like i said, the lyrics are actually pretty interesting to get into with this one, like, some seriously stinging verses hidden under the cutesy upbeat vibe, for example, the first pre chorus:

"I'm taken by euphoria, and it doubles back on me With this rate of consumption, the faster my life goes The quicker its end comes for me. I can't breathe, and my voice won't come out anymore."

Or the first bridge:

"To those who can't find it in you to persevere any longer 'Just leave it to someone', 'it's alright to quit' Take up a bargain on this big sale of words of comfort. Saying 'take it easy' is the default Believing that 'will conquers' marks the post mortem phase Working hard is just worthless pay? I'm half body, half spirit."

To me, this one is a "corporate drone" anthem, highlighting just how much this high-movement, high-stress life absolutely sucks, not being able to fully appreciate the small moments of bliss because everything is just going by so fast. There is some hope in the last leg of the song, but it actually surprised me just how pessimistic this one is.

I'm not sure what to make of the title, but my best guess is that it would be a name for this system that creates zombies out of people, seeing how they're alive, but not living. It's actually frightening that this is actually a real thing that happens.

I don't think it'll ever happen but i would love to hear a remix of this, i really feel like this one has banger potetial given a new arrangement.

Chaotic inner world - rejecting conformity

Died 2021 - Born 2024. Welcome back, AZKi BLaCK

And this is what i mean when i say Operation Z has banger potential, because the lyrics in this one follow right after the themes of the previous two tracks, and just absolutely knocks it out of the park with it, like goddang this song feels good to hear.

It sort of reminds me of "Rotated • Repeated" with how you're taken along by the piano to this very unusual and uneven intro, with the sudden stops throwing you off balance, and right when you feel like you get the hang of it, it cuts off to go into the verse.

And also, i love how encompassing the drums are on this one, they have that drier character that you usually find in metal songs, so the kick really punches right though directly on your face, while the cymbals overload your ears with how their sizzle sort of blends into the underlying synth line. The instrumentals complement the lyrics perfectly with this one and i love it.

Speaking of lyrics, for how intense this song is, the lyrics are actually pretty positive, but what's cool about them is that both the lines themselves and AZKi's BLaCK voice have this kind of smug feel to them, so it sort of gives off a vibe of "you know all the stuff that the previous two songs were about? Yeah i say f*** that."

This one line is particularly interesting to me:

"What meaning is there to get drunk on temperature? Beyond purity lies a dark, dark oath."

I'm not super sure on this, but i feel like this references the previous two songs directly, and i guess the whole motif of focusing on her voice. Like, the previous two songs were pretty happy sounding, but turned out to be pretty serious, something you don't get to if all you're listening to is her voice as a musical instrument, which goes on to apply to AZKi's music, or even just music as a whole.

"Will i reach you if it's through my voice? Will my voice reach farther and farther? Can you believe me? Will you believe me? I want you to believe. All this time i've been singing my truth, that i know for sure that you'll accept."

I also really love how the chorus goes right against that bridge in Operation Z about shallow niceties:

"Inner world, it's branches may be infinte, but i still want to come across you at the end of times. Though expectations are high, there it'll be made even. So what do you say of a dream that offers a sharp gratitude? Inner world, again and again, the lies will lose, and real feelings will win. So i see right through those pretty falsehoods, and indulge myself in this chaotic dream."

Going by what was said in My Strategy!, i'm assuming that the "chaotic dream" refers to the true intentions and desires that she has deep within that she's supposed to ignore in order to conform to the system of perfection, the chaotic and colorful self that's at odds with the grey and uniform world she rejects.

Dunno where this fits in the day though, i 100% lost the plot already...

Akenai Yoru ga Atta Nara - nightfall

This has to be up there as the most AZKi of AZKi songs, like i can't explain it well but i feel like this one is the most upfront she has been with the "i have a lot to deal with but i'll sing as long as i can make someone happy" theme that so many of her songs have.

Peep the duality between the first verse and the chorus:

"Ahh, this night doesn't seem to belong to me With only the stars twinkling up high to illuminate. I could never become as beautiful as them But tonight still, i sing to keep myself going" If the night were to be neverending I'd want to simply melt away and disappear If there was a night that was neverending Then i wouldn't have to become a shining star I wouldn't need to become a shining star."

Very interestingly, not only does the crux of this song goes back to "End Roll wa Owaranai" and "canopus", but even instrumentally they're very similar, like seriously, try putting the three of them next to each other in a playlist, it's actually crazy how well they flow together.

Also in the same vein as the aforementioned songs, i need to praise the rhythm section on this one, the drums are super crisp with beautiful sounding hits, and i love the slap bass during the little instrumental break at the middle.

There's this stinging slice of realism with this song, where she seems to accept that she can't be perfect, she can't be the brightest star in the sky, and that life will just go on like that.

"I've always had trouble with words, and the only thing i've gotten better at is sighing."

But the one thing that she holds on to amidst all that is singing, despite her realizations, she also knows that singing is a part of her, that she pretty much needs it to live, as she said so herself once and says again in the very last line of the song. Though she wants her voice to reach other people, and she wants to shine even if not as the brightest, the one person who needs to be satisfied the most by her music is herself.

"Every time i'm hurt, i'm made aware that i'm of a different kind But still i will sing with all my heart."

I really love the bridge of this song, where she describes something that is "hopeful, ephemeral, optimistic, but surely beautiful", which following songs like "Inochi", she is 100% talking about herself here and i for one couldn't agree more.

Shine bright, Canopus.

Étranger - evening

This one is my favorite, like it gave me goosebumps the first time i heard it, AZKi's voice just goes so perfectly with strings, and the song itself has this very pretty atmosphere that really got to me, the way it feels so gallant and magical reminds me of "petal dance" from the previous album, i certainly wouldn't mind hearing more of this in the future.

The lyrics on this one are possibly the most interesting, since while i do think there's a mainline interpretation, they feel vague enough that they can be taken multiple ways, which gives the song different flavors depending of which way you look. The crux of is the idea of longing for someone you can't meet, but it's not super clear how you relate to this person, so it can be someone who died, someone you know who is far away, or even someone you don't know who you look up to.

The first pre-chorus in particular caught my eye:

"With no words, and no way to get hurt You're as an étranger, my beloved."

For one it seems to call back to the previous song, where there's both mentions of not having a way with words, and having realizations upon getting hurt. But it also reminds me of "afterglow" and how in that song you can take the "your memories of me fade away" theme as both someone being so out of your life that they feel like a stranger, and also as someone who has reached their second death, as they say, from being forgotten after their passing.

The second pre-chorus, too:

"Before i knew it, the stars spread out throughout the sky. It's a panorama that waits for you, and only you. Fluttering beyond the clouds The image of it is so comforting."

I can see this as someone who's risen to the stars in both senses of the phrase, and i can't settle for a single interpretation.

In and of itself, it's interesting that the song keeps unclear what the relationship between the two concerned people is, which the first line of the chorus captures well.

"Even though you're here next to me, your being couldn't be further away"

It's impossible to truly know someone, be that someone you're closely related to, or just someone who feels close by some means or another (like an idol, for example). Conversely, we carry the people close to us that died near to our hearts, even though they're not here anymore. Each and any of these points of view are completely valid, and it's really cool to me how the song manages to encompass all of them.

Gogo 8ji no Chorus Song - night

This song will not leave my head and i love that.

This is the reddest AZKi ReD has been since "Intersection", like this is undoubtedly the most "basking in the night city lights" out of all the "basking in the night city lights" songs she has (which dang there's actually quite a handful of those).

While i do love the synth instrumentation in the rest of the song, i wish the song had more of what we got in the very beginning, like, her singing with the pitched down harmony to give the impression of a chorus, together with the hand claps and drums have this really, i don't know how to put it, "raw music" (?) vibe that really gets you listening, and when the little piano accents come, it's just straight up magical and i need to hear more of it.

Thematically, this song i think seems to be the continuation of "Akenai Yoru..." and the idea of the value that there is to sing, i mean the driving point of this one is "it doesn't even have to mean anything, just the act of singing itself is worth something", which is where the main scat line comes from. I particularly like how Akenai Yoru had the line of "I've always had trouble with words, and the only thing i've gotten better at is sighing.", while the first pre chorus and chorus of this one go:

"While there's a lot i want to talk to you about But rather than words, i'll use these overflowing feelings of mine..." "So resound, my symphony Through this melody we both felt I don't need words or even common sense, see? As long as i can sing with you."

Then the second verse has this very heartwarming callback to Entropy:

"C'mon, look around at what permeates this night Each and every single one of those glimmers Has the kind thought of 'let's be someone's light' Which binds them together."

The glimmers here obviously refers to the night lights, but i also interpret them as the stars themselves, and how in the previous two songs they could be seen as people like AZKi herself, who shine through the night for the sake of others. If we think of either the lit nightscape of the city, or the light of the stars themselves, it gives off the idea that the glimmers, united in their desire to illuminate, are never really alone, and i think that's very sweet.

Now if you'll excuse me, i'll be singing "la-li-lat-tas-sta-li-la, fal-li-lat-tas-stel-lo-li-hee" for the remainder of the year

Yoru no Rinkaku - bedtime

This song hurts.

The one way i can most effectively describe how this one feels is being completely out of energy, and completely alone, with only your thoughts to torment you. This song to me is about being exhausted, not just physically, but of everything, of living, of pushing forwards, of trying to be better. It's like the crash from all the tracks so far, where she's left to deal with the toll of all the things she's done and went through, and it's painfully overwhelming. I think the second verse conveys this the best:

"This unneeded heart grew so heavy that it can't be moved. Yet it comes to meet me as deep into the night. I again pretend not to see the yesterday i couldn't shake off, as it presses against me. I'm sorry i'm like this."

Despite being in pain in the way she is, it doesn't stop her from showing her "small and useless" kindness, but she then says that she pretends to be an adult and spew lies so that she doesn't forget that, and that hurts her as well. In the second pre chorus, she says:

"I haven't given up, and that's why it hurts I haven't given up, and that's why i hate it"

The main thing i got from this song is a feeling of helplessness out of feeling left alone in the dark, it doesn't seem to me like she knows here how to break free from this pain, or what she's supposed to do to overcome it, so she just laughs it away until, like the first line of the chorus says, she gets tired of it. And i think this is further displayed by the way she sings here, i mean AZKi is notorious for how she can convey emotion through her singing. But with this song, she sings very flat and reserved, like, there's no power behind her voice like there was in Akenai Yoru or Étranger, which gives this air of resignation to the song that really gets to me, in a "what can i even do?" sort of way.

One thing i find interesting is that the song evokes this feeling of isolation, with lines like "it's so nice not seeing anything up in the sky" or "I break/hide myself without anyone knowing", but at the same time, the song still seems to be directed at someone, with the first pre chorus saying that "it's so easy for you to not keep your promises no matter how hard you try", or the second pre chorus, "My front bangs that i grew out because you praised them, did i come to like them?". This being a song about the self, i wonder if she's talking in third person or if you could read these as actually being directed at someone, it's been bugging me and i'm not really sure.

I've been having a hard time putting thoughts to words for this one because to me this is really a song that you have to sit with and wholly pay attention to, like, it's meant to be felt just as much as it's meant to be listened to, and i've been noticing that i actually have a pretty tough time describing how things feel for me. So this is only like 50% of what i got out of the song, and even then i think this one in particular has a lot more to get into the more you listen to it.

map in the cup - the next day

I already loved this song when i heard it on her birthday live, but man, listening to it after all the other tracks, and the last one in particular, makes it even more meaningful and heartwarming than it already was.

I love how this one sort of comes full circle back to Lazy, in how it describes these rather mundane events in such a way that they feel special and filled with love and life. Also i don't know if it's just me, but when i first heard the title "map in the cup", it reminded me of tasseography (yeah i had to google this one), like just the idea that the random patterns forming on a tea cup can hold so much meaning over someone's life and future, i don't think that's where the song was going but it's been on my mind all this time.

The song's spirit of finding joy in the small things hits extra hard after how the last one feels like being crushed by the weight of the world, a particular detail of this one is that with each verse being set at a different time of day, it conveys the idea of taking things one step at a time, and unlike "Operation Z", where she was so busy, physically and mentally, that she barely even had time to eat, this one serves to show how it makes for a much more fulfilling day when you can take things slow, not to laze around, but to do the things you want to do, at the pace you're most comfortable with, which you see with how the main chorus ends each time with a drive to do something after being soothed by each drink:

"[...] I slowly drink it all up, and i'm off to face this day." "If i turn the pages of nature, will a new season greet me each time? I'm off to find that out with you." "[...] In comfort, my dreams greet me, and i'm off to face tomorrow"

Also, i love this part from the last chorus, which is set during nighttime

"It warms my heart, and as i look up at the starry sky I feel like i can fly anywere In my own secret trip through the universe's endless possibilities."

Coming right after how the last song's first line was about an empty sky and what that entails, it's safe to say i much more prefer this one.

Personal suggestion, but try putting this one right after "Weekend Milk" by HACHI on your playlist, i assure you listening to it after work on a friday night heals your very soul

Inochi (2024 ver.) - end credits

In hindsight, it's actually genius that this song was the lead single for the album, not only because it's Inochi and that alone has its weight, but listening to it after all the other tracks puts so much of this song, and this version in particular, in a new perspective.

I say that this one is the end credits because not only i think map in the cup already wraps up all the themes of the album, but because with credit songs they're usually those themes in a more lyrical packaging, in order to really drive the point home, and i think this song, in the context of the album, serves that very purpose, like i don't feel like it continues the themes so much as it just talks about them, hence end credits.

The line "a life according to your mood" hits particularly hard here, since what i would say is the common throughline between all the songs so far is different aspects of life and how you choose or is made to position yourself in relation to that. This is a song that is directed not to a "you" within the lyrics, but directly to the listener, and in this context, i feel like this song is just as much about your life than it is of hers, like, it's AZKi encouraging you to think about how the song and this album applies to yourself and your experiences.

And so we get another perspective on the change from this to the original version, thinking back to Entropy and the idea of persisting, of being someone's light even when things are rough, While this version still doesn't deny that things end and that's just how it is, it doesn't do so with the tone of melancholy that the original does, "just the fact that you're smiling right now makes it worth it", as this version goes on to say.

You may not be the brightest star in the sky, you may not be free of the hardships and pain that all of us are saddled with, and you may still be part of this society that makes zombies out of people, but if through your efforts for your kindness to persevere through it all, you were able to shine some light on someone else's situation, then even if all that's left for you is to wither away, your blossoming was not at all meaningless.

That is the feeling of life.

... So uh, yeah, those are some of my thoughts on Route If, not all of them because otherwise i would be yapping here forever, but the ones i could most coherently put into writing. I'm finishing this up around a month after the album came out and i'm still over the moon with having this and the live concert within a week of each other so my mind is a big mess of AZKi related thoughts right now.

Speaking of the concert, i decided to make another one of those big compilation posts for the concerts on this second half of the year, so there will be a big post for that one too, it's just not gonna be out for a while.

Apart from tracks 3 and 4 not being my cup of tea instrumentally, i'm very satisfied with the album coming after Re:Creating World, though yeah, i would've loved to hear more AZKi BLaCK, i feel like she's really in her element in regards to her singing on this one, like she really honed down what makes her voice so compelling and is really capitalizing on it, and it has me very excited to see what directions she might be taking in the future.