ARIA

One of the most awkward sounding releases I have heard from the band. The tracks sound really disjointed at times and the album as a whole does not work very well. The only real thing that saves the album is the high quality of the poppy tracks, which is fairly clean when listening to this album. I'm suprised to listen to something so average, coming from a good release as Aqua.

1.Anytime - With a cool intro like this, how could anything go wrong? Well, Asia obviously found a way to ruin a cool intro with some nasty cheese and synth pop. Too happy and wimpy to be a good album opener, it seems. Vocals are well performed for the track, but do not keep any interest in the poor instrumentation. (5/10)

2.Are you Big Enough? - The worst track of the bunch. Ultra 1980s and 1990s cheese synth pop taken to the extreme, with one of the worst opening vocal harmonies I have ever heard. The music afterwards is also unpleasant and sounds like a broken record. Press skip immediatly if you do decide to purchase the album. (0.5/10)

3.Desire - A more ethnic approach it seems for Asia, from the intro seeming much more "out - there" than anything they have done. The lyrics arent very good, but the music itself is nice. Vocals and instrumentation are fairly clean and well played. (7.5/10)

4.Summer - Another good intro wasted on a very poppy and uninteresting song. Everything just screams "wannabe-radio-hit" and it just dosent come of very clean and it sounds like a copy of other songs that I have heard before, with much different results. (2/10)

5.Sad Situation - A much mellower track than anticipated. The high class and quality is here, with a fairly clean sounding song. The track has a technology base, as the song in parts sounds almost futuristic, which is fairly pleasing to my ears. The synths in the track are fairly great and sound new. (8/10)

6.Don't Cut the Wire (Brother) - Another fairly good track here. The lyrics are almost laughable, but the music is great here. The whole output from the band is very high and well played, it seems like great interplay is within the track. Vocals are a real standout here, and make the track whole. (9/10)

7.Feels Like Love - After a streak of two fine songs, we get...this. A pop ballad that does absolutly nothing for me. The acoustic guitar is well played, and the spacey sound effects are nice, but the way the story is told...almost unlistenable. Could have been much better with the right lyrics. (4.5/10)

8.Remembrance Day - Arena rock at it's best, but prog at its most average. The heavy riffage throughout the song is fine and intense, as the song goes through many odd changes; from heavy metal to almost soft rock. It's a different track, and I can appreciate it. The lyrics need to be changed though, as with just about every Asia track on any of their records. (7.5/10)

9.Enough's Enough - Easily one of the lower cuts on the album. A track that tries to hard to be classy, but isn't pulled off like the rest of the albums high class tracks. The piano with the background synths feels awkward to me, and the lyrics...don't even get started. Skip immediatly. (2/10)

10.Military Man - A track that anyone could live without, but still sounds fine. It's a fine mix of great synth sounds and heavy guitar riffing. The vocals really annoy me on the track though, which is why it sounds dated. Vocal harmonies do not help the track though. (6.5/10)

11.Aria - The best track of the whole album here. The band save the best for last, and the track has an unheard emotion that is triggered within two minutes that you do not want to miss. The piano laid with vocals over is simply irresistable in this case, as the song carries through with strings and bass, the track just keeps getting a bit better. Impressive arrangement. (9.5/10)

This is such a mixed album, as there are very few tracks that are absolutly excellent, a few that are average, and many that are downright terrible. 2 stars it is, though I was considering giving a 3, but that was soon let go because the tracks overall just do not standup to anything that is great on this album. Only fans should buy the album, if only for a few tracks.