Twenty-eight year-old Hitomi Yaida has certainly had an interesting career. After her debut single (released nearly seven years ago) showed promise, she was quickly picked up by Toshiba-EMI (although she remained signed to Aozora Records, the independent label with whom she debuted; her CDs were only pressed/distributed by Toshiba) where her yodel-filled voice and quirky "heart rock" shot her into the spotlight. However, as the years went by, her star started to fade -- her albums no longer topped the charts, although they came close, and her sales began slipping. After the release of her fifth original album, whose sales barely crossed the 100,000 mark, Toshiba and Yaida split ways.

However, Yaida wasn't about to get down on her luck. Picking up her guitar, she continued to write songs and returned to the scene with her first exclusively-Aozora-released single, Go my way. Showcasing a return to her former rock style (as opposed to the slower, more laid-back material that made up her last few releases with Toshiba), the single let her fans -- whose numbers had certainly dwindled, but had not died out completely -- that she was back.

Don't be misled by the title, however. The only thing "new" about Yaida's new day is the fact that she's no longer tied to Toshiba for releases. The fifty-five minutes of music on her sixth album tread very familiar territory that, while fun and catchy, don't do much for Yaida's musical prospects. Tracks like the uber-catchy singles STARTLiNE (a stomp-and-clap drum beat underneath a slightly 60's-esque layering of electric guitars and piano that is a lot more relaxed and rhythmic than a lot of Yaida's upbeat material) and Go my way (a frenzied, frantic pop/rock track that combines lots of guitars with lots of strings and drums and is best described as what happens when a yodel-voiced Japanese singer writes a song after downing one too many Pixie Stix) and album tracks like MIDNIGHT SNACK (quirky, fun, upbeat pop/rock with yet-another stomp-clap beat -- and harmonica!; if you want evidence of Yaida's yodel-sing abilities, look no further than her repeated calls of "Sunday ni-i-i-i-i-ght!" here) are, indeed, well-done examples of pop/rock in Yaida's unique style, but they're also reminiscent of songs she's made in the past. Doing things consistently is good, but being too consistent can lead to staleness, and I think Yaida may be heading down that path.

The album's slower tracks -- of which there are a surprising amount, given Yaida's penchant for upbeat stuff -- suffer the same fate, for the most part. Most of them are shoved in the middle of the album (which makes for a slightly-terse transition, given the upbeat nature of the first three tracks) and, like the upbeat stuff, they're well-done but sound like songs Yaida's made before. chikishi tsu no uzu is a midtempo track led by a slow drum beat and acoustic line, but picks up volume in the chorus; unfortunately, Yaida's performance wrecks the track, as her shrill upper register goes slightly out-of-tune and ends up sounding more like a dying cat. KITCHEN follows in much the same footsteps -- slow, lilting drum beat and acoustic backing -- but Yaida's performance is restrained and stays in a palatable range; the problem here, however, is that the song doesn't really go anywhere -- sure there's a tempo change during the chorus, but the track doesn't do anything with it. It's not memorable.

Things improve slightly with hatsukoi, a soft piano-led ballad. Yaida normally doesn't pull off these types of tracks well, but she tones down (as best she can) the yodel-inflections and simply sings straight. The backing allows the small nuances of her voice to show off, and it's pretty enough to not become completely boring: in addition to the piano, there's a nicely-played acoustic riff, some soft strings, and a drum line that starts out in "typical ballad drum" mode but then transitions to a march, which varies things pleasantly.

In the end, I'm torn on Yaida's new album. She's put together a decent collection of tracks, but the lack of anything really "new" makes me want to sigh and shake my head. One can only do the same thing for so long before it becomes old habit; Yaida may be able to coast on her success in the past, but unless she reinvents herself people are going to move on. I'm recommending this, but hesitantly.

Hitomi Yaida: "IT'S A NEW DAY"
[ CDA | ZZCD-80023 | ¥3,000 | 2006.11.22 ]
[ CD+DVD | ZZCD-80022/B | ¥3,600 | 2006.11.22 | Ltd ]

01. midousuji PLANET [ 4:04 ]
02. yasashii te [ 4:24 ]
03. STARTLiNE ~it's a new version~ [ 4:25 ]
04. chikashi tsu no uzu [ 4:04 ]
05. KITCHEN [ 3:50 ]
06. hatsukoi [ 4:40 ]
07. Go my way [ 4:39 ]
08. MIDNIGHT SNACK [ 3:39 ]
09. nani mo yaritakunai [ 3:40 ]
10. Tea-time [ 3:19 ]
11. 37.0°C [ 4:57 ]
12. oyasumi [ 10:10 ]

[ http://www.aozorarecords.com/yaiko ]

Recommended: Yes