This is it. The final step in the saga of To Be Continued. When their previous album, Creston Drive, was released unto the Japanese masses, it flopped by the band's standards at the time, debuting at #84 on the Oricon Albums Chart before falling off the chart completely by the following week. It may be because Toshiba EMI didn't have the resources Sony had to take Okada and co. to the top, but whatever it was, Creston Drive's poor sales forced them to stay home this time, recording at various domestic studios instead of taking the efforts to London.
The resulting album, Core Pop, was thus an all-or-nothing effort to either reclaim their past glory or throw in the towel. Alas, both of the album's singles failed to chart, and the album itself couldn't sell enough to even crack the albums chart. To Be Continued would ultimately disband a year later, with each member going their own separate ways, but none returning to any spotlighted recording career in the years to follow. (Okada attempted to return with a band called The Garden Eel, but this band died after releasing only one single in 2002.)
Core Pop contained the band's most mature material to date, while also returning that familiar, warm J-pop sound that Creston Drive somewhat moved away from. I wasn't bored by any of the songs here, although it threw me off guard that the final track didn't really feel like an album closer. I'm not sure if that was out of uncertainty that this really would be their final album or not, but regardless of the reason, it feels like the musical equivalent of a cliffhanger ending. In any case, this is an excellent album, and as a whole, a fitting sendoff for their career. Of their two Toshiba EMI albums, this is the one I would recommend the most.
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| Attack of the promo copies! |
The tracklisting is as follows:
1. One For The Future
2. Last Order
3. In And Out
4. If ～これからの僕を～
6. Replay
7. Fuse
8. 青い炎
9. Rhythm
10. 君だったんだね
11. 雨の匂いがした
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