Oddly enough, Utada's Exodus made it to my local branch of the public library here in Denver (it's not a particularly Asian section of town); I borrowed it because I'd liked "Kremlin Dusk" a lot when inhibitorylinks had pushed it back in one of the 2007 League Of Pop heats. jel_bugle, who was judging it under the blindfold, gave it first place and called it "Female fronted euro goth metal!" and said, "I bet she wears a Basque, gothic cross and purple velvet dress, and that the main guitarist is bald and wears a long black leather coat." It made me think of Madonna in ballad mode choosing to accompany herself with British plinking art-folk (which no doubt is what Russian bureaucrats listen to when they go out with their wives for a romantic evening).

I don't remember much of Exodus, except that nothing else on it reached me, and I was left with the impression that she was being artier than was good for her. A little before then I'd gotten "Flavor Of Life" (which actually came several years after Exodus), which I also like, and which isn't at all arty. Feels rather '80s, a bit like the sort of ballad that would appear as a third single on an Exposé album and outsell any of the actual freestyle tracks. I really should search out more.

(Looking at Wiki I see that Utada had another U.S. album out just last May. I'd not heard of it. I've just now streamed "Come Back To Me," and it makes me shrug. Her voice is strong and deep, and there's a later sectoin where she's singing quick syllables like nu-nonmelisma-Mariah, and it's not bad to listen to but nothing jumps out as having a distinctive personality that's going to make me think I'm hearing a specific person, rather than just a not-bad r&b track.)