Japanese folk electro pop. Sounds like a particularly bizarre section of your local record shop but it is in fact a formula that has turned 22 year-old Utada into one of Japan's biggest selling artists - her debut album alone sold 10 million copies. You Make Me Want To Be A Man is her first English language single and the self-penned and produced track is a haunting little melody.
It could have been written and performed by Bjork with its futuristic synth, clashing chords and ambiguous lyrics, while the emotion she pours into her songs could see her feted as the Japanese Sarah McLaughlin. The single comes with the Radio Edit and the truly excellent Blooshy remix; a kinda dirty electric funk that pulls in quasi-Indian - not just Japanese - musical traditions.
I have no idea what this song is about; mourning the dissolution of a relationship? Yearning for a sex change op? Wanting the courage to stand up to your partner? It's ultimately irrelevant because rather than giving life to a hum drum radio friendly tune, Utada has crossed over and produced something odd, memorable and strangely moving.
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