Music / Exodus (Hikaru Utada album)

My baby, don't you know I'll never let you down?

Exodus is the second English-language studio album by Hikaru Utada, released on September 8, 2004 under the mononym Utada. Though this is their second album in English, it is typically seen as their Western debut, as their previous album, Precious (released under the Stage Name Cubic U) was not released in English-language markets due to Capitol Records restructuring at the time.

Following the release of three massively successful and acclaimed Japanese albums, First Love, Distance and Deep River, Utada felt they had exhausted their creative energy and was unsure of what to do next in their career when they were approached by Island Records to debut with an English-language album in the US. They agreed, feeling that a recording in a different language could provide their with new inspiration for music.

Utada produced almost all of the album by themself, in what they described as a "very intense, introverted process", resulting in a dramatically different sound from their previous work. Though they had already begun to branch away from R&B music and experiment with different genres with Deep River, Exodus sees a major Genre Shift to experimental electronica music, with hip-hop, R&B, rock and world music influences. Lyrically, the album deals with relationships, communication and self-reflection, and is notable for having much more sexual content than their previous work. Utada also addresses their Japanese heritage on certain tracks, with lyrics that raised eyebrows among some listeners.

Though Exodus was intended to make Utada a crossover star, the album was commercially unsuccessful in Western markets. Despite positive reviews, the album peaked at #160 on the Billboard 200 and sold about 55,000 copies. Unlike previous crossover attempts by Japanese artists, Utada's English ability was not an issue; however, its left-of-centre style, lack of promotion by Island, and Western prejudice against East Asian artists are all cited as possible reasons for its failure. In Japan, the album was much more successful, debuting at #1 and selling over 1 million copies, though this was also an underperformance compared to the monumental success of their first three albums.

Four singles were released from the album: "Easy Breezy ", "Devil Inside", "Exodus '04", and "You Make Me Want to Be a Man". None of them received significant attention in the West, though "Easy Breezy" was a hit in Japan and "Devil Inside" became a #1 hit on the US dance charts.

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Tracklist:

1. "Opening" (1:50)
2. "Devil Inside" (3:58)
3. "Exodus '04" (4:32)
4. "The Workout" (4:01)
5. "Easy Breezy" (4:03)
6. "Tippy Toe" (4:15)
7. "Hotel Lobby" (4:30)
8. "Animato" (4:31)
9. "Crossover Interlude" (1:18)
10. "Kremlin Dusk" (5:14)
11. "You Make Me Want to Be a Man" (4:37)
12. "Wonder 'Bout" (3:48)
13. "Let Me Give You My Love" (3:38)
14. "About Me" (4:00)

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I still remember the ways that you troped me...

• AcCENT Upon the Wrong SylLABle: In "About Me":
  Although we have known eachother for quite a while...
  [...]
  Who knows it if could be good for you after all
• Adam and Eve Plot: In the video for You Make Me Want to be a Man has a modern, robotic twist, where Utada plays a feminine robot constructed around a masculine robot's rib. Also, there is a reference to the snake.
• Album Title Drop:
  • "Exodus '04":
    Through mountains high and valleys low
    The ocean, through the desert, snow
    We'll say goodbye to the friends we know
    This is our Exodus '04...
• Boastful Rap: Somehow manages a rare sung variant in "Animato".
  Somebody out there better get this
  Not many people can do it like this
  How about some speakers to amplify me?
  How about a rhyme to fortify me?
  Life's messy so I clarify it
  Simplifying things for everybody
• Broken Bird: The character described in "Hotel Lobby" seems to be one:
  She doesn't want to be respected
  Reality's her best friend
  She needs the extra money
  In the city, the town, and the household
  So many things go unreported
  So many things her eyes have seen
• Double Entendre: From "Easy Breezy":
  I should have never ever let you inside
• Face on the Cover: As with all their albums.
• Genre Shift: This album can be considered the completion of their transition to electronic music that began with Deep River. Almost all the tracks are electronica, with a handful of electronically-infused R&B / hip-hop songs.
• Hotter and Sexier: Oh, boy. Where their Japanese albums were fairly chaste (the most sexual it got was "Travelling", which was an extended but fairly subtle Does This Remind You of Anything? innuendo), here they grind on strangers at nightclubs, has a one-night stand and regrets it, is The Mistress to a married man, and sings from the perspective of a Broken Bird escort. This understandably attracted a lot of attention from their Japanese fanbase.
• Intercourse with You: "The Workout", "Tippy Toe", and "Let Me Give You My Love" are all quite overt examples.
• Mood Whiplash:
  • "Let Me Give You My Love" takes us from the death of a child to Intercourse with You in about 10 seconds:
  What a day, young boy next door passed away
  Oh, it makes me wanna say, I don't wanna waste another day
  Can you and I start mixing gene pools
  Eastern and Western people, getting naughty, multilingual...
• Not Staying for Breakfast: "Easy Breezy" is about Utada's lover doing this to them.
  You came and went and left my house like a breeze just passing by
  Hello, goodbye, you left a note saying "It was nice stopping by"
• The Oldest Profession: "Hotel Lobby" is a fairly dark portrayal of this:
  She rises with the sunset
  She wonders "when will this end?"
  The world is full of money
  She goes out unprotected
  She doesn't listen to her best friend
  It's only for the money
• Out-of-Genre Experience: The rock song "Kremlin Dusk" is one compared to the rest of the album which is all electropop.
• Sampling: The violin-sounding instrument from "Exodus '04" is lifted from the song "Meshkeltek" by an Arabian artist named Aitha al-Menhali.
• Scenery Porn: The video for "You Make Me Want to Be a Man" has some very elaborate scenery to go with its Adam and Eve Plot.
• Shout-Out:
  • To Edgar Allan Poe in "Kremlin Dusk". Utada even uses his full name in the lyrics.
  • To Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, and Freddie Mercury in "Animato". Again, they mention them directly in the lyrics.
• Slut-Shaming: The first verse of "Easy Breezy" deals with being on the receiving end of this:
  You look stupid, telling all your friends that you got the best of me
  I intended to share the pleasure only
  Now I look stupid, we're living in a world with a lot of pressure
  It's quite unneeded to put more pressure on me
• Title Track: "Exodus '04" is a partial example.