By the end of the year, ACO was back in the studio recording her second album, NUDE, which was released exactly a year after her debut. The album picked up where her debut left off, continuing with the jazz-pop style she was known for. The best-known single from this era was DROP, which combined hip-hop elements with ACO's leisurely vocals. By 1998, ACO had begun moving away from the predominately upbeat sound that launched her career, introducing some darker and more dramatic elements into the mix for her third album, Lady Soul. The album spawned the singles CATWALK and Yawarakai Hada (やわらかい肌), which did little to reflect this creeping style change.
In the winter of 1999, ACO released Absolute Ego, her fourth album and the work that many see as the turning point in her career. No longer singing the songs of a teenage pop idol, ACO introduced trip-hop and electronica elements into her style and began experimenting with her vocals as well. Critical response to the album was overwhelmingly positive. Absolute Ego produced four singles, among them SPLEEN and Yorokobi Ni Saku Hana (悦びに咲く花). A remix album, titled The Other Side Of Absolute Ego, followed in early 2000. It featured collaborations with the likes of DJ Krush (whom ACO collaborated with on his own Tragicomic), Tricky, and Yoshinori Sunahara. A live DVD called Absolute Live was also released.
In 2001, ACO presented her fifth studio album, Material. This album moved even further into her new electronica style, and contains some of her darkest music to date. Singles released included Hoshi No Kuzu (星ノクズ), which featured an Alice In Wonderland-styled PV, and 4gatsu No Hero (4月のヒーロー). The album also included a haunting cover of This Woman's Work by Kate Bush.
ACO's sixth album, irony, followed in 2003. Collaborating with Icelandic electronica band múm and avant-garde artists portable[k]ommunity, the album explored minimalist electronica through the use of layered vocals and delicate microbeats. The album drew comparisons to Vespertine by Björk and produced one solitary single, titled Machi (町).
A new mini-album, Mask, was released in early 2006. It explores a neo-electroclash sound, including a brash recut of Fuan Nano to mark the song's tenth anniversary. During this time, she collaborated with Taeji Sawai and his band Golden Pink Arrow. The songs, which are available through Sawai's website (www.taeji.org), have not yet seen a commercial release. In 2007, she released her first greatest hits album, ACO BEST ~Girl's Diary~, a two-disc compilation featuring all her singles from 1995-2006.
In 2010, ACO returned with Devil's Hands, her first new release since ending her short hiatus. In yet another genre shift, it departs from the electropop of Mask to focus on pop-rock and soft ballads. The moody and piano-driven LUCK followed in 2012, followed by a live album and a collection of self-covers in a new "unplugged" style, TRAD.
Valentine was released in 2015 and marked another sea change in ACO's style, giving her a fuzzy alt-rock sound with raspy vocals. A covers EP in this mode, Sing Sing Sing, followed in 2019.
Drop
Aco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
胸のポケットは小さくても集めだす
溜まってゆく・・・ うすれゆくキモチに色をぬる
ケムリの数だけあたりは変わる
青い心は深く深く 深くすみわたる体の中へ
わからなくアスファルトの上
二人で乾いた時を濡らす
足元濡らした この水たまり
少しうんざりするくらいにネェ 恋をした恋をした
FALLIN' DROPS
ちっちゃな夏の作り話をかなえるために
深い傷の水たまりに映して確かめる
手を引いて・・・・ 二人で過ごした時間の中
二人で乾いた時を濡らす
すき間の汗・風・雨が潤しそこから
しずくがポタッとひとつ
上を見上げて歩けなくなる時々など
ないほうがいい
あの娘と落とした小さなしずく
足元濡らしたこの水たまり
少しうんざりするくらいにネェ 恋をした恋をした
涙で落ちた あふれ出す心から・・・・・・
The lyrics to Aco's song DROP describe the feeling of being played and hurt by someone's hidden intentions. The singer is left alone crying after being manipulated by someone's ulterior motives. Despite the hurt, they begin to gather their feelings together and paint them with colors that match the hazy emotions they feel. The number of smokes in the air changes the atmosphere but nevertheless, the deep blue heart continues to spread within their body. They begin to reflect on the moments they shared with their loved one and how they both got wet from a small raindrop they caught while walking on the street. The raindrop they shared gave way to a small puddle of water at their feet where they stood, and the singer remembers these moments with fondness.
The song describes a bittersweet feeling of falling in love, where the singer acknowledges that they have become tired of falling in love again and again. The feeling of falling in love is described as being like falling raindrops, and the singer is overwhelmed by the emotions they feel as they recall the small moments they shared with their lover. They begin to remember a small story they made up in the heat of summer, and how they would check it against a deep pool of their wounded heart's water. The song ends with the singer acknowledging their grief and tears and reflecting on their passion for love.
Line by Line Meaning
あの人の下心に遊ばれて一人で泣いた。
I was played by that person's ulterior motives and cried alone.
胸のポケットは小さくても集めだす
Even though my chest pocket is small, I gather things.
溜まってゆく・・・ うすれゆくキモチに色をぬる
My feelings accumulate and the colors of my fading emotions change.
ケムリの数だけあたりは変わる
The surroundings change as the smoke increases.
青い心は深く深く 深くすみわたる体の中へ
My blue heart sinks deeply, deeply inside my body.
わからなくアスファルトの上
I don't know as I stand on the asphalt.
二人で乾いた時を濡らす
We get wet in the dry times together.
あの娘と落とした小さなしずく
The small droplets that fell with that girl.
足元濡らした この水たまり
This puddle that soaked my feet.
少しうんざりするくらいにネェ 恋をした恋をした
I fell in love, but to the point where it gets a little irritating.
FALLIN' DROPS
Falling drops.
ちっちゃな夏の作り話をかなえるために
To make a small summer story come true.
深い傷の水たまりに映して確かめる
I check by looking at my reflection in a deep wound puddle.
手を引いて・・・・ 二人で過ごした時間の中
We held hands and spent time together.
すき間の汗・風・雨が潤しそこから
The sweat, wind, and rain in the gaps moisten from there.
しずくがポタッとひとつ
A droplet falls with a plop.
上を見上げて歩けなくなる時々など
Times when I can't look up and walk.
ないほうがいい
It's better not to have them.
涙で落ちた あふれ出す心から・・・・・・
From my overflowing heart that fell with tears...
Contributed by Brooklyn B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
mint mint
この頃ACOちゃんの大ファンで毎日きいてたなぁ~懐かしい~♪
Kay Jay
Smooth R&B
ONGAKU-JUKU
It's interesting to see such a young g-ton!
ぷにぷに電子
最高だよ👍