It seems that every time you turn around, Ayumi Hamasaki has a new single, album, or remix out. Not that I'm complaining; I love Ayu as much as any other jpop fan. Sometimes though I wonder if it's fair to her competitors in the music world. Anyhoo, this new single includes 3 brand new songs and instrumental versions to accompany them. The single costs 1,240 yen in Japan, which is roughly $10, so it's a pretty fair deal considering that many singles only have 2 songs and some remixes. Now, on to the review.

1. Independent
From the beginning beats of this song, which are composed mostly of hand-clapping, you know this is going to be an upbeat track. In fact, the clapping frightened me, because I thought I was mistakenly listening to Morning Musume. As soon as Ayu started singing though, I let out a sigh of relief. This is your pretty typical rocking song from Ayu, with quick lyrics and a catchy chorus. However, it does give me the feeling that I've heard it before, which is not really a good thing. There isn't too much that's original about this song; the melody seems similar to a dozen others. However, Ayu's singing is enjoyable (in its own strange way) and the beat is pretty addictive. This is a fun song. It's just not the best of Ayu's recent efforts.
Rating: 7 out of 10

2. Hanabi
Hanabi begins with some nice music box sounds, then brings in a pretty hard guitar. The percussion is pretty forceful too, and all this gives the song a darker edge than many of Ayu's works. The chorus is a bit brighter, but not much. This is not your typical Ayumi. She sings in a subdued voice, and there is a strange kind of sadness in her phrasing. In the verses, she sounds almost afraid. I'm happy to see Ayumi doing something slightly more original. In my opinion, Hanabi is a much stronger song than its predecesor, and should have been the first track. Where "independent" was bubblgum pop, this is a more serious piece of music.
Rating: 9 out of 10

3. July 1st
This song begins nice and subdued with some acoustic guitar, and Ayu singing quietly. Then, all of a sudden, it bursts to life. The chorus has rollicking, great summer anthem sound with records scratches and all. It makes me want to dance around the room waving my arms wildly. (Maybe it's all the "la la's", I don't know.) The verses, however, always return to the earlier quiet mood. This is definitely the best song on the single, and could easily stand alone as its own single. If you are going to buy H, I recommend this song above the other two.
Rating: 9 out of 10

The last three tracks on this single are instrumental versions of the above songs. They are just what you'd expect them to be, and they don't really add anything to the single, so I'm not going to review them here. All in all, this maxi-single is worth the money if you truly love Ayumi or good pop music. Otherwise, wait until her new album comes out.

Overall Rating: 8 out of 10