Olivia Lufkin - The Lost Lolli 18 February 2004
Note: My apologies to the people who were using the initial torrent of this album, which I had to delete because I screwed up what was actually in it.Olivia Lufkin, often referred to simply as OLIVIA, came to the attention of most people in 2006 when she provided the singing vocals of Reira Serizawa in the hit anime Nana. Olivia released the anime-related album Olivia Inspi Reira Trapnest one month before Nana finished airing. However, three years prior she was recording music with a markedly different tone.Olivia released four mini-albums throughout 2003. Their sound and content reflected her new level of creative control. The darker compositions stood in stark contrast to the standard J-pop fare of her time as part of the girl-group D&D, as well as Synchronicity, her first solo album. The music of these mini-albums exchanged pedestrian J-pop in favor of alternative-rock and electronica. The lyrics were often abrasive and negative as well. More than one song contain a direct jab at the predictable mold of J-pop as Olivia admitted to the anger and depression she felt as a result of "be[ing] on a leash" and her design to "get out routine" lyrics from the song 026unconscious333.In 2004 Olivia selected eleven tracks from these mini-albums, recorded two new songs, and released her second full-length album: the Lost Lolli. The mini-albums leading up to the album contained music in both Japanese and English, but the Lost Lolli has nothing but English-language songs. Olivia worked closely with her younger brother, Jeffrey Lufkin, during the period that lead up to the Lost Lolli. He even performed in some of the songs and you can hear him in the beginning of 026unconscious333.The release of the Lost Lolli marked the start of Olivias hiatus, although she would break that on two notable occasions: to contribute to Nana and to release the six-track Trinka Trinka EP in 2008. That said, Olivia has not released an album of new material since 2008, and has not released a single since 2009. She recently claimed to be working on new music this year, but its uncertain whether or not it will come out in 2013.In mean time I highly recommend giving the Lost Lilli a listen if you havent heard it before, and especially so if youre a fan of Nana, if only to hear something markedly different from what is arguably her most well-known music.