Stomping out of the gate with the monstrous blares of the Godzilla fanfare, Ayumi Hamasaki boldly announces her long-awaited return with Remember You, the Japanese pop queen's 18th album. Arriving seven years after her previous full-length -- a veritable lifetime in her discography -- the set is everything a comeback should be, reigniting her spark and reframing her late-era catalog as the most accomplished LP since her 2000s heyday. The opening run is a potent reminder that when Hamasaki is firing on all cylinders, her music is a pure thrill: the riotous "Nonfiction" pounds its way through a late-2000s blend of house-inspired pop with a touch of dubstep, to be outdone soon after by the electro-clash mayhem of "(NOT) Remember You," a chaotic storm peppered with frantic production and a formidable Hamasaki demanding, "Who the f*ck are you?" atop a shredding guitar solo. And this is just the first two tracks. "Dreamed a Dream" is a time machine to 1999, with the classic early-Ayu synth pulses and shimmering production hallmarks providing a huge hit of nostalgia for fans of A Song for XX and Loveppears. "MASK" and "Summer Again" hit the same nerve, channeling '90s house and rave music. Meanwhile, devotees of her mid-era, riff-heavy output will delight at the muscular "23rd Monster" and the swaggering "VIBEES." The middle third of Remember You shifts the mood into ballad territory ushered by the lush instrumental "Ray of Truth," a gorgeous Hisaishi-esque interlude that could have soundtracked a Ghibli film. Here, Hamasaki presents three of her finest midtempo cuts to date. Pushing her vocals to limits unheard of in recent releases, she powers through "Remember You," "Ohia no Ki," and a cover of Yumi Matsutoya's "Haru yo, Koi," the depth and beauty swelling atop sweeping strings and sparkling piano. Further driving the point home that this revival is a subtle gift to her diehards, producer Tasuku returns with his eighth fan-favorite "task-" interlude, the boisterous "taskinson." Considering her meteoric ascent at the turn of the millennium and the eventual waning of her mainstream popularity in the 2010s, this rebirth is a triumph, cementing her record-breaking position as the female artist with the most Top Ten albums in Japan's history. Remember You is not just a peak in her third decade in the mainstream but one of her best albums ever. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi

1		Nonfiction
2		(NOT) Remember you
3		Dreamed a Dream
4		23rd Monster
5		Summer Again
6		ray of truth
7		Remember you
8		Ohia no Ki
9		Haruyokoi
10		taskinson
11		MASK
12		VIBEES
13		Nonfiction [Yohanne Simon remix]
14		Just the way you are