Back with original member LISA.

No Question (2018): https://youtu.be/UXa1bG5YFq0

I think a lot of people have been waiting for them to return with this kind of sound for over a decade, although it certainly has elements that sound modern enough. Their sound in the past was a mix of pop, R&B, and hip-hop, and I was really into them as a teenager getting into Japanese music.

I don't think I've ever really liked Verbal (the MC) much, but he was serviceable on most songs, and his back and forth with various guests worked well. However, it really the production (Taku Takahashi) that I was a fan of. 2004 was when they started to really go for more broad mainstream appeal and did collaborations with artists like BoA and Crystal Kay, and LISA had left/parted with the group. You'd think that as a hip-hop head (I was the annoying "no-fun allowed" backpack kind at that time) that their more hip-hop based stuff would have been my favorite period, but this more pop period is actually my favorite.

They continued to go for a more pop and mainstream sound, but I think their style wasn't as popular in the late mid and late 2000s, and they disappeared for a bit until 2012 when they returned with Square One, which had a more pop and EDM sound that definitely was "in" at the moment. I didn't care for the album, but I did think "All I Want Is You" is a good pop/electronic song. NEVEN & THE FUTURE IS WOW were continued misses for me, and I think for the majority of their original fanbase too they had built in the 2000s. With that said, during that period they did give us "IRONY" with (IMO) peak daoko.

A (nostalgic for me) trip through their past singles:

Hands (2000): https://youtu.be/P0sjNXRcvDk

Come To Me (2001): https://youtu.be/RNBiaZbFGII

How You Like Me Now (2001): https://youtu.be/ung-YlfB0qs

the Love Bug (m-flo loves BoA) (2004): https://youtu.be/YVqZKflL4PY

miss you (m-flo loves melody. & Ryohei) (2004): https://youtu.be/KD59LJX2r38

REEWIND! (m-flo loves Crystal Kay) (2004): https://youtu.be/99YQqebbLYU

Loop in my Heart (m-flo loves Emyli & YOSHIKA) (2005): https://youtu.be/4epX9ar-nPs

TRIPOD BABY (m-flo loves LISA) (2005): https://youtu.be/u3pEpQw2apU

Love Song (m-flo loves BONNIE PINK) (2009): https://youtu.be/LsHIlfjD6oQ

Summer Time Love (m-flo loves Emi Hinouchi & Ryohei) (2009): https://youtu.be/vsPWV1O5F1s

All I Want is You (2012): https://youtu.be/1N6WvFh63Wc

IRONY (m-flo + daoko) (2013) : https://youtu.be/LYaSZ0urNBo