I Love U arrived at a point in Mr.Children’s career when the Japanese rockers were no longer fresh-faced youths, having stuck together long enough to enter a state of full-fledged maturity after more than a dozen years of record-making. Accordingly, their 11th album finds the band bringing more finesse to its long-established balladic side than ever, without abandoning the rock ’n’ roll spirit that had fueled Mr.Children from the very beginning. The 2005 album opens with what sounds like a band fully feeling its oats. “Worlds End” bears a sprawling, widescreen feel worthy of U2 as both a major sonic statement and an expression of Mr.Children’s long-standing mega-band status in Japan. “Monster” serves notice that growing up hasn’t taken away any of the band’s fire, as it alternates between growling rock and broiling, low-down funky grooves. “Running High” moves with an entirely different type of momentum but still sports a ton of energy and breathless rock abandon. And “Tobe” is probably the most molten-lava moment on the album, with a burning rock vibe stoked by badass wah-wah guitar licks. But the band’s more reflective side grows and deepens on I Love U. The piano-centered “Sign” is a prime example; the lead single also served as the theme for the Japanese TV series Orange Days. “Hedatari” is the kind of whisper-to-a-scream tune that Mr.Children can deliver better than just about anybody, building its way up from gentle piano chords and Kazutoshi Sakurai’s tender vocals to a swirling, symphonic grandeur, and then all the way back down again in a compellingly seamless arc. “Candy” is a poignant ballad enhanced by elegant orchestrations, and “Sensui” mixes midtempo rock with electronic beats before ascending into another snatch of orchestral glory and a coda with the kind of Beatles-esque vibe familiar to longtime Mr.Children followers. But “Door” enters into fresh territory for the band—the funky but primal clap-along finds Sakurai putting an unprecedented amount of grit into his crystal-clear pipes, hinting that there are musical doors yet to be opened for Mr.Children.