¡°Am I an adult? Or am I a kid?¡± sings Kyary Pamyu Pamyu on ¡°Furisodation,¡± a song about the Harajuku blogger-turned-model-turned-pop-star turning 20 earlier this year. That¡¯s the question that looms over all of her sophomore album, ¡°Nanda Collection.¡±

The album is obsessed with the messy transition from youth to adulthood, the sound of Kyary figuring out Kyary. At times she¡¯s a ninja, a monster, an invader and a lush. ¡°Nanda Collection,¡± though, is consistently compelling, the year¡¯s finest coming-of-age document and 2013¡¯s best pop album so far.

It helps that producer Yasutaka Nakata still sounds like he¡¯s having fun experimenting with the music. Like last year¡¯s great ¡°Pamyu Pamyu Revolution,¡± Nakata stuffs ¡°Nanda Collection¡± with catchy hooks and a love of individual sounds (the syllable ¡°mi¡± on the taiko-rhythm-game-meets-Eurodance of ¡°Mi,¡± or ¡°nori¡± in ¡°Noriko to Norio¡°). Yet now, he¡¯s unafraid to let his productions sound confrontational. ¡°Ninja Ri Bang Bang¡± features the sound of swords being drawn, slicing through an otherwise jubilant tune, while ¡°Invader Invader¡± includes bass-heavy interludes reminiscent of dubstep/EDM artists like Skrillex.

Nakata¡¯s production is the perfect sonic backdrop for Kyary¡¯s age crisis. Her debut album embraced childlike glee, highlighted by the energy of her breakout single ¡°Ponponpon.¡± Now, though, she can see maturity on the horizon. ¡°When I grow up, will I be happy?¡± she asks again on ¡°Furisodation,¡± while she gets self-conscious about her eye-catching garb on ¡°Fashion Monster.¡± Kyary still has some youthful escapades ¡ª ¡°Saigo no Ice Cream¡± revolves around a store running out of the frozen treat ¡ª but even the bubbly ¡°Kimi ni 100 Percent¡± features the maturity-dodging line, ¡°Starting tomorrow, I¡¯m going to buckle down and get serious.¡± She tries finding herself in the past, whether through traditional Japanese imagery (¡°Ninja¡°), or 1990s Shibuya-kei (¡°Super Scooter Happy,¡± a near-faithful cover of a 2004 song by capsule). She tries on ambition during ¡°Invader Invader¡± with the line, ¡°Let¡¯s conquer the world!¡± Later in the album, though, she¡¯s fretting. ¡°What do I do? What can I do?¡± she sings.

Her resolution comes on the excellent album closer ¡°Otona na Kodomo.¡± Over glossy music anchored by a Chicago-house piano line, she sings that she¡¯s slowly figuring out being a grown-up, while maintaining her youthfulness. It ends with the lines, ¡°Sorry that I can¡¯t be obedient, and sorry that I can¡¯t live up to your expectations.¡± And thank goodness, because ¡°Nanda Collection¡± wouldn¡¯t be one of the year¡¯s best if she did.