Totally captures that restless atmosphere of being an almost-college-grad with random bouts of wanderlust. I find it an interesting title for the song, given what the lyrics say. St Elmo’s fire, by the way, is a weather phenomenon. The chorus is what sealed the deal for me – I love the “how far are you?” parts, and the bridge (with the どれくらい先にいるんだろう parts) just makes my heart soar. firefly was one of the best single releases of 2012, here’s to hoping for a great album in 2013…!įour Songs I Was Obsessed With in the Last Moments of 2012Ī bit too typical of them… but it’s just how I like it. Is it Fujiwara Motoo’s unique, slightly nasal-but-not-really, soft and crooning with a gritty edge voice? Is it Fujiwara’s lyrical style, which is oh so vague yet so transparent and just conveys the most honest of emotions? Is it the catchy melodies carrying that undercurrent of nostalgia so powerful that it makes me both melancholy and wanting to jump for joy? I don’t know what makes this understated, straightforward group so magical, but I’m pretty sure it’s why they are so famous. I could probably write you an essay on why I love these guys so much, but I’ll try to keep it as short as possible. Their band chemistry is just amazing as well, each member’s individual personality shines so wonderfully onstage. Okay, they haven’t exactly screwed around with synths quite yet (unless you count that one dalliance on Nazonazo) but you get the idea. This band appeals to every quirk I like in pop and rock music, and they are so bloody versatile – from standard pop-rock to punk to rock with funk influences to heart-melting acoustic ballads… you name it. When I watched their Zettai Enmei tour DVD on a whim one night, I knew I was in trouble. I hadn’t expected to fall so hard for this group back when I was looping the catchy rapid-fire Oshakashama. I am still not quite over the fact that they lost two of their members… however, I will still be keeping tabs on them for a while. The band’s change in sound is evident as they tried to find their musical identity – from heartfelt, raw yet sweet indie-rock to a more polished pop-rock sound to a synth-pop-oriented album… each phase of theirs is unique and has its gems and I am really, really interested to see what they cook up next.
But oh, they have done so much more, and have produced an impressive body of work for such a young age (they’re still only 21… barely). I discovered these kids from the opening they did for AnoHana, and I think that’s how most fans know them. Kamisama no Iu Toori and COSMOS vs ALIEN will definitely remain playlist favorites.
And I find her solo material really exploits the different sides of her voice and shows it off at its best. What really attracted me to her, however, is her voice – its soft, whispery timbre runs the span from whimsical to plain cute to coy and sexy with ease. However, once frontwoman Yakushimaru Etsuko started putting out solo material, that was a different story. Their music was nice, but never really stuck with me (perhaps the fact I am far less fluent in Japanese has something to do with it). As for me, I’ll be humming the refrain from Identity well into the new year, for sure…Īfter hearing j1m0ne speak so highly of Soutaiseiriron, I tried several times to get into them. No wonder Galileo Galilei frontman Ozaki Yuuki is a fan of them. To me, they’re like the less zany version of POLYSICS, or the more exciting counterpart to school food punishment. Their songs are a ridiculously fun, high energy blend of alternative rock and electropop. Then I listened to their 2011 album, DocumentaLy, and I was immediately hooked. I kept hearing their name thrown around on J-Pop review blogs and looked up a few songs, and I really didn’t get the hype. That said, without further ado, I present my New Year’s Countdown…įive Artists I Fell Madly in Love With in 2012 I explore music rather randomly, so some what I liked best this year did not actually come out this year.
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