This (Thursday) in Music: aka Boy, Do I Love Some Coincidences!

So somehow, in a series of events that not even I could have predicted, the gods of music have decided to shine down upon me on Thursday and unleash a combination of songs that I never could have expected to hear on the same day. Both AKB48 and Gorillaz have somehow released new songs on the same day as each other. It's one hell of a fantastic coincidence to see two of my all-time favorite groups release new songs on the same day, so I'm taking this coincidence as a sign from the music gods to get back to writing. So here I am!

First up, let's talk AKB. It's been a wild few months for the group in the time since the last single, Sustainable, from back in September of last year. The center for that single, Yahagi Moeka, graduating after being pushed by management to be one of the group's major stars, the last remaining first generation member, Minegishi Minami leaving after almost 15 years, the end of AKBingo and their cafe, frequent AKB senbatsu member and SKE48 queen Matsui Jurina leaving after over 11 years, it's been a wild ride. But now we are closing in on the release of AKB's first single for 2020, Shitsuren, Arigatou, played for the first time on AKB general manager Mukaichi Mion's radio show. Was the longer-than-usual break between singles worth it this time? I'd certainly argue so! In fact, I'd go so far as to say that this was AKB's best single since 2017's 11gatsu no Anklet.

From the translated title of this song, Thank You, Heartbreak, I expected to hear a slow, mournful ballad, more along the lines of the already released coupling song Aisuru Hito, which I covered a few months ago. Instead what I got sounds surprisingly breezy and fun. I really, really enjoy the bright organ bedding of the song combined with the colorful guitars. Something about that combination and the general feel of the song really reminds me of Koi no Etude by Puffy AmiYumi in the best of ways. The chorus is super infectious and lovely too. I can totally imagine this being a nice summer song with a Everyday, Kachuusha type of video except for the fact that this is coming out in March. I am certainly excited for the video to come out and it's the most excited I've been for a main AKB48 single in the short time since I've joined the fandom. I'm really stoked to hear how the rest of the coupling songs turn out, especially Minegishi's graduation song. AKB really knocked it out of the park this time.

Yuiri, center Mizuki, and best girl Nana.

Lastly, there's Gorillaz. The Song Machine is fine-tuned and all ready to go, as evidenced by the fantastic debut song to come out of it, Momentary Bliss. Song Machine is a way for Gorillaz to continue making music without the pressures of touring and working on a full album, being able to "run on autopilot" and be worked at in small chunks in the background while Damon Albarn focuses most of his attention onto other projects, a process that I think can yield incredible results as shown by what's come out of it so far. The newest track Desole, while being a complete shift from the roaring and very British dancepunk of the opening single is yet more proof to add to the pile that Gorillaz can be in top form even without the long production processes of past releases.

First, I have to start to with the production, because it is so incredibly lush and rich. Major props to James Ford on the production, because this is easily his best song yet with Gorillaz besides possibly Souk Eye (although there's always the chance that this song could overtake that one in my eyes.) The bass is so smooth and bouncy and the drums really work together well with it. The guitars are especially crisp and work great with everything else. One unexpected surprise was with certain instruments on display. I really love that non-synth horns and strings are peppered throughout as well, because I don't think there's been either of those on a Gorillaz studio track since Plastic Beach and they sound great here. It adds a level of beauty, flair and polish I don't see very often on newer Gorillaz tracks. Lyrically, it's just as beautiful as the instrumental, with 2D and Fatoumata Diawara trading off verses in French and English about hopelessly trying to keep a relationship together (at least that's how I interpreted it). Both Fatoumata and 2D are in top form vocally. My next surprise was with the length. The track, at least in the video, is 5 and a half minutes long and ends up really taking its time to breathe and let the listener linger in the song's atmosphere. Much of this is sadly cut from the version on music streaming platforms, with the song getting cut down by almost two minutes. Nevertheless, I haven't been as excited for new Gorillaz music as I have been now after hearing this lovely tune. Whatever comes down the Song Machine next, I'm open for it. The small preview for the next one in particular really has me intrigued, it sounds like nothing the band has ever done before.

This Wednesday in Music #4 (Reupload)

I skipped December 4th because I either had nothing much to say about what was out (Lucie,too) or I had problems trying to download around the time I wanted to write (Cyaron) so nothing on that week. Not like that kind of delay matters much now anyway when due to a combo of schoolwork and the usual holiday busyness around this time, I’ve been weeks late. So now it’s this one and then two more of these and I’m wrapping up This Wednesday in Music as a segment for right now. The main purpose of this was to get myself writing about SOMETHING, literally anything this year, and that’s been fulfilled. It’s the type of thing I can pick back up at anytime, so maybe I’ll do it again someday, but no promises.




You know, I never expected I’d be talking about Earth, Wind & Fire on this blog, but I guess I am now, because Little Glee Monster just collaborated with them and it’s actually not too bad. It’s a pretty fun disco track and the Earth, Wind & Fire collab ends up fitting in pretty well into the mix. Most importantly, the girls’ vocals are still as great as ever, but I don’t think they could ever pull off a bad performance if they tried. There’s a really pretty Christmas ballad, Itoshisa ni Ribbon o Kakete, for the coupling song as well. I would say that the instrumental is pretty standard J-Pop ballad fare, with its sweeping string section, acoustic guitar and piano, but something about that instrumental meshed with the girls’ tremendous singing just...works, you know? It’s a very comforting Christmas song and a great way to get me in the spirit of the season.




On a completely different note, the new Co Shu Nie album, Pure, is pretty great! I’ve been waiting a minute for this band to finally get the full album release that I thought they deserved, and I have to say that the wait paid off. A decent portion of the album is stuff you’ve already heard if you’ve been following the band’s trajectory since they switched labels to Sony. All of their anime songs from Tokyo Ghoul re, Yakusoku no Neverland and Psycho Pass 3 are here, alongside the non-anime singles Psychopool - Legopool and iB placed in the album’s midsection to go alongside a new intro and 5 other original tracks. The award for best song has to go to the blistering second track asphyxia, which impressed me just as much listening to it on the album as it did when I first heard it watching Tokyo Ghoul. To me, this is the definitive Co Shu Nie track, going from calmer bits to fast math rock in seconds, all of it with Miku’s amazing singing to round it all out. The drums are fucking fantastic on this song too, so props to Fujita Ryosuke for nailing it so goddamn hard. Even through all the noise, it’s still catchy and gets stuck in your head pretty fast. Speaking of catchy, iB is such an earworm! It’s one of the calmer tracks on the record, serving as the breather after my least favorite song, Psychopool - Legopool (which I would like a lot more if it wasn’t for that annoying distorted hook that sounds like Miku’s trying to sing through an electric fan or something.) It’s got the best bass on the album, thanks to Matsumoto Shunsuke. Unlike the song before it, the hook on this one is stellar and the breathy vocals sound cool, like a nice chill wind coming in on a hot day. Of the non-anime songs, this one is by far my favorite. The other calmer tracks that finish off the album work pretty nicely too, like inertia with its hypnotic percussion and glistening piano. It threatens to racket back up to the noise of many of the earlier tracks for a bit as a guitar quietly buzzes through an instrumental break, but the tracks continues on with its quiet mood. The closing ballad gray gets a little louder than inertia, but decides to amp up the volume through a lovely string section rather than roaring guitars, which I think really works well in closing the album on a gentler note. This is not a release that you want to miss in any way, and I’d dare say that it’s one of the best albums of the year. It’s a fine testament to Co Shu Nie’s growth as artists from their indie days and how their newfound major-label fame didn’t result in a weaker product. In fact, it’s their best release yet. If you’re into math rock at all, you’re doing yourself a disservice not giving this one a go.