LMN J Music Top 30 Countdown 2014.03.06
Here we go again. 15 Debuts are clocking in to knock off half of the songs that were on the chart last week. Again.
This just seems to be the trend around here this year, and the countdown is quickly becoming a survival game. That pattern should ease out a bit in the next countdown, since there haven't been a whole lot of new releases that have caught my attention.
Acid Black Cherry and xTRiPx are the two distinct exceptions to that opinion.
Starting off with ABC, the exquisite presentation of pure whiteness in memory of the ones lost 2011.03.11 is simply breathtaking, and there is not a reason in the world to dislike this masterpiece. As simple as it is, this already ranks above ABC's two releases from last year.
It is a completely different story with xTRiPx. In all honesty, this was never a band that I've particularly enjoyed, despite seeing consistent releases since 2007. The overall style just wasn't something that appealed to my taste. Well, that all changed the moment I heard "10+1". What a beautiful gem this song is - so relaxing, mature, and aspiring. The lyrics and the overall concept follow the idea of everything coming together to become something bigger and better (life iz addition).
Great music seems to end there for the next two weeks, however.
I will be honest: I am not impressed with the new GReeeeN and MEJIBRAY releases at all. With GReeeeN, I understand the concept, and absolutely fascinate the lyrics. The issue is the song itself - it isn't something that you'd want to listen to more than once, and doesn't match up to the two gems releases prior to. The same can be said for MEJIBRAY - "RAVEN" isn't particularly bad, it's just boring when compared to the gems released last year.
But anyway, let's save the discussion of new music for later. First, we shall address some of the 15 Debuts coming in this week.
First, we have the Indies non-VK tunes from FACT, POP DISASTER (PD), ENDER, and KNOCK OUT MONKEY (KOM). All four are awesome in their own ways. KOM continues what has been a string of releases featuring high quality instrumentals, inspiring video, and strong vocals. FACT continues to embrace the concept of freedom - "miles away" features a refreshing video that I strongly urge you to check out. PD may not be all that appealing at first, but the song is just so upbeat throughout that it would be a waste not to at least hear the whole song before tossing it out the window. And then we have ENDER - featuring a video similar to that of the recently fallen Silhouette from the Skylit.
On the Visual Kei side, we have the double release from DIV. I can't help but reminisce vistlip's "Hameln" after hearing "you". "BUTTERFLY DREAMER" is the better of the two in my eyes - the sound is close to "ANSWER": the song that got me in to DIV to begin with.
We also have KAMIJO, who didn't truly stand out in 2013. That was last year. This is now. Forget Versailles for a moment, "Symphony of the Vampire" is a marvelous work of art like none other in recent memory. It features deep lyrics, impressive vocals and an absolutely gorgeous video.
And while we speak of the past, allow me to touch upon TRIGGAH and RoNo Cro. TRIGGAH is back in action after a slight bit of hiatus, and I love what I'm hearing. "ENVY AND JEALOUSY" falls in to a category of VK that has become a rarity over the past few years. Bands pressing this type of music have been disbanding left and right, so TRIGGAH is a savior at this point.
And RoNo Cro (I'll end it with this since this review is already long enough as it is). That opening theme song, titled "Give Me A Smile" was released in December 2012, and is one of the few gems to fly under my radar until now. I truly wish I had known about this song prior to the Final 2013 Countdown, but better late than never I suppose. It reminds you of the earliest works of SuG.
The lyrics were particularly refreshing, and I just had to do the translation of the first hook.
Featured Artists:
Acid Black Cherry
Alice Nine
ARTEMA
Blood Stain Child
BUMP OF CHICKEN
Chanty
Crimson Shiva
DIV
ENDER
FACT
FORTE
Golden Bomber (ゴールデンボンバー)
GReeeeN
GREMLINS
GUILD (ギルド)
KAMIJO
KNOCK OUT MONKEY
MEJIBRAY
nano (ナノ)
Plastic Tree
POP DISASTER
REALies
rice
RoNo☆Cro
Royz
SID （シド）
SuG
THE KIDDIE
TK from Ling tosite sigure (TK from 凛として時雨)
TRIGGAH
ViViD
xTRiPx
Yoko Hikasa (日笠陽子)
Yuusuke （遊助）
LMN J Music Top 30 Countdown 2014.03.20 Viewer Voting Form:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/K3YHTV5
Vanquish L.L.
LMN J Music Executive Producer
LMNjmusic2011 / LifeMusicNetwork