RADWIMPS - Kyoushinsho - A heart attack for Valentine's Day

After the rush of intensity that RADWIMPS delivered with "DADA," I was ready and waiting to have my mind blown. I mean, just just look at this PV! Okay, you don't have you. You already know how I feel about it, after all. But seriously. I told Facebook that RADWIMPS might be my new favorite band. GLAY has been my favorite band for 10 years. THESE GUYS ARE A BIG DEAL.

And "Kyoushinshou" delivers. Kind of.

I wanted to have my brain freaking explode when I listened to this single, and it didn't. Instead, when I first listened to it, I was disappointed. The title song plods along, like it's just trying to get done already. "Jegemu" at least makes some interesting use of instrumentation by pulling in what sounds like glasses of water filled at different levels and hit with a spoon. But even it was chill and laid back, not full of the manic energy that's spilling out of "DADA" at flash flood speed.

But as I listened to the single more and more - and I haven't reached the point yet where I don't like listening to it - I realized that it's just as crazy, but in it's own way. Rather than beating you over the head with a guitar until your brain is pink-grey goo staining the floor, "Kyoushinshou" and "Jegemu" are about the quieter build-up of tension; if "DADA" is a bullet in the brain, "Kyoushinshou" is a heart attack, painfully catching up on you through years of self-abuse until you can't deny or escape it any longer. Although I'd still argue that "Kyoushinshou" isn't as well-constructed as "Jegemu," both are great additions to the discography.

Come here, RADWIMPS.

Will you be my heart-attacking Valentine?