Apr 15, 2011

B'z - Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi Yo


Man, B'z. Do you know how long it's been since I even thought about these guys? A long-ass time, that's how long. I remember that I first heard of them from Miho, the exchange student, who suggested that I might like them when she found out that I liked GLAY, and I remember listening to... something... by them. But damn if I can remember what. Did I download something of theirs in high school or college? Did I buy one of their CDs from Book Off? Did they possibly do an anime opening and the track found its way to my brother's computer? I have no idea, and their Wikipedia article won't tell me. But I remember that I listened to them. Koshi's voice is impossible to forget.

I remember that I liked them, and if "Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi Yo" is any indication, I could like them again. This single is solid. The first track, "Dawn Runner," is a harder rock song that doesn't take "hard" over the deep end, has some good strings, and is catchy and easy to listen to. I especially like the combination of electric and acoustic going on in the opening - it gives it an "Old West meets Modern Rock" feel. But not in a cheezy way. (Just take my word for it.)

"Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi Yo" has the same hard-but-not-crazy rock feel and it also has a solid chorus that's so much catchy as it is easy to get into. The only fault I can find with it is that the lead-up to the chorus sounds slightly 80's, which isn't my deal. But the 80's rock sound takes up maybe 10 seconds out of the nearly 4 minute-long song, so you can barely even call the song out for it.

As a whole, I was sad that this was a single rather than an album. I don't know anything about their previous albums; all I know if that if there were ten tracks of what I heard instead of two, I'd be that much happier. Also, because the songs aren't precisely catchy, they tend to flow right out of your mind. This is a good think for the people who are embarrassed to see me dance to the music in my head. (Then again, maybe it doesn't matter to them at all, since even if I'm not dancing to B'z playing in my head, I'm sure as hell dancing to someone.) But it's also kind of a bad thing for B'z because it means that I will probably not remember the single to buy it. Ouch.

Still, the music is solid, and I recommend it. I mean, these guys are the first Asian band to get their hand prints and signatures on Hollywood's Rock Walk, and the guitarist won a Grammy last year for gods' sake. (No, not a Japanese Grammy. Yeah, that is hardcore.) I don't know if they actually can make bad music.

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