It’s been tough being a Kis-My-Ft2 fan currently. I’ve lengthy held them up as my favourite J-pop group and lately ran down their whole discography when it lastly made its method to streaming (examine the posts out right here and right here!), however I haven’t cared for any of their materials up to now couple years. And with key member Hiromitsu Kitayama leaving the group, their energy appeared diminished. These circumstances make new single Glory Days much more satisfying. It’s the closest we’ve gotten to an ideal Kis-My-Ft2 music in years.
The key phrase right here is “rock.” Kis-My-Ft2 have at all times labored extremely effectively on this style, with a lot of my favourite songs that includes outstanding guitar and anthemic melodies. For Glory Days, they’ve labored with composer Kamikaze Boy from wonderful rock band Man With A Mission, and I hope this turns into an enduring collaboration. He provides them the sort of uplifting stadium singalong they made their identify on — equal elements open-hearted cheese and hard-fought grit. The instrumental surges with vitality even because the music itself has extra of a ballad construction. This mix is extremely impact, feeling like a celebratory victory lap.
Melodically, Glory Days remembers previous hits like House, merged with the sentimental heft of a music like Chotokkyu’s Yell. Once more, this can be a successful method for me. The melody has such elevate, constructing till it explodes in a rousing post-chorus chant. It turns into extra satisfying every time I lhear it and solely jogs my memory why I like this group’s music so dearly. It has such life-affirming vitality. And after the diminishing returns of the previous few years, it provides me such pleasure to offer this an unabashedly excessive ranking.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Manufacturing | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 10 |
| RATING | 9.25 |
Grade: A