This is it. After 4 years I’m letting J-Rock Fridays go. My warnings were not heeded and it’s time to move on. Starting next week I will start making individual video posts. Stick around, won’t you?
Arukara- 名探偵ミスタ相棒はジョニー
Arukara and their baskerville hound embark on a good old fashioned murder mystery. Do they catch the killer? I honestly have no idea but it’s cool watching them rock out in Sherlock Holmes attire.
tricot- “Oyasumi”
Hey, batter batter! Watch tricot’s lead vocalist strike out a hundred times while her bandmates cover the bases. This may take all night but keep at it, girl.
Frontier Backyard- “Picture of the Sun”
Say goodbye to cloudy days and drive on up the coast for some picture perfect scenery in Frontier’s backyard.
It’s a “fine day” to try on hundreds of pairs of clothes with Czecho No Republic. Mai Takahashi’s role in CNR has been minimal since she joined last year, but her first lead vocal song is stunning. The song original appeared in shortened form as the bonus track on their Ivory single and I hope they let her sing more tracks on their next album. She’s too good for backup!
kataomoi- “Daily Disco”
Something funky is going on in kataomoi’s new video..the entire band was replaced by random black people! It’s hard to say anything else without sounding racist, but it is a humorous, good natured video starring guys that obviously have more rhythm than the actual band.
Crossfaith- “Eclipse”
In Japan, it’s illegal to dance after 1am. It’s a good thing Crossfaith’s international fanbase has grown exponentially over the past year. Wherever “Eclipse” was filmed, you know Crossfaith will throw a hardcore party.
Crossfaith harnesses the power of the solar eclipse to become gods in yet another apocalyptic video full of swirling metal cubes and dust storms. You can catch them live all summer ripping apart the Warped Tour in anticipation of their new album Apocalyze being released everywhere this September.
3style- “My Soul”
Hang out with 3style for a while before one of them goes outside and inadvertently films a first hand video of the end of the world. All we get to see is a giant fireball in the distance before people start dropping dead and the camera falls but it’s a fun little movie.
Adams- “Bittersweet”
Adams have invented a new sub genre of visual kei, “neo sexual”, in which the two vocalists express their homosexual interests for each other in their songs and videos (two Adams instead of Adam and Eve). As for the gay stuff, the only things we see in “Bittersweet” are a few silhouettes and a subtle wink.
When The End announced they’d be releasing Crossfaith’s Zion EP in America last year, I was disappointed to find out it was a digital only release. They’re making up for it now with a CD version on March 19. The physical release was made in conjunction with Crossfaith’s current US tour with Enter Shikari and will only be available at their merch table or online. You can check out their tour dates here and preorder the EP at The Omega Order alone or as a t-shirt bundle.
In all addition to the current tour, Crossfaith have also announced that they will be playing all dates of the Vans Warped Tour this summer! Buy tickets here.
Time to look back at all the great J-Rock videos of 2012. Instead of struggling with a top 10, I decided to pick my 12 favorites from the first half of the year. As expected, poll turnout was abysmal this year so I had to use my own discretion on these (seriously, if you want to see J-Rock Fridays reach 100 I need to see A LOT more participation!).
Bertoia- “Snow Slide”
What do you do when you find a floating door in your room in the middle of the night? Enter a mystical land where all your bandmates have weird forest grass growing on their faces. A little bit Narnia, a little bit Alice in Wonderland, “Snow Slide” is a fantastical video from one of the best female fronted shoegaze bands out there.
Turntable Films- “Misleading Interpretations”
Stabbed in the heart, Yosuke Inoue defies the impossible and gets his zombie butt off the ground and heads toward the concert venue. Many obstacles later, including being hit by a car, he makes it to his band’s show on time. A well choreographed video shot in one take.
Nile Long- “See Your Eyes”
Do you like those trendy Apple commercials where they have random people play fake instruments on their phones and tablets? Nile Long takes it to the next level in “See Your Eyes.”
I still don’t know what a “ponpidon” is but it’s been redone in all its dreamy glory for ZeZeZaZa’s first official CD. Shoegaze is off to a good start this year with this and Plastic Girl In Closet.
So I was watching music videos on JCTV (Jesus Christ Television, seriously) in the wee hours of the morning and saw this sweet collaboration between Christian rapper Manafest and Koie from Crossfaith. Looks like “No Plan B” was released back in 2010 on Manafest’s album The Chase, proof that JCTV needs to find new material. Does anyone know of any Christian J-Rock bands? I’ve listened to J-Rock long enough to know they must exist…
J-Rock Explosion 