It seems that BiSH are taking their “All You Need Is Punk and Love” slogan seriously. This from their second Idol vs. Visual show with the Legendary Six Nine:
And here’s a ton of photos courtesy of the unofficial fanpage on Facebook.
I’m really liking this performing-with-bands thing that more and more groups are doing lately. It helps to drive home the idea that an idol group can and should be taken seriously as an artistic project, not just a promotional or developmental entity.
Yes, they’re hardcore. Deal with it.
When I first started to really pay attention to who was doing what in the alt-idol scene, I kept overlooking Guso Drop. The sad thing is that I can’t remember why — this track right here, “Hirari Hirahira”, is absolutely legit.
Dare you to not get that guitar stuck in your head.
Guso Drop is totally straightforward in their presentation: They’re idols doing hardcore. The choruses fit within the normal bounds of idol pop, but would you listen to that song and try to make a cogent argument that it isn’t hardcore? You would not, because you are reading this website and clearly have good taste. You probably think that Rei’s very good growl is very good, and that Saki is a perfectly good screamer, and you are correct.
This is unfortunately a group with a pretty limited discography so far (they’re just over a year old, ffs), so “best track” options are pretty limited to the above. I’m looking forward to a full album.
Nonetheless, Guso Drop has one of those don’t-miss-this presences on stage and in the scene, and, presuming that they keep it together, they look to make some pretty big noise down the road.
Most of Guso Drop’s sound is hardcore or hardcore-based, but they also roll out some more traditional punk rock and, of course, throw in their share of synths. So, basically, they sound like hardcore and/or punk with a little bit of a pop feel, with vocals (including harsh!) by idols.
For such a straightforward group, I honestly can’t think of very many analogs for what Guso Drop is doing. If you liked BiS / like BiSH or have a pretty general positive feeling for crunchier riffs and the strategic employ of harsh vocals, you’ll probably dig on Guso Drop.
“Hirari Hirahira” and:
This is like the most Guso Drop song that Guso Drop ever Guso Dropped.
Rei (leader, I think) |
Saki (center, I think) |
Anna |
Yura |
Sion |
Like the most fun possible combination of EDM and pop punk, plus screams. Or is dance club deathcore more your thing?
It took me a few tries to go from appreciating PassCode to genuinely liking PassCode. I’m glad I was patient.
One of the most genuinely cool things about the broader development of idolcore is its raw diversity — not everybody succeeds, necessarily, but chances are taken and sounds are developed and sometimes standing out is as simple as doing a simple formula better than anybody else.
Of course, the notion that PassCode’s sound is easy is kind of weird, but they hit a lot of unique notes on the way to making a song theirs, so much so that there really isn’t mistaking one of their songs.
They’re pretty good at this, is what I’m saying.
Me too, guy. Me too.
Musically, it’s a pretty clean 1:1 blend of pop punk and digital hardcore. On HTML, that doesn’t sound particularly attractive, but think of the unifying elements being the tempo and beats, with heavy synths and bouncy vocals. Also breakdowns. And chiptune. And screams and growls.
Yep. PassCode is one of the idol groups that has a screaming member (Yuna). She’s tiny and she’s terrifying.
I’ll admit that PassCode probably isn’t for everybody, but they also have a little bit of something for everybody and a nice, big catalog at this point, so take the time to explore their music a little bit and find the sweet spot that works for you.
The music you wish would play when your SO drags you out to the club for a night of dancing; synth-driven digital popcore with breakdowns.
“Iine” is your favorite Babymetal song, or you’ve ever wished that Perfume would do a collab with Skrillex.
| May I just say that PassCode’s current black outfits are boss as hell, but the pink hoodies were one of those perfect confluences of look and sound? I may? Thanks! | |
Minami Nao Blog |
Takashima Kaede Blog |
Imada Yuna Blog |
Ogami Hinako Blog |
“Nextage” (single)
ALL is VANITY (album)
“Now I Know” (single)
“Never Sleep Again” (single)
I’ll be really liberal in what “here” means — I think it’s pretty much everything outside of traditional J-pop markets, so pretty much all of the Americas, Europe, Africa, Australia … even most of Asia.
Anyway, music dissimilarities aside, who’s the next Babymetal? Who has the right combination of sound, production, look and management to genuinely crack the non-otaku market and find themselves with a viral video hit or buzz-worthy festival appearance?
The only other qualifiers for this discussion are:
Here are my personal nominees. Feel free to add your own in the comments among all the rest of the arguing, and we’ll work up a nice pool to vote from.
As a disclaimer, I had POP as a possibility at first, because “pretty pretty good” struck me as the kind of song that could catch on in clubs and eventually find its way onto the airwaves, even without the raw virality that something like “Gangnam Style” had, but now they’re showing signs of going in a seriously denpacore direction, and while that’s cool, it’s not likely to catch on in the West.
So there are seven nominees! To make the process even more scientific, please begin to argue in the comments or on Facebook, invite your friends to share their ill-informed opinions, and tell me all about why I’m missing the boat on Band Ja Naimon! or UnderBeasty or something. I’ll put together a real-deal voting poll after we get some good results.
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