It’s been a few years since Yuna first went on hiatus due to an ovarian cyst, and the way her and management’s statement reads, the pressure of performing eventually just got to be too much. You know she was taking a break from the STRIVE tour over the last several weeks — a break that in retrospect feels more like “take a few weeks off and think about it” than “get your rest” — so I can’t blame her for not feeling like coming back was the way to go. Continue reading →
The gist: Imada Yuna, who didn’t invent harsh vocals in idol but did manage to become the arguable popular standard bearer of the type, the bad-attitude id that forms almost an entire leg of PassCode all her own, had been unwell, and a medical examination turned up an ovarian cyst. She powered on for a while, but now the plan is for hospitalization and treatment and rest. She’ll be out a while, until the ZENITH tour officially kicks off on Nov. 10. Continue reading →
Whoops, I did it again; despite some doubts about whether delving back into the bowels of some favorite idols’ performance history was worth the trouble, the now-not-so-recent entry on BiSH’s Atsuko* got me thinking about other notables’ time as safe, normal idols, and I remembered Yuna’s time before PassCode.
Yes, the world’s tiniest harsh vocalist was, once upon a time, this:
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.
What they sound like
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.
You’ll like them if
“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!
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