media with mads volume 1
OK I've decided that I am not going to wait until January to start this, so... I am going to open with an album I've listened to multiple times since 2018, but only actually was able to add it to my collection this year! (Because I wanted free shipping from Amaz*n Japan, and there was one copy of this album left in stock.)
Crying End Roll by indigo la End (listen along here)
I was first recomended 見せかけのラブソング (Fake Love Song, track 2) on sp*tify back in 2018 while I was making a playlist for an OC, and imediately this song made an impression on me. The vocalist's soft yet not forced head voice, the melodic guitars, the piano... I had almost fallen in love with a song. It's just soft rock, but it is rich and layered in a way that really makes you want to wrap yourself up in it.
From that point I went ahead and just listened to the entire album, and Enon Kawatani (vocalist/guitarist/songwriter) literally blew me away. (That I ended up also listening to his other bands, but that's a story for another day) Regardless my japanese is akin to a 2 year old so there's not much I can say about the lyrics themselves-- but his delivery is so full of emotion in this album I certainly feel something. I was moved! The album from start to finish is an easy listen, which I would liken to a sunny Sunday afternoon. Throughout the guitar and drums drive slowly but with enough intent that it feels like a leisurely walk through a park. While the album cover is blue, the songs feel more like a soft yellow with a tinge of melancholic blue.
"Melancholic Blue" is definitely a good way to describe the album as a whole-- The opening track 想いきり (Feelings) opens with 「私が何人目なの？」 (How many people have I been?) and the chorus's driven guitar chords chug out the wavering feeling of not being able to be commited to someone, but regretting it.
I think this sets the stage for the following songs, really coming to a head on the 5th track, 鐘泣く命... Which I feel like the title is really hard to translate for someone with no JP experience. Literally it reads as 'Crying Bell Life' but I think it means something closer to 'The Toll of Fate'. The opening drum roll and guitar riff really peak that melancholic feeling-- only slightly slowing for the vocal track. The vocals are a bit more rough than sung like previously, and the pull into the chorus is really 'pulling on heartstrings' to me! I choose to interpret the lyrics as a unrequited love song; loosing your chance to confess, but facing each day hoping that they will confess or show mutual intrest. The closing lines delivery really kick for me: "もっともっと愛させてよ/命を越える間際まで" (Let me love you more and more until I cross that edge) .... A little extreme, but I'm sure anyone who has a crush would understand the feeling!
Overall 'Crying End Roll' is a bittersweet, melancholic album about the central character's inablilty to comunicate their love to someone they feel strongly about. (Including the song about being a cat, which I think furthers this imagery hah!) The musical soft rock/pop/easy listening stylings really help push that narrative, which as a listener I felt compelled and touched, and think about my loved ones and how much I want them to succeed & to continue loving me despite my own hardships in communicating.
P.S. I love singing these songs at karaoke too because they're so easy to follow along with, despite Enon's vocals being so distinct (I personally love his voice ahha). I hope even just a little bit for my friends to listen along and enjoy this album as much as I have. 💗
