Just Bring It by BAND-MAID (Album Review) ▸ J-Music Exchange/Rate
Going back in time; no flux capacitor or plutonium needed!
Going back in time; no flux capacitor or plutonium needed!
Hello and welcome back to yet another installment of the J-Music Exchange/Rate! In case you’re new to the blog and/or not familiar with what this is all about: this is a segment that I do with my good friend/fellow Japanese music fan Leap250 where we pick out an album from our respective libraries, exchange and listen to ‘em, and later review on our own blogs. We’ve been doing this for nearly four years now, and this really does give us the opportunity to not only share different kinds of music with each other, but also the ability to see our favorite records from a different perspective. Plus, we do hope that these reviews may help you all find a cool new artist or album to check out.
This past month was a little weird for me personally, which resulted in a delay for February’s review, but Leap and I decided to stay on schedule and go ahead with March’s posts. And as always, the both of us take turns on deciding what theme we wanna base our album choices on for each month. The ball was in Leap’s court this time around, and to my surprise, he wanted to incorporate the wheel again! We did this type of thing last year, where we took a list of albums and let a wheel spinner decide which ones we would review that month, which is essentially the same idea that’s happening here.
However, rather than using an assortment of albums, we let the wheel determine what specific year we would have to choose our album from. Leap suggested we use the year range of 2010 to 2020, and after some deliberation and a re-spin, this is what we got:
2017! Funny enough, this was around the time when I began my blogging journey, and while I wasn’t too into Japanese music yet, I still remember compiling a cool collection of some songs I ended up discovering. Whenever I look back at that Spotify playlist, it does bring back great memories since those were the tracks that essentially started my journey into the realm of Japanese music, and some of artists who were featured on it continue to be ones that I listen to and admire to this very day.
That said, let’s get on our choices: Leap went ahead and gave me BAND-MAID’s third full-length release in Just Bring It, while I tossed over Zenchi Zennou by POLKADOT STINGRAY.
Let’s jump right in!
BAND-MAID is a Japanese hard rock/heavy metal band, formed back in 2013. Consisting of Kobato Miku (Gt.), KANAMI (Gt.), AKANE (Dr.), MISA (Ba.), and SAIKI on vocals, the idea of BAND-MAID’s formation was originally conceived by Kobato, who previously worked at a maid cafe and wanted to create a band that combined the imagery of maid cafe hostesses and heavy rock music. Through searches on the Internet and auditions, the five-piece band was formed and they eventually held their first live performance in August 2013, at the Shibuya-AX’s P Festival. BAND-MAID eventually signed on with a record label and released their first EP, titled Maid in Japan, in January of 2014.
Since then, BAND-MAID has seen a massive amount of success around Japan, and even worldwide. From domestic and international tours, providing the opening and ending themes to various anime TV series, to even performing/collaborating with iconic music figures like Guns ‘N Roses; BAND-MAID has certainly been at the forefront when it comes to popular female J-rock groups, thanks to their unique character and fantastic compositions.
As of when this post was published, BAND-MAID has released seven albums, one EP, eleven singles and one anniversary compilation.
(info sources: BAND-MAID Official Website, Wikipedia JP)
Tracklist
Don’t You Tell ME
Puzzle
Moratorium / モラトリアム
YOLO
CROSS
OOPARTS
Take Me Higher!!
So, What?
TIME
you.
Awkward
decided by myself
secret My lips
Released: 2017.01.10
One of the things that I imagine a lot of people have to reconcile with whenever they choose to pickup BAND-MAID for a listen is, without a doubt, the whole maid gimmick. If anything else, even if you were the least bit familiar with Akihabara's otaku subculture, you might already have some preconceived notions as to how a band made up of girls dressed in full on French maid attire would sound. What's fascinating though is if you actually went and listened to their debut EP "MAID IN JAPAN", you wouldn't necessarily be wrong either. Newer fans or listeners who have yet to explore deep in to band's discography might be remiss in knowing that BAND-MAID was, at one point in time, one of (for lack of a better term) your run-off-the-mill Girls Pop/Rock bands. Not that there's anything wrong with that of course, but it is interesting to think about, especially when you take into account the kind of sound that BAND-MAID has since been known for. To that end, while arguably not the best that the band has to offer "Just Bring It" is (in my opinion) a more important album for BAND-MAID than some people might give it credit for.
Despite it being their full album debut under a major record label, "Just Bring It" is where BAND-MAID really pushes the envelope (riskily at that) in so far as trying to establish themselves as more of a Hard/Metal Rock band, featuring in it collectively a heavier and more aggressive sound than anything they've put out before. Tracks like Don't you tell ME and Puzzle are straight up bangers that showcase a lot of the sounds that most people associate BAND-MAID with; whether its SAIKI's impeccable vocals, AKANE's mind-numbing double pedal work, or KANAMI just shredding on her guitar. Admittedly a bit top heavy at first glance, "Just Bring It" does have some hits remaining on the back half; in particular my personal favorite Awkward and its intro that just makes me swoon each time, as well as secret My lips as a fun little closer. Albeit not without its flaws, the album in retrospect serves as a precursor of what the band has since become.
1 ▸ realizing the greatness of band-maid
I was about to start off this review by mentioning that this is not the first time I’ve reviewed an album from BAND-MAID, but that is simply not true. Silly me mixed up ‘BAND-MAID’ with ‘BAND-MAIKO’; the latter being a totally different band that is definitely not just BAND-MAID putting on a traditional maiko/geisha persona and creating an entire album as part of an April Fool’s joke.
But in all seriousness, BAND-MAID (and BAND-MAIKO, to that extent) has been a group that, while I haven’t listened to a ton of their stuff, I still really like and admire as a fan of Japanese rock. Like I mentioned earlier, they are one of the most popular all-female J-rock bands to ever exist, and for good reason. And whether they’re shredding on an electric guitar or going hard on the shamisen, these five are super talented and I’ve definitely had a lot of fun listening to their stuff.
However I do feel like I need to emphasize my ‘amateurness’ with BAND-MAID since, interestingly enough, Just Bring It is actually my first real foray into their music. Not sure why I’ve never really taken the time to sit down and listen to a BAND-MAID album in full length, but regardless, it did feel a bit exciting, coming into this month’s review.
And right off the bat, you’re able to get a great idea of BAND-MAID’s overall sound within the album’s first track, “Don’t you tell ME”. I know for a lot of my recent reviews, I've been mentioning how good these albums start with their opening tracks; it’s honestly something I seemed to have started doing because of Leap expressing that same sentiment in his own reviews (lol). But even then, I actually do believe that a good opening song in an album can really set the tone, ease people in and ultimately show off what kind of record you’re about to experience… and BAND-MAID does exactly that with Just Bring It.
If I’m being honest, and I’m sure many fans would agree with me, BAND-MAID has done a pretty awesome job carving out their own unique and instantly recognizable sound. Once you’ve listened to a few BAND-MAID songs, you’ll easily catch on to what they sound like and how they make music, and be able to go, “oh yeah, this is a BAND-MAID song”. And it does feel like I had that exact reaction when I first listened to this album since “Don’t you tell ME” (as well as “Puzzle”) beautifully showed off their heavy rock vibe and pace, the crazy riffs, awesome guitar solos and of course, SAIKI’s deeper toned vocals. They also really know how to create a super catchy melody, as a lot of the songs on this album tended to be stuck in my head throughout the past month with how hype and energy-inducing they were.
Songs like “Moratorium” with its fast pace, distorted guitar and aggressive percussion; “YOLO” giving off a very classic heavy rock/metal sound and even an emotional atmosphere, especially with SAIKI’s impassioned vocal performance and KANAMI’’s insanely precise guitar playing; and “decided by myself” encompassing everything that makes this band who they are, while also emphasizing MISA’s skills with the bass and including subtle-yet-super effective guitar picking throughout… just from going through this whole album, you can tell that BAND-MAID, three years into their existence at this point, has an incredibly good grasp of the heavy rock/metal genre and knows how to perform that style in an enjoyable way.
And while it may not seem like it (given that I’ve previously discussed ‘easier to digest’ rock bands on the blog like SHISHAMO and Official HIGE DANdism), I occasionally do enjoy listening to artists that express a hard rock sound; albeit most are more catered to the otaku fandom like BanG Dream’s Roselia and RAISE A SUILEN, as well as the Zsasz idol group I spoke about in a recent medorē roundup. Despite the fact and now looking back at my seven-or-so years of being a fan of Japanese music, hard rock has always had a fantastic representation within this specific industry so getting a glimpse of the roots of it through the songs on Just Bring It felt very insightful and super enjoyable at the same time.
2 ▸ a slight sense of fatigue
However… while BAND-MAID has certainly developed an distinguishable sound, it does feel like it ended up being a tiny bit of a burden to them since a handful of the tracks did somewhat meld into each other. And again, I understand that I literally said this same exact complaint for the past two months/reviews, but when you’re being bombarded with heavy rock instrumentals and certain songs having alike tempos… similar to what Leap said in his review on RAISE A SUILEN’s ERA album, many of the tracks on here did have a very ‘same-ish’ quality to them but that doesn’t necessarily need to be seen as a bad thing. BAND-MAID is cracked at what they do and there certainly are no ‘bad songs’ on this album, but it did get a little fatiguing at times.
That said, as a bit of a counterargument to what I just spoke about, the group does do a solid job at inserting a few songs that take on a significantly different style/genre to them; ‘breathers’, as I like to call them. Tracks like “OOPARTS” and “TIME” having a way more youthful punk/pop-rock sound to them were great inclusions and almost reminded me of something you’d hear off an older SCANDAL record; and one of my favorite songs on the album in “Awkward” gives off a simpler and more somber vibe that was actually really nice to listen to. Some may think that these songs feel wayyy out-of-place when considering the album’s stylistic atmosphere as a whole, and I understand where people are coming from, but I honestly like it when an album takes a bit of a break from its primary mood/tone; and given what I just said in the last paragraph, I saw it as something beneficial for my own enjoyment. Plus, it helps that I did like “Awkward” a lot (especially with that wild solo towards the end).
3 ▸ unbelievable lead vocals
Lastly, I feel like I wouldn’t do this album or BAND-MAID themselves justice if I didn’t dedicate an entire section on SAIKI’s (and some of the other members’) vocals.
SAIKI is definitely one of the main reasons why I like BAND-MAID as a rock band and is someone that I’d always refer back to whenever I talk about this group. She’s a fantastic frontwoman, her vocals are crazy good, I love the confident and powerful tone she gives off in (literally) all of the songs she’s featured in on Just Bring It, and it was really cool getting to hear more of her singing, especially as someone who doesn’t listen to this band all that often. Her performance in the chorus of “Puzzle” might’ve been one of my favorites to listen to, as her ability to sing so much in one breath was impressive as hell and just fits perfectly with those deeper guitar riffs. And of course, being someone who has always enjoyed listening to “secret My lips” (even the version where she performs with a Kansai dialect), the way she sings in that feels so iconic at this point and was a great way to end off the record.
Think it’s also good to mention that SAIKI was not the only one who provided vocals throughout Just Bring It, as some of the other BAND-MAID members also gave some great performances of their own. While I’m so used to hearing SAIKI sing in BAND-MAID’s tracks, Kobato Miku performing during “TIME” was great, as I feel like she did a sweet job in that song and really fit the overall atmosphere of it.
Once again: being someone who dabbles in heavy/hard rock music from time to time, it’s pretty dang cool to finally (and fully) experience the music from one of the most prominent rock bands from Japan. It really does feel like BAND-MAID is on an elite level when it comes to creating music; from their rocking and aggressive instrumentals, beautiful displays of guitar riffs/solos, to the sweet vocal performances from a superb frontwoman… even coming from someone who has not heard a lot of stuff from this group, I could absolutely tell how much talent and skill BAND-MAID has, just from listening to Just Bring It.
Sure, it has its slight flaws, as the constant sound of hard rock, deep guitars and frantic drumming can feel a little weary at times. But looking at this from the perspective of a Japanese rock fan, this album is simply awesome. There is no shortage of bangers throughout and it definitely feels like a record that serves as a foundation for what BAND-MAID has now become. In a 2017 interview with Ongaku Natalie (translated by a helpful Redditor), the group mentioned how this album and the process of creating it gave them a ton of confidence with their work and I’m sure it remains as an important part of their overall tenure as a band.
Rating: 9/10
Aaaaand that’s all I got for you today!!
Hope you enjoyed that review; BAND-MAID is an awesome group and listening to this album definitely makes me wanna dive deeper into their discography. I ended up becoming curious about their latest album a year or so ago (Unleash, from 2022) so I’ll definitely take a further stab at that one soon.
Now that you’re done with this review, DEFINITELY go on and visit Leap’s blog where he talked about an album that’s really important to me and my experiences with music/blogging: Zenchi Zennou by POLKADOT STINGRAY. It’s a great album and I’m also looking forward to seeing what Leap has to say about it. Click here to check it out!!!
Thanks for reading!! :D
-al