Dungeon by muque (Album Review) ▸ J-Music Exchange/Rate
Ending the year with a bang(er)!
Ending the year with a bang(er)!
Hello and a very, very special welcome back to yet another J-Music Exchange/Rate review! In case you’re new around these parts, allow me to explain: this is a segment that I do with my good friend and Japanese music enthusiast Leap250 where we both pick out an album from our libraries, give ‘em to each other, listen to them and later review on our respective blogs. For the past four-or-so-years, this has been a fun project that Leap and I have been doing on a consistent basis, especially since it gives us the opportunity to share some cool stuff with each other; most of which are artists we’ve never heard of and/or don’t listen to that often. That said, we hope that you, the reader, come out with a similar experience where you’re able to discover a brand new album or artist to check out!
Normally, Leap and I decide on a specific theme to base our album choices on each month but you came at a peculiar time. Every December gives us the opportunity to wind down the year and reminisce about all the great music that was released in these past twelve months, and that’s what we’ll be focusing on: our favorite albums from 2024. I’ll be going into more detail about my favorite songs from the past year in a later post but in regards to albums/EPs, no doubt did I come across a ton of awesome stuff and this really was another fantastic year for music. And yet again, it was quite difficult to narrow down my choice for ‘album of the year’ since there were so many worthy candidates, but I can confidently say that I picked out a good one for Leap to talk about.
So as for what we both chose: I will actually let you all find out what my AOTY was by heading on over to his blog (after reading this post, of course). But I am happy to have the privilege to discuss Leap’s favorite release from 2024, it being Dungeon from the up-and-coming band muque!
Let’s jump right in!
muque (ムク) is a Japanese band originating from Fukuoka and currently under the A.S.A.B music label. Consisting of vocalist/guitarist Asakura, drummer/beat maker takachi, guitarist Kenichi and Lenon on bass, the group came together after being involved in other music acts/bands and through mutual respect for each others’ style/stance on music, muque began its activities in May of 2022. A month later, they’d release their debut single, titled escape, and begin performing around the country.
As of late, muque has gotten a great reception for their music, thanks in large part to Asakura’s emotional vocal performances, intriguing expression of various genres and music styles, as well as the group’s personal approach towards making music. While they’ve garnered a sizable fanbase in Japan, muque has also attracted listeners from outside countries like Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea; especially with their tracks being shared on social media such as “my crush”, “nevermind” and “feelin’”.
From the time this post was published, muque has released one album, two EPs and six digital singles.
(info sources: muque Official Website, Ongaku Natalie, Mikiki)
Tracklist
Prologue - Dungeon -
nevermind
Teardrop In The Sea
blue light / ブルーライト
456
feelin.
desert.
(T)LAST ME
break (interlude)
jabber
my crush
Bite you
TIME
DAYS
Released: 2024.10.09
2024 has been nothing short of a stellar year for Fukuoka’s four-piece band muque, whose steady rise to popularity has been an absolute blast to witness firsthand. A major contributing factor to their growing acclaim, of course, is the release of their debut full-length album, Dungeon. Granted, while my personal connection to it lies more in the fact that I was able to predict that the band was going to release an album well before they would announce it (something I’ll never live down as a fan, loljk), as an album it met my expectations for it and then some.
If I had to sum up the experience, the best thing about Dungeon is, much like the video game cartridge motif that inspired it, it’s simply a fun album to plug in and play for hours on end. This ties into something I often mention whenever I feature muque on the Monthly Recommendation Roundup, which I’ve come to call muque’s Goldilocks energy. It’s not too much, not too little, but just right every single time. This, I’d argue, can largely be attributed to drummer Takachi, who doubles as the band’s trackmaker and primary composer. His unique sense of rhythm and musicality has birthed tracks that range from the wild and zany nevermind to the insanely catchy my crush. Of course, it’s not a one-person affair—vocalist Asakura’s ability to craft exquisite toplines, catchy hooks, and melodies serves as the perfect foil to Takachi’s compositions. Together, they form a cohesive, engaging blend that’s both unpredictable and highly addictive.
On a related note, my biggest concern going into Dungeon—which is something I feel whenever any band or artist I follow releases their debut full album—was the possibility that it would end up being mostly comprised of songs from previous releases, like singles or tracks from EPs and mini-albums. While I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of any of muque’s songs myself, I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t have been a touch disappointed if the album had only one or two new tracks. But, as they always seem to do, muque came through with a solid handful of originals that more than hold their own, and honestly, that was just the icing on the cake.
1 ▸ setting a tone
Funny thing about the artist and album we’ll be talking about today is that I have heard of muque before, but I’ve never really taken the opportunity to properly listen to their music. Thanks to Leap and the numerous times he has mentioned this band on his blog throughout 2024—including when he watched them perform live during his trip to Japan, lucky guy—I’ve only gotten glimpses of muque; mostly through a few songs he has brought up in his monthly roundup posts such as “Later.” and “my crush”.
This is for a couple reasons, one of which was slightly intentional, slightly coincidental, and kinda unnecessary. For one, I have been slacking when it comes to following Leap’s recommendations each month, so I did miss out on some of the great artists & songs he’s enjoyed this past year. And two, I feel like there’s been a trend these past couple years where I already had a good amount of exposure to the artist and/or album that he gives me for his year-end favorite, and it is something that I bring up and mention in those reviews. Perfect examples being Chilli Beans in 2022 and chilldspot in 2023, where I did already have an affinity to those two bands before even talking about the fantastic albums they both released in those respective years.
That being said, I figured I’d do a little experiment where this time, I’d go into Leap’s AOTY for 2024 with only a tiny bit of familiarity with the artist in question. Again, this is not a huge deal and what I’m describing is- yes, a tad bit unnecessary but I did want to see if my thoughts would be different if I didn't have a ton of prior knowledge possibly influencing my opinion on the album.
Well, based on my thorough findings, I’m happy to report that… it didn’t really matter (lol). Whether or not I listened to muque’s music beforehand, I think I would’ve found this group and their first full-length release from October, titled Dungeon, to be very, very, very good either way.
The album starts off with an opening song that serves as a ‘prologue’ and a good way to set up a certain tone or atmosphere for the rest of the album. In fact, it’s not actually a song but rather what feels like a short skit depicting a child who’s immersed in a video game of some sort, and their mother yelling at them to get off the sticks and to do their homework. It then transitions into “nevermind”: a peppy, upbeat song featuring a catchy & fast-paced drum beat, some slick guitar riffs, subtle basslines and a youthful-sounding vocal performance from frontwoman Asakura.
These two songs, in my opinion, legitimately do a great job as album openers; both as a way to be introduced to Dungeon as an album and, possibly more importantly, who muque is as a band. Regarding the latter first, one thing you’ll notice is that muque *mostly* doesn’t incorporate a traditional five-piece drum set in their songs, thanks to the group’s main composer/drummer/track maker takachi preferring a more electronic/digital sound for its source of percussion. That ‘electronic’ tone is further expressed in the following song, “Teardrop In The Sea”, where it has a very dreamy, atmospheric vibe to it with its dragged-on piano chords and low-key electro beats; almost making it feel like you’re freely soaring through the sky in a digital world.
Without-a-doubt this is one of the many fun nods towards the whole ‘video game’ theme they’re going for in this album; obviously it being more of a reflection of the retro era of gaming (and additionally through the album’s visuals such as the accompanying music videos and even its title referencing dungeons you’d encounter in those popular RPG, adventure-focused games). But also, the prologue intro gives off the impression that we’re about to jump headfirst into this supposed video game and experience the progression & ‘adventures’ of muque and their music.
2 ▸ the music of muque and being ‘genreless’
And it does beg the question (at least, for me): what kind of music does muque make? Are they pop? Rock? Electronic? All three?
And muque answers said question through an interview they did with Ongaku Natalie where they actually consider themselves as ‘genreless’. Rather, they don’t really place their music in a set style like pop or rock, and instead of claiming that they perform ‘X’ genre, guitarist Kenichi sees it more as them just generally performing ‘the music of muque’ (he also proclaims that the idea of what ‘pop music’ is and its interpretation/meaning should be up to the individual, rather than as a society).
And I think I’d agree with them. Not only is this helpful for me since I’m terrible with identifying specific genres when listening to music, but muque as a band just feels fresh to me and the stuff they showcased in this album isn’t something I’ve *personally* heard a lot of during my time as a fan of Japanese music. Like I just said, the way they combine more electronic-based percussion with those traditional electric/acoustic guitars and basses is very unique, as heard in many of the tracks on Dungeon. One example being “456” with its bumping beats, deep bass, and especially the mesmerizing guitar picking sequence that felt subtle yet was one of the more catchy/memorable parts of the track.
muque’s usage of the acoustic guitar was also surprisingly prominent and very, very nice to listen to, especially in songs like “desert.” and “jabber”. The latter in particular since it starts off with a pleasant ‘bossa nova’ vibe and then immediately brings in (what they describe as, via Mikiki) a cool hip hop-like, Miami bass-type atmosphere and even an electronic guitar solo in the middle… all of which come together to create a truly addictive banger. I really do like this song—I’d say it’s one of my favorites from this album—and similar to what was heard in the beginning of Dungeon, the transition between “break (Interlude)”, which illustrated the scene of a lively cafe/diner playing elevator-type music on the speaker, to the main song in “jabber” was just… executed phenomenally well.
What I want to point out here is that muque does a good job emphasizing a sense of doing what they want to do, music-wise; hell, they even literally say that on the biography page of their official website. And yeah, I strongly feel like that is the case, with how muque’s music sounds like an interesting mish-mash of various musical ideas coming together. And with takachi himself primarily enjoying music from the West, that influence from foreign-based genres seeps into songs like the aforementioned “jabber”, “my crush” including a pretty old school rock ‘n’ roll-sounding guitar riff, or even in “feelin’” where- well, it feels like an fun indie pop song that also injects some house-like synths and beats into it. Even going back to that slower, ‘dreamy’ vibe I was talking about earlier, they express that idea once again in “(T)LAST ME”, as those faint raindrops and sentimental piano playing at the beginning set up a more emotional ambience, which then leads to a chorus that- again, gives off the notion of something I’d hear in a cyberpunk-themed movie (or game) when the main character is taking a night drive, alone with their thoughts… at least, that’s my own interpretation of it.
But at the same time, all of these tracks feel so connected to each other because of what feels like muque’s bread-and-butter of incorporating an intriguing electronic tone to a normal pop/rock band atmosphere; as well as the band’s dedication to making music that resonates with the listener. In that same Natalie interview, takachi also mentions that ideas like ‘catchiness’ and ‘individuality’ are things that muque strive to achieve with their music, and it really feels like that is absolutely what was shown on Dungeon.
Whether it’s the pleasant whistling in “blue light” or how much of a banger “feelin’” is, thanks to the insanely energetic and hype melodies that they immediately throw at you at the beginning… Asakura describes their music as ‘Western songs with Japanese melodies’, and I do think that’s a pretty accurate way of looking at it. Especially considering how so many modern J-Pop songs revolve around that idea of having those catchy choruses and memorable lines, of which, I have to admire their approach and execution with creating songs that can easily stick with people, as it seems like these up-and-coming indie bands/groups have an impressive and almost natural knack at it (e.g., exactly what I said about Chilli Beans two years ago).
3 ▸ asakura’s vocals & lyricism
When it comes to the vocal side of this album, I really enjoyed listening to Asakura’s deeper register in essentially all of the songs on this album, and no doubt does her specific style of singing fit extremely well with muque’s compositions. However, I couldn’t help but to be reminded of the two bands that I previously featured for these AOTY reviews, and similar to Chilli Beans’ Moto and chilldspot’s Hiyune, the way Asakura’s voice just constantly commands and captivates the listener’s attention with her more mellow, youthful, and sometimes slightly sad tone… I just think she presents herself so well in these tracks, to the point where her vocals feel like such an important aspect of muque’s music as a whole.
And to go back to that concept of ‘catchiness’, I will say that Asakura’s performances did contribute to a good amount of the easily memorable moments I enjoyed throughout this album. Obviously with how many times I’ve mentioned “feelin’”, I think she did a great job going with the general flow of that track, as it went up and down with its overall energy throughout the alternating verses & choruses (and of course, the ‘yeah yeah yeah’ parts got stuck in my head).
In addition, while I don’t go through the lyrics too much whenever I do these reviews, it still feels pretty heartwarming to hear that a lot of things she wrote and sang about were inspired by the fans of muque. They do take on the usual topics like relationships and youth but by seeing how many people legitimately enjoy their music, through the crowds that attend their lives or receiving positive comments; as Asakura said in one of the interviews, she was able to learn a lot and gain a certain drive with songwriting, thanks to the band’s increased following. And this is especially true with the album’s final song, “DAYS”. Asakura realized that there’s no way to respond to every single kind word from their fans so she compiled all of her thoughts into a song that directly addresses them and something she’d feel confident to sing in front of a crowd. And I just think that’s quite neat.
The whole idea of the ‘video game’ theming behind this album was rooted from a time when muque was told that they gave off the image of a- sort of, party of members from an RPG-based adventure game (a la Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Shin Megami Tensei/Persona, etc). They took that concept to heart, as they truly did see themselves as a group of people who have their own unique appearances and skill sets, all coming together to go on a ‘musical adventure’ and achieve a mutual goal. takachi goes further into the idea by saying that while no one in muque is perfect in an individual sense, being able to use their own abilities to collaborate as a larger group/band can really result in some great things.
This is maybe where my ‘experimentation’ from earlier was a bit of a detriment, since I can’t exactly speak on how muque may have ‘improved’ or ‘developed’ their sound throughout the now two-or-so years of them existing. But I still do believe that Dungeon is a fantastic representation of muque and their journey so far as a band.
Combining Asakura’s charming vocals and meaningful lyricism, Kenichi’s clean guitar playing, Lenon’s well-suited bass, and the compositional prowess of takachi; I believe there’s a clear sense that these people gel very well with each other, and what resulted was an awesome collection of songs. It’s catchy, it’s fun, it feels fresh-yet-similar, and I can see a lot of people finding it (and muque themselves) to be appealing, especially for those who enjoy listening to stuff from up-and-coming Japanese artists. And for this to be their very first full-length album release, it’s a pretty damn good one.
Rating: 10/10
Aaaaaand that’s all I got for you today!
Once again, Leap does not miss. I had a really great time finally listening to muque’s music and getting to know more about them as a band, so I’ll have to thank him for suggesting this album to me and even discovering them in the first place. These guys are cool as heck, and just like how I’m still a follower of Chilli Beans and chilldspot to this day, I got a good feeling that I’ll be checking out whatever muque releases in the new year.
That being said and now that you’re done here, 1000% go head on over to Leap’s blog to see what he said about my personal album/release from 2024. Like I said earlier, I’m not gonna say what it is as a surprise, but I’d say this slightly short EP was *very* worthy of this honor and I’m really looking forward to checking out what Leap thought about it.
Lastly, I just want to give my thanks to everyone who decided to check out my reviews for this year. As I’ve said time and time again, I don’t see myself as that great of a writer or reviewer of music, however I still truly do enjoy putting together these write-ups every month. Not only is it a way for me to appreciate/discover some great stuff but I find it to be a ton of fun to just jot down what I think about certain albums and Japanese music as a whole, and I’m glad that the E/R gives me the frequent opportunity to do so. Again, thank you to those who took interest in my thoughts/opinions, and big thanks to my guy Leap for being an incredible collaborator on this project and for giving me some heat this past year.
And actually last but not least, hope everyone has a great time this holiday season and I’ll also be putting out my yearly roundup later this month so do stay tuned for that. It’s gonna be a good one.
Thanks for reading!! :D
-al