Burst Girl - Riot

 

 

Going a little bit against my own policy of not posting newer records, that you can easily find and support the artists... well, in this case it wasn't that easy... and I think more people should know about this relatively obscure/underground band/group/whatever. Ok, so what was so difficult about it? Like, you know, sometimes we, fans, do feel inclined to $upport artists we like, most of the time acutally, but that becomes impracticable for a couple reasons: 1) Not everybody is made of money and can easily import physical goods from the other side of the globe; 2) When digital media are required then (in this particular case, because it was not possible to acquire the physical), obtaining it through the official channels is not as easy as it should be.

If you're a fan of Japanese content, then you're probably aware about this problem, and if you're not, pay attention: The Japanese market (be it animation, music, books, etc.) is a mostly inland market, meaning it only cares about selling for the national market (and the national market ONLY), if it's going to be licensed for overseas consumers, well, it rests upon some good souls willing to bring this stuff over here. If you, as an individual, want to acquire some piece of media directly, you'll find more barriers than only the high shipping fee. Case in point, this little gem here, "Riot" by Burst Girl. Unable to obtain the cd directly from the group (mostly because $$$$), when I tried to pay for the .mp3 version, on Amazon.jp, I simply couldn't, because if you don't live in Japan then you're not allowed to buy a couple of audio files! Granted, there are some tricks to bypass that, which may or may not work (didn't for me), but there shouldn't be, you shouldn't use some roundabouts to obtain, ideally you should just be able to, bu alas... The Japanese music industry is stuck in the past, regarding many topics, that's well known too, but the whole music industry, all around the world, is a general pain in the ass too, and for these silliness, and many others, that piracy is still as strong, and will still continue to be.

ANYWAY, rant over. Burst Girl is an amazing, ferocious, Alt-Idol group. What the hell is Alt-Idol, you ask? Well, its a trend that started with, I believe, the group BiS [why are you not listening to BiS?!], which, while adopting the traditional format of Idol groups (such as, the matching stage costumes, coreographies, cuteness vibe, etc.), the music adopted a sarcastic tone, poking fun and criticizing the industry as a whole, and delving into other genres, such as Punk, Metal, Trance. Many underground groups appeared after BiS and it became a boom, a noticeable movement, which later got adopted by the Mainstream itself, and subsequently watered down. For example, BabyMetal. That's capitalism usual modus operandi for you. Despite that, the underground still persists, with a couple good groups popping up here and there. Burst Girl is one of those.

Risen from the ashes of Guso Drop (a more Metal/Deathcore oriented band), Burst Girl released this, "Riot", their first EP, not long after a couple of initial singles (which are mostly present here). Mixing the Idol Pop sound/format with straight up classic Punk, they make this super energetic and catchy songs which are hard to ignore and forget. First song, "セルナンバー8", is a cover from a movie, Burst City, which you should have probably guessed, was the inspiration for the band's name. Being a sort of musical movie about the 80's Punk scene (I'm yet to see it), you can also guess how this song will sound. Classic Crust-ish sound with raspy voices and oooh-oohs choruses. No signs of Pop music so far, so it seems. The second track also doesn't helps, it's straight, nasty, Punk too. I mean, the chorus is sung somewhat cleanly, the main vocalist for this song has a sick, ugly (in the best way possible) voice (oh yeah, forgot to mention; it's a pop group, right? it's just vocalists, 4, currently 5; a producer makes the instrumentals). Third track, "衝動", starts to change things a bit. A more modern approach to the sound, more 90's rock, still with nasty voices and screams, but the main verses, chorus, and voices assume more the J-Pop vein. You'll notice though that, while following a traditional Pop formula, they don't much care for correctly harmonizing or showing technical proficiency, it still is pretty much with a Punk attitude in this regard. A lot of sing-a-long moments. Other tracks pretty much follow the same pattern, "Distortion" being quite the standout, for the use of synths and interesting guitar leads. And the (amazingly titled) "Great Fxxking My World" which is pretty much Pop Punk, but... you know... good. Such a great chorus! But then comes "Burst Girl". How to explain that track? It's a must hear! The self-titled track, that borrows heavyly from their previous group, is an unimaginable mash-up of more traditional Punk, Trance synths, Metalcore and Idol Pop. Like, Fuck, man! Most Metalcore bands dream they could write a song as good as this one. It's a bizarre idea at first, but executed with such mastery. Also different from the other songs here, the structure of "Burst Girl" is so interestingly constructed and so well blended, that you need repeated listenings to identify the different bridges/sections that just go by with ease. The vocals are in top form here, so deliciously over-the-top and charismatic, you can't help but to smile while listening to it.

Just get it already (I also included their most recent EP, "Story", which goes in a much more Pop direction, but is equally good)! Their lives are also pretty good, which you should also see, as the choreography is also an important piece of it all.