#arukara

夕暮れの街並　ぼやり眺めてる Staring idly, at the sunset over the city

なんだか世界が僕を忘れ去ったみたいだ It’s as if the world has totally forgotten me

さっきまでの記憶　ほんとかなんて All my memories up until just a moment ago, were they real or fake

哲学的な事　少し考えてみた I thought a bit about that philosophical stuff  

都会へ伸びた高速　荷台でゴトゴト The highway stretching towards the city, on a pickup truck rumbling on つぶらな瞳をした牛達を見たよ I had spotted cows with such pretty round eyes 明日もまたこうして　あるのかなんて Wondering if tomorrow they’ll still be here 哲学的な事　少し考えてみた I thought a bit about that philosophical stuff

時計の針が　12を超えて The hands on the clock pass 12 お月様が丸くなっていく Mister moon grows rounder and rounder やがて　ほら　消えていく And before long, see, it’s fading away この歌も　恋したあの街も This song, and the city I loved both 忘れてく　忘れてく All being forgotten, being forgotten この感情も　声にした言葉も All my emotions, and the words I had once spoken too

ああ Aah

溶けてしまいそうな群青 The ultramarine colors look ready to melt

ゆらら　雨粒にさえも Swaying away, even the raindrops are..

ああ Aah

焦げてしまいそうな群青 The ultramarine colors look ready to burn

ゆらら　朝焼けにさえも Swaying away, even the sunrise is…

泣けてきた Being made able to cry

僕らはまるで行き場所を　知らされないまま荷馬車に We’re just like calf 乗せられた仔牛達のようだ Being thrown unto a wagon, with no idea where we’re going

連鎖する瞬間の中で　せめてものその欠片を　記憶に焼け付けた1コマを In the midst of the moment we bond -at least let me have this - or even just a piece of this-, let that single shot be seared into my memory

やがて　ほら　消えていく But before long, see, it’s fading away この歌も　恋したあの街も This song, and the city I loved both 永遠を選べない Won’t last forever この感情も　声にした言葉も All my emotions, and the words I had once spoken too ああ Aah 溶けてしまいそうな群青 The ultramarine colors look ready to melt

ゆらら　雨粒にさえも Swaying away, even the raindrops are..

ああ Aah

焦げてしまいそうな群青 The ultramarine colors look ready to burn

ゆらら　朝焼けにさえも Swaying away, even the sunrise is…

泣けてきた Being made able to cry

Aura - Fantasia (01.12.2019) [★★★★★]

TRACKLIST

AK

Ambience

Shake it!!

Purple People

Sorrow

Beautiful Way

Taisetsu na hito (Important person)

Mori no miyako (Forest city)

Be one

Namida (Tears)

Minus (-) - C (11.12.2019) [★★★★★]

TRACKLIST

Glass work

Tsubame (Swallow)

Uchigawa ni mukau (Head inward)

Kono wa no tsuzuki o kikitai ka? (Do you want to hear the rest of this story?)

John in the dark

Luna Sea - Cross (18.12.2019) [★★★★★]

TRACKLIST

Luca

Philia

Closer

The Beyond

You’re knocking at my door

Sora no uta -Higher and higher- (Sky song -Higher and higher)

Anagram

Hisoubi (Tragic beauty)

Pulse

Shijima (Silence)

So tender...

Octaviagrace - Radiant (25.12.2019) [★★★★]

TRACKLIST

Raise a Belief

Everdreamer

Radiant

Midnight Highway

After the rain

Lastscene

Lucent Moon

World’s end destination

Pray

Closegame

Fragments

Nana Mizuki - Cannonball Running (11.12.2019) [★★★★]

TRACKLIST

Higher Dimension

Carpe Diem

Love Fight!

Daybreakers

Knock U Down

Blue Rose

Sweet Dealer

What You Want

Metanoia -Aufwachen form-

Glitch

Never Surrender

Light Births Shadow

Rebellion

Upsetter

All For Love

Final Commander -Aufwachen form-

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Indischord - Paradigm (16.12.2019)

TRACKLIST

Entrance

Connect

Starlight

Distance

Solution

Drama

Egoistic stepper

Ana no aita heya (Perforated room)

Fine

Tokyo Shoegazer - Moondiver (02.12.2019)

TRACKLIST

Into the Deep Sky

Your Relief

In Full Bloom

Night Dance

Bedtime Story

Moondive

Stay White

Arukara - New New New (11.12.2019)

TRACKLIST

Suspense Gekijou Dainigakushou (Passion suspense 2nd movement)

Shunkan Shunkan Shunkan (Moment moment moment)

Neko ni violin (Violin on cat)

Yuuwaku minuet (Seduction minuet)

Tsukiyo no utage (Moonlight song)

Kutabire Kokko-chan (Tired Kokko-chan)

Michisuu 2 (Unknown 2)

Yuuyaitsuka (Someday at sunset)

That’s all folks for the 2019 selection! See you with a new review in “Let’s Listen to”, hoping that 2020 will bring more and more emotions!

Thanks for the reading!

繰り返す目眩に　まっさか逆さま Lights flashing over and over, sending me downright upside down 振り乱し傾いた　ザンバラバラ Hair tousling as I went down, tossed and turned

野次馬は騒めきの　まっただ中なか A crowd of onlookers to a commotion, and I’m at the center 答え合わせのメロディー？？KAGEKIにやってくれないか Give us a sign with a melody?? Can that melody be KAGEKI 最後の願いさ That’s my last wish やってくれないか So can you do that for me さすらいの別れ雨 The wandering rains herald farewells

繰り返す目眩に　まっさか逆さま Lights flashing over and over, sending me downright upside down 掻き乱し傾いた　頬紅面 Hair tousling as I went down, cheeks beet red 煮えたぎる地獄の　まっただ中なか The blazing flames of hell, and I’m at the center of them 答え合わせのメロディー？ Give me a sign with a melody? KAGEKIにやってくれないか Can that melody be KAGEKI 最後の願いさ That’s my last wish やってくれないか So can you do it 三条河原に雨 Rain falls into the mucky waters of the Sanjou Riverbed

銀鼠の空　焦がしつく The sky is a silver gray, it sears its mark さすらいの風　逆巻き The wandering winds send water tossing and turning 業火の窯の中 Inside a kiln lit by the flames of hell 我が子を掲げた I held my child up high

独裁者欺き　あっぱれヤバヤバ Dictators pulling tricks, huzzah, holy holy shit 絶景かな絶景　大盤振る舞い What a sight to behold, the sheer display of lip service 歴戦のマブダチ　黄金色したキセルは　今　何処へ My compadre who’d been with me through tough shit, where has that golden cigar pipe gone

KAGEKIにやってくれないか Can that melody be KAGEKI 最後の願いさ That’s my last wish やってくれないか So can you do that for me さすらいの別れ雨 The wandering rains herald farewells

KAGEKIに殺ってくれないか Can that eulogy be KAGEKI 来世も傾くさ Ah, to fall down into the otherworld やってくれないか Can you do that for me さすらいの雨よ　今鮮やかに O’ wandering rains, they’ve cleared up

Footnotes:  ● KAGEKI is the name of Arukara's album. In kanji, it could mean either "Opera" or "Extremism". So I think each line could be interpreted in 3 ways, "Sing our album", "Do it extreme" or "Do it like an opera"...

千年後　世界へ　存在証明
 To the world of a thousand years from now, I send this proof that I was alive 颯爽　瞬き　瞬き　光陰の先へ Dapper, bejeweling, bejeweling, past many moons and summers,

散々尖って　さあ　存在証明 Whetted as sharp as ever, c’mon now, our proof that we were alive 
葛藤　瞬き　瞬き　夜にかざして Discord, bejeweling, bejeweling, brandished in the night

千の唄　届け　どこまで　夢路めぐりて
 A thousand choruses, ring out, all ’round the world, orbit ‘round the passage of dreams 千の時　超えて　どこまで　ああ　花の散り Past the thousandth hour, we keep going, all ‘round the world, ah, a shower of petals

千の唄　届け　どこまで　夢路めぐりて
 A thousand choruses, ring out, all over, orbit the the ways of the dreams 千の時　超えて　どこまで　空はおぼろ月 Past the thousandth hour, we keep going, all over, in the sky shines the spring moon’s aureole

Oh my god, now that I have a tumblr there’s finally a space for me to post Arukara brainrot. What a blessing.

This one actually ended up being pretty fucking great. I was a little skeptical of the fan-request setlist when I first saw it, but it honestly was kind of refreshing to watch a live without キャッチー, アブノーマル or 30cm in it – plus there truly are some deep cuts in here. 

It’s funny to see what the fans were thirstiest for – we get to hear fully half of 20秒前, and 3 out of the 4 tracks on おかわりください*, so clearly those have been underrepresented for a while lol.

*about goddamn time, by the way. かくれんぼ has been slowly becoming one of my favorites (the whole thing is so damn melancholy, and Shimo’s bass parts are even more gorgeous than usual), and this version of ミックスジュース here was top tier

There are some killer performances of a few tracks I’m surprised aren’t mainstays: マゾスティック檸檬爆弾 goes unreasonably hard, and the zero downtime transition from おしゃれ強盗 right into a particularly spirited キリギリス was insanely hype. We also get the most uptempo rendition of 秘密基地 I’ve ever heard in my life lol.

I know at this point that I shouldn’t be surprised at how angelic Takeshi and Shimo’s backing vocals are, even live, but those choruses on 偽り, what the hell, man?

Also, honestly, the JP fandom is goated for picking オーケストラは眠る as their number 1. Fully unexpected, but what a good fucking choice.

Taisuke kind of makes fun of the list for its absolute lack of cohesion – “You’re making us go genki song, ballad, genki song, ballad, genki song!” – and I can see how weird that must feel for a band that crafts the flow of their setlists as meticulously as Arukara does… but honestly, it still works. I guess when all your songs are that good, you physically cannot make a bad setlist.

Lastly, my buddy and I were absolutely losing our shit over Masa Takeda. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him show up as SSGH before; I think Taisuke might’ve been saying in the MC he helped them cover the KAGEKI tour…? Regardless, great musician – his tone was absolutely filthy, and drastically different to the crisp highs Yuuya and Take use when they’re filling in, lots of low end crunch and grimy chords.

but his FIT though.

mf is out here with that Masamune Date unlockable alt costume drip

And of COURSE they give us the close-up shot of him doing his wah pedal with his fuckin alligator boots. got damn