4 of the best JRock tracks from April
Our quest to catch the freshest JRock tracks for your listening pleasure continues into a new month. Some of these songs come to us via the spring anime season while others are simply new music to get stuck into. From our recent discoveries to our returning favourites, these are some of the best JRock songs from the last month.
As always, if you want more music throughout the month, you can check out our JRock Spotify Playlist. We keep it updated with new music whenever it comes out so you can just sit back and listen without having to search through the month’s releases.
BABYMETAL – THE ONE (The First Take version)
It is so easy to write off BABYMETAL for having a gimmick. Yes, they’re cute as heck and often perform while singing and dancing with the loudest metal possible blaring behind them, but each member of the band is an incredibly talented singer. All the gimmicks, outfits, and adorable images in the world can’t hide the fact that their singing is top-tier.
Listen to Suzuka Nakamoto’s singing on this track, which is a stripped-back version of BABYMETAL’s classic THE ONE recorded for The First Take. Su-metal is incredible here, letting the tone of her voice carry the track with almost effortless ease. This song was fun and powerful before, but it becomes almost haunting when you give it an almost acoustic arrangement. I almost hope they play this version when the band comes to the UK in November 2023.
MAN WITH A MISSION – Kizuna no Kiseki
Another group that is coming to the UK this year is MAN WITH A MISSION, who have managed to land the opening song to one of this season’s biggest shows, Demon Slayer. They have a lot to live up to, considering how good every opening has been for the anime so far, but they’re also one of the best bands in Japan right now so we’re sure they’re up to the task.
For Kizuna no Kiseki, MAN WITH A MISSION has teamed up with milet, who performed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony and has had an incredible career since her 2019 debut. This new JRock track is exactly as dramatic and powerful as you’d expect from these two acts, capturing the energy that Demon Slayer fans expect.
Hi-Standard – I’m a Rat
Hi-STANDARD is a fantastic punk band out of Japan that has been putting out high-energy music for more than 30 years. They’re loud, occasionally abrasive, and willing to write just about whatever kind of music they feel like, which is why you get tracks like I’m a Rat.
This JRock song is all about doing whatever the heck you want and leaving society behind. As life gets more chaotic with each passing year, there is something wonderful about that idea. This track also features the band’s late drummer Akira Tsuneoka, who died suddenly in February of this year, in what could be one of his final recordings before his death.
RADWIMPS – KANASHIBARI
Though most of my favourite JRock music is best listened to loud, there is something to be said about something a bit more chilled out. RADWIMPS is capable of giving you both, though they are probably best known for working with Makoto Shinkai on the soundtracks to Your Name, Weathering with You, and Suzume.
Kanashibari shifts from being an almost ethereal, gentle song to displaying a touch of the edge that RADWIMPS can give you on some of their other tracks. It is easy to imagine just leaning back with headphones in and letting the sound take you somewhere else entirely.
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