JRock: 4 Songs We Listened to in June
Hey, friends. You made it to halfway through the year that has felt like six years happening at once. As we wrap up June, I take a look at the JRock songs that got me over the hump of 2020. I mean, it must all be better from here on out, right?
As before, this little round up is a bit of a mixture of new songs, old songs I’ve fallen in love with all over again, and a cover or two. Even during lockdown, we’re still getting some fantastic new songs and the extra time spent indoors and online is giving me time to dig through some gems I may have missed the first time around.
Our June JRock Playlist
Deadstroke by Ena Fujita
This fast and hard JRock single was recently used as the ending track for Baki, and this bikini-rioting, hard-rocking gravure idol is channelling that fighting spirit throughout the video. The song itself shows off some of Fujita’s vocal range while still capturing the catchy pop hooks that have made her such a force to be reckoned with on the Japanese music scene.
This talented singer and songwriter knows how to get a crowd pumping. As soon as I stumbled across this one, I knew it was going to feature on my playlists for a long time. Fujita’s biography is a bit all over the place, but shows just how talented this woman is.
Reach Out to the Truth (Cover) by FamilyJules
I make no secret about how much I adore the music in the Persona soundtrack, so when Persona 4 Golden got re-released on Steam a few weeks ago it offered me an excuse to dive back into some old favourites from this classic JRPG (as well as revisit some old flames). This cover has everything that you could want from a Persona song. A hook that dives in right from the start. The rap interlude that shouldn’t work but oddly does. More than enough of the original feel in there while still putting their own stamp on the song.
Everyone who worked on this is insanely talented, so it is definitely worth checking out. This is one of the stand out songs of one of my favourite JRPGs of all time, so its pretty safe to say that I have a high opinion of it.
Up to You by Silent Siren
Silent Siren are a band made up of former models, which normally would be cringe inducing for me to type, but if you’re silly enough to judge them for that fact then you don’t deserve the absolute energy on display in this video. Up to You is definitely a bit more on the rock side of things than their usual sound, but they are easily pulling it off here. It’s something I’m really hoping we hear more from them in the future because I would love to be able to write more about this group in future JRock articles.
Start Over by BAND-MAID
This band is one of my all-time favourites, so I don’t think there is a week that goes by that I don’t delve into their back catalogue. This song is about as poppy as BAND-MAID usually gets, but it is always fun to watch a band flex their creative muscles a bit and try something new. As always, Miku shows her vocal range and ability to tell a story through the song. Its something a bit lighter and fresher from BAND-MAID that has me singing and humming while I’m working.
Though, to be fair, there are so many reasons to love BAND-MAID, its tough to pick just one.
So, what have you been listening to lately? Let us know in the usual channels cause I’m always looking for new music to get me through the unending barrage of chaos that has been 2020.
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