Time for another J-Pop Sunday! No, wait! Don’t run away, avid TBO reader! These guys are all punk rock-y and that means that this column might actually fit in with the rest of the site for once! That’s right cool kids and kidettes, I can be cool! Check out “The Mirraz”!
…You can’t see it, but right now I’m doing a super-cool double hand finger guns thing to show how cool I am. Oh yes.
Quick Guide:
Act Name: The Mirraz
Line-up:
Shohei Hatakeyama (畠山 承平) – Vocals/Guitar
Masahika Sato (畠山 承平) – Guitar/Vocals
Keizo Nakajima (中島 ケイゾ) – Bass/Vocals
Rui Sekiguchi (関口 塁) – Drums (Former member, left June 2013)
Years Active: 2006 – Present
Genre: Indie Punk/Rock
Kaito’s Choice Tracks: TOP OF THE FUCK’N WORLD (2010), ハッピーアイスクリーム (Happy Ice Cream)(2010), 真夏の屯田兵 ～yeah! yeah! yeah!～ (Colonizers of Midsummer ~ yeah! yeah! yeah! ~)(2013)
So, The Mirraz! I’ll be brief: The band formed in the September of 2006, got their name from the mistaken belief that “Mirra” was Portuguese for “Mummy” – as in those chaps in Egyptian Tombs – and were influenced primarily by British band “The Arctic Monkeys”.
…And that’s all I’ve got. I’m sorry! I literally only found out about these guys yesterday after buying their third album in a game of “J-Band Album Roulette Chance”. English language information about the band seems to be scarce and my Japanese is just awful. However, I do feel as though I hit the jackpot with my little shopping game and after checking out their music, I’m sure you will feel the same.
Title and opening track from the album I mentioned a moment ago, ‘TOP OF THE FUCK’N WORLD’ oozes a delightful blend of tough and cool which builds to suggest that we’re in for a treat with the rest of the album, yet it doesn’t fall into the trap of being an “intro track”. It’s strong enough to stand on its own feet, even without the album behind it.
You could argue that Happy Ice Cream is generic and/or repetitive, especially in the guitar riffs, but, it’s still a nice song to chill or drive out to. And it makes me smile.
Another upbeat track, “Colonizers of Midsummer” feels free-spirited while invoking the spirit of classic punk in its’ music. Which, y’know, it’s pretty neat. Those guitar riffs in particular make me think so.
See, cool punk people, Japanese music can be hip too. Sadly, I’ll never be “with it.” Until next time!
More of The Mirraz:
Official Website: http://the-mirraz.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/the_mirraz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMirraz