It’s been tough being a Kis-My-Ft2 fan recently. I’ve lengthy held them up as my favourite J-pop group and not too long ago ran down their total discography when it lastly made its solution to streaming (examine the posts out right here and right here!), however I haven’t cared for any of their materials up to now couple years. And with key member Hiromitsu Kitayama leaving the group, their energy appeared diminished. These circumstances make new single Glory Days much more satisfying. It’s the closest we’ve gotten to an ideal Kis-My-Ft2 music in years.

The key phrase right here is “rock.” Kis-My-Ft2 have all the time labored extremely effectively on this style, with a lot of my favourite songs that includes outstanding guitar and anthemic melodies. For Glory Days, they’ve labored with composer Kamikaze Boy from glorious rock band Man With A Mission, and I hope this turns into a long-lasting collaboration. He offers them the form of uplifting stadium singalong they made their title on — equal elements open-hearted cheese and hard-fought grit. The instrumental surges with vitality even because the music itself has extra of a ballad construction. This mix is extremely impact, feeling like a celebratory victory lap.

Melodically, Glory Days recollects previous hits like Dwelling, merged with the sentimental heft of a music like Chotokkyu’s Yell. Once more, this can be a successful system for me. The melody has such raise, constructing till it explodes in a rousing post-chorus chant. It turns into extra satisfying every time I lhear it and solely jogs my memory why I like this group’s music so dearly. It has such life-affirming vitality. And after the diminishing returns of the previous few years, it offers me such pleasure to present this an unabashedly excessive ranking.

Grade: A