Why do I think this is the best rock band since the Beatles?

It’s the songwriting, stupid!

(My penultimate post on Band-Maid prior to their October U.S. tour.  The anticipation is sky-high -- I know professional musicians who are traveling long distances to be able to catch these shows.  Grab tickets if you can find them!)

 Japanese musicians do not care about our conventions regarding style or genre.  This makes them free to try almost anything. When it works, it can be amazing. 

Band-Maid started off doing straight-ahead rock with a strong punk sensibility.  Album by album, concert by concert, they have been expanding their repertoire, increasingly drawing in elements from jazz, soul, funk, classical and metal.  Of course, none of this would be possible if they were not top-shelf musicians.  Akane and Misa, in particular, constitute possibly the best  rhythm section in rock since Geddy Lee and Neil Peart.  Band-Maid have been smart enough to double down on that strength, putting the drums and bass forward in the mix on many of their songs. 

Wonderland (live)

This is an unlikely combination of dreaminess and thump, with an acrobatic vocal performance to top it off.  Misa (bass) and Kanami (guitar) essentially trade roles, with Misa playing lead on bass and Kanami playing a rhythm line.  One of my favorite Band-Maid songs, and the one that cemented my view of Misa as maybe the best rock bassist in the world right now (some would argue for Billy Sheehan and I’m ok with that). 

Play (live)

One of their older songs, but upgraded and embellished for their live shows.  (Band-Maid always add something for live performances.)  In this case, they do an extended intro with all of the instruments getting turns to shine (think of the Greek concept of aristeia) The song itself is high-energy and funky, but still a rock song.

Manners

Another one which captures a dreamy, lyrical feeling while rocking hard.  It has lots of groove, intricate give-and-take between the bass and drums, and, in the background, a swaggering, almost cheeky guitar line which never overwhelms the song.  It’s as though Kanami wrote it just to have fun without caring whether anyone would notice it.  Well, we noticed.