ALBUM [KISS] INTERVIEW

It is an overwhelming album.

First of all, its prideworthy contents are as though they made an overwhelming abundance of flowers bloom; this is an album whose excellence cannot be covered merely by listening. From the sudden gear-switching, jump-in-and-fight party tune SEVENTH HEAVEN, to that which brings pomp and flourish to costume parties in an ageless mingling of jazz and rock, the unexpectedly direct Christmas tune “Hurry Xmas” – they are a band of twelve songs, and it is plain to see that while they do build upon one another, they are not directly connected; it would be fair to describe them as an “All star” or “Elite” line-up. The projection from L’Arc~en~Ciel is thus : these four songwriters have together brought into life something that “each freely tore to shreds”, leading to the music’s dynamism, but this time the process is incomparable to the past, each song has freely developed into infantry, air force or navy, as if this were to be the one, decisive battle, and so the incomprehensible, unstoppable spectacle goes on in the form of this album. Faced with the task of ascribing a masterpiece to the band based on this work and their career to date, a fair amount of preparation is required, but taking into consideration their musical persona and band sense spanning from whenever to whenever, I believe it is fair to say that this album is their masterpiece. More than anything, the creation of such an album is but one result of intentional and daring efforts, and upon acquiring more knowledge, that emotion remains memorable. From the mouths of the four themselves, episodes such as “The quality of the demos was on a whole new level of professionalism,” goes to show that this album can be called a masterpiece from many different points of view.

Pop music is the development of wondrous mechanisms and developments where each new result leads to all-out war. This means that it is not about a single superstar’s power, but perhaps rather like a soccer club, its strength varies along with the sponsors, supporters, and back-up system. However, much like a single brilliant play may go down in history, in pop music a single song has the power to move the world with a single sound or word. Starting with a spark that defies logic and marketing, this is a thing that gives life to business and development. Put differently, music without a spark, music that is given light only by business may be heard left and right but it can have no life beyond making money. In other words, cliche.
From the band’s story to their looks, and now this series of releases that have brought them back into daily gossip, the appeal of L’Arc~en~Ciel is multifaceted, and though they earn nothing but praise on several points, they have preserved “the first melody”, “the single echo”. This album, KISS : from the first listen it can be felt that its great dynamism will ring across the world, but in truth there is a slight distance between “I want to protect your smile while you’re close to me” and the themes of space and love within the songs. A tiny heartbeat against an explosion, and the world keeps on turning despite anger and sadness. When it comes to making that “core” sing, L’Arc~en~Ciel proves the surprising truth about the power of music and the purity of pop. They are a band that has lasted 15 years of moons, and thus their message, although gentle, is a polished blade that arrives to thrill our hearts. This is the ecstasy of pop music as taught by KISS.

It may seem like I am cursing it to call it pop so insistently, but I am not only speaking of the five singles but also of the seven other songs which do not fail against the singles in terms of melody and rhythm, nor in the aura they illustrate. In the minds of these four, rock and pop and punk and Japanese folk music and movies and paintings are lined up in a row, and that universally radical jumping over of sensibilities is what allows, according to passionate beats and detailed musculature, the mystifying melodies to echo. Personally, I wonder : why is this ballad so beautiful? This hard rock song, why is it cruel and yet so sad? Although it can be enjoyed as pop, why does this certain awakening stick to it almost as if it were the band’s philosophy? I think of these questions as flirtation with L’Arc~en~Ciel; with this album L’Arc~en~Ciel has maxed out the meter, “L’Arc~en~Ciel has surpassed L’Arc~en~Ciel” this time.

“I think of a kiss an action that gets the blood pumping. That’s why it makes the participants connected, I think it’s a tremendously wonderful thing.” – hyde

Once I wondered aloud : is there no rock band that betrays its own price and value? Then my mind went white and that band was there.
Now this band must expand its field; by means of this brutal tour, challenge their own concept and destroy suspicions in order to break down the walls, and so gently let ring the truth about this severe world.
L’Arc~en~Ciel has not just once but earnestly, to profit from the sound of the “unknown world” and “the truth of things”, made this album, KISS. It is wonderful yet also contains a spiritual unease. It is the push and pull of the friction and fusion between the band communicated emotionally into the flesh and blood that is pop.
This band that has created so many renowned works has once again created a masterpiece, yet I had no idea that such a moment was a tense kindness presented to a drifting world. From the bottom of the heart, this album is a wellspring of joy.

text : Shikano Atsushi
Translated by Natalie Arnold