Okay, it’s been a while since some legit good J-Rock has been dropped to the public. But no worries! Because there has been some singles that are worth mentioning in this post. The three that’ll be on the choppin’ block is Satsuki’s “Moon Spiral”, ViViD’s “Across The Border”, and 12012’s “Tattoo”. Yes, that’s 12012 and they’re still old as dirt and making good music. It’s not as great as their other singles that have been recently released, but it’ll do for now until they decide to make another single or an entire CD.

So first off is Satsuki. For those who don’t know who he is (you should seriously fuckin’ burn if you don’t know him), he was the frontman and singer of Rentrer en Soi. After they disbanded he decided to do solo work and before this one he released a single called “La Lune” and in my opinion, it sucked massive dick. I’m not one for what can be described as harmonious, angelic ballads but if that’s what you’re into then his first single is worth checkin’ into. Now for his “Moon Spiral” single, it’s straight up amazing. I think it’s totally a redemption single from “La Lune” and it’s way more edgier. It’s a four track single and the song titled “You” is the power ballad of the single. The other three tracks are Satsuki’s harmonic voiced backed up with guitars and a dandy melody. It’s nothing intricate or anything, but it’s a nice listen. His second song on the single “Pray For The Sun” has some electronic elements to it, but it’s not to the point that he over does it. But rather, it’s a nice balance for the track and it’s something worth checking out. Overall, his new single is a definite download and I’m not saying that because I’m a devoted Rentrer en Soi fan either, haha.

Satsuki’s “Moon Spiral“

Second single is ViViD’s “Across The Border”. It’s a good follow up to their second single “69-II” since that was when I think they started to break away from their intended Oshare birth (with their first single “Dear”).  But back to “Across The Border”, it’s got a PV out for it and it’s really just the band playing at a border and some guys in suits are stopping them, well trying to. The track list for the single is also a four track one it’s just “Across The Border”, “Feast of the Moon”, “Twilight”, and “Yume no Michishirube”. Okay, so I’ll start off with a bit of “Twilight”, it’s the lightest song of the single. But it’s got a bit of a spark to it, but nothing really worth mentioning. Also, their song “Yume no Michishirube” is a light song as well. It’s a lighter song but with more of a ballsy tone to it. It’s not a total puss song. The real highlight of the album are the other three tracks, they’re all worth listening to.  Their vocalist Shin is really shining in the songs and they’ve even included like a mini-breakdown in “Across The Border” and then it’s followed up by a guitar solo from Ryouga. Their track “Feast of the Moon” is a song that seems focused on the guitars in it, the rhythm of the song is good. It’s just a good single overall, not the greatest but good. To an extent, it seems rather generic but it happens to most bands that try to be Oshare. Worth checking out though.

ViViD’s “Across The Border“

Finally, is the review of 12012’s single “Tattoo”. To be honest, I’m not so amazed by this single. It’s just really seemed like their losing what they once had when they started as a band. It’s a three track single, it’s got “Tattoo” and then an instrumental of it and it’s got a song called “Silhouette” and that’s the power ballad. Nothing special. The only highlight of the single is “Tattoo” and they’ve got a PV Preview for it too. Just gonna say that Wataru looks pretty badass in the single, haha. But musically, it’s really just another single from 12012’s “newer” days. I’m not trying to sound like one of those “old vs new” asshole fans but that’s what has happened. If you compare “Tattoo” to their songs like “Shooting Star” or even “Shudder”…Well, there wouldn’t even be a comparison. Die hard fans might not like it, but if you’re just getting into 12012 (then you’re so fuckin’ late) you’ll dig it.

12012’s “Tattoo (PV Preview)“