In honor of Kis-My-Ft2’s complete videography being uploaded to YouTube (in edited form, of course…), I can’t resist writing about each single. To put this in context for Bias List readers, Kis-My-Ft2 (or Kisumai, as they’re often known) are my J-pop version of Infinite. That’s how much I love them and their discography.

Yet, I rarely write about them because finding online links to their music was so hard… until now!

LOVE (2018)

LOVE is a weird one, because at times I forget that it exists. There’s nothing wrong with the song. In fact, it’s quite good and every time I listen to it I realize how much I’m underrating its charms. But for some reason, it just fades into the background of Kisumai’s (admittedly huge) discography. I’m not even sure why this is!

The track packs quite a punch, delivering plenty of EDM energy and commanding percussion. The verses have an almost chant-like structure, building toward a huge chorus in the classic Johnny’s style. But as solid as the song is, it lacks a bit of character. It’s Kisumai going through the motions.

The video brings back the roller skates and opts for a circus setting. Like the song, I find it pretty average. But, average Kisumai is still better than a lot of groups.

What I really want to do is hijack this review to talk about the Yummy album, which arrived a few months before LOVE. It doesn’t have any unique title track/single of its own, so this seems like the best place to write about it. Yummy is quite possibly my favorite Kisumai album. It’s packed with so many fantastic songs, from the sublime rock of Freeze, Break The Chains and Real Me to the propulsive dance experimentation of Super Tasty to the stirring EDM of Shinkirou.

The Yummy album also spawned a tour that includes some of my favorite song sequences in the group’s history. For those who really want to see Kisumai at their best, I recommend exploring the following moments:

• Break The Chains + Freeze + Shinkirou
  Akai Kajitsu + Let It Burn + Kiss Damashii + Tonight + Ima wa Mada Toku hateshinai Yume mo

I mean… the staging, the energy, the costume changes, the explosive indoor fireworks (!), the EPIC SONGS back to back to back. It’s J-pop nirvana.

Of course, this would require a purchase of the tour’s dvd/blu-ray, which is well-worth it. But, if you want a preview, you could go straight to segments 33:40-43:12 and 01:37:59-01:55:43 at this link. Just sayin’…