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The new Gacharic Spin single, “Mindset,” is both familiar and new. The song has the band’s traditional energy, passion, power and funk. But “Mindset” also has an underlying air of tension that is new to the Gachapin world. Yes, DOLL$BOXX, the side project that featured the absolutely spectacular and incomparable FUKI on vocals, was a hard-edged and dramatic metal band.

But Gacharic Spin itself seemed to remain firmly rooted in the “happy, happy, happy, jumping, jumping, jumping” world of “メロメロファンタジー,” the triumphant major key rave-up from the album Delicious that featured guitarist Tomo-zo on vocals to sensational effect.

「1」

“Mindset” is another thing entirely. To put it simply, “Mindset” is without precedent in the Gacharic Spin oeuvre. Gacharic Spin’s songs have always been urgent and aggressive major key anthems. “Mindset” takes the drama to another level – and to an entirely different, more menacing, musical mode.

After a gloriously funky introduction, the listener hears the countdown “3-2-1.” Vocalist Angelina 1/3 enters the fray with a hard-edged rap. The pre-chorus becomes slightly more melodic. The song eventually explodes into an absolutely ferocious, but hypnotic, chorus. The song continues with a mix of traditional melodic lines and cutting-edge rap. The bridge is breathtaking in its mood-changing beauty.

「2」

As always, the razor-sharp bassist F-Chopper Koga provides the gasoline to the fire. Tomo-zo contributes a bizarrely off-kilter guitar solo. The mysterious “is she an angel or is she a devil?” vocalist/keyboardist Oreo Reona appears out of nowhere to provide jazzy, but essential, accents to the solo section. The lodestar of the band, vocalist/drummer Hana, kicks ass as only she can.

But, while sounding like Gacharic Spin, “Mindset” doesn’t really sound like Gacharic Spin. “Mindset” is suffused with an almost unbearably intense anguish and disquietude. The lyrics, at least in a rudimentary translation into English, seem to reflect the narrator’s frustration with life, love and the 21^st Century in general. After over a decade of writing and performing overwhelmingly upbeat songs, Gacharic Spin has suddenly acknowledged that the world may actually be a dangerous, forbidding and sinister place.

「3」

What is one to make of this change? The answer seems to be both obvious and baffling. The obvious answer is that the addition of Angelina 1/3 as vocalist and MC has completely reinvigorated the band. The baffling aspect of this change is that Angie, who joined the band when she was seventeen years old, is at least a decade or so younger than all the other members of the band. One would have thought that Gacharic Spin’s music would therefore double-down on the teen-aged pop elements of the band that have been so successful in the past.

Nope. Not at all. Angelina 1/3 may in fact be one of those teenagers who, like Greta Thunberg, is both angry and terrified at the world that her elders have left for her generation to clean up. Of course, this is idle speculation. But if that is in fact the case, then perhaps those frustrations have found their way into the songs of Gacharic Spin. No disrespect is intended to Nene or Mai, who were admirable “performers” in past incarnations of the band. But regardless of causes, motivations or intent, Angie 1/3 may be the catalyst for a fundamental transformation of Gacharic Spin.

「4」

To those who have been paying close attention, this change may not be such a surprise. When Angie joined Gacharic Spin, the band also added drummer Yuri. This allowed Hana to move upstage as vocalist and guitarist. This is where she probably always belonged, as great a drummer as she is.

In addition, the band’s livestreams in the age of COVID-19 have been devoid of wild costumes and choreographed dancing. The performances have been surprisingly mainstream. The angelic devil (or devilish angel) Oreo Reona has taken a step back in terms of her vocal leads. Relieved of the pressure of being both the sex symbol and (tears of a) clown of the band, Oreo has emerged as a more prominent and mature contributor on background vocals and keyboards. Even the dynamic between Tomo-zo and Koga seems different with Hana up front.

In short, Gacharic Spin seems to be more focused on the music that they are presenting, rather than how they are presenting that music. They seem more like a grown-up rock band. They are no longer the mainstream (but irresistibly non-mainstream) act that occasionally featured pom-pom wielding cheerleaders in live concert.

「5」

All of this certainly bodes well for the next Gacharic Spin album, expected to be released this fall. The album will apparently be self-titled, Gacharic Spin. This indicates that fans should expect a reset. That is somewhat frightening. But it is also exciting.

Based on “Mindset,” the core members of the band have developed a genuine trust in Angelina 1/3. Angelina 1/3 truly has a white-hot star quality that brings something new to the band. If “Mindset” is any indication of what to expect, this incarnation of Gacharic Spin may be the best yet.

ページトップの「日本語」をクリックすると、本記事の日本語版を閲覧できます。

For the Japanese version of this article, please click on “日本語 at the top of the page.