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Band-Maid are one of the world’s most dangerous rock bands. From a creative standpoint, Band-Maid absolutely refuse to stand still. With each release, the five women of Band-Maid add additional complexities to their sound. They explore new rhythms, faster beats, more challenging lyrics, gentler ballads, and more frenzied rockers as they add to their increasingly large and fascinating body of work.

The danger of embarking on such a restless and unpredictable journey is that fans may be alienated by the drastic transformations that appear in every Band-Maid release. A quick search of the world wide web reveals a few examples of fans who have said, in effect, “They’ve lost me.”

A recent example of Band-Maid’s insistence on exploring new directions is the CD BAND-MAID ONLINE ACOUSTIC OKYU-JI. This release, available at the band’s on-line store, documents a studio live performance in December 2021. What made this performance truly special was the fact that Band-Maid, which is an intensely furious and hard-rocking band, performed its songs in an acoustic setting.

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The acoustic re-arrangements are reminiscent of the processes used to construct and analyze crossword puzzles. Interestingly, the aptly titled song “PUZZLE” from 2018 is one of the first examples of Band-Maid taking a completely fresh approach to one of their iconic songs. Vocalist Saiki and guitarist Kanami rework what was a seething hard rock song into a lovely ballad. The reimagined “PUZZLE” required an intellectual exploration akin to the analysis of crossword puzzles.

And crossword puzzles are indeed one of the great intellectual pastimes. A crossword puzzle requires an extensive knowledge of the cultural zeitgeist, a comprehensive understanding of language, and a deep appreciation for clever wordplay. A great, but clean, crossword puzzle is notoriously difficult to construct.

The flipside of that statement is that poorly constructed puzzles are easy to criticize. Take a quick glance at the rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com website. Written by Michael Sharp, a professor of English, General Literature and Rhetoric at Binghamton University, this blog provides a detailed analysis of the daily New York Times Crossword Puzzle. Professor Sharp and the cranks, critics, and curmudgeons who inhabit the comments section are very hard-to-please.

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But Professor Sharp and his demanding acolytes also provide an unspoken, but nevertheless inherently understood, definition of what makes a great crossword puzzle. As with most problems or issues, the solution can be summarized in three simple concepts. In this case, the concise definition of a well-crafted crossword puzzle is that it is breezy, sparkly, and crunchy.

A breezy crossword puzzle has a sense of fun and playfulness. It contains novelty and unexpected pleasures. A sparkly crossword puzzle is effervescent and high-spirited. The puzzle evokes appreciation for its intellectual achievement. A crunchy crossword puzzle is brash and challenging. It requires the solver to dig deep in solving it. The best crossword puzzles evoke all three of those characteristics. Constructing a breezy, sparkly and crunchy crossword puzzle requires true craftmanship.

The genius of a great crossword puzzle does not end with the feat of construction. A crossword puzzle can also be analyzed through a process of deconstruction. This process involves a backwards analysis of the puzzle. The critic breaks the final puzzle back into its individual parts, including answers, clues, themes and the grid itself. Professor Sharp uses this process to reimagine how the puzzle could have been done differently in order to enhance the puzzle-solving experience. He often provides alternatives to entire sections of the puzzle to demonstrate his points.

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Jacques Derrida’s approach to deconstruction was a way of rejecting Plato’s concepts of true and ideal forms in favor of chaotic and undecidable ideas. This approach, which has been applied to philosophy, literature, psychology, and linguistics, is also relevant to rock music. The always spectacular Band-Maid demonstrate this approach on BAND-MAID ONLINE ACOUSTIC OKYU-JI.

The starting point for a deconstructive analysis of rock songs is the original work. Band-Maid meets the crossword puzzle standard of excellence because of the finely tuned craftsmanship that goes into every song. Sonic analogues to the answers, clues, themes and grid of a crossword puzzle may be the performances, music and riffs, lyrics and arrangements. Band-Maid use those elements to create truly fascinating musical works.

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And the adjectives breezy, sparkly and crunchy apply to Band-Maid. Band-Maid songs are breezy and playful. Think about the deep cut instrumental, “Hard Wash,” the 52 second song that Kanami wrote for COVID-19 hygiene. Band-Maid songs are sparkly – effervescent and high-spirited – as in the demo instrumental “Want More!” And, above all, Band-Maid’s songs are often very crunchy. This is especially true of the challenging recent releases, which seem to be ever more chaotic and insistent. To use another “deep cut” as an example, the song “Youth,” available only on the two-disc version of Unseen World, is somehow melodic while seeming to be completely untethered from form.

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But the critical point is that most Band-Maid songs contain all three of these elements. To pick a single example, cue up “I Can’t Live Without You,” the opening track of the album World Domination. Artists like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande have conditioned music fans to expect a searing minor key torch song from a song with such a title.

Band-Maid, on the other hand, delivered a wildly violent rocker that is incandescent in its rage. “I Can’t Live Without You” is a scorching depiction of an obsessed lover.

Kanami’s initial riff displays a crunch as satisfying as a jar of Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter. Miku’s challenging lyrics – and her lyrics are almost always an exercise in stimulation of the cerebral cortex – are wildly effervescent (sparkly):

I want to see an endless dream

Even if it’s a mistake, I want to stay sleeping like this

Dissolve into the unpredictable tomorrows

Cruelty of passionate love

I want to feel it all the time

I want to be in an endless dream

Don’t need such a future, say goodbye

I also love cloudy skies

Wreck the sun and hold me tight

Never end

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Kanami’s brief guitar solo, despite remaining in the same manic tone as the song itself, has a curiously relaxed, or breezy, feel.

But the attempt to identify individual aspects of a song that are sparkly, breezy and crunchy is the wrong way to analyze Band-Maid. Band-Maid’s songs evoke those characteristics in totality, just as an elegant and clean crossword puzzle does.

Band-Maid’s songs have a complexity that transcends traditional notions of song structure, lyrical content and arrangement. That complexity elevates Band-Maid’s magnum corpus beyond the ordinary. And that is what the New York Times Crossword Puzzles are supposed to do.

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Kanami is the genius who composes most of the musical ideas that perfectly illuminate Miku’s captivating lyrics. Kanami works in her home studio dreaming up the riffs, melodies and chord progressions. She sends her ideas to the other members who provide input for the further development of those ideas.

Misa and Akane add their invaluable contributions to the arrangements. At the conclusion of the creative process, Saiki, the frontwoman who is always totally in sync with her audience, is the member who gives the final thumbs up or down to what is released. Therefore, Kanami is the Alpha, and Saiki is the Omega of the Band-Maid creative process.

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Kanami was also responsible for the new acoustic arrangements, except for “Sayonakidori,” which was arranged by Miku. The live acoustic version of the song “PUZZLE” on the DVD/Blu-Ray World Domination Tour 2018 – Live at Zepp (April 13, 2018) was an early example of Kanami’s willingness to challenge conventions. This gorgeous duet between Saiki and Kanami demonstrates Band-Maid’s genius at deconstructing a powerful hard rock song and rebuilding it into a sensual ballad. Saiki’s yearning voice is perfectly complemented by Kanami’s gentle backing vocals.

Another great example of Band-Maid’s ability to deconstruct and reimagine its songs is the “side project” BAND-MAIKO. On April’s Fool Day of 2018, the band released a video called “secret MAIKO lips.” Visually, the band recast themselves from a maid café-inspired quintet to one inspired by traditional Japanese customs. But the band also reimagined the song “secret My lips,” a classic hard rock song from the album Just Bring It, into a song that incorporated traditional Japanese sounds. The band later expanded the “joke” into almost an album’s worth of songs. These versions of the songs, inspired by traditional Japanese music, were revelatory.

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ONLINE ACOUSTIC OKYU-JI applies the same creative process of reinvention to fourteen of Band-Maid’s most iconic songs. Some of the songs on the album are not surprises. The acoustic version of the ballad “At The Drop of a Hat” is not significantly different from the original electric version on the 2019 album Conqueror. The same is true of the acoustic version of “Page,” which surprisingly opened that album in a pastoral manner.

Other songs also lend themselves to a more substantial transformation. Band-Maid slows down the mid-tempo rocker “Smile” into a lovely ballad to open the concert. The acoustic version provides enough space for Saiki to perform one of her most impassioned performances. Her vocals are absolutely filled with emotion. This version of “Smile” is one of Saiki’s greatest vocal performances.

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But it is the wildly imaginative re-envisioning of the hardest rocking songs that truly command the listener’s attention. Band-Maid perform four of the songs from the incendiary album Unseen World, plus the contemporaneous single “Different.” (See the review of Unseen World at https://raijinrock.com/band-maid-the-furies-unleashed-review-of-unseen-world/).

The leap of imagination required to take such maniacally hard-rocking songs and rework them into an acoustic format is almost reckless. But, as indicated in the introduction, Band-Maid have an almost innate sense of daring and creativity.

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Band-Maid’s 2020 single “Different” was the most aggressive song that the band had released to that point. The lyrics were almost nihilistic in their description of an individual rising to the challenge of flourishing in a meaningless world (see the review of “Different” at https://raijinrock.com/band-maid-different-2/).

The acoustic version of “Different” is stripped down to its bare bones in a duet between Saiki and Kanami. But even this vastly different interpretation adds surprising elements. The bluesy acoustic guitar introduction to the song evokes the acoustic guitar riffs played by Jimmy Page on songs like “Friends” or “Gallows Pole” on the 1970 album LED ZEPPELIN III.  That may sound like a crazy statement to make; nevertheless, it is true.

The acoustic version of “Different” is an almost unimaginable feat of imagination. Facing each other, occasionally looking directly into each other’s eyes with delight, Saiki and Kanami transform the brutally fierce “Different” into an intensely erotic love song in which one lover encourages the other to live happily despite the ravages of the past. It is the musical sibling of many K-Drama television series, such as the classics Chocolate, Our Beloved Summer or Another Miss Oh.

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Band-Maid’s new arrangement of “NO GOD” may be the most amazing achievement of the acoustic concert. The original version on Unseen World probably clocks in at about 220 beats-per-minute. It is almost impossible to imagine how Band-Maid could arrange an acoustic version. Instead of simply slowing the song down, Band-Maid have turned NO GOD into an exhilarating jazz manouche romp. One can easily imagine going to see the French jazz manouche musician Sanseverino at Le Bataclan in Paris in July 2007 (a concert I attended) and hearing him perform this version of “NO GOD” after his iconic song “Andre.” (Live performance of “Andre” with Sanseverino and Francis Cabrel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGlvX5YR8sg )

In contrast, the equally ferocious “H-G-K” retains much of its original fury. The acoustic version is fast-paced and punchy, like the version on Unseen World. Yet the acoustic version of the hard-core stomp “Manners” takes on a jazzy insouciance that is nothing like the original version. It’s almost as if Band-Maid are consciously trying to subvert the listener’s expectations from song to song.

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The band even dips deep into its back catalog to exhume the long-forgotten song “FORWARD” from its first release Maid In Japan (2014). Written by Kentaro Akutsu in the days before Band-Maid began composing their own songs, “FORWARD” doesn’t appear on any other officially released live DVD. It is fair to say that Band-Maid are now a completely different band from the one that made the pop album Maid In Japan. But it is a clever move for Band-Maid to pay homage to their early days.

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The real revelation of the acoustic arrangements is bassist Misa, or, as she is known to her legion of fans, “Misa! MISA!! MISA!!!” On the original electric arrangements, Misa typically locks in with Akane to maintain the beat and drive the forward momentum of the song. In the acoustic set, Misa is liberated from those constraints. Misa’s role in the acoustic versions, albeit on electric bass, is to play ornamental filigrees behind the verses and chorus. These ornamentations add an element of sophistication to the acoustic arrangements. In less capable hands, acoustic versions of electric songs can be bland. Misa’s amazing bass figures ensure that this never happens.

In addition, Misa plays more solos during the acoustic versions than she normally does on the original electric versions. An example is her captivating solo on “NO GOD.” Misa is funky, jazzy and creative in her approach to soloing. At the risk of offending jazz purists, it is no stretch of the imagination to say that Misa could play circles around many of the jazz professionals who play regularly at the Blue Note in Greenwich Village (see https://raijinrock.com/gacharic-spin-dollboxx-band-maid-the-progressive-metal-jazz-funk-of-f-chopper-koga-and-misa-misa-misa/).

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Band-Maid drummer Hirose Akane dials back some of her inherently aggressive approach to the drums as she adheres to the “acoustic” element of this performance. Akane is one of the most shockingly original rock drummers since Ginger Baker of Cream or Keith Moon of The Who (see https://raijinrock.com/band-maid-akanes-advanced-techniques-for-the-metal-drummer/).

But Akane loses none of her creativity in the acoustic set. Her delicate fills and inventive use of cymbals and bells enhance every one of the songs on which she plays.

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Band-Maid also added sonic variety to the acoustic set by using five different configurations during the concert (see set list below). Instead of featuring the full band on every song, Band-Maid used some surprising line-ups beyond the duo of Saiki and Kanami that has often performed an acoustic session during Band-Maid’s okyu-ji.

On BAND-MAID ONLINE ACOUSTIC OKYU-JI, the unusual combination of Saiki, Kanami and Misa perform “Awkward” and “Wonderland.” Miku has a spotlight as lead vocalist on “TIME” and “Sayonakidori,” which she performs with Misa and Akane. The timbre of Miku’s voice may be more suited to the acoustic versions of songs. She seems to hit every note with a more relaxed power.

The alternative configurations of the band may not seem important on initial listen. Nevertheless, the differing interpersonal dynamics of the line-ups do seem to inspire the band members to deliver highly focused performances.

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It is also refreshing to see Band-Maid perform in stylish, traditionally inspired modern clothing, rather than their usual maid costumes. It is hard for Westerners to understand the role of the visual look in Japanese music. Band-Maid have stated that the contrast between their dainty maid costumes and their incendiary music is an important element of the Band-Maid ethos.

Nevertheless, there are certain elements of Western rock music fandom that will never accept Band-Maid as a legitimate hard rock band because of the costumes. It goes without saying that Band-Maid would be every bit as great if they stopped wearing the maid costumes. Yet the same could be said of Lovebites and other Japanese bands.

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Band-Maid are currently operating at the highest level of artistry. Band-Maid create finely crafted rock songs that are as satisfying to the listener as a well-constructed crossword puzzle is to the solver. Yet, Band-Maid have a far greater success rate than the puzzles of erratic quality that appear in the New York Times. The band’s ability to take those great songs, deconstruct them and rebuild them into very different acoustic versions is wildly impressive. And this process is harder than it looks. The rock music world is full of examples of acoustic concerts, such as MTV’s old “Unplugged” series, in which the acoustic arrangements are insipid and boring.

There is nothing boring about the BAND-MAID ONLINE ACOUSTIC OKYU-JI. Band-Maid’s reinventions of these songs are fascinating and fun. Their breezy, sparkly, and crunchy songs retain those characteristics in their new settings. Through their creativity, risk-taking and boundary-pushing, Band-Maid continue to prove themselves to be one of the world’s most dangerous rock bands.

SET LIST:

1. Smile (full band)
2. At the drop of a hat (full band)
3. NO GOD (full band)
4. H-G-K (full band)
5. Different (SAIKI and KANAMI)
6. Manners (SAIKI and KANAMI)
7. Awkward (SAIKI, KANAMI and MISA)
8. Wonderland (SAIKI, KANAMI and MISA)
9. TIME (MIKU, MISA and AKANE)
10. Sayonakidori (MIKU, MISA and AKANE)
11. FORWARD (SAIKI, MIKU and AKANE)
12. Catharsis (full band)
13. Mirage (full band)
14. PAGE (full band)

*This DVD was included with special editions of the double A-Side single “start over/Screaming.”

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

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。

Illustration concept and realization by @nroe9 (Insta).