Japanese Band highlight: “gesu no kiwami otome” (ゲスの極み乙女)

Though I am a big advocate of learning a foreign language using all possible resources, music is one part of Japanese culture I haven’t emphasized as much as manga, novels, or TV dramas. Although I’ve enjoyed songs from various Japanese genres, and there are few artists I’ve been into (Quruli, Utada Hikaru, Yui, etc.), recently I really haven’t listened to much Japanese music in my daily life. But when a coworker mentioned about the Japanese band “gesu no kiwami tome” ( ゲスの極み乙女), I couldn’t help but watch a few of their videos on Youtube. I ended up really enjoying many of their songs and quickly went through the whole set.

I’ve seen the band’s name translated as “Girl at the height of rudeness”, and though that is a good literal translation I feel something like “Super bitchy girl” (Or even “Super bitch”) would be much catchier while keeping mostly within the literal meaning.

The band, made up of two girls and two guys, calls their sound “hip hip progressive rock” (ヒップホッププログレ) , though I don’t feel that this moniker really captures their diversity well. If you take a listen through some of their songs, you’ll find a wide range between hard rock with screaming guitars and vocals and catchy, rhythmic lighter rock pop songs. There is also some techno-like elements and funky irregular rhythms.

Instrumentally, you’ll find the usual suspects of guitar, drums, bass, and piano/keyboards, but the performers’ technical level is a bit above what I normally expect for popular bands. Their keyboard player is especially skilled, with their song “Killer Ball” featuring her playing a great rendition of a classical Chopin piano piece. I’m not sure how common this level of music diversity is in Japanese rock, but it reminds me of Quluri which may be why I became a fan so quickly.

I haven’t listened to their lyrics in detail too much yet (I tend to focus on the music at first), but from what I’ve heard they are very  down-to-earth, almost conversational with a rap-like delivery in some places. There are some of the typical topics like love and relationships, along with some societal critique on things like violence.

Attempts to categorize and describe this band aside, it’s clear they are a unique, creative upcoming band who are worth taking a listen to. I suggest starting with one of their latest singles, “Laska” (ラスカ) or “Give me a bizarre kiss” (”猟奇的なキスを私にして”).

References

http://gesuotome.com

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ゲスの極み乙女%E3%80%82

http://muevo.blog.jp/archives/16198353.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesu_no_Kiwami_Otome

http://selftaughtjapanese.com/2014/01/18/quruli（くるり-japanese-dynamic-band/comment-page-1/

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwml2QHRrX5IyV5zczbGNf_2hCe-GZtnd