People In The Box『Frog Queen』
Liking the things that the person you love likes...this may sound like a bittersweet love story, but it's not quite that.
I'm sure many of us have had the experience of falling in love with a certain artist and going back to listen to the music that is their roots.
For example, I became a fan of ART-SCHOOL and became obsessed with researching the music that their vocalist, Kinoshita Riki, liked.
This was true of his encounter with Elliott Smith, and also of his encounter with the band People In The Box, which I will introduce here.
...I wrote this, but actually I can't really remember when I first listened to their music.
I remember ART-SCHOOL's guitarist, Todaka Masafumi, writing a recommendation for one of People's works, so I don't think it's a completely different route, but I'm not sure.
What's certain is that I've been listening to them since the very beginning of their career, and I was struck by their unique sound that combined pop and twistedness.
The lead track from their first mini-album, "Rabbit Hole," "She Hates December," has a beautiful, swaying structure. The vocals and lyrics are close to the musical style I wanted to pursue at the time, so I listened to it over and over again.
This time we'll be introducing "Frog Queen," their first album, released in 2007.
Starting with M1 "Hajimari no Kuni," their performance became tighter and more open, signaling the start of a new chapter for them.
The album continues with the same momentum with M2 "Aria on the Water Surface," followed by M3 "Dog and Cat Play," a cynical mid-tempo song that is a first-rate song from People, and then the middle part of the album, starting with M4 "Birthday," is filled with mellow songs.
And then there's M7, "Lighting Up the June Sky." This is one of my favorite songs on this album, or even among all of People's songs.
The song, which progresses with ominous arpeggios, odd time signatures, and a post-rock/math-rock feel, suddenly opens up in the chorus. The earnest melody, which truly "lights up the June sky," cuts through the cloudy sky for just a moment.
Personally, whenever I hear this song, I am reminded of a certain school occult RPG. I think this is because the decadent atmosphere and sad story match the emotion of this song.
Listening to it again for the first time in a while reminded me that up until I was in high school, or even my mid-twenties, I was extremely obsessed with the "end of the world (apocalyptic feeling)" and "(excessive) sentimentalism."
When I wrote songs or sentences, I was obsessed with how to incorporate those elements, which may be why I was so drawn to their music.
By the way, I also like other songs like "Backlight" and I think what I really like is the sense of balance in their songs, where they do complex things with a nonchalant look on their face but the chorus is extremely pop.
Coincidentally, it's cloudy today, so I decided to watch People In The Box on my day working from home.
