ONE OK ROCK - "Answer is Near"

ONE OK ROCK - Answer is Near

1. Answer is Near

2. Silent World

3. Answer is Clear

4. To Feel the Fire

Overall score: 10/10

I am a huge fan of OOR and have been waiting for this single to come out for months. The night I first heard them and proceeded to download their entire discography was one of the greatest nights ever. Their last album (Niche Syndrome) is just about amazing, and I find myself going to their discography on my iPod for a listen more often than not.

One of my favorite things about ONE OK ROCK is that they are one of the first Japanese bands I've heard who mesh the very different sounds of Japanese rock and American (or English language) rock almost effortlessly. Some of their songs are obviously Japanese rock, but others (such as "Riot" from Niche Syndrome and "To Feel the Fire" from this single) make even long time listeners of Japanese rock music question what they're listening to for a moment. Some people think of this as one of their weaknesses. If they're going to be a Japanese rock band, then they should stick to that influence. And I have to ask: why? Why should they have to stick to that particular influence when there are so many different ones they can pull from? No one ever minds when a Japanese rock song takes some influence from Spanish or French music. Why is an American influence any different?  But I will end this train of thought because I could honestly ramble on and on about it for an entire blog entry all on its own. Now I shall get down to the single.

The single's title track, "Answer is Near," is amazing. It is one of the songs I mentioned above, where the band has managed to cross the Japanese and American rock influences in a beautiful way.  TAKA's voice is as perfect as usual, the high note he hits in the chorus making me squee out loud in glee every time I hear it.  His English has also gotten quite a bit better since they released Niche Syndrome back in June, although his English wasn't too bad on that album (it is definitely English, rather than the Engrish one usually finds when Japanese bands attempt to sing in English). It's such a small thing, but the break near the middle of the song before the final repeat of the chorus is very nice. It gives a bit of a break from the loud guitar throughout the first part of the song, as well as building up the intensity for the final bit.  A very nice addition, in my opinion.

"Silent World" is a rather short instrumental that does a very nice job of filling the gap between "Answer is Near" and "Answer is Clear." TAKA's muffled singing in the background is wonderful and a bit haunting. It had me thinking of "Introduction" on Dance Gavin Dance's Downtown Battle Mountain album. It doesn't do the stereotypical instrumental "thing," either--the end of the instrumental fading into the beginning of the next song. It just adds a very nice break between the intensity of "Answer is Near" and the more mellow feeling of "Answer is Clear."

"Answer is Clear" is GORGEOUS. It's an unplugged version of "Answer is Near," in an entirely different tone. TAKA's voice is so light and almost more emotional in this version of the song, and the acoustic guitar is a very nice contrast to the driving electric guitars in "Answer is Near." Aaaand... There are strings!!!!!! Now, those who know my music preferences may call be biased because of this, but the strings are what make the song for me. They add so much more, as does the small bit of Spanish guitar thrown into the bridge. The song  would have been very nice without the addition of the strings, but they add more emotion and a whole new aspect to ONE OK ROCK's music that I really hope to hear more of. "Liar" from their Niche Syndrome album is the only song of theirs that features strings, and even then, I think they're synthesized, so hearing an orchestral aspect added to their music has me very happy and looking forward to their next album or single even more!

"To Feel the Fire," the final song on the single, is one another one of those songs that does a perfect job of mixing Japanese and American rock elements. Rather than just being emotional, TAKA's voice is sooooooo soulful, which just succeeds in adding that much more emotion to the song. Like the orchestral aspects that were added into "Answer is Clear," this is a new addition to ONE OK ROCK's repertoire that I'm very excited to hear more of.

If ONE OK ROCK keeps this up, I think I might die of a gleegasm when their next single or album comes out. I can honestly say that I have been blown away by this single, half because it's so damn good and half because it's not at all what I was expecting in many different ways. The boys pulled out all the stops on this one, and I can't wait to hear more!

As per usual, the PV for "Answer is Near" is at the bottom of the page (it's from a Russian site, so it takes a bit to show up), as well as two more of their most recent songs, "Jibun Rock" and "Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer." "Jibun Rock" has to be my favorite video that's been put out by them so far. The message is awesome, and some of the small things each of the band members do throughout are hilarious. "Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer" is a great way to see how they mix Japanese and American rock elements, as well as how well TAKA sings in English.

Happy listening!!!