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| Left to Right: Ba. 杏汰 -Kyota-, Vo. 妖芽 -Ayume-, Gt. 神葵 -Shyngi-, Gt. 真夜 -Shinya- |
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| ex. member: Dr. - 司馬 -Civa- |
Once upon a time, there was a band that was once active in 2006 named "Dear Bitch" who's goal was to create "stylish alternative rock". Though their name was not something you wished to tell your parents (should they know any English), it was intriguing to many involved with indies music. They say that "Bitch" was a defamatory name, but "Dear", however, shows respect and care toward a person. The irony of their name brought more attention to them as they used spider(web)s in their trademarks and patches. They began with only two members, gaining three more in 2008, but then losing their drummer later on in their career. They were not very successful, having only released 4 singles before disappearing into oblivion in 2009. Their music was great, it caught the attention of many who heard them. The catchy tunes and quick changes of tempo baffled their audiences in a good way. Through out all of this, though, they never managed to succeed enough to stay together. To this day, some of their fans wonder "What ever happened to the former members of Dear Bitch?"
Well I certainly can't tell you that because I don't know that myself!
What I CAN do for you is tell you about their final single "FROM BIxxx SIDE".
Tracklist
1. FROM BIxxx SIDE
2. Painful love
3. 動かぬ意味 (Ugokanu imi; Irrefutable Meaning)《U-16》
2. Painful love
3. 動かぬ意味 (Ugokanu imi; Irrefutable Meaning)《U-16》
As I have said, Dear Bitch was a pretty good band while they were active! Each release they made was better than their last. FROM BIxxx SIDE was their final single release before disbanding. Generally, their artwork always looked like a collage of various images--kind of like the artwork for Standing Sex/Joker by X JAPAN (picture below). Even so, they all gave you a certain feel of uniqueness; as the cover art is pieced together with different scenery and emotions, so is their music.
The first track "FROM BIxxx SIDE" is really very interesting! It begins with multiple, choppy tones trying to even out. It makes me think of broken glass floating through the sky. They get louder until, eventually, the bass drops to make a new beat at 0:08 (and no, this isn't in an electronic sense). It adds a nice, contemporary feel to the song as the piano and guitar entwine, floating gently for another 8 seconds before the song takes on yet another approach. It's a small pause as we flip over to the heavier, more complex version of the earlier soft tunes. Ayame's voice enters, following the melody of the song with the lyrics, "Togireru yasashisa no naka" (In the midst of the kindness that was interrupted.) The other members drop on a heavier beat as he begins the next line at 0:38, "kazoeta yakusoku no hibi" (The days of enumerated promises.) At the end of that line, it jumps back into the previous beat for a few second, dropping again at Ayame's deeper words, "Oboreteiru" (I drown.) At 0:50, we are introduced to the main chorus. Ayame and Shyngi raise and octave, changing both the melody and harmony of the sog for a moment. Civa keeps the beat going steadily. It's fast enough for you to want to dance. The song reaches a slow climb at 1:00 as the tempo quickens and the song is raised up another half octave. The song changes consistantly, reverseing it's tempo at 1:08 as they sing "kisetsuhazure no yuki ga sotto, watashi no okufukaku ni tokeru" (The snow that is out of season, gently melts towards the deepest part of me). We are reintroduced to the primary tempo in which all of the members had play at 1:28; however, as opposed to circling back to the second harmony, the guitar takes on it's heavy solo at 1:46. Once it finishes, we are returned to the familiar build to the main chorus. It feels more dramatic, now, from the abrupt change. It's slower and more lengthy, making the approach toward the end feel slightly more emotional. The entire song continues to play out as Ayame sings his final words (below). It ends with distorted, undistinct voice and the cymbals of the drums.
The beginning of the second track, "Painful Love", sounds like a much slower version of "JAM" by Sugar (except with out the "bam bam ba-dum, bam-bam bam ba-bam" that Loki did). Even the guitar! It has the same tone and amplification. The scale from the guitar reminds me of "Benisashi" by Moran. The guitar and drums are them accompanied by the second guitar and bass is the harmony around 0:20, ith Ayame entering is a small silence some moments later. The song generally repeats itself, until 1:27 where a small chorus or vocal distort cuts in first to say in English,"I want to reach your mind some time" and then again at 1:37 to say, "Overflowing feeling is raised". Hearing that makes me feel like this song it theirs. That chorus, however, only disrupts the sequence occasionally until the main chorus. As repeatitive as the song is, it's still catchy to me! The guitar solo begins at 2:09 with each note held out for a long while. It's slow and not that complex. The chorus returns to us at 2:33 with the rest of the ensemble, singing the same lines before allowing Ayame to interrupt, singing,"Itsumo kon'nani chikaku ni irunoni... [chorus] Hitori ni naruto sabishikute..." The cycle is broken at 3:12 as instruments drop out for a moment, but then we continue, as if nothing happened, and reach the end as they repeat, "I want to say this painful love".
Sources: toyamanana @ LiveJournal (for translations of Track 1)
The first track "FROM BIxxx SIDE" is really very interesting! It begins with multiple, choppy tones trying to even out. It makes me think of broken glass floating through the sky. They get louder until, eventually, the bass drops to make a new beat at 0:08 (and no, this isn't in an electronic sense). It adds a nice, contemporary feel to the song as the piano and guitar entwine, floating gently for another 8 seconds before the song takes on yet another approach. It's a small pause as we flip over to the heavier, more complex version of the earlier soft tunes. Ayame's voice enters, following the melody of the song with the lyrics, "Togireru yasashisa no naka" (In the midst of the kindness that was interrupted.) The other members drop on a heavier beat as he begins the next line at 0:38, "kazoeta yakusoku no hibi" (The days of enumerated promises.) At the end of that line, it jumps back into the previous beat for a few second, dropping again at Ayame's deeper words, "Oboreteiru" (I drown.) At 0:50, we are introduced to the main chorus. Ayame and Shyngi raise and octave, changing both the melody and harmony of the sog for a moment. Civa keeps the beat going steadily. It's fast enough for you to want to dance. The song reaches a slow climb at 1:00 as the tempo quickens and the song is raised up another half octave. The song changes consistantly, reverseing it's tempo at 1:08 as they sing "kisetsuhazure no yuki ga sotto, watashi no okufukaku ni tokeru" (The snow that is out of season, gently melts towards the deepest part of me). We are reintroduced to the primary tempo in which all of the members had play at 1:28; however, as opposed to circling back to the second harmony, the guitar takes on it's heavy solo at 1:46. Once it finishes, we are returned to the familiar build to the main chorus. It feels more dramatic, now, from the abrupt change. It's slower and more lengthy, making the approach toward the end feel slightly more emotional. The entire song continues to play out as Ayame sings his final words (below). It ends with distorted, undistinct voice and the cymbals of the drums.
nando mo narashita mukishitsu na oto wa
(Regardless of how many times that artificial sound chimed)
kangetsu no yoru ni ayamachi e to kawari kieta
(Mistakenly, I headed towards the night of the winter month and disappeared)
ima hakanki ai ni tsutsumareteyuku
(I am now being wrapped up in your transient love)
The beginning of the second track, "Painful Love", sounds like a much slower version of "JAM" by Sugar (except with out the "bam bam ba-dum, bam-bam bam ba-bam" that Loki did). Even the guitar! It has the same tone and amplification. The scale from the guitar reminds me of "Benisashi" by Moran. The guitar and drums are them accompanied by the second guitar and bass is the harmony around 0:20, ith Ayame entering is a small silence some moments later. The song generally repeats itself, until 1:27 where a small chorus or vocal distort cuts in first to say in English,"I want to reach your mind some time" and then again at 1:37 to say, "Overflowing feeling is raised". Hearing that makes me feel like this song it theirs. That chorus, however, only disrupts the sequence occasionally until the main chorus. As repeatitive as the song is, it's still catchy to me! The guitar solo begins at 2:09 with each note held out for a long while. It's slow and not that complex. The chorus returns to us at 2:33 with the rest of the ensemble, singing the same lines before allowing Ayame to interrupt, singing,"Itsumo kon'nani chikaku ni irunoni... [chorus] Hitori ni naruto sabishikute..." The cycle is broken at 3:12 as instruments drop out for a moment, but then we continue, as if nothing happened, and reach the end as they repeat, "I want to say this painful love".
The third and final track of this single, Ugokanu imi《U-16》, begins like every other alternative song. The rhythm guitar opens, soon having the lead guitar play in the background to help build toward the full ensemble. There's an indistinct chorus singing in the background (for which I was unable to place lyrics to myself). They're repetition makes the song feel a bit more electronic. Violins are played gently in the background as well, adding a symphonic sound to it. The voices are then replaced by the guitar for a bit as Ayame enters the song, whilst being accompanied by the chorus. He sings slowly, articulating every other syllable as the harmony changes. As you listen to the song, you realize this is supposed to be one of their ballads. The violins only ever play whenever he isn't singing, giving him most of our attention. the song is set up in an "A B A B C D" format in terms of the melody. It goes from the first melody, to the second, circles around for a bit, then enters the build to the main chorus. The main chorus, held at 2:10, begins after we are reintroduced to the beginning melody and transition. it holds everything that we have met previously; the violins, the chorus, and the entire band (I would love to to give you the lyrics, but I'm not entirely sure how to part the words). The lyrics begin to slur a bit after we approach the guitar solo at 2:43. It's slower than the one in "Painful Love" and they are definitely smoother. The song, in general, is lovely. You can sway your body back and forth to the beat of the music or simply calm down and fall into the depth of all 5 minutes. It is the longest track of the entire single. There is just so much in this song, it's hard for me to explain all of it. Both the main chorus and the ending are strung out. As the song reaches a close, Ayame repeats his words, then sighing through out the last 30 seconds of the song as the harmony continues to spiral with the guitar. The sound of the members all disappear one by one as the track ends...
What I like about this single is that the songs aren't just generally written or thrown together randomly, it follows a certain theme of resentment and some kind of tragic romance. If you haven't noticed, usually the final singles of bands are a bit dull, making it sound like the band has truly given up. The songs on here like "FROM BIxxx SIDE" or "Painful Love" didn't talk about some kind of woman that screwed over the lyricist, it talked about a deep loss or pain in the heart. Unfortunately, I think I made it pretty obvious which song was my favorite from the CD **cough** FROM BIxxx SIDE **cough**. Now, this single is really hard to find if you want to purchase it because it is hardly available anywhere anymore! (I own it, but that's because of some relatives who were once obsessed while Dear Bitch was around). If you do manage to find the physical CD, I definitely recommend you buy it! If Dear Bitch had never broken up so suddenly, they probably would have gone major. Many of their fans believe that they had a lot of potential. I just hope that these guys are still making music! Listen for yourself and see what you think about Dear Bitch!
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