With a sound they describe as “trauma
techno pop”,
Urbangarde is an act with an electronic sound that
delights in skirting genres. Featuring
Hamasaki Yoko (Vocal),
Matsunaga Tenma (Vocal/Sequencing),
Zeze Shin (Guitar/Sequencing) and
Kagiyama Kyoichi (Drums), the members draw from an array of
backgrounds and influences to coalesce into a distinct and compelling sound. Coming together in the early 21
st century, since
their major debut single in 2011 they've released 6 albums total the
latest featuring “One Piece Shinju”. The PV is sparing in its
imagery, but provides an arresting visual to a track that's
unflinching and hauntingly vocalised. As I'm working without lyric
translations this will be a less than authoritative look at the
piece.
Yoko is the only member featured here,
as we open on her with her head just above water, and a synth-sound
explosion heralds the piece as titles appear on screen. She wears a
white eyepatch, submerged to the chin, and as the vocals
start, or just before, she sinks into the water, followed by the
camera to show her moving below. Text appearing on the screen appears to be the lyrics, and we see Yoko remove her eyepatch in short
order. She's wearing a white dress, and the screen flashes red as the
first verse ends to start a cross-cut from Yoko in white dress to red
with white dots, vaguely reminiscent of
Minnie Mouse. The red-dressed
Yoko pulls her skirt down modestly while floating.
As the verse starts around the 40
second mark, red-Yoko draws a sword, holding it in front of her,
across herself. There's an inscription on the blade, and we see her
upside down briefly before the scene shifts slightly. Yoko in red now
holds a gun to her temple, and is seen upside-down in short order
pointing the gun at the camera. There's a shift to her wearing white
and holding the gun in front of her, and then up to her temple, and
then back to red-Yoko now holding the gun in her mouth. We're just a
minute into the PV and 'don't try this at home' behaviour is in full
swing. As '
Shinju' appears to translate as double suicide, this would
seem to be a literal take on the titular reference.
There's a quick shift back to
red-dressed Yoko brandishing the sword, from various angles. From
here, we're shown Yoko 'singing' underwater for a second or so, and
then quick cuts from the sword to gun and back and forth, a
juxtaposition of instruments of death of yesterday and today?
Yoko-in-white is seen in a red-tint again, and we're shown the
crosscut of weapons again, followed by the two seeming to face off
with sword-draws and gun-play. Though we're only ever seeing one
Yoko, the cuts give the impression of this conflict. The implication
of the Yoko-on-Yoko conflict would imply some battle within, perhaps
to find will to live, from the title of the track.
Around 1:37 the track takes a slower
turn, and we're shown Yoko grasping an articulated doll's hand that
slows slips away. A foot, a red shoe with white dots, and a shot of
Yoko in red upside-down, though near the top of the tank cast a
further sense of personal confusion or loss on the piece. She's seen
in the white outfit again looking demure, and as a rap vocal breaks
out this Yoko is seen wearing thick-framed glasses and flipping
through a book. As we're still underwater, the book seems unreadable,
as the pages flap and flow in the fluid. I think there's something
commentary on the futility of the task from the look on Yoko's face
that may be reflecting on the lyrical flow.
From the hip-hop interlude the shot
cuts to Yoko in another dress around the 2:24 mark – it's
multicolored around the torso, resembling a television
test pattern
slightly. She wears similarly striped tights, and gloves to the elbow
with shiny dots on the black fabric. There's a black skirt as well,
and a bow off the back, LED spiked bracelets over the
gloves light up – it's one of the longest uncut shots in the piece. We
see her from other angles in this new way, and it's presented with
some sense of synthesis – taking the 'thesis' look Yoko's sported
before in red and white, the 'antithesis' to that of the white outfit, and
rejecting both palettes to arrive at a new idea in the third outfit.
As I don't see full red or white on the range of colors in the third
outfit this seems reasonable, and perhaps is borne out in the lyrics
to follow, or preceding.
From the new look we're taken back to
the cross-cut field from red to white Yoko, with weapons and without.
Red Yoko sword plays, and white Yoko plays seductively with her hair in the
frame. The white Yoko is seen with gun and without, and the 'rainbow'
Yoko is seen again. As rainbow Yoko isn't seen with weapons of either
type, her 'evolved' status appears supported by this lack. That she's never seen miming suicidal action like
her other selves would indicate some form of self-acceptance
perhaps. The cuts span all the shots so far and the quickness picks
up to the end of the song, in a blink and you'll miss it montage, and
then we see Yoko in red sing a final line, then the solo red shoe
with white polka dots once more, after the song ends.
From the title and the weapon-work
involved, the symbolism seems pretty clear, and the track is
beautifully shot. The underwater setting further softens Yoko's
already beautiful features and serves as a fantastical backdrop to a
non-stop track. It's an interesting departure from their prior videos
in being less band-focused, but their presence is felt in a big way
on the track as it pulses throughout. I'll be looking forward to
future releases from Urbangarde based on my impressions from this track, to be sure.
By
Josh Campbell
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