24 Searchlight

Unexpectedly Intense

24 Searchlight by Nirgilis

"I used to really like JPop when I was younger - still kinda do actually...But I just really liked this band and the lead singer. Sad that they're broken up now :("

I'm so sorry for your loss. Your favorite band breaking up is the worst. When Zayn left One Direction, I was distraught for days. And during 1D's last performance before the hiatus, I was inconsolable.

I have to say, this song is not what I expected when I received the submission. I think part of that is caused by personal biases - I expected a boy band, simply because most of my experience with J-Pop has been boy bands and girl groups doing crazy dances.

The other part is the fact that we sometimes to use the misleading term "J-Pop" to refer to a wide variety of Japanese-language music. I googled it, and J-Rock is a thing, but the term isn't as popular.

But then again, I guess maybe 24 Searchlight isn't quite J-Rock, either. Is it? Is that going to far? I don't know, but it's not straight-up bubble-gum pop. There's definitely a hint of something dangerous.

The point of this is that I was pleasantly surprised. I think I've made it perfectly clear that I love boy bands, but I have to respect a strong female lead and a group of artists that actually play instruments.

(Also, having a girl on the drums is the coolest thing ever.)

They have a cool garage-band type of sound, and I mean that in the best way possible. Make of that what you will.

I'm glad I found a lot to talk about without mentioning the lyrics because I'm not going to be able to cover that very well. I don't speak Japanese, the translation I found is a little hard to understand, and the music video really doesn't help at all.

The title is referring to searchlights being turned on 24 hours everyday (not, you know, 24 searchlights), and the main point seems to be that this girl is looking for the love of some guy in the distant future. She's following her dreams and hoping that she'll get to be with him eventually, later.

I think.

If that's actually what it's about, then that's hardcore.

You do you before you settle down. Love it.

Overview:

Genre:
J-Pop-Rock

Favorite Lyrics:
信じあえる喜びは消えないの

(The happiness that we both believe in will not disappear.)

I have exactly zero knowledge of Japanese so take that with a grain of salt. (Source) 

Verdict:
Kind of hardcore, actually