The Singles Jukebox

A Japanese band, not a site announcement…

[Video][Website]
[5.75]

Iain Mew: A twisty, inventive rock song with jazzy piano and drums, and a singer who isn’t mired in scandal: “Bonfire” is a bit rough around the edges, but I can see reasons why this could be their moment. 
[6]

Cassy Gress: You could do a lot worse than the keyboardist from Tokyo Jihen, and he provides “Bonfire” with a decidedly more jazzy piano riff than I’m familiar with from the Hiatus — it took me three listens to even figure out what it was doing. The guitar needs to come in a bit earlier than it does, but that second chorus where Masasucks is ethereally noodling around, echoing from channel to channel, is approaching glorious. Too bad the bridge falls flat.
[6]

Alfred Soto: The tricky time signatures and guitar and piano runs deserve better than a vocal that mimics the weediest of Amerindie singers. Imagine Ben Gibbard leading Gesu no Kiwami Otome.
[5]

Juana Giaimo: The instruments highlight how details can build tension and let energy out, but the vocals are rather bland — which can especially be noticed in the chorus. 
[6]

Peter Ryan: Makes a strong case for the exclusion of singers and guitarists from jazz trios.
[4]

Tim de Reuse: Overcaffeinated, overproduced, overstuffed, overcomplicated, and yet — it meshes together in a messy, energetic way, buoyed by an enthusiastic drummer who throws himself through inscrutable time signature changes with tumbling grace.
[7]

Ryo Miyauchi: Each individual rocks his own wild beat like they all have a different song in mind. Out of all, the piano moves too eager even by the band’s dissonant-by-design standard, but it also knows when to keep it down during the song’s peak. Fitting its name, “Bonfire” excels when the parts join to form a jagged, collective whole.
[6]

Brad Shoup: Sterile at the ends, which is remarkable considering how much work the guitarist does in the middle. He claws at the earth and fires lasers into the air; some of the delay work sounds like the dramatic bits of “I Ran.” The singer matches that restlessness, but they didn’t build the song for singing, or else this might have had a very tidy “bonfiiiiire” to close.
[6]