''Just Bring It'' is the fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

and first full-length album by Japanese band

Band-Maid Band-Maid (stylized as BAND-MAID® until 2016) is a Japanese rock band formed in 2013, consisting of singer Saiki Atsumi, guitarist/singer Miku Kobato, lead guitarist Kanami Tōno, bassist Misa, and drummer Akane Hirose. The band combines a rock ...

, released on January 11, 2017 in Japan via Crown Stones and February 10, 2017 internationally by

JPU Records JPU Records is a British record label formed in 2012, which specializes in handling international releases by Japanese artists. Notable acts on JPU's roster include The Gazette, Band-Maid, Lovebites, and Nemophila. History The label was establi ...

. The record was preceded by the quintet's first world tour and the single " YOLO", released in November 2016. The album reached number 16 on the Japanese

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...

, selling 4,015 copies in its first week. The last track "Secret My Lips" was rearranged in the Japanese traditional style with

Kyoto dialect The is a group of Japanese dialects in the Kansai region (Kinki region) of Japan. In Japanese, is the common name and it is called in technical terms. The dialects of Kyoto and Osaka are known as , and were particularly referred to as suc ...

lyrics, and the music video was released as "Secret

Maiko A is an apprentice geisha in Kyoto and Their jobs consist of performing songs, dances, and playing the or other traditional Japanese instruments for visitors during banquets and parties, known as . are usually aged between 17 to 20 years ...

Lips" for 2018

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

. The international release from

includes English lyric translations and Romaji lyric transliterations.

Background

After the release of mini-album '' New Beginning'' in 2015, the group were signed to major Japanese record label Crown Stones, as well as sealing international distribution through JPU Records for the first time. The group played their first UK show at

MCM London Comic Con The MCM London Comic Con (formerly known as the London Movies, Comics, and Media Expo and London MCM Expo) is a speculative fiction fan convention held in the London Borough of Newham twice yearly since 2002, usually on the last weekend in May ...

in May 2016, ahead of the release of ''Brand New Maid''. After completing the recording of their first full-length album, the band embarked on their first world tour, including stops in the UK, before releasing single " YOLO" in November, along with a music video. The second music video, "Don't You Tell Me", was released on 9 January to coincide with the release of the album in Japan.

Composition and lyrics

The lyrics for "Puzzle" are about wanting to be near to your lover even though you shouldn't. Tōno wrote " YOLO" before Band-Maid when she was a singer-songwriter, but arranged it to fit the style of the band. "OOPARTs" was included because they wanted to have a song that was closer to the

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

that they originally played. Tōno wrote "Take Me Higher!!" to be a classic rock sounding song. Lead guitarist Kanami Tōno wanted to make "Moratorium" more technical, but rhythm guitarist/vocalist Miku Kobato wanted her to make it more of a song that everyone could sing along to. Tōno wrote the instruments first and added the vocal melody after. Tōno wrote the guitar riff by humming it, but when she attempted to play it she found it difficult so she practiced it a lot. The male staff contributed to the backing vocals. "Awkward" was the first song written for the album. Tōno and bassist Misa cowrote it. The lyrics depict a woman who has lost her love, but is determined to look forward and move on. "Decided by Myself" was the last song written for the album. Tōno wrote it with the image of an ending theme to an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

. They originally considered using "Secret My Lips" as the opening song, but ultimately, "Don’t You Tell Me" was chosen instead.

Critical reception

Reviews for ''Just Bring It'' were favorable. Phillip Whitehead of the webzine ''RockSins'' praised the album's diversity and improved musicianship, giving the album 9/10. Rob Sayce of the British magazine ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, e ...

'' praised the album's catchiness and choruses.

Track listing

All credits adapted from the original releases.

Personnel

;Band-Maid *Saiki Atsumi – lead vocals (except track 9) *Miku Kobato – rhythm guitar, vocals, lead vocals on track 9 *Kanami Tōno – lead guitar *Misa – bass *Akane Hirose – drums

Charts

References

External links

Just Bring It Listing
at

{{Authority control 2017 albums Band-Maid albums Nippon Crown albums Japanese-language albums