is the debut studio album by

Kessoku Band is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Aki Hamaji. It has been serialized in Houbunsha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Manga Time Kirara Max'' since December 2017. Its chapters have been collected in five ''tankōb ...

, a fictional musical group from the

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 ...

television series ''

Bocchi the Rock! is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Aki Hamaji. It has been serialized in Houbunsha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Manga Time Kirara Max'' since December 2017. Its chapters have been collected in five ''tankō ...

''. It was released digitally by

Aniplex is a Japanese anime, music production and anime licensee company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Established in September 1995, Aniplex has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime series, such as both ''Fullm ...

on December 25, 2022, and physically on CD on December 28. Featuring vocals from voice actresses

Yoshino Aoyama is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with 81 Produce. Some of her noteworthy roles include Yoshino Nanase in '' Wake Up, Girls!'', Guri in '' Love Tyrant'', Makoto in '' Shachibato! President, It's Time for Battle!'', and Hitori Go ...

Sayumi Suzushiro is a Japanese voice actress from Kanagawa Prefecture who is affiliated with Arts Vision. She played her first main role in 2018 as Akira Ono in the anime television series ''Hi Score Girl''. She is also known for her roles as Kylie in ''The Magni ...

Saku Mizuno is a Japanese voice actress who is affiliated with Sony Music Artists. She made her entertainment debut in 2018, and in 2021 she played her first main anime role as Rena Hananoi in the series ''Selection Project''. Career Mizuno was born on Sep ...

, and

Ikumi Hasegawa is a Japanese voice actress, affiliated with Raccoon Dog. She is known for her roles in '' 86'' as Vladilena Milizé, '' Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-'' as Arcueid Brunestud and ''Bocchi the Rock!'' as Ikuyo Kita. Biography Filmog ...

, the album consists of songs featured in the anime series, including a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Asian Kung-Fu Generation (stylized as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION) is a Japanese alternative rock band formed in Yokohama in 1996. For its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotoh, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyosh ...

's " Rockn' Roll, Morning Light Falls on You", as well as newly recorded material; nine

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

preceded the album's physical release. ''Kessoku Band'' received positive reviews for its composition and vocal performances. Commercially, it peaked at number one on the ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine ''Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence from ''Bi ...

'' Hot Albums Chart and

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 ...

and was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pr ...

Background and release

is a fictional musical group in the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series ''

''. In the

adaptation of the manga,

, and

provided the voices for Kessoku Band's members Hitori Gotō, Nijika Ijichi, Ryō Yamada, and Ikuyo Kita, respectively. After the airing of the fifth episode, it was announced that the group will release a self-titled album, consisting of 14 tracks including those featured in the anime series. The musicians in charge of Kessoku Band,

Osamu Hidai was a four-member Japanese band. They were signed onto Sony Music Japan's Epic Records Japan record label prior to their breakup in June 2012. The lyrics of each of the band's songs were written by lead vocalist and guitarist Yumi Uchimura. Band ...

(drums), Yūichi Takama (bass guitar), (guitar) and Ritsuo Mitsui (guitar), were selected by music director Gen Okamura through personal connections, with Hasegawa performing the vocals for most of the songs. "Secret Base", "I Can't Sing a Love Song", "The Little Sea", and "Flashbacker" are newly recorded songs for the album, while "Rockn' Roll, Morning Light Falls on You" is a

of the

song of the same name, and served as the ending song of the anime's twelfth and final episode. Several Japanese musicians have contributed to the album's songs, such as , , Ikkyū Nakajima of Tricot and

Genie High Genie High (ジェニーハイ) is a Japanese progressive indie band, notably fronted by Enon Kawatani (川谷健太) of Gesu no Kiwami Otome (ゲスの極み乙女) and Ikkyu Nakajima (中嶋イッキュウ) of Tricot (トリコ). The band i ...

, of Kana-Boon, Yūho Kitazawa of the Peggies, , and Zaq. Nine

debuted prior to the album's physical release: "Seishun Complex" and "Distortion!!" on October 9, 2022; "Karakara" on October 30; "Guitar, Loneliness and Blue Planet" on November 6; "That Band" and "What Is Wrong With" on November 27; and "Never Forget", "If I Could Be a Constellation", and "Rockn' Roll, Morning Light Falls on You" on December 25. ''Kessoku Band'' was distributed in advance on

digital music Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, samp ...

and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

platforms on December 25, 2022, before releasing in CD format on December 28. A limited edition of the CD included a

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

containing the opening and ending sequences of the anime series. The album was also released as a two-disc

vinyl LP The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...

on December 27, 2023. Kessoku Band performed the album's songs at the Kessoku Band Live: Kōsei event, held at Zepp Haneda in Tokyo on May 21, 2023.

Critical reception

In a review for '' Mikiki'', Shi called ''Kessoku Band'' "a truly exceptional piece of music that does not get stuck in the usual '

anime song , also shortened to , is a genre of music originating from Japanese pop music. Anime songs consist of theme, insert, and image songs for anime, video game, and audio drama CD series, as well as any other song released primarily for the anime mar ...

style. The reviewer stated that the album is in the vein of

Japanese rock , sometimes abbreviated to , is rock music from Japan. Influenced by American and British rock of the 1960s, the first rock bands in Japan performed what is called Group Sounds, with lyrics almost exclusively in English. Folk rock band Happy End ...

music, and that the "metal-like" lead guitar creates a unique structure that "did not seem to exist at the time of the 2000s and 2010s". Shi praised the vocals, particularly of Hasegawa and Aoyama, and the album's cohesiveness, but described the transition from the beginning to middle as "rough". , writing for ''Nikkei Marketing Journal'', described the music as high-quality and "filled with the essence of Japanese guitar rock from the 2000s onward", which originated in

Shimokitazawa is a commercial and entertainment area in Kitazawa, Setagaya, Tokyo. It is located in the southwestern corner of the Kitazawa district, hence the name "Shimo-kitazawa" (literally ''lower Kitazawa''). Also known as "Shimokita", the neighbourhood ...

, the primary setting of ''Bocchi the Rock!''. Z11 of ' opined that the album's sound corresponds to the theme of the series; the vocals "give a sense of a world connected to the story" and the

texture Texture may refer to: Science and technology * Surface texture, the texture means smoothness, roughness, or bumpiness of the surface of an object * Texture (roads), road surface characteristics with waves shorter than road roughness * Texture (c ...

of the songs evokes the presence of the main characters.

Accolades

Commercial performance

''Kessoku Band'' debuted at number one on ''

''s Download Albums chart dated December 28, 2022, with 5,877 downloads during the period dated December 19–25, and has remained at the top for seven non-consecutive weeks. It also entered atop the Top Albums Sales chart dated January 4, 2023, with 73,244 sales recorded during the period dated December 26, 2022, to January 1, 2023. The album opened at number six on the Hot Albums chart dated December 28, 2022, but rose to number one the following week. The album also debuted atop the

dated January 9, 2023, selling 72,553 copies in its first week. It also topped the Digital Albums Chart and Combined Albums Chart on the same issue date. ''Kessoku Band'' remained at number one in the Digital Albums Chart for four consecutive weeks, marking the first time a female group achieved that record. It ranked in the top 10 of the chart for 25 non-consecutive weeks. In February 2023, the album was certified gold by the

for reaching 100,000 physical sales. The album topped ''Billboard Japan''s 2023 year-end Download Albums chart and ranked 11th in the year-end Hot Albums chart. It also topped Oricon's year-end Digital Albums Chart with 70,132 downloads, which is the first time a female group took first place in the ranking.

Track listing

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

and the album's liner notes. , lyrics1 = , music1 = , extra1 =

, length1 = 3:23 , title2 = Hitoribocchi Tokyo , note2 = ja, ひとりぼっち東京, label=none , lyrics2 = Higuchi , music2 = , extra2 = Hasegawa , length2 = 3:52 , title3 = Distortion!! , lyrics3 = , music3 = Taniguchi , extra3 = Hasegawa , length3 = 3:23 , title4 = Secret Base , note4 = ja, ひみつ基地, Himitsu Kichi, label=none , lyrics4 = Zaq , music4 = Daichi Yoshioka , extra4 = Hasegawa , length4 = 3:52 , title5 = Guitar, Loneliness and Blue Planet , note5 = ja, ギターと孤独と蒼い惑星, Gitā to Kodoku to Aoi Hoshi, label=none , lyrics5 = Zaq , music5 = Otoha , extra5 = Hasegawa , length5 = 3:48 , title6 = I Can't Sing a Love Song , note6 = ja, ラブソングが歌えない, Rabu Songu ga Utaenai, label=none , lyrics6 = Zaq , music6 = , extra6 = Hasegawa , length6 = 3:08 , title7 = That Band , note7 = ja, あのバンド, Ano Bando, label=none , lyrics7 = Higuchi , music7 = , extra7 = Hasegawa , length7 = 3:33 , title8 = Karakara , note8 = ja, カラカラ, label=none , lyrics8 = Ikkyū Nakajima , music8 = Nakajima , extra8 =

, length8 = 4:25 , title9 = The Little Sea , note9 = ja, 小さな海, Chiisana Umi, label=none , lyrics9 = Otoha , music9 = Otoha , extra9 = Hasegawa , length9 = 3:43 , title10 = What Is Wrong With , note10 = ja, なにが悪い, Nani ga Warui, label=none , lyrics10 = Yūho Kitazawa , music10 = Kitazawa , extra10 =

, length10 = 3:47 , title11 = Never Forget , note11 = ja, 忘れてやらない, Wasurete Yaranai, label=none , lyrics11 = Zaq , music11 = Yoshioka , extra11 = Hasegawa , length11 = 3:43 , title12 = If I Could Be a Constellation , note12 = ja, 星座になれたら, Seiza ni Naretara, label=none , lyrics12 = Higuchi , music12 = Hidemasa Naito , extra12 = Hasegawa , length12 = 4:18 , title13 = Flashbacker , note13 = ja, フラッシュバッカー, Furasshubakkā, label=none , lyrics13 = Otoha , music13 = Otoha , extra13 = Hasegawa , length13 = 4:35 , title14 = Rockn' Roll, Morning Light Falls on You , note14 = ja, 転がる岩、君に朝が降る, Korogaru Iwa, Kimi ni Asa ga Furu, label=none , lyrics14 =

Masafumi Gotoh (December 2, 1976) is the lead vocalist, main songwriter and rhythm guitarist of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation. Masafumi met fellow band members Kensuke Kita and Takahiro Yamada while attending a music club of Kanto Gakuin Uni ...

, music14 = Gotoh , extra14 =

, length14 = 4:31

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal and the album's liner notes.

Fictional line-up

* Ikuyo Kita – vocals (tracks 1-7, 9, and 11-13), rhythm guitar (track 1) * Hitori Gotō – lead guitar, lyrics; vocals (track 14) * Ryō Yamada – bass guitar, composition; vocals (track 8) * Nijika Ijichi – drums; vocals (track 10)

Voices

- Hitori Gotō *

- Nijika Ijichi *

- Ryō Yamada *

- Ikuyo Kita

Musicians

– drums * Yūichi Takama – bass guitar * – guitar, arrangement * Ritsuo Mitsui – guitar, arrangement

Technical

* Gen Okamura – director * Gendam –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

, mixing * Yūji Kamijō – recording * Mitsuyasu Abe – mastering * – production * Ken Kobayashi – production cooperation * Shunsuke Arai – production cooperation * Naomi Kobayashi – production cooperation * Yūji Kimura – production cooperation * Keigo Mikami – production cooperation * Yōko Shimane – production cooperation * Kōhei Yamada – production cooperation

Design

* Kerorira – key frame * Asuka Yokota – coloring * Tsubasa Kanamori – photography * Yasunao Moriyasu – background * Tomoyuki Uchikoga – product design

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

External links

* * {{MusicBrainz release group, mbid=dd3ec6d3-6e1b-4917-82df-3a086a6578fb, name=Kessoku Band, type=album 2022 debut albums Anime soundtracks Aniplex Japanese-language albums Rock albums by Japanese artists