is the second

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

band

Gesu no Kiwami Otome is a Japanese band that formed in 2012 by indigo la End front-man Enon Kawatani. Describing themselves as "hip-hop/progressive", the band debuted in 2013 with independent label Space Shower Records, later signed by Warner sub-label Unborde. In 2 ...

, released on December 4, 2013.

Background and development

Gesu no Kiwami Otome released their debut extended play '' Dress no Nugikata'' in March 2012 through independent label Space Shower Records. The band performed across Japan throughout 2013, releasing a demo EP at their performance at Shimokitazawa Era on April 20, ''Otome to Dance.EP'', and another called ''Otome no Yūwaku.EP'' on September 8. The extended play was first announced on September 9, 2013. In September, the band became regular DJs for the

J-Wave J-Wave is a commercial radio station based in Tokyo, Japan, broadcasting on 81.3 FM from the Tokyo Skytree to the Tokyo area. J-Wave airs mostly music, covering a wide range of formats. The station is considered the most popular among FM broad ...

radio show ''The Kings Place''. On the day of the extended play's release, it was announced that the band was also signed to

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

sub-label

Unborde Unborde (アンボルデ ''anborude''; stylized as unBORDE) is a Japanese record label established on December 21, 2010 as a sublabel of Warner Music Japan. The label is currently led by Ryoma Suzuki, Rip Slyme's producer. Current roster As of Ju ...

. In January, it was also announced that vocalist Enon Kawatani's other band

Indigo la End indigo la End is a Japanese rock band led by vocalist and songwriter Enon Kawatani. The band released their debut extended play in 2012 with independent label Space Shower Records, and were later signed by Warner Music Group, Warner sub-label Unb ...

would also debut on Unborde on the same day.

Writing and production

The songs recorded for the extended play were composed of staples of their live sets in 2013. The title of the song "Killer Ball" is portmanteau coined by Enon Kawatani, merging "mirror ball" with "killer". The song features a section of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

's ''

Fantaisie-Impromptu Frédéric Chopin's ''Fantaisie-Impromptu'' ( pl, Fantazja-Impromptu) in C minor, Op. posth. 66, WN 46 is a solo piano composition. It was composed in 1834 and published posthumously in 1855 despite Chopin's instruction that none of ...

'', which Kawatani inserted because he wanted to break up the constant dance beat of the song with something different. The cover illustration for the extended play was created by Nobumi Fukui, who also created the artwork for the band's previous release ''Dress no Nugikata''.

Promotion and release

The song "Killer Ball" was released as a preceding download from the release on November 20. On the same day, a music video for the song was published to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. The band were interviewed by many music publications to promote the release, including ''Bounce'', ''B-Pass'', ''

Rockin' On Japan ''Rockin'On Japan'', often stylized in all caps, is a monthly magazine that covers the Japanese music scene and various cultural events in Japan, such as art venues and culinary expos. History The magazine was founded in 1972, and focused on prov ...

'', ''Musica'' and ''Zipper''. The music video for "Killer Ball" was also put into heavy rotation on

Space Shower is a Japanese music television channel operated by Space Shower Networks, Inc. The company is headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The channel launched at 6:00 on December 1, 1989. The idea behind establishing Space Shower TV was to create a special ...

music television. Gesu no Kiwami Otome made their first television performance on December 9, 2013, performing "Killer Ball at the TBS program Sound Room. The song was also chosen to be used as the December ending theme song for ''

Count Down TV (also known as CDTV) is a Japanese late-night music television program, broadcast on TBS since 1993. The program is shown weekly, and features a Japanese music video hit chart countdown, live performances from musicians and music information. ...

''. The song was popular enough to reach number 50 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...

chart. The second promoted song from the extended play was "Mochi Girl", which had its music video first unveiled at an event at

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records ...

Shinjuku on December 21. It was released to YouTube on December 25, and received enough airplay to reach number 78 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary Airplay Chart in January. In 2014, the band promoted the release with their first solely billed tour, Gesu de Ikoka Vol. 1, performing in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka in January and February 2014. They performed a national double-billed tour with band Kūsō Iinkai in February and March 2014, performing at eight cities across Japan.

Critical reception

''What's In?'' reviewer Nobuaki Onuki felt that "Odorenai nara, Gesu ni Natte Shimae yo" was an "even more satisfying version of ''Dress no Nugikata''", and noted fusion of styles and genres on the release. Fumiaki Amano of ''Skream!'' was extremely positive about the release, feeling that the release had a "high level of perfection" with many genres and musical ideas.

Track listing

Charts

Sales

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odorenai nara, Gesu ni Natte Shimae yo 2013 EPs Gesu no Kiwami Otome EPs Japanese-language EPs