Band-Maid - "Matchless Gum" - First Reaction!

[@britwill72jp]

"Just impressive", damn right. Kanami's solos tend to be very short, but these are so impressive that they get burned into people's memories. She's an expert at conveying emotion through her instrument and is a very, very rare talent, truly one in a million.

[@hiawatha.g]

Thanks for checking this out. One of their more neglected songs, but it really packs a wallop. You picked up on lots of the details that make their writing so special.

[@次郎長太郎]

かなり良い曲だよな…

[@seizetheday5008]

🤘 🔥 🤘 🕊

[@frenchpalou]

For me it is like Pychedelic rock ... :) This song is like a journey or like a film.

[@BillHallisey]

God, how Band-Maid's music brings me back to my youth. These five women are saving the true rock and roll that we grew (at least myself) up with. They always seem to find the right notes and sounds that get this old (and I mean old) ticker thumping. I need to see them live at least one more time in my life.

[@billmcleangunsmith]

This is an amazing song. It doesn't get as much attention as some of their other songs, but it should.

[@rodhamm8484]

I like the stuff Kanami does on guitar throughout this one.

[@Davey-Boyd]

My all time favorite song by them. Well, except the Band-Maiko version "Akasimahen" is even better! In Miku's head: A couple that sticks together. "Matchless" = One and Only "GUM" = Sticky - stick together we would probably say "stick together like glue", Miku got "Matchless Gum"! Miku and Saiki explain it here: Music Voice Interview (14/11/2016) ――What is the origin of the title of the third track "matchless GUM"? Miku: "Matchless" means "one and only", but when it has become "matchless GUM" it starts to mean "stick together, don’t break up". As the lyrics feel cuter than the other songs, it is more about "Thinking about our relationship.", and saying "Stick around and please don’t leave." ――You expressed it as “GUM”? Saiki: That was the concept. “Stick together” and you expressed it as… chewing gum (laughs). Miku: But it was only a little thing, Kobato wrote many other things Sai was OK with. ―― ”matchless GUM”’s lyrics are a collaboration between Miku and Saiki then? Miku: It's a collaboration, but it's a mysterious collaboration. I always write the songs alone, then I show what I wrote and get my orders. “You want to change this part here, this portion here is useless!” she says, getting out her teacher’s red pen-ppo. ――You are corrected? When “This portion here is useless” is said, does Saiki rewrite? Miku: There are times when she will not write it-ppo! ――She only says “No!”? Saiki: “This is not the right answer!” (laughs). Miku: So then I send her lines which don’t match the melody at all-ppo! I say “I want to put this line here!”. Saiki: Pretending to make it short. Miku: It gets me feeling like getting a challenge like "Summarise a novel in this number of characters-ppo!" ―― Don’t you say “Saiki-san you write it!”? Miku: Say “You write it” and scold her-ppo? Saiki: (laughs) After all, she’s great with words, you can entrust it to her and it will go forward smoothly. Miku: It’s done like this-ppo. Like this, we go round in circles a lot.

[@zer0tzer0]

I still perfer the old LIVE version of 'Matchless Gum' in every way, though any version is fine. It doesn't get enough love. Great song!

[@bandmaidfanATL]

An absolute banger. Band-Maid and their B sides.

[@philcalvino884]

Thanks for pointing out all the little details of Saiki's singing -- that gets overlooked a lot. I also love how Kanami can go from furious to soothing in the space of a few bars, and makes it flow seamlessly.

[@waynebenedict4609]

A breathtaking song and performance from Band-Maid!

[@RA57727]

Your reaction was more articulate than what I could have said. These ladies, at times like this (preforming exceptionally) leaves me speechless. ‘So I type.”😊

[@pulp-tx6lq]

Great reaction. I love this hidden gem. Band Maid Grunge at it's finest 🤘

[@hernantapia2180]

This is the spin off show after the Yokohama Arena, they play songs that left out the set list of the 10th anniversary show of almost 4 hours, react to Rinne please.

[@TomClark-Futoura]

Band-Maid's spinoff concerts are the bomb for punchy sound with a setlist of classic jewels that need to be heard! Thx, John!

[@VEGERRO]

On the studio recording, this trick with the microphone in the second verse sounds more impressive. It’s harder to do it live. But it still worked.

[@theHollerWV]

We really enjoy your reviews, and we know that they are focused more on Rock. However, we would love to see you review the Jazz Avengers (Senri, Juno, etc.) and occasionally other genres.

[@DAVID-io9nj]

Fans got lucky last year with about 5 concerts live streamed. Just astonishing how the Maids performed at a very high level at each concert. Really wish they would live stream more concerts every tour. Reality is most of us will never get a chance to see them live.

[@me262talon2]

Thanks Rock Candy 🎉

[@Charles-ce7ev]

The do it all Maids. You want metal, you got it. How about rock, lots of that on the menu. Something a little different, how about some pop punk. Your welcome.

[@sugaanessena3143]

💜💛❤💙💚

[@lurkmerchant]

I prefer 2017 version when it comes to this song. That version was the only version that exceeded studio version imo.

[@ericdarlington2332]

❤❤❤❤❤🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 Akane 💘 !!!

[@pitamaid]

😎🤘🔥

[@daaaaaave]

Objectively, they’ve grown their talent tremendously, but part of what made this song for me was the huskiness of Saiki’s voice at the time they recorded the song originally. I think no matter how much better they get, I’ll always prefer the older performances of all the songs on the YOLO EP. I’m glad Saiki has recovered from her vocal polyps and surgery, but that was a special moment in time. As she cleans up her technique, and gets more polished as a vocalist, part of me laments for songs like this that I think are more suited for less polished, more raw vocals. There are times now when I feel like I’m hearing more technique and less emotion. I think that’s part of maturing, both as an artist, but also as a person. A song created with angst can lose its edge when performed by someone at peace. But we get new things more suited to where she is now, and that’s fine with me.

[@lurkmerchant]

I agree that there are certain Band-Maid songs that Saiki would never be able to recreate the same magic again, and this song is a prime example. But if she sounds less emotional, I believe it's only because the listeners are the one focusing too much on her improved techniques while the raw emotion is always present.

[@daaaaaave]

​​⁠ It’s pretty much just that her control has improved, so she’s hitting and holding notes more reliably. But a lot of what we perceive as emotion is like a loss of control, having the pitch bend, or shake, etc. Only she knows what emotion is there, but what I hear sounds more accurate, less emotional, on some songs. At the same time, I don’t think younger Saiki could have pulled off a song like Forbidden Tale, or The One. I think it’s normal to age and deal more with loss and less with passion and longing, and that’s going to power different art.

[@lurkmerchant]

@@daaaaaave I also think it depends on the song. There's songs that she could relate to more, and you can hear the passion, like in Puzzle, she still pour so much passion. The One is the same. As we get older, the songs that we resonate change and probably that's happening to her as well.

[@DeanF_MIDI]

Hey Rock... you need to "activate Windows", lol. Just kidding.... great reaction.

[@RockCandy-ix3nn]

LOL! oops.