My thoughts on “FUCK THE PINCHIKE”, the first album from PLANCK STARS.

 
Release Date: June 1st 2020

Tracklist

1. Planʞ
2. MACH DRIVE TIME!
3. #struggle
4. UFO UFO
5. Natsukoi☆Temptation
6. ADVANCE
7. Menheraifu
8. Freeʞ out!!
9. Kyōki ranbu
10. Ame, ano hi mita nyorozo
11. HiME IN THE VALLEY
12. Warugaki instinct
13. black: / /side

I’ll admit, the bulk of the Idol groups that get covered on this website are from the Tokyo scene. It’s not for any real reason other than it’s the most abundant when it comes to active groups and for the most part they seem to be the ones putting themselves out there the most. That said, over the past year or so I’ve been trying to work in groups from different parts of Japan as they crop up on my radar and we’ve made some pretty cool discoveries as a result I think.

We return to the growing Hiroshima Idol scene today, this time to take a look at PLANCK STARS. They’re a 5 member “Warugaki” Idol group who have been active for coming up on 2 years at this point. I think the last time I heard the word “Planck” was in a high school physics class and the group does appear to be named after the term for “a hypothetical astronomical object that is created when the energy density of a collapsing star reaches the Planck energy density” so that’s pretty cool if you’re a nerd like me. One of the more random group names out there, that’s for sure.

The rather aggressively titled “FUCK THE PINCHIKE” is the group’s first album and it contains quite the large selection of songs. I’m assuming this is pretty much the group’s entire discography up to this point so if that’s the case then this would appear to present the ideal jumping off point for potential new fans. That’s the category I’m falling into currently myself as I haven’t ever really checked this group out before. I know a few people think pretty highly of them though so I’m interested to hear what makes them think that. Yep, it’s another one of those where I’m coming in blind folks. Won’t you join me though?

Much like many recent longer form releases in the underground Idol scene, PLANCK STARS opt to kick their album off with a short introduction track of sorts with the rather simply stated “Planʞ”. It’s a loud and hard hitting synthesizer composition, with a nice build-up to a pretty brutal drop so you’re definitely going to be sitting up and taking notice by the time the piece runs out of steam and fizzles out to make way for the real opening track. Simple stuff, but very effective at drawing the listener in.

Which leads us into “MACH DRIVE TIME!”, which I believe is one of if not the most popular song in PLANCK STARS’s discography currently. It cropped up a lot in my cursory research at least! We continue along with the EDM theme with an instrumental that opens up fairly chilled out before giving us a burst of intensity just to make sure we’re awake and then settles back down again in time for the vocals in the first verse to come in. It’s kinda dark and moody with the distortion laden guitars and deep drumbeats going on, and the dark tinge to the vocals along with how the lines are strung together certainly seems to add to that idea in my mind at least. The chorus continues the theme but with a much quicker tempo and a bit of synth being incorporated into the instrumental, which I thought worked pretty well. The vocals also increase in the pace of their delivery and take on a sort of ethereal quality at times to match the more melodic instrumental, something unexpected but very interesting to hear. That’s kind of the story of the track really, a couple of very strong component parts that they have no problem going back to multiple times over the 4 minutes and I have zero issue with that. A very solid first impression for me and it’s easy to see why this song is as popular as it would appear to be with the group’s fans.

Next up is “#struggle” which feels like it should probably be connected to a bunch of recent world events or something but probably isn’t. Well I hope not at least, I don’t need that in my escapism thanks. Some pretty interesting guitar riffs to lead things off, with a thin coating of digital-ness applied over the top of them to sort of keep with that EDM theme we’ve had going on so far I guess. Much like the previous track they tone it all down during the verses where we’re once again treated some fairly moody, almost melancholic vocals with a nice hook or two along the way as we slowly begin to build up to that first chorus. They’re kinda going for that anthemic feel I suppose, with a bunch of “Woah Woah Woahs” going on every couple of lines or so. It works fairly well, although I do kinda feel like the vocals are straining themselves just a little bit as they try to push those higher notes. I really like the guitar playing that brings us out of the chorus and back into the verses too by the way, some really cool riffs going on there. Again the structure of the track is fairly straightforward but much like the previous one when you have some really strong components why not let us hear them more than just once or twice. There’s enough instrumental and vocal variety to be getting by on at least, that’s for sure. More good stuff here, I’m honestly kinda impressed.

It’s then the turn of what I believe to be another crowd favorite in “UFO UFO”, which isn’t actually about the instant noodle brand despite what the YouTube video thumbnail might have you believe. That aside, after a somewhat subdued start the song explodes into life with a very upbeat instrumental featuring a fusion of Rock and EDM elements. There’s a super catchy lead guitar riff that provides quite a lot of the melodic dynamic between verses, with the drumbeat taking over to provide the vocals with a nice rhythm to bounce along to. Speaking of which, the vocals trade off quite frequently between a more reserved and calm performance and a very bright and energetic style, typically depending on what’s going on with the instrumental which gives the track almost a split personality in a way. The chorus tries to find a happy medium between both of these personalities and almost suffers a little as a result in my opinion. It’s a nice melodic performance with a decent hook or two scattered in so by no mean a chore to listen to, but compared to much of the rest of the song it is a little dull in my view. Especially when you’ve got all manner of guitar solos, especially like the one in the bridge, and energetic hook filled verses vying for the ears’ attention. That said, if a slightly weak chorus is my only real knock on the track it’s not like they’re doing a whole lot wrong here is it really?

If things have been a bit too energetic and chaotic for you thus far then fifth track “Natsukoi☆Temptation” should hopefully offer you something of a reprieve from all of that. It starts out very mellow with some nice piano and the sound of waves lapping on the shore before things pick up a bit with a slightly more lively synthesizer melody being introduced. There’s some nice energy to it but not as hyperactive and in your face as on some of the album’s previous tracks. Things take on a slight carnival feel just before the first few vocal lines are introduced, with a fairly natural and slightly playful delivery being the very appropriate choice made for how the lyrics are presented. Can’t say I’m overly fond of the heavily modulated vocal harmonies going on here though, but they’re fairly sporadic so it’s not a huge deal by any stretch. The chorus is done in a similar style, just with a few aspects turned up a bit and a lot more natural vocal harmonizing going on. It’s not the most standout thing that you’re ever going to hear but it’s a nice pleasant instrumental arrangement accompanying some soft Pop style vocals. If that’s your thing then there’s plenty of it for you here as this song is pretty damn long at just a shade over 5 minutes. Probably too long in my personal opinion but I suppose I was never really reaching for the skip button while listening either.

I’m trying to think of a witty pun about us advancing through this album to set up what I’m going to say about sixth track “ADVANCE” but I’ve got nothing folks. This one takes a little to get going here, with several seconds of silence before we even get the hum of an amplifier to listen to even. A nice clean guitar tone then comes in as an accompaniment to a rather lovely clean vocal performance that should erase any lingering doubts anyone might have about PLANCK STARS’s vocal abilities. We carry on in this direction for a while before some drums come crashing into the equation and you get the feeling that business is about to pick up in some way, though there’s plenty of directions they could take things in still. It ends up being a pretty uptempo Rock style with some more cool sounding guitar riffs and an infectious drumbeat to help things along rather nicely. The vocals get a bit more emotion and intensity behind them at this point as well which was good to hear and we kinda flip between this style and the one that opened the track until we hit a chorus. Once again we’re trying to get the best of both worlds and it kinda works as far the vocal melodies are concerned but the instrumental gets a bit busy and loses some of its definition. They more than make up for it in the closing moments of the song however, with some incredibly impressive vocal work that really pushes both the range and the emotion behind the delivery to the next level. It makes for a pretty epic way to close things out so who cares if there was a minor thing I didn’t care for when that’s the last impression that you’re left with.

I love a good pun or play on words and that’s exactly what “Menheraifu” is giving me with its title. It’s a mash-up of the term “menhera” (I’ll let you Google that for yourselves) and “life” and only works in romaji if I write it the way I did so no Japanese lectures from the peanut gallery, okay? Pretty strong Chill Hop vibes coming off of this track early on, with some light synthesizer wubs and a relaxing beat being the main features until the vocals eventually make an appearance. They match the mood in the room rather effectively, being sung in a nice rich tone that keeps itself in time with the beat already being provided by the instrumental. The tension gets slowly built up over time, with the instrumental taking on a slightly sharper edge and the vocals putting a bit more oomph behind the lyrics they’re delivering as things take on more of an Electronica dynamic. The chorus is then an explosion of brightness and synthesizer wubs, accompanying some fairly light and harmonic vocals that are fairly simplistic with a lot of “Ah, Ah, Ah”ing going on throughout. A slight hint of this Electronica element is then carried through to the rest of the verses that are basically in the same original style otherwise. Another chorus or two later and that’s all she wrote with this one folks. Pretty chilled out and relaxing stuff on the whole but they turn things up a little bit every so often just to make sure we’re not drifting off, which I think definitely had the intended impact.

If you’re going to title a song “Freeʞ out!!” then I kinda feel like it should be pretty crazy and off the wall sounding. I’m happy to report that PLANCK STARS appear to agree with that assessment as this one comes out swinging with a high tempo and very intense EDM banger for its instrumental. Lots of very energetic synthesizer melodies combined with an intense beat and some deep bass will get the job done quite well in that regard. Toning things down by the time the vocals come in understandably enough, but the pounding beat does still persist and keeps the tension pretty high while the vocals offer a slightly softer melodic component…well, when they’re not screwing around doing their own mixes and stuff anyway. I like it when you get personality like that coming through though. The chorus is a bit surprising though in just how vanilla J-Pop it ended up being I suppose. There’s nice, bright melodies and catchy lyrics on offer so it’s by no means unpleasant but I kinda figured they might have gone a bit harder in the paint than they did. Maybe for the best though because outside of the choruses this thing is packed with wubs, breakdowns, mixes, all manner of vocal styles and it’s all tied together rather well somehow. Usually I’m out here knocking songs for not living up to their titles but this one definitely did so if you’re looking for something wild and energetic then this should do the trick.

We continue on with that EDM theme into the next track “Kyōki ranbu”, which features a rather unexpected male monologue as an introduction while the instrumental is warming up and getting its house in order. A pretty nice African sort of vibe to things during this part which I thought was pretty cool to hear on an Idol track. It doesn’t take too long for things to get going though and we transition into that aforementioned EDM style, though it’s rather understated a lot of the time I must admit in favor of giving the vocals the room that they need to go about doing their thing. Not quite as enthusiastic sounding as the instrumental can get at times but the lyrics have a nice flow and the rhythm of the delivery paired with the subtle but still present hooks made for a rather pleasant listen. The chorus is a bit brighter and more upbeat which is a good thing in my opinion and I thought that the main vocal hook and instrumental melody were quite catchy and paired together rather well to make for a memorable moment or two throughout the track. Well, besides the male monologue which makes another appearance during the bridge just in case you’d forgotten about it along the way. Slightly more middle of the road by comparison this one but still pretty interesting stuff and quite fun to listen to as well.

For some reason the title of “Ame, ano hi mita nyorozo” just kinda said “Ballad” to me in my brain. Yes folks, even I can be guilty of judging a book by its cover sometimes. Good thing I still listen to every track though, otherwise I might have missed out on what is actually a rather fun and bouncy Rock tune featuring as the album’s tenth track. There are several other elements involved too of course, with a few Rap verses and a bit of Denpa influence by way of some background chatter and a few rapidly delivered, overly exaggerated lines. The main backbone for the track is the previously mentioned bouncy Rock number however, with vocals to match too thankfully so it doesn’t up being this really weird stylistic mash-up…in that regard anyway. There are many different genres in play on this track, though they’re mostly allowed to do their own thing by way of some pretty smooth transitions. You’re almost thankful that the J-Rock style chorus is the most normal sounding thing here after a while. It does kinda feel like a “jack of all trades, master of none” sort of scenario because of this but the amount of variety is just about enough so as not to feel like too much while also keeping you engaged and guessing what the next twist or turn might be. Probably the best one track example of PLANCK STARS’s vocal capabilities thus far as a result too, as they get the chance to show off a lot of range, tone, personality and what have you. The fact it all comes together in a coherent and rather enjoyable end product doesn’t hurt things either of course.

We’re then treated to another rather upbeat and bouncy sounding Rock tune in “HiME IN THE VALLEY”. Another song that has a title that to the average person would perhaps suggest it would be a bit more of a Ballad, but again not so. Catchy guitar riffs and an equally catchy drumbeat grab the attention early and hold onto it like a vice grip until it eases up with the introduction of the song’s first verse. Not exactly the vocal style I was expecting here, kinda light and Poppy but the lyrics and how they flow together are doing a good job of matching the spirit of the beat that is accompanying them. Very enjoyable end product to listen to so absolutely no problems with it from me here. The chorus is once again one of those ones where you just take what you’ve been doing and amp it up a bit, and maybe add a bit more harmonizing like they did here. I kinda feel like the verses outshine the choruses as far as lyrical hooks go at least but I certainly appreciate the brightness and warmth that the latter is bringing to what was a slightly rough around the edges affair otherwise. If you wanted to hear what all of it sounds like together then after a pretty awesome guitar solo that’s what you’re getting for about the last minute or so of the track. An impressive, emotional vocal performance and a chaotic but infectious instrumental once again ensure that PLANCK STARS are ending things off on a high note.

We dip back into the Electronica side of things for the album’s penultimate track “Warugaki instinct”, which wastes no time at all in getting things started with a retro sounding Chiptune composition that I thought was a pretty nice change of pace 12 tracks deep into this release. A very high paced EDM track is then introduced fairly quickly into the equation, which definitely helped to flesh things out and also give the track a bit more energy than it would have been rocking otherwise. It ends up feeling like a pretty relentless pace after a while and the vocals certainly aren’t looking to lose to it either, with some pretty quick deliveries in a wide range of styles from the more natural to the more exaggerated. It all ebbs and flows between the calm and chaotic trying to balance on a knife-edge between both personalities and somehow managing to just about pull it off too. The choruses are explosions of brightness and energy, performed in a very genki Pop tone with a bunch of interesting synthesizer sounds bubbling away in the background. The middle of the song gets crazier still, with an intense and wub-filled breakdown to bend the ears a bit before the song settles back into the groove it was in before that minor detour. Yeah, I think this one more than lived up to its name and was more along the lines of what I originally thought PLANCK STARS would sound like. Oh how wrong I was.

With that, we reach the final track on the album “black: / /side” which has a title that kinda looks like a file path name on a computer or something. That’s where my brain went with it at least. Very bright and happy sounding Electronica is the note we open on here, with a heavily modulated vocal sample repeating itself over and over to kinda harsh the buzz that I personally had going on at least. The beat only builds and builds from there and before long we’re being treated to a very high energy, bright and sparkly instrumental that seems intent to close this release out on a very feelgood vibe indeed. The vocals are hamming it up to match the general mood of the song, very bright and energetic with a bit of modulation and exaggeration added for effect. You wouldn’t say that you’re hearing anything particularly groundbreaking in that regard here but if you’re into this style then I think you’ll have some fun with it. The choruses are much more traditional J-Pop in style if you can believe that, but that’s how the vocals are hitting my ear despite the instrumental’s best efforts to genki everything up. Depending on what you’re into this might come off better than the verses but I personally enjoyed the tone and energy of the song more outwith the chorus. Kinda unfair though I suppose when the bulk of the interesting synth parts take place elsewhere and the girls get to show off more personality when they’re not trying to do a serious Pop chorus. That’s by no means a knock though and I genuinely think they closed out a very entertaining album on a positive note.

Despite having a provocative title and the group behind it having a fairly edgy persona, “FUCK THE PINCHIKE” is a very well executed album from a technical standpoint. More importantly than that, I don’t think there was a single song on here that wasn’t fun to listen to in at least some way. Granted you have to be open to some big personalities and quite a lot of synth at times but there’s plenty of straight up Rock on offer too if that’s more your thing.

I feel like I probably came into this review not expecting to enjoy this album that much. Well, after having gone through it I’m happy to say that I did in fact have a rather good time listening along and jotting down some thoughts for you all. PLANCK STARS weren’t ever really on my radar before now but I can confidently say that I’m going to be trying to pay a bit more attention to them going forward. They’ve caught my attention with this release and I’m curious to hear where they go from here now.