Some thoughts on “Melon Batake a go go”, the latest mini-album from Melon Batake a go go!
Release Date: July 4th 2022
Serial Number: GRSS-1058
Format: CD/Digital
Tracklist
1. GO GO MELON THE VICTORY
2. WIPE OUT IDOLS
3. Science Fiction Horror
4. LET’S VIBE
5. STILL HEAVY SITMAN
6. non NO FUTURE
7. Supeanuts
8. Melon Batake a go go (2022 ver.)
Buy: HMV (JP), Tower Records (JP), Disk Union (JP), Amazon (JP), CDJapan (EN)
Stream: All of the usual places
Okay, as you all know by now I’m a pretty big fan of Melon Batake a go go. They’re pretty much my favorite group in all honesty and well, considering most of the others that I did like aren’t really around anymore it’s even easier to say that sort of thing than ever before. It also helps that they put out great music and I don’t think there’s been a release yet that I’ve actually been disappointed in, but I think we’re probably getting a bit ahead of ourselves there.
So this time Melon are back with a new, self-titled, mini-album. It’s the last release from the group that’s going to feature Amino Coromi as she leaves both Melon Batake and The Grateful a MogAAAz for pastures yet to be determined. Some sad news for sure but it looked like she got a pretty awesome send-off from what I saw on Twitter and I think there was some talk of her perhaps sticking around with GPR in some capacity going forward so I guess we’ll see on that front.
Getting back to this new mini-album and well it’s not exactly all that mini. 8 tracks is pretty good going by some full album standards these days but hey I’m not here to judge. There’s a couple of familiar tracks included here but for the most part I hadn’t heard much of this release before which was pretty exciting. Melon don’t release new music as frequently as some groups do but like I said, when they do it’s usually a good time so I was hopeful that this would be the case here too.
First of all it’s really great to see/hear an updated version of “Melon Batake a go go”. It’s a pretty important song for the group and perhaps more importantly it’s also a fan favorite so again really cool to have that on here. A redone version of “Science Fiction Horror” also features which is another popular track that has been around forever and I don’t think ever got re-recorded since the version with the original line-up came out. A nice inclusion here once again and I wouldn’t mind it if this became a trend as Melon certainly have plenty of classics that I think deserve a fresh coat of paint at this point, in my opinion anyway.
Of the new material here, “WIPE OUT IDOLS” is a bit of a standout with its infectious Rockabilly energy and catchy hooks. “STILL HEAVY SITMAN” has a similar sort of feel to it if you’re into that kind of stuff (why are you listening to Melon if you aren’t?) and so does “LET’S VIBE” to a lesser extent. “Supeanuts” is definitely up there as a personal favorite from this release for me and if you’re looking for some stuff that’s a bit more Rock leaning then “GO GO MELON THE VICTORY” and “non NO FUTURE” are leaning a bit more in that direction. but you’re never really going to get too far away from that signature Melon sound and personality.
I know a lot of people thought that Melon Batake’s previous release “Idol Senshi” was a bit of a gloomy affair so hopefully this more upbeat, rocking style of release will be more to their liking. I certainly had fun with it (and I liked “Idol Senshi” for what it was too by the way) and Melon continue their streak of never disappointing me when they put out new music so that’s pretty cool too honestly.
It’ll be interesting to see how things go with the group in the short-term. I’m not sure if the plan is to replace Ami or not (Usako and Kotomi are taking turns filling in currently) but I guess we’ll find out eventually one way or the other. Melon are also heading to America fairly soon for an appearance at Saboten Con in Arizona so if you can, definitely make the trip out there to see them because they are as fantastic live as they are on tape. That I can promise you!
