Rhythm Review: GANG PARADE’s ‘Gang Rise’ Is A Great Surprise

With multi-talented musicians who effortlessly navigate multiple genres and aesthetic styles, Japan is a golden land of immense musical talent. The alternative acts are insanely creative, the singer-songwriters have great vocals, and as always, their pop is constantly innovating. J-pop has carried so many impressive artists, like in the era of city pop (thank you so much Anri and Miki Matsubara), it is clear that today's artists are building on that foundation and taking it to greater heights.

GANG PARADE, an emerging J-pop group, is composed of 11 members: Yamamachi Miki, Yumeno Yua, Can GP Maika, Yui Ga Dockson, Coco Partin Coco, Tsukino Usagi, Naruhaworld, Kila May, Ca Non, Changbaby, and Ainastar. These deceitful names add even more to their talented musical abilities, as they have been releasing music together in different capacities since 2014. Their 6th studio album, Gang Rise, sees the group come together with a unique and attention-grabbing sound, after much change in the group’s setup.

Marathons and Many Name Changes

GANG PARADE has not always held that name, and like many pop groups of today, they have been through many changes. For starters, they debuted under the name pla2me (which you may think is pronounced “play two me”, but is pronounced “planime”) along with the creation of WACK by Junnosuke Watanabe. Focusing on “alternative idols” (Japanese pop artists that are not of the traditional pop variety; think Taylor Swift versus a way more genre-bending Charli XCX), pla2me focused on anime and even had costumes in anime cosplay. 

 

Then came the change to POP, which faced early controversy. The group was kicked out of Tokyo Idol Festival due to encouraging rowdy behavior from fans, which resulted in a normal reaction from Wack: making them run a marathon to stay a part of Wack. The marathon was completed (in a relay race fashion), leading to the name change to the current title of GANG PARADE and their debut album, Barely Last, in 2016.

They continued to release albums under GANG PARADE, but it did not last long. The group split up into two subgroups, the two groups being GO TO THE BEDS and PARADISES in 2020. With a small final performance held in 2021, it seemed like the group was finally done. Of course, their next album, WELCOME TO GANG PARADE, was released in 2022, but this time with new members. OUR PARADE would be released the following year, and on June 18, 2025, GANG RISE would be released. 

All Over the Place, in the Best Way

This album is an absolute shock to the senses. The songs throughout the album are constantly changing styles, genres, sound, and so much more. The number of instruments used within the album could fill this entire piece, with the early tracks showcasing massive instrumental changes, as saxophones are swapped for guitars and EDM synths. 

“GANG RISE” announces itself as the opening track with the group’s shouting vocals and drums pedaling to keep the fast tempo. The song settles into a softer rock groove with guitars and drums coming more into the fold, as more of the group comes in with powerful vocals. 

Then “Muri Muri Kimoi” (No Way, No Way, Gross) comes in with flying EDM synths and electronic-influenced vocals. It even continues further with the next track, “Sparkling Moon”. After already listening to a more pop-rock-influenced track and a slightly hardcore-EDM track, you would think that GANG PARADE would continue in one of those directions. But, of course, “Sparkling Moon” opens with a big band drum break with saxes and pianos jumping in. There are even references to big band styles with lyrics showing teases to “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Benny Goodman (even emulating the iconic drum part featured in the original). 

This is all to say that even though they are flying all over the musical spectrum, the production and vocals are still top-notch. The group loves a good guitar solo and a live drum set in their tracks, with almost every song containing one of the two. They cover a lot of genres across the album, with electronic and dubstep, pop-rock, jazz, and even some math-rock featuring throughout. I see influences from electronic artists like Porter Robinson and other abstract Japanese groups like ATARASHII GAKKO!, with both artists being equally unique and influential in their genres as well. 

The group even agrees with their unique sound, with Yua saying, “GANG PARADE’s songs have many different colours.” There are even some lighter songs that are not as productionally dense, like “Ima Wo Kakeru” (Stake the Now), which has a lighter drum part and much softer, not as shouty vocals. 

Even lyrically, they are constantly flipping between irony and seriousness. “PassioGila” (Passion) has lyrics that tell of a person wanting to get away with their boring work life to do the obvious, “Passion with a dazzle, we’re the dancing people!” While it is understandable to want to have passion with a dazzle and join the dancing people to leave your ordinary life, the lyrics still overall match the zany nature of the group. 

“Ambivalent” is the track directly following “Passion” and has much more serious lines like, “So please don’t stay, anything that’ll make me remember them at this stage.” There is a lot of emotional maturity needed to do both silly and serious lyrics, and the group executes it perfectly.  

Approaching this album, it was unknown what to expect. First it was a pop-rock album, then an electronically-influenced rock album, and then there was big band and so much more. It is great despite all the different genres and sounds present, as GANG PARADE created an impressive feat of an album, even before you factor in the 11 members present. The erratic nature of their sound keeps listeners engaged, giving them new things to discover whenever they listen to the album.