CANTOY is a rock band originating from Tokyo that mixes rock and light metal together with miri-pow’s sweet, nasal vocals for a unique sound. On July 25, CANTOY released their second mini-album -KILL-, which contains eight tracks.
The opening track, SAMURAI GIRL goes to great lengths to introduced a samurai theme by using older Japanese within the lyrics. Notable is the use of the rougher sounding ‘de gozaru’ at the last line of each chorus, a piece of grammar from classical Japanese; also, the intense intro is spoken like a traditional poem. Later, just before the guitar solo, HAGA-Chang commands the listener to headband during the instrumental portion of the song but uses classical Japanese instead of standard Japanese—pretty memorable for a rock group. The PV for SAMURAI GIRL is below.
Another strong track, TENAKIPPIN follows with much vigor. This track again utilizes miri-pow’s sweet, nasal voice to contrast with a darker, punk sound.
Next is CREPE LOOP, which carries a light dance beat mixed with CANTOY’s signature rock flavor. The lyrics are surprisingly cute, discussing whether crêpes represent a loose idea of love and become cuter with miri-pow’s contrasting syrupy vocals.
The opening words in ALCOHOLIC PEOPLE, ‘mizu choudai’ (lit., ‘give me water’) are a desperate, commanding plea for help. A combination of dark guitar riffs suited to metal contrasted with miri-pow’s vocals aids the song to sound crazier, as if the listener is temporarily drunk while listening. According to an interview, the members often party after lives and enjoy drinking; ALCOHOLIC PEOPLE possibly is the result of this and provides insight into the members’ lives.
-KILL- wraps up with NEW WORLD, which begins with a slow, heavily reverberated piano intro suitable to a pop number before diving into a back to punk-rock that slips ever-so-slightly into light metal in the verses but with partially rapped vocals. The chorus is brighter.
Overall, -KILL- is a melting plot of many genres strung together. At moments, CANTOY are easily a four piece punk-rock group, yet during the choruses, they can warp themselves to sound similar to say, nano.RIPE and the many indie groups smothering Tokyo. Yet it's the verses that seem to set CANTOY apart from the rest of the pack.
