12012 - Wana

The second single in 12012's three-part single-a-month campaign (next month's will be the last release), one goes into Wana with certain expectations considering the first single of the aforementioned campaign, Pistol.

Prepare to have all of those expectations blown completely out of the water.

Wana is a shockingly catchy tune despite not being particularly fast or quick. It's more like a slow burn that you're led into thanks to some wonderful guitar work courtesy of Sakai and Suga. Their parts here are never boring, a layered sound of slow grooves and quicker riffs before dissolving into near chaos toward the end of the song with the rest of the band. Enya and Kawauchi's contributions are slightly more subtle in light of the guitar lines but both men provide a strong backbone for this song and help drive it on towards its ending madness, finished by Miyawaki's English whisper of "My name is six...."

One thing that immediately strikes the listener in this song is Miyawaki's change in vocals; he's gone down in pitch in Wana and it catches the listener a bit off-guard at first. It's a sharp contrast compared to his work in this year's earlier singles, Pistol and Heart. Thanks in part to this, Wana feels extremely fresh and new while still retaining a 12012 sound.

[6]Party is a party tune indeed, starting out with hand claps that will make the listener want to clap along, or tap a foot at the very least. The guitar here is extremely catchy and again inspires one more to groove or dance as opposed to headbang as earlier 12012 songs may have. Miyawaki kicks off his part with a shout, again done in a lower tone from what we've come to expect from him in the past. He hits some unexpected high notes in [6]Party as well, however, and does so rather shockingly well considering the lower range displayed in this single. Enya's bass line is an absolute dream as it steers the song along, mixing with Kawauchi's upbeat tempo, and doing a fine job of supporting the guitar and Miyawaki's vocals.

12012 has done some experimenting in this single and it's paying off fantastically. The main difference in sound seems to be that while older 12012 tunes often made one want to thrash and headbang about, this newer sound still urges an audience off its feet; only this time it's to dance (as the lyrics in Wana seem to encourage), not mosh. The same want to move is there but the energy has been channeled into a more controlled, less chaotic sound (which will no doubt disappoint some and please others). However, pleasure should be the only thing felt when listening to this single.