GACKT - Faraway

To celebrate his ten year anniversary, GACKT has been doing a four week consecutive single release campaign, which leads up to the release of his highly anticipated album. The second of the four singles is Faraway, whose Dears limited edition shows the band’s naked backsides on the CD cover.

The regular edition’s cover isn’t as amusing, but the songs within are the same. Faraway ~Hoshi ni Negai wo~ track is a mid-tempo, happy song with a solid guitar base. GACKT’s voice isn’t as filtered as usual, making for a nice change, and true to the title of the song, he sounds like he is singing from a distance. However, his joy is clearly transmitted. Embedded throughout the song is a background chorus of girls cheering “whoo!” and “yay!” as well as clapping to the beat, which will prompt concert attendees to do the same for sure.

Oblivious ~Kao ni nai Tenshi~, a swaying ballad, slows things down a bit. The acoustic guitar takes the spotlight, creating a soft and gentle atmosphere. Light synthesized drumming supports the entire composition. The end result is a lovely song with sad overtones, and GACKT emphasizes this by keeping his voice unadorned. At certain moments during the verses, he drops into a low growl, as though choked up by emotion. The melody is fleshed out during the chorus by a synth backing track, but instead of sounding less lonely like the verses, it seems to sound more forlorn as GACKT carries out his resigned farewells.

Instrumental versions of both songs are included on the single. Faraway’s instrumental isn’t particularly notable, but the instrumental version of Oblivious is definitely worth listening to. The cascading acoustic guitar melody is much clearer without the vocals and is a treat to listen to.

GACKT seems like he is pulling out all the stops with this single campaign. Faraway, also known as “the second heaven” in GACKT’s ongoing story of his second rebirth, gives his character some depth; it’s a must-have for anyone interested in the saga of GACKT.