BACK-ON’s new single “flyaway” due out on January 28th 2009!

Hot on the heels of BACK-ON’s newest release - their first ever full length album YES!!! - we now have news that their next single is due out in just over 2 months on January 28th 2009! :)

Although there is no hint of this on their website, the news is official, as it was included on an informational flyer with YES!!! It was quite a surprise when this small sheet of paper came fluttering out as I unfolded the CD insert, and you can see for yourself what I saw:

At that moment, I actually quite *forgot* that I was meant to be excited about YES!!! and jumped around for this instead. If you can read a bit of Katakana or are feeling resourceful enough to find one of those helpful pronunciation tables on Google Images, the blurb at the bottom of the leaflet says something like:

Bandai Namco game: Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2’s theme song “flyaway” is the title track of the 3 song (single)…

Read the rest of this entry »

Share This

Is BACK-ON’s first full album called “Yes!!!”?

Rumours that BACK-ON might be releasing their first full album this year have been floating around since earlier this year, when the various online record companies posted an ‘Untitled’ album by BACK-ON due out on the penultimate day of July. However, 30th July came and went, and news from the band during the summer were really just day-to-day thoughts from their official blog.

Then came September, and the revelation that the other half of the mysterious new group BAReeeeeeeeeeN were in fact BACK-ON, and since then, the band has experienced a huge surge of popularity. So much so, that at their first public performance after the release of 足跡 (Ashiato) at Shibuya Boxx on October 9th, the venue was packed out! We found out about this from the official ‘report’ on Back-on.com, which was accompanied by the launch of their official photo gallery, featuring more than a dozen photos from the gig!

There are more photos available at the link above, but perhaps more importantly… we had the very first hint in the last line of the report that the full album really is forthcoming, this time on the new rumoured date of November 12th 2008!

So what do we know about this potential new album? If the Japan-base online CD retail companies like Amazon.jp, CDJapan and HMV.jp are anything to go by, this is the jacket cover of the brand new album:

We also find out that the new album will probably be called Yes!!!, and that it should be priced at ¥ 2,600, which is around $27 USD or £17 GBP. Apparently there will be a total of 10 tracks, including 足跡 (Ashiato) aka. Footprints and color from the BAReeeeeeeeeeN debut single, which really shouldn’t be a surprise, given that the cover design really does scream (to me) GReeeeN!!! What do you think? Let us know on the Forums, if not in the comments below!

The supposed 8 other tracks on the album are currently unknown, but it seems BACK-ON will definitely be including all the title tracks from their singles so far, which presumably means songs such as (in reverse chronological order) -

• Sands of time
• flower
• Butterfly
• BLAZE LINE
• NEW WORLD
• Chain

and many more of their crowd favourites. One site even mentioned ヒカリサスホウ (Hikari Sasuhou), which was a huge hit with the fans at their October 9th Sonic Concorde gig, enough to make BACK-ON perform it twice!

Seeing as it’s one of my most favourite songs, I think I can understand why ;) And as if the photo extravaganza above wasn’t enough, look at the promotional photo we found on Amazon.jp!

Kenji03 is wearing glasses!!! That’s enough to make any fan-girl go KYAAAAAA! (I’ve borrowed this from someone, sorry!) It’s a pity the photo isn’t larger, but if you do want a good close up, I can certainly recommend watching a new video uploaded by gangangan03, where BACK-ON (in their new outfits!) introduce 足跡 (Ashiato), but unfortunately the broadcasting giants appear to have waved their copyright flag, and not only have they removed the video, but gangangan03’s Youtube account has mysteriously been suspended! It’s a HUGE HUGE blow for BACK-ON fans imho, and I really hope the account will be re-instated soon as it is a gold mine of media of the band. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

I would like to drop in a tantalizing hint “タネウマ★DJ ICHIKAWA from Volta Master remix” at this point, but let’s leave it for the next post and move back to the main topic:

Will BACK-ON’s first full album be called Yes!!!

Will it really be released on November 12th 2008?

That really remains to be seen, but please keep checking back here for more news!

Share This

Only 3 more days to go until the release of “Sands of time”

Are you excited? I can hardly wait! With the days are crawling by so slowly, it doesn’t help that I know I have to wait up to an additional week to receive the pre-ordered Sands of time CD! :)

If you’re wondering where to buy your copy, we’ve done a little bit of research on a few major online retailers who are stocking the single, and have provided a table below for your general reference. For the sake of convenience, we’re listing prices in USD (even though I personally live in the UK) as it makes it far easier to compare the ‘true’ costs.

*Prices originally listed in Japanese Yen have been converted using the Interbank rate listed on OANDA on May 18th 2008. These are annotated with a ‘~’.
*The shipping costs are for a standard Air Mail delivery (not EMS) to the US which usually means a delivery time of around a week (7 days) except when this is not available.

Although this is only a very crude guide, there is some variation in price so it’s a good idea to shop around. I have only made purchases from Play-Asia, Yesasia and HMV (Japan) [we're not affiliated with any retailers!] and can’t complain about their service at all. For CDJapan, I have corresponded with the support team by email, and have found them to be very helpful.

Hopefully some will find this comparison table useful. :) If there are any errors or mistakes, of if anyone can suggest any alternative sources, please let us know in the comments!

p/s: We’ve just updated the Discography section with the (reported) track times of songs from the new single!

Share This

BACK-ON New single “Sands of Time” due out May 21st 2008?

This breaking news is courtesy of MJtheone, who some of you might know as our Wallpaper Maestro, who spotted the new entry on CDJapan about Back-on’s new single “Sands of Time“!

No details of the tracklisting are available as yet (apart from the obvious Sands of Time song, which is the ending theme for ケータイ捜査官7 [Keitai Sousakan 7]) but the release date is set to be May 21st 2008, which is the same date listed for the CD on HMV Japan.

However, no news or information has been released on Back-on’s official website nor official Myspace yet, so we haven’t been able to confirm the news. Given that Keitai Sousakan 7 premieres on April 2nd 2008, the May release date does give the band sufficient time to do some promotional work for the new single, so I’m almost certain the date must be correct. Of course, it would be even better if it was earlier! ;)

p/s: We’ve updated the band’s Discography to reflect the new information.
p/s2: Our first birthday is coming up in less than 2 weeks!

Share This