This feels like the kind of record that belongs in summer.

I first ran into FAMILY through Spotify’s weekly recommendations. The intro is warm and gentle in a way that immediately pulls you in, and once the vocal arrives, it becomes hard to turn away from it. That was the moment the whole album caught my attention. Among all the tracks, FAMILY is still the one I like most.

If the voice sounds familiar, there is a reason: the lead vocal is Ichiko Aoba, who also sang いきのこり●ぼくら.

The album is consistently strong, and every track is worth hearing. I’m leaving the lyrics to my two favorites here.

Lyrics: FAMILY

Love is free

Then love that meet your feel

Love is fear

Then love is in your heart

Life is free

Maybe past we feel

Life is fear

Then life is in your heart

Even when it down You always out there Makeing every day so happy

Even when it’s hot your feel every time Every day you love the same

Life is free

Then love that meet your feel

Life is fear

Then love is in your heart

Life is free

Maybe does it feel

Life is fear

Then life is in our heart

Even when it down You always out there Makeing every day so happy

Even when it’s hot you feel every time Every day you love the same

Even when it down You always out there Making every day so happy

Even day is hot you feel every time Every day you love the same

You’ll fear be damn

You’ll fear every time

everyday Your love is free

You’ll be always be there in my heart Is every time forever

Be the for you just that in my heart Is every time forever

You’ll always be there in my heart Is every time forever

Be the for you just that in my heart Is every time forever

You’ll always be there in my heart Is every time forever

Be the for you just that in my heart Is every time forever

You’ll always be there in my heart Is every time forever

Be the for you just that in my heart Is every time forever

And I know all this be single room

And I know all this be single room

Lyrics: HEART

a broken heart just needs some time left to bleed

a heart is best when it is kind warm and sweet

an open heart would never lie you see

so please believe that we were meant to be

a jealous heart is not a crime nor is it weak

your heart is blessed when it is mine can’t you see

with every beat a loss of time you see

so be with me yeah we were meant to be together

it’s you plus me not less me

gonna laugh with me not at me

yeah two hearts beat as one beat

how beautiful it’d be

it’s you plus me not less me

gonna laugh with me not at me

yeah two hearts beat as one beat

how beautiful

a broken heart just needs some time left to bleed

a heart is best when it is kind warm and sweet

an open heart would never lie you see

so please believe that we were meant to be

a jealous heart is not a crime nor is it weak

your heart is blessed when it is mine can’t you see

with every beat a loss of time you see

so be with me yeah we were meant to be together

it’s you plus me not less me

gonna laugh with me not at me

yeah two hearts beat as one beat

how beautiful it’d be

it’s you plus me not less me

gonna laugh with me not at me

yeah two hearts beat as one beat

how beautiful

it’s you plus me not less me

gonna laugh with me not at me

yeah two hearts beat as one beat

how beautiful it’d be

it’s you plus me not less me

gonna laugh with me not at me

yeah two hearts beat as one beat

yeah you can trust me

be together

now and ever

…

For me, the most addictive part of HEART is the rhythm of the drums, especially the first beat pattern, and the way the stress lands on “it’d be” in the line “how beautiful it’d be.” It is a tiny detail, but it gives the song a very specific kind of lift.

A note on the Tracks series

Tracks is a small music-sharing series separated out from a recurring music section. The idea was partly sparked by Spike Leung’s Album series, and also by casouri’s 余日摇滚, which had inspired that series in turn.

Music notes tucked inside a weekly format are easy to miss. It feels better to take them out on their own and share favorite songs from time to time, without forcing them into a fixed schedule.

I originally thought about adding some translations of the lyrics. But translating lyrics into Chinese is not something I’m especially good at; the mood and texture of the original can easily get flattened, or even become awkwardly plain. So it is probably better to leave the words as they are and let the songs speak for themselves.