For some tragic reason, I missed this release... by an entire year. It might have something to do with the fact that the anime it serves as the ending theme song for is sub-par on so many levels (seriously, it's basically entirely straight and dry exposition for the first 4 episodes, which is as far as my sanity would allow me to get).
       The anime might be sub-par, but the the track is beyond epic in every way. The instrumental lines are incredible, combining individually complex melodies with crazy-awesome decorations. The structure of each individual line is very independent, leading to a fantastic overlay effect as the lines interact with each other creating a continuous pulse of energy through harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic means. The energy is kept at a constant setting of intense even as the tension of the exact moment is varied by the degree of fill and overdubs. And the vocals are incredible. Nano's voice and lyrics are always amazing, but in this track the arrangement of the vocal line is spectacular even by the high standards I've set for Nano. The beginning starts off a bit slow for my tastes, but that is part of what makes the release of chorus so fantastic and the rush behind the vocal line serves to both up the energy by having rapid-fire lyrics, and to soothe some of the tension by having the punchy and precise syllables slide smoothly over the melody in a consonant swirl of warm sound that descends by the end of the two-fold phrases (which gets a nice slow kick-off with a two-note pickup in a word that has a third syllable and a particle that act as another pair and doubles the pace, leading into the rush section with a fantastically smooth transition).
      I could literally go on about the song all day, I've been listening to it non-stop for about two-weeks (since I missed the release, I wasn't planning on reviewing it, but it's just too good to pass up). The PV is nearly as spectacular as the track it's paired with. Nano is a gorgeous creature and the white fuzzy hoodie in this video is one of my favorites to date. There are a couple of timings that bother me, like the exact moment of impact from the paint brush's slow-mo fall, but the slow-mo drum hit transition to full-speed visuals and high-speed chorus at like 3:15-ish is the most amazing moment in the video and it totally makes up for any other shortcomings on timings. Beyond that, the painting is absolutely wonderful. It suits the tone of the video perfect and the action of the painters fits the transitions of the melodies to a T. And the final project is GORGEOUS. I never guess what they were painting and it took me a second to figure it out once they gave the big reveal. My understanding clicked into place at the exact moment the painting begins to take light from the fire at the edges, a perfectly timed moment that I doubt was accidental. Also, the way that the burning of the painting ties in the fire from elsewhere in the video is a flawless execution and the connection makes the whole clip feel polished and beautiful.

       If you haven't heard of MY FIRST STORY, you're missing out: the vocalist is the younger brother of One OK Rock's  lead singer, Taka, and he succeeds in living up to the expectations Jrock fans would hold for a young relation. Hiro probably hates this sort of introduction, but it's helpful in giving readers an understanding of MFS's talent and style. Hiro's got a lot of his brother's traits, both his vocal quality and PV mannerisms are very reminiscent of Taka's, but there's a soft sweetness in his voice that is very different from Taka's. It's not exactly innocence, and it's not just inexperience. Instead it's an almost insubstantial sort of energetic lightness as compared to Taka's mellow weight. This song, more than some of their others, has Hiro's voice moving in ways that give it a similar sound to Taka's, but even so there's a definitely distinct appeal to Hiro's that comes through here.

      This PV is their most recent release, the fourth PV for a track off their 2014 album 虚言NEUROSE. This is one of my favorite songs off the album, with its desperation and driving energy pulling the melody up into the high center as it sits inside and yet far above the rest of the track (which I find to be a uniquely appealing mix). The vocal melody is weighted down, grounded to the rest of the song through the overdubs (which in this case sit well below the main vocals, blended into the range of the guitars, with accents sitting at substantially higher pitches than any other sound in the track on the ends of phrases, balanced out by the low growls of the guitars). One of my favorite features is that some of overdubs are pitched higher than the main line but sit, in terms of specialization, much lower in the weave (they push into hollows just below the middle of my headphones on the vertical axis, and a little to the front, giving an almost unbalanced vibe to the distribution, but the warm weight of the drums and the bass keeps things evened out. The bass especially is pushed back far and low in the headphones).

     The track moves extraordinarily well, tying the intro in through the bridge, the brief outro, and some of the trills on the guitar lines. It  surges along by jumping between sections with stunningly well-executed transitions that happen with a suddenness that should be jarring, but somehow manages to slide sweetly over the senses (likely due to the intensity of attention put on the vocals which act as the main continuity factor as instruments drop in and out). It's really quite remarkable how the track manages to surprise me with the ending every time. It's a five minute song and the short outro always makes me catch my breath funny, surprised that it could possibly be over already, and startled by the finality of it sweeping away. The outro is just enough to keep it from feeling too jarring, but the ending's sudden cut off leaves an ache for more (intentionally and fabulously so).

   The PV itself is quite wonderful, tying into the relatable poetry of the lyrics with an equally symbolic depiction of the emotions in the music. The direct storyline is a bit thin, but this track isn't about what's happening now, it's about an evolving emotional state that currently is and has always been and that's what makes this interesting. The fact that there is no line drawn between internal action, flashbacks, and the 'present' moment (which is a foggy and loosely defined thing to begin with), is especially fascinating and it ties in brilliantly with the song's lyrics. I'm not as nuanced in my understanding of Japanese lyrics as I am with Korean ones, but the translations I've read have offered up very interesting details to ponder. All in all I think it's a fantastic release and I'm really glad that MFS's been giving us multiple PVs for this awesome album.