hurts (BEST ALBUM)
2008/03/05
01. 包帯天使-head ache-
02. 玩具芸事ロータリィ
03. クチオシヤ
04. sick baby
05. インキュバス-血盟-
06. 絶対領域のカノン
07. ア・カペラと前立腺
08. 不眠症サティリアシス
09.「I can fly」
10. smells like love
11. 唯一の唄
12. 人でなしの恋
13. 輪廻suicide
The mid-to-late 2000s were a good time to be a follower of KISAKI's UNDER CODE label, as it almost felt like new bunches of bands were popping up on the horizon every year. Among them, hurts was one of the groups that left a big impression on me with their straightforward punky tunes.
Back then I didn't know anything about the members' past in previous bands, so I just assumed that hurts was a random nobody newcomer that got their big break on UCP. Even so, they managed to instantly blow me away with the energetic live rendition of their song "Kuchioshiya" on the live DVD documenting the label's Nihon seiatsu 2006 tour. I was so used to the fantastic aesthetics and general frilliness of visual kei, that this more 'street-level' punk-rock approach sounded really fresh at that point in time. It sounded like the torch of Kiyoharu's latter band legacy (in Kuroyume and SADS) being passed down to the new generation.
If I remember correctly, hurts summarized their concept as 'gothic punk' and they stuck to that all the way through their sadly short-lived existence of two years. This best-of collection (sometimes called self-titled, sometimes simply "BEST ALBUM") is the perfect culmination of that style. Almost every song is characterized by fast but tight instrumentation, on top of which singer Hina lays down his signature sneering vocals. The catchy minimalism and devil-may-care attitude of punk is in full effect on these tracks. Sometimes they spice things up a bit like on "A Capella to zenritsusen" or "Incubus", both songs that sound vaguely like they could fit on a mid '90s Marilyn Manson record with their groovy tribal chugging and creepy atmosphere.
As short as they were active, hurts at least managed to pump out 20 quality tracks (covers and re-recordings excluded), of which a lucky 13 made it to this fantastic compilation, giving us a flawless picture of what the band was all about. It's a neat little package to remember a cult favorite by, worthy of putting on the shelf next to the more longstanding artists of UNDER CODE.
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