In the five short years that I’ve been following SixTONES, the self-proclaimed bad boys of J-pop, I’ve come to realize one very important thing: there’s absolutely nothing bad about them.

Jesse (ジェシー), Taiga Kyomoto (京本大我), Hokuto Matsumura (松村北斗), Yugo Kochi (髙地優吾), Shintaro Morimoto (森本慎太郎), and Juri Tanaka (田中樹) are six of the best damn vocalists I’ve encountered during my ongoing expedition through the wonderfully chaotic landscape of Japanese pop music.

Recently, the group released their 18th single and fourth double A-side, ｢Dance Forever / マイオンリー｣, and, of course, I was at Tower Records the moment the doors opened to get my hands on a copy.

And yes, I bought all three versions. 

｢Dance Forever｣ is SixTONES turning up the fun to be their adorable, bright, and effortlessly cool selves with the energy dialed up to eleven.

Filmed on location in Croatia, that same carefree energy carries over into the music video, where the guys seem to be having the time of their lives cruising around the city, hanging out on a boat, playing basketball, and eventually making their way to the club. If I didn’t know any better, I’d believe someone simply handed them a camera and said, “Go have fun, boys.”

In contrast, ｢マイオンリー｣ (English: My Only) brings them back down to earth with something slower, softer, and considerably more romantic. A warm, sentimental electro-pop love song about choosing that one person and continuing to love them wholeheartedly, it offers something far more intimate than its A-side partner, allowing the richness of their voices to take on a rare wistful tenderness that is just as sensual, if not more so, as when they’re purposefully using their masculine wiles to make us weak in the knees.

The track also serves as the theme song for the NTV Saturday drama 『告白─25年目の秘密─』, starring group member Hokuto Matsumura.

Limited Edition A includes the additional track ｢一秒 -City Pop Rearrange-｣, along with a DVD consisting of the ｢Dance Forever｣ music video, the first of two behind-the-scenes features documenting the group’s adventures in Croatia, and ｢光る、兆し -Travel Film-｣.

Limited Edition B includes the additional track ｢Rebellion -Bedroom Pop Rearrange-｣, along with a DVD that includes the ｢マイオンリー｣ music video, the second of two behind-the-scenes features documenting the group’s adventures in Croatia, and a ｢マイオンリー｣ dance performance.

The Regular Edition rounds out the single with two additional tracks:

｢Play the game｣ is rough, wild, and easily one of the group’s heaviest-sounding tracks to date. One of the things I love most about SixTONES is just how comfortable they seem slipping into the sound of any genre. Especially rock.

｢Beyond the line｣ is simpler and considerably more dramatic in its sound, giving the group plenty of room to embrace their musicality and show off those powerhouse vocals. The instrumentation of this track is gorgeous.

My one and only gripe about the single is that there’s no Blu-ray option, which means I’ll have to wait until the next album to (hopefully) see these videos in their full HD glory.

Speaking of glory… have you seen the Muscle Version of ｢Dance Forever｣?

If not, you’re welcome. Just remember one thing: Shintaro is mine.

There will be more SixTONES soon so… 

Stay Tuned!