

On January 11th, Band-Maid released their very first full-length album titled “Just Bring It.” Prior to Just Bring It, Band-Maid released 3 mini-albums and 2 singles. I’m a little late on this post because I was waiting for my copy to arrive in the mail from CDJapan, so that I could share with you some actual photos of the album. I ordered the limited edition, which includes a 32 page color photo book and a sleeve case.

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As you can see, Crown Records really outdid themselves with packaging for Just Bring It. The album cover is beautifully illustrated, the slip case feels very sturdy, and the CD has a simple yet appealing design. You can see the photo book in the second picture, but unfortunately I was unable to capture any photos of the inside for you without bending the book in a way I wasn’t willing to. Sorry, I love my limited editions too much! However, I can tell you it contains some great close-up shots of all the girls doing their thing during one of their live events.

Now on to the music. The record really shows off Band-Maid’s talents and how far they’ve come in a few short years. It’s a hard-hitting, melodic rock fest that is sure to please old and new fans alike. I’ve only been able to listen to it a few times all the way through, but I don’t think there’s a single song I don’t enjoy. So far my favorites are Don’t You Tell Me, Puzzle, YOLO, OOPARTS (if you don’t know what this acronym means, check it out it’s interesting), and Awkward. I’m sure as time goes on I won’t even be able to pick a favorite because they all sound so good. They’re just very well-composed songs.

My limited edition copy came with external pre-order bonuses – a poster and a sticker. Unfortunately, the external bonuses are no longer available, but there are copies of the limited edition album still available at the time of this writing! You can see the sticker in my first photo of the CD above, and this is the image on the poster:

Band-Maid has quickly become one of my favorite bands, and I definitely recommend this CD to all fans of J-rock in general.

Order here:

Just Bring It (Limited Edition)

Just Bring It (Regular Edition)