Well, where did this little treasure come from?

There’s a sub-genre of J-pop I like to call “Rock Opera you can dance to.” Johnnys groups like Kis-My-Ft2, KAT-TUN and News have a ton of these songs in their discographies and they tend to be my favorites. The sound isn’t remotely trendy or even cool, but I eat it up with gusto. I’m talking Les Miserables theatricality over a thumping dance beat.

I know very little about ReLIT, but their “Challenger” Theme (“挑戦者”のテーマ) joins this musical club with aplomb. I adore the descending riff that frames the instrumental, and the chorus is a rush of over-the-top bombast. There’s a sense of speed and tension even as the verses veer into rap and the pre-chorus pauses to deliver stabs of musical drama.

If I’m being picky, I’d say the track loses focus in its second half and could do with some structural tightening. But overall, this was ‘love at first listen’ for me. The b-side ReLIT no Limit is also cut from the same cloth.

Grade: A-