One of the benefits of Daiki Tsuneta’s millennium parade project is its fluid nature. Whereas his main outfit King Gnu features a fixed lineup and certain expectations that come along with it, millennium parade has avoided any set definitions since it started. Even as the unit has enjoyed more online success over the course of 2019, trying to pin down just what exactly it is proving tough. They started getting attention thanks to unnerving electronic numbers featuring warped vocals and constantly changing synth melodies. Yet their sound goes all over the place — watching them live earlier this year, I was surprised to see that half of their set was devoted to some Rage Against The Machine-lite rap-rock.
“Stay!!” offers another reminder of how much freedom this project has, to the point where the people involved change without losing the spirit of the group. Watch the video for it below.
The big shift present on “Stay!!” comes in the lead vocals. Long-running J-pop singer-songwriter Chara provides the voice to this number, and her delivery stands as a big departure from previous millennium parade singing. That either leaned into unsettling monotone or a sort of yelped sing-rap. Chara brings something a little more unpredictable. She can go from sweetly-sung words to taking it up a level, turning her words into a club. This has always been her strongest point, and millennium parade make the most of it by matching her delivery with backing music that starts relatively chill but slowly adds in disorienting touches. By the time they hit the hook, the players let the guitars and drums pick up in intensity to match Chara’s shouts. It’s not quite a Chara song and doesn’t quite resemble any of millennium parade’s music before, but the flexibility this project allows makes experimenting with the form possible.