Abracadabra is the twenty-second studio album by the Japanese rock band

Buck-Tick Buck-Tick (stylized as BUCK-TICK) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band, formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The group has consisted of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Hig ...

, released on September 21, 2020 by the label Lingua Sounda, subdivision of

Victor Entertainment , also known as in Japan, is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Ent ...

and November 20, 2020 internationally by

JPU Records JPU Records is a British record label formed in 2012, which specializes in handling international releases by Japanese artists. Notable acts on JPU's roster include The Gazette, Band-Maid, Lovebites, and Nemophila. History The label was establi ...

. It was released in two editions in Japan: regular and limited in three formats: CD +

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

and

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

. Internationally it was released on CD and cassette with bonus tracks.

Background

The name "Abracadabra", taken from the lyrics of the song "Eureka", was chosen by lead guitarist and songwriter Hisashi Imai. In an interview with BARKS, Imai says they started composing the album in the middle of spring 2019. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the recordings were suspended for a month. Abracadabra was directed by Junichi Tanaka and the covers were produced by Kazunori Akita. The album features three new recordings of previously released songs. "Kemonotachi no Yoru" had previously been released as a double A-side single alongside the non-album song "Rondo" a year prior, and "Datenshi" had been released as a single earlier the same year. Both songs appear in new remixed arrangements performed by frequent Buck-Tick collaborator YOW-ROW of the band

Gari Gari may refer to: Places *Gari, Tombouctou Region, Mali, a village *Gari, Russia, several inhabited localities *Gari, Kruševac, Serbia, a village *Gari (river), Monte Cassino, Lazio, Italy *Gari, an Indigenous name for Fraser Island in Queensl ...

. "Kogoeru" had been released one month earlier as the B-side to the "Moonlight Escape" single and appears on the album in a new remixed form courtesy of their longtime collaborator Cube Juice. Following the album's release in Japan it was announced that the band had partnered with London-based label

to release an international special edition of Abracadabra, marking the first time in the band's history that one of their albums was officially distributed outside of Asia. The international edition comes with a new cover design and 4 bonus tracks. Initially announced with a November 2020 release date, it was eventually pushed to February 2021 due to production delays caused by the

Tour

Due to the

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

, the album promotion shows with audience became impracticable. Buck-Tick performed the online concert "ABRACADABRA LIVE ON THE NET" on September 21.

Chart performance

Abracadabra peaked at the third position on the

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...

and sold about 15,902 copies in its first week. It peaked at 5th place on

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine ''Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence from ''Bi ...

Track listing

Personnel

Buck-Tick

Atsushi Sakurai is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He has been the vocalist of the rock band Buck-Tick since 1985, previously being their drummer from 1983. He released the solo album '' Ai no Wakusei'' in 2004 and was also a member of Schwein alongsi ...

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Hisashi Imai is a Japanese musician and songwriter. He is known as lead guitarist of the rock band Buck-Tick since 1983. He has also performed in musical side-projects such as Schaft (1991–1994, 2015), Schwein (2001), and more recently Lucy (2004). Car ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

Hidehiko Hoshino , nicknamed "Hide", is a Japanese musician and songwriter. He is known as the rhythm guitarist for the rock band Buck-Tick since 1983. Life and career Buck-Tick In 1985, when Hide and Yutaka Higuchi graduated from high school they moved to Toky ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

* Yutaka Higuchi -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Toll Yagami , known exclusively by his stage name , is a Japanese musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Buck-Tick since 1985. He is the older brother of Yutaka Higuchi, Buck-Tick's bassist. Life and career Toll Yagami dropped out of high s ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Background

Tour

Chart performance

Track listing

Personnel

Buck-Tick

Production

References

External links