Bulletproof Mirror formed in 2005. Since then, the band has released an album on Japanese indie label Theory and Practice Records, and played countless shows in Tokyo and throughout Japan. Their first record, (a few) Drops of Innocence, is an aggressive mix of the best of early post-hardcore melodicism and 90’s guitar rock. Trucco’s powerful voice drives the songs, which are complemented by Hiro’s upper register lead guitar work, Yuki’s fusion of 5-string melody and rhythm on the bass, and Taka’s tight, powerful drumming.
The band’s sound is defined by Trucco’s songwriting hallmarks, many of which he carried over from his previous acoustic rock and pop band, Spybeef. Both Eric and BM’s style is marked by melodic arpeggios, big choruses, personal lyrics, and twisty, often whiplash dynamics. Most of (a few) Drops of Innocence’s tracks adhere to chugging, tension-building verses and wide-open choruses, not unlike U2 funneled through the complex currents of early 90’s angst, from Nirvana’s melancholic melodies to Smashing Pumpkins’ riff-tempered Dream Pop.
After making a snow-specked video for the album’s lead single, Gravity – a lovely lullaby of a song, featuring sweet moments of falsetto and floating arpeggios – Bulletproof Mirror embarked on a guerilla tour of Japan, playing cities from Osaka to Nagano. Returning to Tokyo, the band gigged regularly, though spent time on their personal lives as well.
Now two years on from their debut, Bulletproof Mirror have made the difficult decision to split with their label. Though roughing it can be a bitch, the band is ultimately pleased with their newfound independence. Crossroads, Mirror’s new EP, explodes with new life. The band has kicked off all the doubt and darkness of their first record, and are brimming with confidence and energy. The anthemic songs on Crossroads soar and spit, imbued with swagger and melody, taking on a hostile world as much as (a few) Drops of Innocence retreated from it.
Though the bands biggest influences, from Thursday to Foor Fighters, can still be heard throughout the new material, there’s something timeless about tracks like pounding punk anthem Soul for Rent and the massive Crossroads. The title track is an epic, nearly seven minutes of defiant, optimistic guitar rock reminiscent of the best moments on Radiohead’s guitar anthems, from Stop Whispering, Start Shouting to The Bends, but with foot tapping, heading nodding, shameless love of roaring guitars and throat shredding vocals Yorke and crew never had. The skyscraping finale layers lead guitar interplay in a musical cloudburst not unlike Explosions in the Sky. It is, without doubt, the band’s best song to date.
The band will be playing shows throughout Tokyo in support of the new EP, giving out copies of Crossroads at the venues. For now, the Bulletproof Mirror find themselves in a comfortable space with a modest goal. Says Trucco: “I think we really want one thing: that people dig our music. That's it. Pretty simple, right?”
Clockwise from top left (A)Bulletproof Mirror on some stairs (B) Eric in Tokyo (C) BM live (D) Spybeef's second demo
Here’s what Trucco had to say to us:
1. What draws you to music?
At first, like many, I'm sure, it was a way to funnel teenage angst; fears and what-not. I guess it was more a means than a goal at that time, and it probably still is to a certain extent. I mean, it's not because you are getting older, and supposedly wiser, that you can't feel outraged by what you see around, or feel deeply hurt by others' behaviour... or sometimes your very own as well. So I guess what draws me to music is really that need to express my feelings. And looking cool, obviously. [laughs]
2. Why did you choose to be a songwriter, rather than a guitarist or singer?
Well, when I started, I really wanted to play the guitar. Then I tried to sing while playing along, and it kinda worked. So you take it a step further, you put some lame chords together, you combine it with stupid lyrics and bam! I became a songwriter. Seriously though, it has never been a conscious choice, anyone can become a songwriter anyway. Becoming a good songwriter, that is the real challenge, and I sure don't know if I am up to the task!
3. Who are some of your biggest influences as a (A) vocalist (B) guitarist and (C) songwriter?
For all of them, I have to say the Smashing Pumpkins. While I am not trying to imitate Billy Corgan's signature vocals or songwriting, I have been told several times that you can definitely hear his influence in my songs. I mean, I used to worship that band, so you gotta find bits and pieces of their songs somewhere in mine. Generally speaking though, I really like 90's rock, such as Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Rage Against the Machine, or more acoustic stuff like Jewel, Counting Crows. If you are willing to go more recent, I would say Thursday, Jimmy Eat World, 65 days of Static. I basically look for music that conveys authenticity and sincerity, music from the heart, as opposed to all that shit we hear on TV or on the radio. Pardon my French [Editorial Comment: Ho!]. Oh, and Linkin Park too. I seriously worship Chester Bennington for his work in Linkin, the way he sings is fucking visceral.
4. What are your lyrical inspirations? Do you look to comment on particular subjects or do you go with your gut?
Definitely gut. That would explain why my lyrics are sometimes redundant, I feel I am writing on the same subject many, many times. ‘Cos it's really like a therapy of sorts, you go down deep in your world of hurt, you take the worst of it, expose it to the world, and if you are still not healed, well you just do it again. And again. I mean, if you go to the shrink, you don't just go once, right? Same here. That being said, while some of the songs I write are really dark, especially in our first album (a few) drops of Innocence, I have the feeling that the new songs we have been working on are definitely more positive. Maybe it is just me getting older [laughs]. But to go back to your question, my process is actually very egoistic. I comment on what I feel towards love, society, life in general. Instead of going third-person and trying to imagine someone else's experience. How pretentious is that, by the way?
I prefer to talk about what I know. Or if society makes me sick for instance, then I would express how I wish I had the guts to burn down all I have, rather than being populist and say something like "let's start a revolution brothers". I try to stay true to myself, and I hope people listening to my music feel a connection with what I am trying to express.
5. What’s the process of writing lyrics in your second language like?
It is like trying to eat rice with chopsticks, grain by grain... I do feel some frustration when I cannot find the proper word for what I am trying to say, or the rhyme that would make the hook work. But it is still better than singing in French!
6. Where did the name Bulletproof Mirror come from?
It is the idea that it doesn't matter how much you hate your own image, you just can't break it. You see yourself in the mirror, you want to break it so that you don't have to look at yourself anymore. But that mirror is bulletproof, so you have to live with yourself. Does this make sense? [laughs] In a nutshell, you cannot change what you are, so you might as well live with it.
7. How did you meet the other guys in the band, and how has their playing style influenced your writing and helped shape the band’s sound?
I met Taka [drums] through a magazine. His band was looking for a vocalist, so I joined... only to quit the band with Taka a couple of months later. Taka then recruited Hiro [guitar] and Yuki [bass] on the internet.
In terms of writing, most of my songs are created on my acoustic guitar. So the framework itself has probably not been influenced that much by the guys. But then we arrange the song for the band, and everyone brings something different to the song. That is where MY song becomes OUR song, and sometimes the original acoustic version is very far from the final thing. Actually, we included the acoustic version of A Shadow in my Heart as a bonus track in the album, because we thought it was interesting to have the two very different flavors.
8. Are you currently recording? What are you future recording and touring plans?
Yep, we have recorded a couple of songs in a studio, and put it in an EP, along with two other homemade songs. We are self-produced now, so we have the liberty to sell our records or give them away if we want to. One of the new songs, Soul for Rent, is actually available on iTunes worldwide. And we give away our EP to people coming to our gigs in Japan. We will record a couple more songs around the summer I think, but no tour per se, since I am a business man now... so we are officially a week-end band, and it is hard for us to tour like we did before.
9. What’s your ultimate goal with the group?
Goal or dream? If we are talking dream, of course it would be living of our music, and hopefully have a lot of fans. Realistically speaking though, the goal right now is to create a fan base in Japan that would come to our gigs and appreciate our music. I think we really want one thing: that people dig our music. That's it. Pretty simple, right? But in Japan, not that easy...
10. What was your record label, Theory and Practice Records, like?
We are thankful to the label for allowing us to make our first real studio record, it was a great opportunity. But the label was not able to promote us at all, so we do have some regrets concerning our first album.
11. How has your previous band, Spybeef, affected your current project?
Definitely the work on the background vocals. Spybeef was amazing in the sense that Paul and I have voices that really match, and we spent countless hours trying to take advantage of that. I think we did a pretty good job in terms of vocal harmonies, and all that work turned out to be extremely valuable even now with Bulletproor Mirror.
12. Where did your inspiration for the album art come from?
It was the idea mentioned earlier, the mirror that reflect your image and you just cannot break it. The mirror in the album art is broken, but for the centerpiece where the face is reflected. I had that image in my mind, but I am terrible at drawing, so I asked my very talented friend Yoshimi to draw for us.
13. You have a career with a large, multinational entity. How does this affect your songwriting and attitude toward art?
I don't think it changed significantly, to be honest. If anything, it made me realize what you do is not as important who you do it with.
14. You have two Masters degrees. How did your choice to play music figure into your academic decisions, and do you feel that having a successful career has helped your art in that you don’t have to worry about where the money is coming from?
Well, my decision to get a second Masters degree, here in Japan, was definitely influenced by my desire to play with my band and try to make it as a pro. If I had not gone to school a little longer than most, I couldn't have stayed in Japan and it would have been the end of Bulletproof Mirror. We don't want that, do we? [laughs].
Now in terms of money, the most significant change is that I have finally been able to buy the guitar I have been dreaming for, my beloved Navigator Les Paul that I got just in time to record the second song in our new EP, Crossroads!
15. Being French, what made you choose Tokyo as your home and artistic environment?
You know, there are a variety of things that brought me here in the first place, and that make me want to stay, in a much broader scale, than just music. So let's just say that Life brought me here, or that I just happen to be here - pick one! [laughs]
16. How does being a gaijin in a Japanese band affect the reception and perception of your work?
Yeah, it is not as easy as some could think. I have been influenced by US and UK rock for decades, while Hiro, Taka and Yuki have been influenced deeply by Japanese Rock, such as X-Japan for example. Fortunately, they also love the Western scene, more than their own actually, so we always reach an understanding on the direction of our songs.
That being said, I feel our work is not well understood or perceived here in Japan. I mean, you just have to go around and hear what the locals are listening, and believe me, that's fucking scary. I mean, the French pop is lame, but J-Pop, it is probably the worst thing on Earth, ever! Not to mention all those pathetic boys-bands…or are they girls? [laughs] So you see that, you look at what you've been writing, and you think there is no way it's gonna sell here! There is no rock culture common to everyone, such as what you can find in the States or the UK. And if rock bands do sell a lot here too, it is mostly because they are super big abroad, and benefit from a huge promotion.
17. Do you feel accepted as a part of the Tokyo music scene or is there the sense that you’re an outsider?
You know, even if you've lived in Japan for many years, speak the language and embrace the customs, you will always feel as an outsider. Japanese people are very kind in nature, but they will always interact with you in such a way that you will feel you're not from here. I am talking about random people you meet, not your friends, of course. So when you meet an audience, I am certain they see you as the gaijin with a band in Japan, which is fine, since I sing in English anyway! [laughs]
But seriously, audience's expectation is really different as well. The audience here wants to see a performance, they seem more interested in what the band does on stage in terms of entertainment show, rather than its music. I seriously doubt Radiohead would have made it big if they had started here as an Indie band, for example. So there was a lot of debate inside the band at some point, since I honestly didn't give a shit about the "performance" as opposed to our music. And I guess the consensus now is that I still don't give a shit, but I just got more comfortable on stage, so I can have more fun doing some stupid moves. [laughs]. We are musicians, not entertainers. If you wanna see rough feelings conveyed by some hard guitars and scorched throats, come to our gigs. If you wanna see people dressed up or jumping around in rhythm, I think you got the wrong address, dude!
18. Though your music is most recognizably influenced by the post-hardcore of bands like Thursday, there are undercurrents of groups like Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana in your chord progressions and song structures, and echoes of the post-rock of Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky in your employment of arpeggio and crescendo. Is this amalgam and intentional stylistic choice, or do you organically integrate your influences without thinking?
Yeah, I kinda touched on that your previous question I guess. It is mostly amalgam, with no conscious choice. That being said, a song we are working on right now had its main riff sort of influenced by Thursday, and its progression by Jimmy Eat World. That influence soon vanished though, but it was there in the first place, and can still be felt I guess. Another song vocal line was inspired by Chester from Linkin Park. I just had the song, and imagined Chester singing it, and it was awesome! [laughs]. Unfortunately, I don't have his voice, so I am pretty sure it is not that easy to see that influence in the song anymore. The acoustic version of that song is included in our EP, it is called Can you hear the pieces falling down (in Harmony)? and you can grab a copy at our gigs!
18. Is it annoying when pretentious journalists ask you complicated questions in your second language?
[laughs] I honestly enjoyed your questions, mostly because I am a pretentious musician with complicated answers.
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Find Bulletproof Mirror Online:
Myspace
Spybeef Myspace
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