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Ellegarden | |
---|---|
Origin | Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan |
Genres | |
Years active | 1998–2008, 2018–present |
Labels | |
Members | Takeshi Hosomi Shinichi Ubukata Yuichi Takada Hirotaka Takahashi |
Website | ellegarden |
Ellegarden (stylized asELLEGARDEN and abbreviatedElle (Japanese:エルレ,Hepburn:Erure)[2][3][4]) is a Japaneserock band formed in December 1998 inChiba Prefecture.[2] Its lineup consists of vocalist/guitarist Takeshi Hosomi, guitarist Shinichi Ubukata, bassist Yuichi Takada, and drummer Hirotaka Takahashi. After releasing five studio albums, including theOricon number oneEleven Fire Crackers (2006), the band announced an indefinite hiatus in 2008. In May 2018, Ellegarden announced a reunion and held their first national tour in 10 years.
In the fall[when?] of 2001, Ellegarden signed with the Japanese Dynamord label, and released their first EP, Bare Foot, with a full-length album,Don't Trust Anyone But Us, following in the spring of 2002. The album was a hit, and Ellegarden followed with a new LP every year. In 2004, they took part in theSynchronized Rockers tribute album toThe Pillows. 2006'sEleven Fire Crackers became the band's first to reach number one on theOricon Albums Chart. It also became their first North American release when it was issued byNettwerk in 2007. Accustomed to playing major shows in Japan, where they shared stages with theFoo Fighters andSum 41,[1][2] Ellegarden made their American live debut in 2006 with a seven-city tour as part ofJapan Nite, which included a stop at theSouth by Southwest Music Conference.
In 2006, Ellegarden performed in numerous Japanese Summer Music Festivals, such asFuji Rock,Summer Sonic, Nano Mugen Festival andRising Sun Rock Festival.[2] Their final tour of the year featured the American bandAllister, who they became acquainted with during South by Southwest. In addition, they supportedFoo Fighters in their concert atOsaka Castle Hall.
On May 2, 2008, the band announced they would be going on hiatus with a message on their official website:[5]
"Ellegarden has been in the process of creating a new album since last year, however, during the band’s activities, there arose a difference in opinion regarding the motivation for creating a new album. We no longer feel we are able to create an album that we would be satisfied with, and after much discussion we arrived at the conclusion to end the creation of the album and suspend the band’s activities indefinitely. All previously decided shows (including shows not yet announced) up until early September 2008 will still be performed.
We want to thank everyone who has supported Ellegarden from the bottom of our hearts. In order to once again create new music as Ellegarden, each of us wants to work on our own personal growth and development. Thank you for everything." – Ellegardenleader, Shinichi Ubukata
Following the recording hiatus announcement, the band has continued to perform live and announced agreatest hits album entitledEllegarden Best (1999-2008).[5] The album consists of 21 songs and was released on July 2, 2008. After appearances at several high-profile festivals (including Rock in Japan Fest, Sky Jamboree, Nano Mugen Fes, and Treasure 05x: The Greatest Riot Returns), the band performed four one-man shows in early September to give its fans a send-off before the hiatus; two performances atZepp Osaka followed by two performances atShinkiba Studio Coast in Tokyo.
In 2018, Ellegarden announced their first tour in 10 years, ending their hiatus. The tour, titled The Boys are Back in Town, kicked off in August 2018 at Shinkiba Studio Coast, the same venue as their send-off concert.[6] In 2020, the group had announced scheduled performances at several music festivals in Japan, but most of them had been cancelled or postponed due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In September 2022, Ellegarden released the single "Mountain Top".[7] In December 2022, they released their first full-length album in 16 years,The End of Yesterday.[8]
Mark Deming ofAllMusic found Ellegarden's "tight, punchy but muscular sound" reminiscent of North American bands such asBlink-182,Sum 41 andGood Charlotte, while also displaying the influence of Hosomi's favorites,Weezer.[1] Their lyrics are in Japanese and English.[2] In the Summer 2006 issue of the American Japanese rock magazinePurple Sky, Hosomi accredited his articulate English pronunciation to the time he spent working as a computer engineer inOakland, California and later in Japan, where he had English-speaking co-workers.
Ellegarden discography | |
---|---|
Studio albums | 6 |
EPs | 2 |
Compilation albums | 2 |
Singles | 6 |
Video albums | 7 |
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
---|---|---|---|
JPN Oricon [10] | |||
Don't Trust Anyone But Us |
| 94 | |
Bring Your Board!! |
| 75 | |
Pepperoni Quattro |
| 17 | |
Riot on the Grill |
| 3 | 227,000 |
Eleven Fire Crackers |
| 1 | 341,000 |
The End of Yesterday | 2 | 53,898[12] |
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
---|---|---|---|
JPN Oricon [10] | |||
Figureheads Compilation |
| — | |
Ellegarden Best (1999–2008) |
| 2 | 277,886 |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
JPN Oricon [10] | ||
Ellegarden |
| 240 |
My Own Destruction |
| 206 |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
JPN Oricon [13] | |||
"Bare Foot" | 2001 | — | Don't Trust Anyone But Us |
"Yubiwa" | 2002 | — | |
"Jitterbug" | 2003 | 75 | Bring Your Board!! |
"Missing" | 2004 | 16 | Riot on the Grill |
"Space Sonic" | 2005 | 5 | Eleven Fire Crackers |
"Salamander" | 2006 | 3 | |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
JPN Oricon [14] | ||
My Own Destruction Tour Bootleg VHS |
| — |
Bring Your Board!! Tour Bootleg II DVD |
| — |
E.V.Junkie Lives 2004 – King of Punk Adventure |
| — |
Bad for Education Tour Bootleg III DVD |
| 17 |
Doggy Bags |
| 3 |
Eleven Fire Crackers Tour 06-07 – After Party |
| 1 |
Nana-Iro Electric Tour 2019 (withAsian Kung-Fu Generation andStraightener) |
| 3 |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Year | Song | Released on | Original artist |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | "Funny Bunny" | Synchronized Rockers | The Pillows |
Dates shown are announcement dates