“SHINBANGUMI,” meaning ‘a new season of a show’ in Japanese, is one of Ginger Root’s greatest albums.
Not only does it include a compelling story — discussing the challenges of gaining recognition for your creativity — it also provides something unique. The album provides a take on creative art for the music and film industry, such as using music videos that caught my eye with their stunning design and appealing style.
Ginger Root is a band run by the lead singer, Cameron Lew, a Chinese-American songwriter, audio engineer, graphic designer, and editor.
Lew was born in Southern California and grew up admiring music from the ‘70s and the ‘80s.
Before Ginger Root, Lew was a part of a band called Van Stock. Ghostly International, a music and art company, stated that he wrote some songs that didn’t fit in with the style of the band, so he made an EP with them, a shorter version of an album containing four to six songs.
“What was then an EP turned into an LP and I slapped the name Ginger Root on it,” he said. “So yeah, I guess Ginger Root, in essence, is a moniker that I write under…it’s a solo project at its core but I have bandmates who help me when I perform live.”
Ginger Root mainly lies in the alternative and indie music genre. This is prominently shown in their hit song “Loretta,” which was a breakthrough for them, as the music video garnered 18 million views on YouTube in 2022 for its catchy tunes and vibrant colors, embracing Lew’s love for ‘80s Japanese city pop.
Alternative indie music challenges artistic boundaries by trying out new ideas and sounds.
Ginger Root does this beautifully throughout their albums, especially “SHINBANGUMI,” with its wide range of instruments including keyboards, violin, guitar, trumpets, and more.
Welcome
The song “Welcome” is literally welcoming the listener to the colorful and flamboyant world of Ginger Root. Although it does not contain any lyrics, It gives an almost cinematic introduction through stiking use of keyboard band sound effects, eventually ending with TV static to complement the story Ginger Root is trying to tell.
No Problems
“SHINBANGUMI” includes a story of the main character, Cameron Lew, getting fired from his TV job, Juban TV, after not fitting their standards. This can be seen in the song and music video of “No Problems” where he takes it upon himself to start his own company, Ginger Root Productions.
In this song, you can instantly recognize Lew’s unique style with the keyboard playing in the beginning only to go all out with various instruments that make you feel like you are experiencing the story yourself.
Overall, this song really shows how much Lew has grown with his music over the years and what he is doing to stand out from other artists.
Stereogum, an internet publication for music, reveals Lew’s experience when making this song:
“I wrote ‘No Problems’ without expectations or templates to inform its sound, and the result was a track that came out as an unapologetically Ginger Root-esque song,” he said. “In a lot of ways it is a great mirror of what “SHINBANGUMI” became — a project where I finally found confidence in what I was doing rather than finding myself imitating others.”
Alongside the original lyrics of this song:
“How can you say this is not for debatin’? / Ah, how can you say that you got no problems!”
It’s difficult to not sing along to!
Better than Monday
This song follows the events of the music video for “No Problems” where Lew and his new team struggle launching their own TV station when the transmitter for their live podcast breaks.
“Better than Monday” is personally one of my favorite songs in this album as it instantly boosts my mood. It starts off with the guitar and drums in the background with lyrics that connect to the audience about the struggles of working.
”Off and on again / But how long till I move ahead? / It’s all the same, all the same.”
Nevertheless, the song is still upbeat to help the viewer feel these frustrations, but not in an overwhelming way.
Lew described his intentions when creating this song:
“Lyrically, I wanted to poke fun at hating a specific day of the week, and no matter how bad any given day can get for some reason it will ALWAYS be better than a Monday,” Lew said.
There Was A Time
The song starts off with a beautiful melody that perfectly lines up with “Better than Monday.” After the verses, the instruments and clapping in the background takes control with an audio where a show producer says “thank you” to his applauding audience, further setting the theme for Ginger Root’s story.
The music video consists of a tape of the show Ginger Root productions worked on called Override Academy, a story about students fighting with instruments and melodies opposed to weapons. Although they could only afford one actor, their show was a hit, leaving Juban TV worrying about their status.
This song perfectly mixes relaxing tunes with lively and vibrant music making it very entertaining to listen to.
All Night
In the music video for “All Night” it shows Lew and his team trading an anonymous suitcase around the city, only for it to be stolen by Lew’s old boss from Juban TV, who fired him in the beginning of the album. However, Lew tricks the boss by putting a false tape in the suitcase which led to her getting fired when she showed the tape to the CEO of Juban TV.
This song immediately makes you feel like you are in the city yourself with the funky beats and catchy vocals. The song then goes instrumental again, having the guitar create an almost spooky atmosphere with creepy laughter echoing in the background.
This section is not what you would expect from a colorful album like this, but I believe the instrumentals work wonderfully alongside the rest of the song as it makes it more captivating. Rather than sticking to one beat or theme, Ginger Root experiments with a lot of different sounds and ideas.
CM
Instead of a song, “CM” consists of a 48 second clip of two people, Takeshi and Kaori, introducing “SHINBANGUMI” in Japanese.
According to Genius, what was meant to be an introduction ended up with the two MC’s having a silly argument about Ginger Root’s name because it’s a food item.
Although there is no music here, the track really helps to build the environment that Ginger Root wants to achieve with its audio, sounding reminiscent of old tapes from the ‘80s.
Only You
“Only You” continues the story for the music video “All Night” with a phone call between the CEO of Juban TV and Lew regarding the future of Ginger Root Productions. Before responding to the CEO’s proposal, Lew is transported to a TV where he has to endure the chaotic world of his mind. After this, he is then taken back into his office and reluctantly continues the phone call with the CEO. The music video ends with a to-be-continued screen.
This track is definitely one of my favorites as well with its soothing music in the background that makes you feel like you are venturing into space and its build up of instruments leading to the final verses:
“Come on baby! / Only you!”
Moreover, the music video just adds to the appeal with its beautiful use of colors and filters, making the viewer feel nostalgic for the 80’s with random but fun scenes.
Kaze
With Japanese lyrics, “Kaze” has a gorgeous use of instruments and delicate tone of singing. It feels similar to a song you would hear from a karaoke bar.
Personally, whenever I listen to this song I feel like I’m in a car ride to go to the beach while drinking a mango smoothie with a fresh strawberry on the rim of the cup.
Giddy Up
“Giddy Up” is another guitar-driven song. The mix of pretty piano keyboards in the background, along with the guitar taking control, shows how Lew made this album, with the things he loves, but putting it in his own unique style.
The lyrics describe someone that he is in love with but can’t catch up to, making him feel like he is literally falling.
To further explain the message, Lew states, “It could be a relationship with something, a passion, a project or whatever,” he said. “If you want to do it, you gotta giddy up, buckle in, pull your boots up, and go for it.”
Think Cool
“Think Cool” is another instrumental with the trumpet taking control. When listening to it, it made me feel like I was eating at a fancy dining place.
It’s a very relaxing song to listen to when doing homework or reading a book.
The use of different instruments shows how Ginger Root is not afraid to experiment with different themes or ideas — It allows them to create their own style that separates them from others.
Show 10
“Show 10” encourages people in the music industry to continue making art and give it their best even when they feel burnt out because there are people counting on them and enjoying what they make.
However, this can still relate to people who don’t make music. When listening to this song, I definitely felt a lot more motivated to work on the things I love, like art.
It’s such an uplifting song, but is still upbeat and energetic, words can’t explain how much I love these lyrics:
“Now, tell me what you want, tell me what you need!”
It’s fun to sing along with, and has a brilliant melody to top it off.
Take Me Back (Owakare No Jikan)
On the last track of “SHINBANGUMI,” Ginger Root says their farewell to the audience. Although this is unconfirmed, many viewers in the comment section stated that the song recalls several past motifs from previous songs from the album during the instrumental section, like: “Better than Monday,” “Only You,” “There Was A Time,” “Kaze,” and finally, “No Problems.”
In the lyrics:
“Well can you take me back? / Take me back! / Take me back! / Take me back, yeah!”
The words echo louder and louder over time, asking the audience to recall a specific memory or moment in their life when they felt happy, and it succeeds. It makes me feel appreciative of where I am right now.
On the whole, Ginger Root’s sparkling and nostalgic style sets them apart from other artists making them very unique and eye-catching. The way Lew tries out new things and involves all the things he loves in the album with no fear of other people liking it is very inspiring, as today it seems like many artists just conform with what the public wants.
Furthermore, the hard work put into “SHINBANGUMI” really paid off. The team was able to make a new and exciting album and story with their music videos to exercise their creativity in different fields — this series as a whole really emphasizes how important it is to use your creativity to try out new things and that no matter how tiring it gets, the work you put into something you love will always be worth it.
