A collection of back number’s heartfelt masterpieces: popular love songs

golden hourback number

Golden Hour

Despite its glittering title, this track stands out with a hefty rock sound and distorted guitars.

It embodies the band’s resolve to keep stepping onto the stage without settling for the status quo.

The song is included on their seventh album, “Humor,” released in January 2023.

While it doesn’t have a specific tie-in, it was written late in the album’s production and plays a key role in threading a backbone through the whole work.

Shimizu Iyori’s lyrics—confronting the struggles behind flashy success and calmly assessing where they stand now—are sure to strike listeners to the core.

It will powerfully push the backs of working adults fighting day by day and those trying to take on new challenges.

It’s a number with overwhelming intensity that makes you want to experience it live.

Red fireworksback number

Red Fireworks

This is a celebrated ballad that contrasts the end of a bittersweet romance with giant blossoms blooming in the night sky.

Amid the glittering scenery, it sings of loneliness and bravado that stand out all the more.

Although the song was included on the album “Humor,” released in January 2023, it had actually already been performed during the fan club tour in 2021.

Nurtured with care through repeated live performances, it was finally recorded and released in its definitive form.

It’s perfect for nights when you want to feel the sting of a farewell and the frustration of not being able to touch the one you love.

There’s no tie-in, but many listeners will no doubt be moved to tears by the band’s quintessential, heart-wrenching sound.

Immerse yourself in this world that is quintessentially back number.

on a bright nightback number

Akarui Yoruni

Rather than simply lamenting the darkness of night, this forward-looking perspective that seeks out the small lights within it feels cleansing to the soul.

It’s a track included on the album “MAGIC,” released in March 2019.

Many will likely remember hearing its refreshing, catchy chorus from the Kirin Beer “Tanrei Green Label” commercial.

Although not released as a single, the song is deeply loved by fans as a presence that brightens the entire album.

If you listen to it on nights when worries and anxieties keep you awake, you’ll feel a soothing sense of relief, as if the tension in your shoulders gently melts away.

Why not try it as background music for a relaxing time alone, paired with your favorite drink—alcoholic or a warm beverage?

If I become a superstarback number

Super Star Ni Nattara

This is a track that opens their major-label debut album “Superstar,” released in October 2011, and it epitomizes the band’s early intensity.

It sets a driving sound against a powerful sense of impatience to change the status quo and the fear of a relationship with someone precious coming to an end.

Through the hypothetical vow to come and get you if he ever becomes someone who shines, Iyori Shimizu’s earnest feelings as he confronts his own weakness are deeply moving.

Although not an A-side single, the song was selected for the December 2016 best-of album “Encore,” and it has continued to be cherished as an important live staple that unites the entire venue.

If you’re struggling with the frustration of wanting to change but not being able to, listening to this song will surely give you a push forward.

the deepest partback number

Saishinbu

It’s a tense, razor-edged number that opens the album MAGIC.

As the first track on the album released in March 2019, it immediately draws the listener down into the depths of emotion.

MAGIC is a masterpiece packed with hit songs that served as themes for films and dramas, yet placing this deliberately tie-in-free track at the very beginning makes you feel the band’s unwavering resolve.

The lyrics depict the anxieties everyone hides deep inside, and a cry for help like an SOS seeking salvation.

The stark, inescapably real words penned by Iyori Shimizu pierce the heart.

It’s different from the bittersweetness of romance—listen to it on nights when you want to face your own fragility.

It will stay close to a lonely heart.

howlback number

Tooboe

Many of us have probably experienced the frustration of wanting to convey our feelings to someone but failing to reach them.

This song carries a lingering sense of sorrow, wrapped in the chill and the atmosphere of dawn.

It was included as a B-side to the 10th single “Tsunaida Te Kara,” released in March 2014.

The lyrics, written and composed by Iyori Shimizu, vividly reflect emotional loneliness through delicate details like body heat and breathing.

His style of painting scenes with concrete words is truly remarkable.

Although it didn’t have any notable tie-ins, this piece—born around the same time as the album’s production—has been quietly cherished by fans as a hidden gem overshadowed by the title track.

It’s recommended for moments when you’re alone in a quiet room, wanting to face your emotions.

Until the day I can no longer rememberback number

back number – Until the Day It Becomes Unrememberable (full)

The third single by back number, released on October 5, 2011.

According to the Recording Industry Association of Japan, it sold over 100,000 copies and was certified Gold.

It’s a love song about a breakup, and the deeply wounded feelings come through powerfully.

Ayako Kan (Suga Yuko) appeared on the cover and in the music video.