Habit

SEKAI NO OWARI returned in 2022 with something that sounded nothing like what their longtime fans expected, and "Habit" is the cleanest proof of that transformation. The production is hyperpop-adjacent — bright, slightly abrasive synths, a rhythm track built from chopped vocal samples and electronic percussion, an arrangement that feels assembled in layers rather than played by people. Fukase leans into falsetto more than usual, which gives the vocal a brittle, slightly vulnerable quality that cuts against the track's otherwise buoyant surface. The song orbits around the psychology of interpersonal patterns — the way people slot each other into categories without realizing they're doing it — and the lyrics are more sardonic than anything in the group's earlier catalog. There's a comedic-observational quality to the whole thing that makes it feel almost like a pop essay rather than a love song. The production choices — that specific synthetic brightness, the stuttering rhythmic breaks — place it squarely in the early-2020s moment when the boundary between mainstream J-pop and internet-native production aesthetics dissolved. It works as background music for a crowded train ride, but it rewards closer attention; the lyrical wit only fully registers when you're paying enough attention to catch it.