THE HERO!!

JAM Project has spent decades perfecting the art of the heroic anthem, and "THE HERO!!" represents the form at something close to its logical endpoint — a song so committed to its own grandiosity that it loops back around into a kind of meta-commentary on heroism itself. The arrangement is enormous: layered guitars, thunderous percussion, keyboards providing cathedral-like sustain beneath the rhythm, and the multi-vocalist approach that is JAM Project's signature, voices stacking until the sound resembles a rally rather than a recording. The tempo is relentless, practically daring you to feel anything other than the urge to punch something evil. But there is also a knowingness in the production — this is the sound of people who understand exactly how ridiculous the genre is and love it without reservation anyway. The lyrical content centers on the absurdity of heroism, the gap between how heroes are imagined and what the actual experience of being one might cost. It is a song about a man who can destroy any enemy with a single punch and does not feel good about it. Somehow it also makes you feel invincible. You play this when you need permission to be unironic about trying.