Behind the Track (5th Album) #2 — 交代はまだ来ない (The Shift Change Never Comes)
The second room is a konbini. While track 1’s taxi runs the streets, this person stands in one place and watches the night walk past. That light the office worker sees at the end of track 5 — this is the story from inside it.
The scene
The customers change with the hour: twelve is the ones heading home, two is the ones who couldn’t sleep, three is the ones who’ve stopped talking. From behind the register you can tell who hasn’t slept and who’s been crying — and nobody ever looks back at you. That’s what a uniform is.
Sound notes
96 BPM, A minor — the fastest thing on the album. A dry synth bass and cold bells ride over an ambience of automatic-door chimes and fluorescent hum. Too dark outside, too bright inside: that fluorescent light is the atmosphere here.
One line
制服とは そういうものだ — that’s what a uniform is
In the last verse, the shift ends, and on the way home the narrator passes another konbini with its light still on. This time it’s their turn to be the customer — the rooms connect like that.