Chelsy （チェルシー）is a 3 piece all-girls band made up of Mio (guitar and vocals), Shizuka (bass) and Ami (drums).  They were first signed by Honey Bee Studio, a tiny record label that really only has 2 other bands to their name (Chu’s Day and Bla’la’kiss).  For just 3 relatively small girls (not to be judgmental), they sound surprisingly very full.  The average pop rock band has 5 band members, and the Japanese music industry is constantly looking for eye candy, rather than real talent (take L’arc~en~Ciel, for instance.  A throwback, but aside from Tetsu, not much going on there).  

In the case of Chelsy, their music actually speaks for themselves.  The drums are tight, the harmonies are appropriate (not overbearing), and Chelsy can really get a good live set going on.  Take a look at their demo from 2012: 

Below is Chelsy’s most recent music video from Sony Music: 

Do you notice something…slightly non-human?  Like, prominent fake horns?  That’s right- their new single "I will" was picked for the soundtrack of the anime アオハライド (Aoharaido: find the original manga on iTunes here).  Despite Aoharaido having no supernatural element to its plot, Chelsy has struck a chord with the otakus of Japan.  Now you’ll only see the 3 girls repping those horns.  

Don’t get me wrong.  Any publicity is good publicity, and it’s a huge step up to get Sony backing you up as a band.  It’s such a shame though, when you know that shock value and marketing schemes trump artistry.  Chelsy’s promoters really took it to the next level, when they saw them only as a product.  

I mean, which do you prefer? 

This: 

Or this: 

The great news is that Chelsy’s band members have more bite in them than you see above.  Take Ami for instance.  With her youtube channel (that is seemingly completely separate from the Chelsy youtube channel, you can see her rocking some bad ass drum covers, of artists like UVERworld:

And lets be honest.  The dirty old man in me says that the more female drummers who figure out creative ways to drum wearing skirts, the better.  

It’s really hard to say whether or not Ami is actually making an effort to steer away from Chelsy and the horns.  You’d kind of think twice about commenting on how Ami has a greater cause than Chelsy, when you see this vlogpost: 

Cute girl and doraemon?  I approve! 

Anyways, give Chelsy a try!  You can find them on iTunes Japan, and iTunes Japan gift cards is available through JapanCodeSupply.