Perfume's Back with a Vengeance... and a Maxi Single

Okay, this makes up for everything. The months of waiting, the lack of a 3rd World Tour, the vagueness about Hold Your Hand, everything. Because Perfume is back and they're releasing a single.

Gaze upon them and be amazed.

All I can say is it's about damn time. And that I am really excited. I woke up this morning and probably would have screamed had I not just woken up. Do you know what a great feeling it is to wake up and find out that your favorite group has finally announced the release of a new single? Along with a promotional pic and the full CD and DVD tracklists? I am over the moon. I think AKB48 has something about their Senbatsu, but whatever that is, it is at the back of my mind right now, because Perfume. Perfume Perfume Perfume!!! They're finally releasing something new! To think Sweet Refrain was released back in November, and all this year we've gone with only hints of a new single, the most prominent release being the digital release of Hold Your Hand. Well, now Perfume's management has stopped being so tight-lipped about it and given full details on Perfume's 20th single since their major debut! That single is titled Cling Cling and is set to be released July 16th. Which is a little bit later than I'd like it to be, but I think most of June will be getting previews of the songs and music video for this single. And the title sounds pretty cool, kind of catchy too. Maybe this'll be a song similar to Laser Beam!

Above is also the promotional pic for the single, which in my opinion looks awesome. And not just the outfits themselves; the background looks really cool too. It looks very dark and gritty, like something you'd see out of Blade Runner. As of now, the covers for Cling Cling haven't been released yet, let alone the PV, but I do wonder what kind of concept they'll have. Based off this picture, I'd think it's something cool! Or at least I hope it is. I read somewhere in a translation of a Perfume Locks! episode that one of the members of Perfume mentioned that there was going to be a fight scene in their next single's music video. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, I am totally game for a fight scene! I love violence! Or... okay, that did not come out the way I intended it to. I... like the choreography that goes into creating fight scenes. It's like dancing only with more punches and kicks. I'm also excited about the outfits for this single. They look amazing. They kind of remind me of the same style AKB48 used for Flying Get, only with a different color scheme. And the hair and makeup look great too, especially Nocchi's hair! I love that they straightened it; it looks very badass!

Even better, the good news for Cling Cling doesn't stop here. The tracklist has already been unveiled. And it has four different songs. Four! That's the most that Perfume's had on any single, surpassing Linear Motor Girl and Spending all my time! It's probably because Perfume won't have time to release another single until late this year or early next year, but still. I'm excited, I've waited far longer than I would have liked for more Perfume songs. Here's the full tracklist:

1. Cling Cling
2. Hold Your Hand
3. Display
4. Ijiwaru na Hello
5. Cling Cling -Original Instrumental-
6. Hold Your Hand -Original Instrumental-
7. Display -Original Instrumental-
8. Ijiwaru na Hello -Original Instrumental-

Honestly, I'm glad that Hold Your Hand isn't the lead song off this single. Unlike the other songs on this single, Hold Your Hand has been around for awhile now, as it was used in the NHK J-drama Silent Poor. Yesterday, it was released as a digital single in Japan, which made me wonder if it was going to be used as the A-side for Perfume's next single. The fact that Perfume hadn't yet announced that Hold Your Hand would be there next A-side is what kept me skeptical. I thought that maybe it would be one of two on a double A-side single. It's been awhile since Perfume's had one of those! But nope, looks like Hold Your Hand is just going to be a very nicely promoted B-side! Which is good. Because it's an all right song, but I'd rather it be a B-side. Anyways, the other three new tracks I know nothing about beyond the titles. And I'm not going to make the mistake of judging them by their titles this time around, although it is kind of tempting. Especially with that 4th track which translates to "Mean Hello" or "Mean Halo" depending on which translation is correct. Other than that, I'm trying to stay open minded. Here's what's on the normal Limited Edition DVD:

1. Cling Cling -Video Clip-
2. Cling Cling -Teaser-
3. Display (Short Ver.) -Video Clip-
4. “Perfume FES!! 2014” 3/15 - 4/11 Digest

My immediate reaction was, "There are two LE editions!?" Kind of a surprise, and I wonder if there will also be a normal Regular Edition. I've got to think there will be, Perfume always has one! My second reaction was seeing that Display would get a short PV. I wonder why it's just a short PV though and not just the entire version. Why not just shoot a full PV? Maybe it has to do with the song length or something. Or maybe even the full PV will be included on Perfume's next album, whenever that comes.  Still, this is all purely speculation. Maybe UMJ just really wanted a short PV for display. Anyways, the second LE edition is actually a box of sort. And this is what's on that "Large Box Special" Limited Edition DVD:

1. Cling Cling -Video Clip-
2. Cling Cling -Teaser-
3. Display (Short Ver.) -Video Clip-
4. “Perfume FES!! 2014” 3/15 - 4/11 Digest
5. Nishiwaki Family Memorial “Spice” “Shining☆Star”

So the only real difference is the inclusion of the Spice and Shining Star performances at Perfume's joint concert with 9nine. We've seen a few video clips of both performances but not the full version, so I'm definitely interested in that! It was so surreal seeing A-chan perform with 9nine and her little sister perform with Perfume! I wonder if the full versions will be even weirder... I'm not sure which edition I want to buy. I'd like to buy the Large Box Special version, but I've got to think that's one expensive release to try ordering. I may just go with the regular LE edition, since I'm sure I can find a leak of the 9nine/Perfume performances online. But that'll all come in due time, as for now I am excited. Really really excited. The promo pic for Cling Cling looks awesome, the tracklist looks awesome, everything on this single had better be awesome or I'm gonna be sorely disappointed. The only thing that's kind of a bummer is that we have to wait until July... Oh well, I was betting on an August release date, so this is kind of a pleasant surprise! I can now plan my Time Capsule Review poll around this release too, since I was waiting for more information about this single before planning June's poll. Other than my own Wonderland stuff, I'm definitely keeping an eye out for Cling Cling. Oh, this is going to add to my summer... I can't wait!

What do you guys think? Are you excited? Are you desperate for radio rips and other previews from Cling Cling? Or are you waiting patiently and miraculously coping with Perfume withdrawal better than I am? If so, tell me how you stand the wait!