Umibe

Umibe (海辺) is the eleventh studio album by Japanese rock band Sid, released on March 23, 2022, by Ki/oon Music. The digital single "Jiu no Kuchizuke" is the opening theme of Heaven Official's Blessing.

Background
The concept of Umibe is "Reiwa Kayo", Kayōkyoku of the Reiwa era. However, initially the members thought of making an album centered on city pop. Mao, the vocalist and writer of all the lyrics, said that the first part of the album to be produced was the lyrics, for the first time in the band, and that the key to the album is the words.

The Umibe promotion tour was scheduled for shortly after the release, but had to be postponed due to Mao's health problems. It took place about a year later, from April to May 2023.

Release
On July 4, 2021, Heaven Official's Blessing animation began serialization and the chosen opening theme was "Jiu no Kuchizuke" by Sid, released as a digital single on the 18th.

In mid-January 2022, Sid announced a new album, Umibe, set to be released on March 23. On March 1, the pre-save of the track "Damashi Ai" began and its music video was released on YouTube in the evening. Soon after, they started an experimental tour on movie theaters in five cities across Japan. On March 8 the song "Daisuki dakara..." also became available for pre-save.

Umibe pre-sale started on March 15. It was released in three editions, the regular one only having the 11-track CD. The "Artistic Edition" comes with a 40-page photo booklet and a DVD in Blu-ray containing the music videos for the title track "Umibe", "Damashi Ai" and their respective making-ofs. In the "Poetic Edition", the album is a 100-page hardcover leather book where the lyrics were written in poetry and explained by vocalist Mao. After the release, a lottery campaign was held among the album buyers where it was possible to win posters and autographs.

Critical reception
Bounce magazine, in the April 2022 issue, stated that Umibe has Sid's characteristic sentimentality, incorporating genres such as shoegaze and dream pop in the title track and chilling lyrics such as "Daisuki dakara...".

Track listing

 * Artistic Edition

Personnel

 * Mao – vocals
 * Shinji – guitar
 * Aki – bass
 * Yūya – drums