The title is the first clue. ツキミソウ (tsukimisou) is the evening primrose, a flower that opens at dusk and is wilted by morning. That fits a song set in a city glowing 茜色 (akane-iro, the deep red of a sunset sky), where the singer keeps staring at the streets and admits あなたのこと思い出してばかり (I do nothing but remember you). It is a breakup song that refuses to be tidy about it. Early on she laughs that a world where she never knew this person would have been far better, which is a bitter little joke, and then confesses her heart is still crying.
The middle of the song is where it gets dramatic. 時計の針は突然止まる (the clock hands suddenly stop) with one sentence from the other person, and she asks what her tears were even for. Then she tries to take control: throwing away the proof of their love, letting down her tied hair, screaming even if it bursts her eardrums. Novelbright are known for big, soaring vocals, so a line about yelling until your eardrums break feels like a promise the chorus keeps. My favourite bit is 大好きで大嫌いな (the one I loved and hated so much), which is a very Japanese pairing of opposites: 大好き (love a lot) and 大嫌い (hate a lot) differ by one character.
Watch the ending closely, because it quietly changes one word. The chorus first says 分かってるんだよ (I know), and the last time it becomes 分かってたんだよ (I knew all along), followed by the admission that she wanted this person the whole time. All that talk of moving on, and the final line gives the game away.
Novelbright started in Osaka in 2013 as a cover band before they began writing their own songs. In September 2019 a video of the band playing Walking with You acoustically on the street spread across social media and pushed them up the charts.
They signed with Universal Music in 2020 and won a New Artist Award at the 62nd Japan Record Awards that year. Their five studio albums run from Wonderland in 2020 to Pyramid in 2026. Singer Yudai Takenaka is joined by guitarists Kaito Yamada and Sojiro Oki, drummer Negi and bassist Keigo.