‘Still Not Enough’: muque’s New Single and the 80s Sound Behind It

muque Turned the Feeling of Never Being Enough Into an 80s City Pop AnthemRelease Date: 08 July, Wednesday

Release Time: 00:00 (Local Store Turn)

Type: Single

Language: Japanese

Genre: City Pop

There’s a specific kind of emptiness that “たりない Still Not Enough” is built around, the feeling of never quite measuring up, no matter what you do.

muque‘s new single accompanies the return of the TV anime LIAR GAME as its new ending theme, and it arrives on the back of a run most bands would call a career highlight, not a stopover. The three-piece band’s second full album “GLHF” dropped in April, followed by a 14-location tour across Japan and a five-country Asia Tour run through Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taipei and Seoul, wrapping up this weekend. “たりない Still Not Enough” isn’t a pause in that momentum. It’s the next beat in it.

Sonically, the track pulls straight from 80s city pop, that warm, slightly melancholic groove built for late-night drives, then filters it through muque’s own instinct for hooks that stick. The result doesn’t sound retro for the sake of it. It sounds like a band using an old feeling to say something new.

Lyrically, the song sits inside the word “たりない” itself, an emptiness that never quite fills, a feeling of always falling short. That’s not a vague mood board. It’s a direct line to Akiyama, the LIAR GAME character defined by exactly that kind of solitude, someone who wins and still ends up alone. muque didn’t write a song that plays over the show. They wrote one that thinks like its main character.

About muque

muque is a three-piece band consisting of Asakura (vocals and guitar), takachi (drums and track-making), and Kenichi (guitar).

The core of their creative process revolves around takachi, who acts as the drummer while driving the track-making and arrangements, and Asakura, who shapes the tracks with her top-lining and lyrics.