didnt see any topic about it yet..
so lets discuss scandal sound!!
what make them differ from other band
and make u instantly recognize, oh its scandal
u can maybe list from album, or song or watever
only music, not talking about their image,gender bla3

A great topic.. but a tuff one
so.. let's see.. they do a lot of positive, encouraging, themes.. both lyrics and music..
but it's not all the time.. and really they're always trying something different so how you gonna recognize them?
Another thing is how they usually record with the live in mind, and then perform to involve the audience in the live.. but they're not the only ones who do that, and you might not get that by just listening..
So i guess the heart of their sound is in their voices.. how each one stands out—even Rina's though we don't hear hers enough—and the way they weave in and out, with Haru at the center but taking turns at the lead, then backing one another.. there's nothin in the world like those four voices

lol only 1 reply hahaha
oh well, nvm.. 

for me, what is the different i see them from other band is
haruna voice and tomomi voice
haruna voice is deep and husky while tomomi voice is cute, and high pitch
they create perfect combo when sing together 
idk if this formula is widely used or not, but it sound fresh to me
mami voice is good too.. sound kinda like punk rock girl voice!
and rina voice sound pop like! but these two rarely sing though haha

about music, i understand that they are pock rock band now
it sound really catchy and good so i have no complain
but i actually like their sound when they first starting
its sound really raw and i like it! garage punk i think?
dont really know much about instrument im still learning about them xD
right now they sound much more pop rock and modern rock
maybe they are trying to appeal more to mainstream with pop rock song
and i also like when they experiment with their music like their latest album
but i think i prefer more raw sound lol haha
they need to find their identity with music? or they already have? idk..

about lyric, i dont understand coz im not japanese lol
but from what i see, they have so much love song, broken heart song bla3
dont really care, they are girl ofc more love song hahaha
also it sound good for them to sing in japanese, the eng ver of your song is weird xD
it kinda unique coz i usually listen to my native country song and english xD
i dont listen much to japan music unless i feel they are really catchy to my ear haha
thats all i think, will add more if i have more idea later

@strawhatcrew

I can't say anything...... you've got my opinion

I'm Agree with @etwee too There's just nothing in the world like their four voices

one thing that I really like them that both of you didn't mention it is about their "Fender guitar" sounding.......

I'm still learning about many guitar types especially for the stratocaster models, but I think they can play their fender sounds good in their performances..... at the new album since "yellow" maybe some of the tracks using Gretsch guitar for Mami, but that's still sounds great.

and the first song I heard from Scandal is "Scandal Baby" and "Shunkan Sentimental" were so catchy.

I've been looking at this forum about another Japanese girl rock band "girlfriend".... they got better skills (maybe .sweat. ) but when I compare it with scandal I think Scandal can give a Huge "colour" and a better "taste" that can makes "hook" in everyone who watched scandal performances....

 
I think that's why Scandal was different from the others..... how about you?

I think we can all agree the singing in this band adds much to their sound.  Not only do they all sing lead, but they regularly swap lines throughout songs. Their voices are very distinct and each has it's own character.  As someone who currently cannot understand their lyrics, the tone of their voices play more like an instrument than how a voice would normally comes across in a rock band in which you focus on the lyric being sung.  

Mami's guitar style and sound is very key to me.  She plays a lot of riffs off of the octave.  Think "Departure," or "Overdrive" as examples of this.  She utilizes pitch effects a lot, adding a harmonic contrast to the whole tone.  Sometimes it's simple like on "Sisters," and other times it's more obvious like "Metronom."  Her dirty tone mostly relies on different levels of fuzz rather than a common distortion, which bring a meaty, torn-speaker like sound to their hard-edged tunes.  By contrast, her clean sound shimmers (ex. "Harukaze").  There is a lot more I can say about Mami's playing, but that would lean too much into Scandal's style more so than sound.  A topic discussion for another day.

Back to the sound...

The lack of extra instruments in their songs plays a big part in their sound.  Their songs are primarily driven by guitar, bass and drums.  This aspect was a big appeal to me when I first started listening to Scandal, because I knew that if they were an all-female band on American radio (that's pretty as they are), their songs would be awash in keyboards, synthesizers and electronic drums.  But Scandal's songs feature gritty guitars; thick, hard-thumping bass lines and punchy drums all upfront in the mix. Nothing is buried, and if keyboards or any other extra sounds are added, it's purely for light color.  "Scandal In The House" is an oddity in their catalog for many reasons, this being one.

Lastly for me, Scandal's songs have dynamics.  Not only do they regularly play both hard and soft within a song, but it is not uncommon for one or more of the instruments to completely drop out.  "Sakura Goodbye" was one of the first songs to r
eally jump out for me on this.  Much of that song is driven by just Tomomi and Rina, and when the guitars kick in the song really takes off.  "Koi No Gestalt Houkai" is another example of this.  In one part it's just drums and bass, and later in the song it's just guitar.  The other instruments come in, the song builds and then it pauses to near silence before the whole band kicks into high gear.  "Take Me Out" has that wonderful pause in the verse that precedes the first chorus.  It stops the frantic rhythm for just enough time to get your attention.  This is very common in their instrumentation.  Whether it's a classic tune like ""Shunkan Sentimental" or "Shojo S" (which also has a modulation change), or a newer tune like "Freedom Fighters," their songs are not straight passes through the rhythm like a typical pop rock song.  When you combine their voices and the tone of their instruments into all of this, we get a great overall sound.  Plus, super catchy melodies don't hurt either.

^ really nice and deep review there, Don Dio! got me thinking hahaha

First, technically speaking SCANDAL is a good band, but not THAAAT good. i mean, their skill are far from most known rock bands that i found. I have to highlight RINA's drum skill and HARUNA's singing. in my opinion, theirs do not change much since their debut. okay, RINA's drum is crazy lately, (hello world forward), but it's not that crazy.
however, what does make a band, a band? it is them as a whole team. i mean, they are really one as a band. you can see this during their live performances.. (don't trust videos though). i've been to one of their concert, and i can feel how they can work together and how they see each other as family, even when they are talking!
another thing is: arrangement and variety in their songs. the arrangement is beautifully done, it makes skill level does not matter. i don't care about those things too much when i listen to their song, because i can never listen to the drums only, or haruna's singing only. i somehow always listen to the song as a whole. it's also never the 'same kind' of arrangement. there is no "it begins with an all out band intro, followed by the verse sung quietly first, and then an all out chorus, then a chorus again with different beat.." you get the point right? you can't even confuse a song for another, because it's really similar.

second, it's about feelings. They can really convey the feeling of their songs well, i remembered i cried when i watched "Departure" for the first time, despite not knowing the meaning of the lyrics (okay, i know sayonara and other words, but that doesn't count :p). This may not be true in every song, but who cares! nobody's perfect. Generally speaking, they can make a funny song FEELS funny, a sad song FEELS sad, and so on. yes, FEELS. not just with the arrangement, but with how they sing and play. (edit: i found the right word. their songs are ALIVE!!)

now about their style... i have a love-hate relationship with it, but it's fine. for me, their style of songs varies much from their debut until now. i feel like they're just make songs however they like it at the moment. don't get me wrong, i actually like how they want to make (or pick out) songs freely. the songs that they arrange/compose always screams SCANDAL all over it. so, no matter how i hate how "weird" or "too much" the song is, i will always end up loving it. if i really don't like it, i still look forward to other songs in the album. --> okay, maybe this is because the catchy melodies too haha.
my point is, they know exactly who they are.. and it is reflected in their songs. Even though they change the style of their songs a bit, it will not be 'less SCANDAL'. Unlike a certain band that changed their style and ended up being completely different from who they were. i only listen to their old songs nowadays.

edit: huff, i feel like a music critics somehow...

I mean the best sound of Scandal is to see the band live on a concert.

Last year Scandal has played live in Hamburg, Germany just a hour away from my hometown but i have lost

Only a few days ago I have find out by watching a road movie from Yellow Europe Tour 2016


I have read and heard comments like:
"Scandal is the J-Rock band with most live power" or the comment of an very old rock fan on this road movie: "Scandal is rock n roll and is true punk".
Many clips from their 10th Anniversary live concert in Osaka last year are very impressive. It must be a show about three hours in front of 12000 fans.

You hear exactly the rhythms from songs like Shojo S, burn and Stamp and you recognize hard rock riffing like Deep Purple and AC/DC. Than you can hear Scandal ballads and dance floor like Pinheel Surver or indie rock like Take Me Out.
The musical repertoir from Scandal is immense. Therefore Scandal is the best rock band i have heard.

Just one band has a comparable music versalitiy and many live power and this is Silent Siren I have heard until now.