Lost in Time (Girl on Run album)

Lost in Time was the second album released by Japanese rock band Girl on Run. This was the first Girl on Run album released in Japan. Released on October 1, 1985, it's recordings were mostly outtakes that didn't make the cut for their previous album, Shit Outta Luck. The album was released about a month after their singer and vocalist, Ayane Hichigara, was released from jail for assault.

The album did not garner much sales at first, only selling about 8,000 copies by April 1986. However, it received much praise for its eclectic mix of Welsh metal and American rock. When their next album, Stories from Chernobyl, was a hit and got them notoriety, Lost in Time sold much more, selling 19,000 copies by January 1987.

Background
Hichigara was sent to prison in early 1985 for aggravated assault. The band's first live tape, The Bus Tapes, were used as evidence in her trial. She was sentenced to one year in the Osaka Detention House in the Miyakojima-ku section of Osaka, Japan. While in jail, Hichigara composed a few songs. After being released in September on good behavior, she went back to Girl on Run and they worked on recording a full album. While much of the album was outtakes the band didn't release during the recording of their previous album, Shit Outta Luck, in 1984.

Hichigara cites various American rock bands at the time as influences for the album, including Slayer, Black Sabbath, and R.E.M. She also notes British rock and roll bands, such as the Beatles, AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin. Of course, the band's sound still carried the signature Welsh fuzz tone on the guitar, however, their influences were a lot more varied.

Azanashi said in an interview in 1988, "We started listening to different music. Ayane was on her heavy metal shit, meanwhile I was out listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More, and I don't even know what kind of shit Ichigo was listening to."

Composition and recording
This album also featured the hallmarks that Girl on Run is known for, odd time signatures, alternate tunings, and cryptic lyrics. "Radio Blow" has sections in 5/4 and 6/4. "You Never Wash Your Hands After Taking a Shit" is in 11/8, and uses 4/4, 3/4, 7/8, and 10/8.

"Transportation Man" is in Robert Fripp's New Standard Tuning. "Delta" is in F-A-D-G-A-D tuning. "You Never Wash Your Hands", "Usually Speaking", and "Osaka" is in Drop C# tuning.

The lyrics were just as cryptic as their previous album. "Usually Speaking" is about alienation. "Osaka" is a straightforward song about Ayane's time in jail. "Transportation Man" was described by Osana as "a standard man, going to work, going to the bar, then coming home and beating his wife".

The subject matters are considered just as dark and bleak as the songs on their previous album.

Artwork
The artwork was painted by a 12-year-old Hichigara. The cover art depicts a woman in a long, flowing kimono, surrounded by sakura pedals and opium poppies, while a ray of sunshine shines upon an oversized flower. The painting is in noir style, using only black, white, and various shades of gray.

Personnel

 * Ayane Hichigara - guitar, vocals, bass on "Across the Sand"
 * Ichigo Osana - bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Current", baritone guitar on "Across the Sand"
 * Miyako Azanashi - drums, percussion, tambourine on "Control Man", woodblock on "Across the Sand"

All three girls switched instruments on "Across the Sand", with Hichigara on bass, Osana on baritone guitar, and Azanashi playing a woodblock.