Indie-rock outfit Lake Michigan have a new album out at the very start of 2014…whoa, that’s right around the corner geez…and you can here a track from it now. “Kore Ga Adventure” is a skippy number that shines primarily thanks to the vocals, which rise above the indie-pop nature of the music and give “Kore Ga Adventure” an emotional core. Listen below.
What an absolutely cruel tease, Coffee And TV. Besides that terribly misleading title…today was actually the first day I had to wear a parka to work, you jerks…the music of “Guess What? Summer’s Arrived” is made for lounging out on a picnic blanket in a park on a sunny day (or maybe taking an early morning walk around New York…Coffee And TV seems really interested in Manhattan with this song). It’s all bright synths, beach-side percussion and these swelling strings that give the whole thing a majestic flying feeling. And horns! It instantly brings to mind the music of Air France, who dabbled in a similar mashing of sounds with warm-weather imagery (helps that they hailed from chilly Sweden and, much like this song arriving during the first week of November, made music suited for an eternal summer…or at least the mental equivalent). “Guess What?” lacks the playfulness of Air France – that duo always added a whiff of subversion to the proceedings, Coffee And TV more intent on remembering the summer – but nails pretty much everything else. Listen below.
Kindan No Tasuketsu has a new album out this month, and although our interest was peaked from the announcement alone, it is now even higher thanks to “Tonight, Tonight.” Nothing at all like The Smashing Pumpkins’ song, this is a throbbing bit of electro-pop, unreletning save for a very very brief break late in the song. The energy here is irresistible, Kindan No Tasuketsu’s vocals hopping along with the beat and refusing to slow down for anyone. It manages to tightrope between playfulness and longing. Watch the video above.
Idol-pop and the Internet are made for one another. The former deals in fantasy and blurred lines, of selling people a very lifelike dream. The web, meanwhile, is the perfect place for an artist to drop into and create a new…well, anything. The two have been slowly merging over the last few years, and that process has accelerated this year, as more and more producers who have been staples in the Japanese netlabel scene start making music for groups of teenage pop stars. Maltine Records leaped out last year when they got some of their biggest names to remix tracks from Tokyo Girls’ Style. And now they’ve made a huge leap forward as an imprint and in pushing the online-music community of Japan forward with the Maltine Girls Wave project, launched yesterday. What this ultimately entails isn’t clear yet – a CD for sure, and presumably a DVD, though Maltine’s design favors random splashes like an old Windows’ logo – but the first preview of this project comes via five original songs, finding some of Japan’s best young producers teaming up with individual members of Tokyo Girls’ Style to make original tracks.
It is a strong starting line-up. Osaka’s Avec Avec brings his tipsy candy-coated approach to “Day By Day,” featuring Yuri from Tokyo Girls’ Style. Avec Avec has proven over the past year and a half that his aural taffy sounds great when accompanied by a vocalist, and he tailors this song to match up with Yuri’s smooth singing, resulting in a gummy dream of a track. Chiptuner Gigandect brings his cascading bleeps and bloops to a song featuring a bouncy vocal courtesy of Mei Shoji (with best title – “Kawaii Rave”). Banvox and Dancingthruthenights provide propulsive beats, the prior more dramatic and the latter more in the mood to party. The best track here comes from the usually chaotic Fazerock, on the Ayano Konishi featuring “Spica.” No wubs or drops here, as he just crafts a lovely, spacious backdrop for a solid ballad (and rap). Listen to all the songs here, and stay tuned for more notes from this project.
Some jittery goodness coming your way from Sapporo’s PARKGOLF, who has been having a very nice 2013. “Kiss Me” is his latest display of herky-jerky electronic music, a hyperactive blast that opens with handclaps before zipping off into the main part, a disorienting passage anchored by some manipulated vocals singing the titular phrase. The best moments are the second-long glimpses of sounds dashing in and out of the track. Check the tight bass (serious Seiho vibes) or the piano line that just rips through at one point, never to be heard again. Listen below.