This blog is never going to be completely over the end of Especia, even if by their final formation they were basically an entirely different group (albeit with at least a few solid numbers). While we eternally pour one out for the project responsible for idol masterpiece Gusto though, let’s not nostalgia for…uhhhh, 2013 obscure the pure pop approach former Especia member Monari Wakita has grabbed. Initially, it looked like she’d lean into the whole city pop thing, but has expanded away from the waterfront in favor of something not tied to a specific time. Last year’s “Boy Friend” found Wakita hop-scotching over squiggly synth-pop to deliver a big confetti-burst of a hook, and now new single “Take It Lucky!!!!” boasts an equally bubbly (but not exclusively Bubbly) chorus. Elements of city pop do come through — words and music written by Toshiya Arai and UKO, and that early bridge, with its tight bass and keyboard noodling are lobby ready — but the song works best when Wakita just lets loose with her voice, best on the hook and even effective come the la la las at the end. Listen above.
Category Archives: Music
New CHAI: “Center Of The Face!”
When you need songs about gyoza, fried foods or the various personal complexes that hover over people on a daily basis, Chai has you covered. And now, their latest song celebrates a part of the body central to…the face. “Center Of The Face!” honors the nose, both lyrically and via the smartphone-optimized video featuring a lot of zoom ups on honers. Their lyrical oddball tendencies remain one of the defining elements of CHAI, and place them in a great history of Japanese artists whose focus on more left-field topics has helped them get attention at home and abroad —- it’s not a stretch to bring up names like Shonen Knife or Cibbo Matto, while some more contemporary references include Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and Suiyoubi No Campanella. So it’s a semi-silly song about noses that also further moves the sticks on their whole “Neo Kawaii” thing, what with it’s celebration of a body part often derided by many (as someone with a big ol’ nose, I appreciate this one). Yet don’t let the words distract from the music, a slow-burning builder that uses synth washes and fuzzy drum hits to build up surprising drama, which flows over at the chorus, complete with some nice spoken word. Listen above.
New Bruno Uesugi: Deep Space
Producer Bruno Uesugi recently spent significant time in the hospital for intensive care. Uesugi appears to be doing a bit better, and he just released a two-song set titled Deep Space. The opener kicks things off and reminds of what separated Uesugi from other high-energy producers operating around the greater Tokyo area —- “Galactic Disco Ball” matches rubbery house elements alongside snipped vocal samples and elements of baile funk. It doesn’t get quite as roughneck as older work from the artist, but this is the combo he works so well with. Better still, though, is “Somewhere Far (Deep Space),” which stretches out a bit more. Those baile shouts pop up, but they are set against a zero-gravity backdrop closer to Carpainter gone across the Pacific than anything else. Get it here, or listen below.
New Amps: “Onflow”
Amps strikes just the right balance between refined and energetic on new track “Onflow.” A lot of the latter just comes from the sounds they opt to construct the song out of — “Onflow” features a light jazzy skip to it, provided by piano jaunts, horn blurts and drum shifts. Yet this never turns into a lounge soundtrack, as Amps peppers the song with handclaps and always keeps the pace of the song zipping ahead. There’s a lot going on, but that never ends up sucking the energy away. Listen above, or get it here.
New Satellite Young: “Singing Dream”
Lyrical cleverness has always been the element of trio Satellite Young’s music separating them from similarly “retro new-wave” artists. Anyone can pen some overly dramatic lyrics and set it against synthesizer melodies before slapping some Blade Runner imagery over it. But Satellite Young ultimately focus on the now through a throwback lens, or at last think of something more clever than half-baked William Gibson-isms. “Singing Dream’s” main idea is…what if a karaoke machine had heart an autonomy? Boom, ya got my attention. The music, meanwhile, moves in a more shadowy direction than most of the group’s previous works. Compared to the outright bubbly joy of “Modern Romance,” “Singing Dream” uses similar sounds to construct something more cautious, holding a little bit back, especially come the chorus, which avoids full-on release in favor of something a bit more measured. While I’m always going to personally go for the pure pop hooks dotting their debut last year and which is “Modern Romance’s” DNA, this one shows a new side to them, one capable of tension alongside their clever perspective on nostalgia and modern technology. Get it here, or listen above.