When the prologue to your album goes harder than most of the music I’ve heard so far in 2018, you know you’ve got something special. Tokyo-based producer Oyubi’s My Fingers stars with one of the more attention-grabbing tracks I’ve heard this year in the form of “Prologue 1,” a jittery juke number merging metallic popcorn…
Last year at the Fuji Rock Festial, a trio of bands played the gathering that were presented — by domestic media, and me at some point — as a new tide of Japanese rock music. Two groups definitely felt close to one another — that would be Yogee New Waves and Never Young Beach, bands…
Sometimes, you spend a weekend focusing on non-music writing work, and all sorts of incredible stuff drops at once. The past few days have seen new albums from Toiret Status, CRZKNY and way more. Curse you, having to make money, if only I could blog all day! Slipping in a little before any of those…
Kobe’s Radicalfashion has been kicking around for over a decade, releasing primarily piano-focused numbers on the sparse but intricate side. Singing popped up at times, though often in a warped way that added an out-of-space element to Radicalfashion’s work. “Way Home,” however, offers something a touch more straightforward. Japanese artist Tony Chanty guests, singing over…
Even more than previous entries into the Chains series, “Phase 4: Resemblance” offers as strong a front to back listening experience as one could hope for from a three-song set. That’s partially based off pure strength of song, two of which already appeared in the past few months — the shadowy release of “For F”…