Tokyo’s Call And Response Records will put out a new compilation album, titled Throw Away Your CDs And Go Out To A Show, on August 16. It shines a spotlight on the country’s best “modern Japanese postpunk, no wave and noise-rock,” anchored by relative notable names in music geek circles such as Melt-Bananana and (ok,…
This has all the makings of a song that gets a lot of plays from us over the next few months. It’s a male-female duet from a new indie-pop outfit hailing from the Kansai region, the part of Japan that tends to do this skippy style better than the rest. But really, all those details…
Always up for a pick-me-up on a Monday, and indie-pop outfit Pollyanna’s “Breaking News” delivers just that. It’s the title track to the group’s second mini-album, and it is a driving number packed tight with guitars and keyboard. It’s energetic, but never overwhelming, and the vocals add a sweetness. At a time when a lot…
It’s a bit premature to say something like Osaka producer Le Makeup’s Hyper Earthy represents a major sonic shift for the artist. Up to this point, they’ve released one album and a handful of tracks, so small sample size. Yet that previous material was up-tempo, influenced by the sounds of the Caribbean and the Latin…
One of my favorite things is when an artist refuses to leave a song alone. I like seeing artists poke at their creations in an effort to find new angles to them — see Spange Call Lilli Line’s multiple versions of “Rio” or even Radiohead’s long-time-to-release “True Love Waits,” to name just a couple. Tokyo’s…