It takes skill to make a song leaning heavily on a sample from The Notebook work, but all credit to Pavilion Xool, whose “I Still Smoke” manages to do just that. The producer’s previous works bends heavily towards future-funk, but “I Still Smoke” features a woozy bed of synthesizers that whirr off, over which guest…
Not to get too goopy about it, but I recently visited Osaka (uhhh, look out for that one soon?) and was frequently revisiting…mentally and verbally…the period from about 2011 to the start of 2014 where the city’s electronic music scene was going full gear. Today, like it has in many places, the gap between underground…
Tempalay seemed like a pretty forgettable rock band in 2016. The group released an album called From Japan, and the songs within sounded like most of the other Mac DeMarco-derived sunny-day rock that was just starting to take off — in no hurry, practically bored with itself, some forced wackiness (especially in videos). But this…
Acidclank seems to have grown quite a bit since last checking in with them. A while back, it was a solo project that leaned towards shoegaze, albeit in a way more interested in catchy melodies than waves of distortion. With new single “Rocks,” Acidclank appears to have a full band behind him, and the sound…
The throwback vibes of earlier Wooman songs have receded with “Still Inside,” the post-CUZ ME PAIN band project of several prominent names in the Tokyo indie scene. The fuzz remains, but rather than an Ariel-Pink-ish (or Hotel Mexico-like) shambling, “Still Inside” finds the group hollering off in the distance, the verses and hook practically shouted…