Maybe it is just small sample size, but all of the music from Le Makeup I’ve heard thus far has been on the more hectic side. So “Friends” is a nice switch up, a slower-tempo song more intent on reflection than movement. The criss-crossing synths end up comforting, and even the slightly pitched-up voices behind…
It’s tough to talk about kawaii bass…or any hyper-crowded electronic music to come out of Japan over the last year and a half…without bringing up YUC’e. Her “Future Candy” is one of the defining songs of the sub-style, a catchy pop number that goes lightspeed at various points…but always manages to return to that main…
Roughness helps Evening Cinema stand out from the ever-smoothing Japanese rock crowd. Intentionally or not, the group’s harsh vocals add a sandpapered-edge to twinkling pop full of tight bass lines and sparkly keyboard notes. “Wagamama” shows this isn’t just a demo situation, but rather that the elements just not quite fitting — but coming close…
Producer Hiroto Kudo crafts something calming but with a little kick on latest song “Blink.” For the most part, it is a sparse number featuring synthesizer driplets and a fidgety (but understated) beat. Save for some voices floating by in the back, it is straightforward and relaxing. But Kudo knows how to turn all of…
Indie-pop project Fragile Flowers called up a lot of heavy hitters from the country’s twee-leaning scene for their first album, but have now settled on more fixed lineup for Psyche. It also feels a little more settled sonically, hovering in the same dizzying space that For Tracy Hyde occupied early on in that group’s existence….