Japanese indie creators ongoing interest with throwback styles and genres associated with the Bubble era might have reached a logical end with Wai Wai Music Resort’s first collection of songs. Released via Local Visions, WWMR1 embraces the most chilled-out elements of retro music culture, creating something breezy but with an emotional aching still present (to…
Every few months, an internet-centric electronic artist in Japan releases a song that makes me stop and go “….wait, is this like a return to Shibuya-kei mindsets?” It’s a feeling YUC’e conjures up frequently, and Puni Puni Denki’s new song “Life Is Super Dope” goes even further by pivoting into bossa nova that would make…
Long-running netlabel presence Guchon returns with Dogs Of The Future, a new one released via Maltine Records. All things considered, Guchon keeps it simple over these five tracks. Opener “Anywhere Door” exists as kind of a distant cousin to Powder’s “New Tribe,” slowly building tension through constant repetition and subtle changes going off just out…
Tokyo artist Cemetery’s music has always been on the ominous side. Noises drift overhead and vocal samples bubble up off in the distance, making even their most angelic stretches hide some tension. “Fatima” shows Cememtery’s livelier, albeit still unnerving, side. This one, debuted a few days ago on Nest HQ, uses an array of chanting…
The recent focus on pop music going “international” via K-pop and Latin pop has resulted in an interesting tension in how these songs get interpreted. How important are lyrics to this? They obviously are central, and no doubt that’s part of the appeal to listeners who actually are fluent in these languages. But a big…