The “new City Pop” wave that really started crashing in last year looks to not be going anywhere in 2016, as groups embrace smooth sounds referencing the 1980s. It’s a hit-or-miss proposition, with some of it adding a sense of now to the proceedings (or just doing the throwback thing so well), but with a…
Released via netlabel Mayoware Records, Yui Kawa’s “Haru No Yuki” is a melodic bit of indie-pop with a shoegaze border, a time-tested approach to the style and one capable of squeezing out a lot of emotion. Yet the ultimate anchor of “Haru No Yuki” is Kawa’s voice, a sweet sound that hints at little cracks,…
Let’s not let little details like “the event this EP exists to promote happened several days ago” stop us from listening to a new set of minimalist juke tunes from Foodman. The 813 EP features some of his most bare-bones material in a few months, the producer making the most out of as little as…
He already shared the title track, but now you can hear the entire Noble Arts album via Trekkie Trax. The set moves between the vocal-heavy 2-step jubilation hinted at on “Noble Arts” to more fidgety dance tracks, ranging from the woozy party starter (those bongo hits!) “Motown” to the bubbly rush of “Concentration.” Rounding it…
Tokyo trio Monotoons have shared their first new song of 2016, the driving “Peace?” It’s a song of sonic extremes, on one end the tar-pit bass chug and on the other the more hopeful vocals — accented by a sprinkling of synthesier — of the group’s main vocalist (and one of our favorite Japanese rappers)….