[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49C0mpeDjw0″] Lodged somewhere between the chill waves of Hotel Mexico, the lo-fi beach party of Friends and the art-pop of The New House exists アナ(English-only folks, pronounce that “A Na”). They might be the most straightforward group on Second Royal Records, a trio not afraid to test out new sounds but that still come off…
Geez, I haven’t heard much from THE DIM camp in a long time. So long in fact these two tracks initially didn’t really phase me all that much…both “Game Hero” and “Rock’n Roll Baby” sound like serviceable albeit unmemorable rock numbers at first…until some part of my brain went “wait, something isn’t right here.” A…
In the same way Joaquin Phoenix stuck to his gimmick of being a crazy person for the entire filming of I’m Still Here, Kinoco Hotel cling to their femme-fatale “hotel staff” routine in the video for “Hijō Naru Yoake.” The group still wears their signature bell-hop outfits (in gold this time around) while performing said…
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md8sf_lyNy4″] Calling anything Mukai Shutoku does a surprise seems a bit foolhardy – dude has jumped between so many styles during his time in Number Girl, Zazen Boys and most recently Kimonos that sharp turns should be most certainly expected by now. Still, seeing a man who frequently shouts random English phrases (“WEEKEND!” “FRIDAY NIGHT!”…
Quick personal update – I’ve started contributing to fabulous music site Tokyo Indie, writing about noteworthy Japanese artists in the country today. The first installment focuses on MBM favorite Nu Clear Classmate, which you can read here. Coolest of all – now my posts can be read in Japanese! I’m strangely stoked about that.