Remember a week ago when I said the move was for once-online-only electronic artists to form pop-focused units with vocalists? Welp, add another example to the pile. Maltine-adjacent creator Nagomu Tamaki has teamed up with an artist named Erica, who based on some quick search-engine-powered research was in the idol unit Electric Ribbon, to become Cheap Cream (yeah, I know, could use a little more thrill than a poster you might see outside a pharmacy). Their first song “Kissing Game” came out in September, but it’s a charmer even a month on. Taking cues from New Jack Swing but also modern dance-pop and a sprinkling of Web-born goofiness, “Kissing Game” springs all over the place, building towards a hook that is peak Especia to these ears. Tamaki’s backdrop is busy but never overwhelming, while Erica adds the rest. Listen above.
Category Archives: Music
New Boys Age: “Daughter The Star Gazer”
It’s the feeling of something being just off…of bad vibes sneaking through even the chillest guiat riffs…that really makes “Daughter The Star Gazer” a welcome addition to the Boys Age catalog. This project has gone all over the place since they started, but this one is a return to basics. Boys Age play a simple but inviting melody using guitar and a barely there beat, while over it all a vaguely Muppet-like voice twists and turns thoughts over. That sense of something being just off is the most important element here, as it has always been. Listen above.
New (well, kinda) Kindan No Tasuketsu: “Nemui (Sleepers)”
How deep does Kindan No Tasuketsu’s catalog go? The ever-changing pop project just released a new compilation called Early Years 2012 – 2016, one which aims to collect some loosies from acros their uhhhh early years…yet I still feel like there are a bunch of songs from this period not represented here. They are prolific! And more importantly, they have been great at crafting pop in all sorts of molds, from electro-pop to acoustic-bordering-on-folk. Early Years is a great snapshot of the group’s eclectic approach to songwriting, especially ahead of “season 4,” whatever that might be. To celebrate this look back, they’ve shared a new video for “Nemui (Sleepers),” which originally came out in 2012 with an even simpler clip. It’s the group pulling off dream pop just right, the vocals shrouded in a layer of mist and bells chiming off all around to give it an extra soft feel. Fitting for a song completely about seeking escape via sleep, falling somewhere between peaceful and tear-stained. Listen above.
Warming Waters: Pool$ide’s Aquarius
Aquarious is a real emotional rollercoaster, achieving both giddy moments and some real melancholy with no words. Chalk up another winner for Local Visions, though this one is less about a new angle on nostalgia (though also…kinda?) and more about their ability to pinpoint young electronic artists and give them a platform to shine. Kobe’s Pool$ide uses synths, sliced-up vocal samples and digi beats to create songs that can be downright jolly, such as opener “Tiny Flow,” which uses something approximating an ocarina as a main melody to add some hop to it, slowing down to let bird noises and eventually blurts of syllable in. Things go extremely tropical on the pure bliss of “Sun Shine,” while the woodwind vibe returns on “Ugly Bubble,” though this time it works in tandem with pitch-shifted voice snippets. Overall, Aquarius gets pretty optimistic, but that makes moments like “Crawl” all the more memorable. That one uses all the same sounds, but unfolds a bit lighter, and goes for ennui, everything hitting just a bit softer. It reveals depth to this approach, and makes this a deeper listen. Get it here, or listen below.
Feeling Off: DJ Cheap’s Anxious Footworks EP
Title doesn’t lie! Due to the repetitive and quick-hit nature of the whole style, juke can be quite a nervy listening experience. But DJ Cheap really takes it to the extreme on Anxious Footworks, which uses some vocal samples of people practically yelling at you to really get the hairs on your arm to stand up. “Do You Hear That” is just that phrase yelped back at the listener over a skittery beat and a few other musical mutations, while “What The Fuck Is Wrong With You” — take a guess. So it goes, save for finale “BBIGWR,” which replaces human voices with an unsettling sample that kind of coils and springs around for the whole song. Yet DJ Cheap nails the energy to keep these songs moving along and getting bodies moving, even when they bark at you. Get it here, or listen below.