Saitama artist Mom has been all over the place this year, and thank goodness for that — this genre-skipping approach has resulted in one fantastic album and some delirious loosies. Latest number “Kiss” could best be seen as their most straightforward tune yet, a breezy pop number about enjoying the small things (with a slight reminder of how lame most parts of life can get sprinkled in…just to make the good stuff better). Despite being pretty easy-going, “Kiss” features two very Mom-like moments that throw it off balance, first when a harsh blast of electric guitar rips through the song, and next when the guitar melody is allowed to bend a bit after said disturbance. They are brief, but nice reminders of the creativity Mom brings to familiar forms. Listen above.
Category Archives: Music
New Oomori Seiko: “Shinigami”
Wherein Oomori Seiko comes closest to a traditional ballad, at least so far in her career. That’s slightly misleading, at least within the context of J-pop — this isn’t your typical gloopy cinematic ballad, the kind some artist make a whole boring career out of. But structurally, it is quite familiar form an artist who often bucks structure, opting for intimacy or bombast. “Shinigami” builds though, going slow to loud and drops a guitar solo in there too. Yet then comes that element that always pushes her music forward — her voice, as fierce and unpredictable as ever. The structure might be familiar, but she’s, as ever, zipping through. Listen above.
Ongaku.com Presents FutureBassCompilation
Everyday at 10 a.m., I fired up the HQ app and attempt to finally win about $11 by guessing on questions about the periodic table. Before it gets underway, they play this theme song that is the trivia-app equivalent of a Wave Racer song. It’s a daily reminder of the weird space future bass occupies in 2018. Plenty of great tracks tagged with this still come out, but I’m as equally inundated by janky attempts at future bass found in YouTube videos made by influencers. All music is pretty much mood backing in the Spotify age, but I think future bass in particular has become a go-to for background music, offering videos and other “content” easy cool that doesn’t get in the way of the main point. Which is weird, because one of the reasons I’m personally drawn to this music is how tactile and attention-demanding it is, not because it sounds pleasant while someone buys a grain bowl in downtown LA.
Netlabel Ongaku.com’s FutureBassCompilation boasts a tossed off title, and listening to it over the last few days I’m sometimes struck by a dread that maybe it was designed as a way to land in a YouTube video or picked up by a fledgling start-up’s app. Yet enough moments across it remind of the energy central to this style that made it so absorbing in the first place. Check Super Shrimp’s delirious “Penny Candy,” which turns sampled syllables into a sugar rush, a tired-but-true method that can still get bodies moving. Or dive into Emeru’s “Bothynus,” which basically does a better job of Yasutaka-Nakata-does-future-bass than Nakata himself. Like all great comps, it is most fun to just jump in and find your favorites, and the variety on display goes a long way to making that pay off (dramatic start-stop stuff? Yokochy’s “Rain Is Letting Up.” Chipmunked madness? K-Next’s “Remap.”). A nice reminder of how great this can be when it is right up front. Get it here, or listen below.
New Yunovation: 072 EP
Osaka’s Yunovation makes quite a splash on her 072 EP, offering listeners a heck of an intro to what she’s all about while highlighting a great deal of songwriting charm. Advance song “Aruteido Aru” remains the stunner, a confident bit of post-Avec-Avec dance-pop anchored by a unique, youthful viewpoint that signals a welcome changing of the guard. Sandwiching that one is a showcase of her melodica skills on opener “ASAP” — a jaunty number also featuring some nice electronic touches — and a continuation of number featuring her singing on “Clap To Find,” a smooth dance-pop number all about enjoying music found in your parent’s closet. And, how nice is it to hear someone’s nostalgia filtered through their mom’s favorite songs? Listen above, or see more options to hear it here.
New KΣITO: Cape EP
The international connections struck up by footwork producers are among the best aspects of this genre, beyond the music itself. Here’s one case of producers leaping over borders to create something great. Japanese artist KΣITO’s new Cape EP comes courtesy of Polish Juke, a label offering just that and worth investigating for all with an interest in all that skitters. It’s a nice intersection made even better by Cape being one of the strongest Japanese juke releases of the year. KΣITO plays around with a chilly and unexpected set of sounds that this one stands out right from the title track, a rumbler moving between icy synth pricks and organ-like notes that give this an unsettling vibe that also isn’t obvious about it. “Prefecture” speeds up tropical sounds and turns it into a whirlwind, while “Calm” transforms from chest-thumping to delirious with the introduction of a bright keyboard line midway through. There’s so many little details to pick up on, but in the process the central groove isn’t sacrificed. A first half of 2018 highlight. Get it here, or listen below.