Yamatopia, Nara trio √thumm’s second album, manages to meet every stereotype associated with the hotly-anticipated sophomore record while also marking an astronomical leap forward for the young group. Last year’s Coton burst into the world a catchy subversion, √thumm flipping the script on Japanese electro-pop. They took a sound often dependent on studio excess…the pop…
Of all the venues in Osaka Los Angeles duo Kisses could have wound up in, they landed in the one most in contrast with their sound. The pair (joined by a drummer live) of Jesse Kivel (of Princeton) and Zinzi Edmundson craft tropically-tinged pop that flirts with late-night disco, the sonic equivalent of making a…
The Boom Boom Satellites live experience can best be summed up as “picture listening to ‘Born Slippy’ in a packed arena for two hours complete with woozy light show and overpriced beer.” If that sounds lame to you…well, stop reading right here, because that sounds like doing it right to me and ended up being…
This review comes nearly five months after the official release of Texas Pandaa’s third album, and as much as I want to blame some outside force for preventing the writing of this piece…like, how I didn’t see this album on sale anywhere except Tower Records in Akihabara…I can’t. Whereas some groups warrant quickly written critiques…
Hotel Mexico’s being pushed hard as Japan’s first chillwave band. The Kyoto-based six piece has garnered attention from indie-leaning magazine Snoozer to national newspaper The Japan Times because they offer an easy gateway to the hottest blog-centric trend of the moment. Even chillwave-depot Altered Zones wrote a blurb about the band, wherein they dropped the…