Singer/songwriter Taichi Mukai teams up with producer starRo for “Speechless,” a nice electro-pop song that fits in snugly with the “Cry & Fight” song Seiho worked on earlier this year in presenting a different flavor to traditional pop creations. It’s a song full of starts and stops…speechless, indeed…and which jumps between prickly future-bass sounds to something resembling ’90s garage, all coated in an electronic glaze. Listen above.
She Talks Silence released a new mini-album (well, assuming six songs can be called that) named When It Comes, and here’s another taste of it, the jaunty “Walk Away.” A large appeal of the duo’s music is the shadow-covered feel covering it, how there’s something dark and oftentimes lonely about the music they make. And…
Uh oh, take a look at the calendar and brace yourself…2014 is almost over, and that means the barrage of year-end lists is imminent (the backlash against them has already started!). One of the Japanese artists who will be populating our hypothetical top-tens is Metronori, a Tokyo bedroom producer who made a huge leap forward…
関西のPost Modern Teamによる初のリリース曲は“Never Let You Down”でした。2012年にリリースされた最も優れた曲のうちの１つと言えるでしょう。爽やかで甘いメロディーは日本のインディー・ポップ・シーンに衝撃をもたらしたのでは。彼らは“never let you down”と恋人に囁くように歌います。センチメンタルに始まるこの曲はその後の展開をより切なく響かせています。まさに“Heartbreak”や“She Does Something To Me”といった言葉が語るように。最近ではEP、Nite Life LoungeがAno(t)raksから発表されました！彼らがギターとドラムというシンプルな構成だけで美しい世界観を持つ優れた楽曲を奏でています。収録されている全３曲はPost Modern Teamが今までやってきた事と変わりはないのですが、シンプルな繰り返しの多い曲がいかに感情を強く表現出来るか証明してくれました。タイトル・トラックでは主人公がディスコで“good times”を過ごしているのですが、曲中で決断の時があったり。このドラマチックさはグループ史上でも異例なのでは。他の２曲はもっとストレートに感情を表現しています。“Fade Away”はシューゲイザー調の曲。“thinking about those high school days”や”before you fade away”といった文脈からは良い思い出を振り返っているのだなと感じさせられます。 “Betterdays”はタイトル通りの内容なのですが、曲の積み重なって行くような展開はPost Modern Teamの新しい一面と言えるのでは。（ボーカルがBuilt To Spillに似ているのも印象的でした。) ダウンロードはこちらから。視聴は以下から。 NITE LIFE LOUNGE. EP by Post Modern Team
American imprint Squiggle Dot just released three albums from a trio (or, maybe 2.5, as one is a split with another artist outside the country) of Japanese artists, each hitting on different pleasure centers. Boogie Idol’s Mall Pop Hits is a great place to lead off, the Tokyo producer’s crystalline synthesizers and BGM-ready beats intertwining…
Sakanaction, fresh from a 2011 where they released one of the best songs and one of the best albums, return in 2012 with a new single called “Boku To Hana,” which you can now hear online (and watch the video). Go here to give it a whirl. Admittedly, the audio quality found at that link…
Consider it closer to an out-of-body experience at a social gathering than a tune designed to soundtrack one. Ruby Lemon’s “The Party” takes its time unfolding, the Fukuoka-based artist letting the synth notes stretch out while her singing comes through at half speed in an electronic haze. It’s about mood over movement, and like her…