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New May.e: Shiseikatsu
After a triumphant year that saw her release one of the year’s absolute stunners, May.e has decided to end the year by releasing a second full-length album called Shiseikatsu for free online. It, seemingly, is built in very much the same style as her debut Mattiola. She plays an acoustic guitar and sings. Her voice…
New Alloapm: “Nightrunner (Summer Version)”
Pure neon sounds here. Tokyo’s Alloapm has labeled this a “summer version,” but really this is a song designed for the night, preferably while cruising through the city, potentially while holding onto some ~feels~. It is, sonically, a relatively simple number – a flurry of synths, a beat, bass and some Vocder-ized singing propelling the…
New The Flickers: “Love Destruction”
J-Rock, ugggggggggh. Save for the brain-and-feet-pleasing Sakanaction…miles ahead of everyone else in Japan tagged “rock” it’s almost ridiculous…rock music in Japan seems to be trending towards some pretty shit places. One OK Rock’s boneheaded menace has proven to be a chart-topper, so brace for them to be a permanent fixture. Sekai No Owari have a…
Tweekend Update: Wallflower, The Moments And More Put Together Sarah Records Compilation, Traffic Light Release Split EP With Saturday Looks Good To Me
大阪のSarahry Recordsが9月22日に境のパンゲア・カフェでイベントをやるみたいです。80年代にイギリスにあったインディ・ポップレーベル、Sarah Recordsに捧げるイベントで、大阪で注目を集めるギター・ポップバンドが数々出演します。コンピレーション・アルバムも発売される予定で、出演バンドの曲や、Sarah Recordから生まれた名曲などがカバーされ、収録される予定です。ネットにアップされているのも同じ観点から制作されていて、Wallflowerによるブライターの”Does Love Last Forever?”のカバーや、 Lilacによるヘブンリーの”Cool Guitar Boy”のカバーからは、ギター・ポップに対する愛や誠意が伝わってきます。でも、フィールド・マイスの”Emma’s House”はFandazeによってちょっと調節されすぎていて、テンポがゆっくりになってたりします。(私が一番好きなインディ・ポップの曲なのもあって)やっぱりオリジナルのほうがいいな、って思います。 ページへはこちらから。視聴は以下から。Backyard Party in Popability! by Sarahry Records 他のニュースといえば、Traffic Lightが、長年続けられてるアン・アーバーのプロジェクト、サタデイ・ルックス・グッド・トゥー・ミーとスプリット・EPを出した事です。渋谷のViolet And Claireストアか、ネットでもこちらのサイトから購入可能です。現在視聴はできないのですが、ベテランと組んでのリリースはTraffic Lightにとって大きなステップなのではないでしょうか。
Fancy Idols: Especia And Lyrical School
We’ve reached the point where idol music – usually an area reserved for AKB48 and Momoiro Clover z – has become really sonically smart. Not always at the top (though sometimes for sure!) but the lower rungs of idol-dom have resulted in some really interesting music. One reason – a lot of young producers are…
New Especia: “Adventure Wa Giniru Ni”
1. Man, Especia better be breakout J-Pop stars in 2014 or I will be hyper sad. 2. LUVRAW is one half of LUVRAW & BTB, a goofy rap duo that coat their rhymes in copious amounts of talk box. They have, for me at least, always been too cheesy, the vocal manipulation coming off as…
New Elen Never Sleeps: “Slow (Neu)”
“Slow” originally appeared on Moscow Club’s C86 compilation back in the spring, but has now been touched up a bit (hence the “Neu” in the title) and sounds a lot crisper than Elen Never Sleeps’ original version. Well, it sounds as crisp as something so hazy can sound – the song title is almost an understatement, because “Slow” practically crawls, the guitars and drums sounding glacial. It’s all intentional, though, a decision meant to match up with Elen Never Sleeps repeated cries of “but you slow down/slow down/slow down,” delivered in a dejected-but-pretty voice that this project has gotten so good at utilizing. The original version was good, but this slightly fleshed-out version shows what can happen when an artist spends time perfecting their creations. Listen below.
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New (Kinda) The Pats Pats: “Sugar Summer”
We’ve already written about the album this one comes from, but now “Sugar Summer” has a video and…well, the season feels right to revisit it, so why not? “Sugar Summer” is a highlight from Sing And Pretty, finding the duo embracing girl group pacing alongside a nice indie-pop chug. Feel good vibes for the remaining…
New The Wedding Mistakes: “Midnight Searchlight” Featuring YonYon
The Wedding Mistakes – the duo of producers Miii and LASTorder – have a new EP out soon, called Midnight Searchlight. They’ve shared the title track, and it is a nice reminder of the weird space the pair represent in contemporary Japanese music. It wouldn’t be off the mark to suggest The Wedding Mistakes make…
New Moscow Club: “Carven”
Programming Note: It’s Silver Week in Japan, and I’ll be in the countryside for the next three days! This either means less posts or more, all depends on Internet connection. Moscow Club’s second album, Outfit Of The Day, comes out next week, and here’s the third taste of it. “Carven” is the most refined number…
New i-fls: “Not Beautiful View”
The difference between nostalgia and wistfulness can be miniscule. Artist i-fls has long resided in this crack between the two, creating simple songs packed with emotional weight. Commuter towns, family restaurants after last train, spacious parks just outside of Tokyo, longing, browsing the internet for hours on end — i-fls’ song titles have always helped…
New Toriena Featuring Yunomi: “Time Capsule”
It feels like Toriena has been prepping for a major-label debut for a while now, but the moment has finally arrived this October with her first major album. “Time Capsule” offers a glimpse at one way she can go with a larger spotlight on her. She teams up with Yunomi to craft a number in…
New Tokyo Girls’ Style: “Last Romance”
“Last Romance” marks a bit of a throwback for idol unit Tokyo Girls’ Style…even if the marketing materials accompanying it try to tap into current trends. The description coming alongside the above clip busts out everyone’s favorite two words — city pop — in talking about “Last Romance,” trying to continue the group’s slow-burning evolution…
