数年前に東京のGive Me Walletsを初めて聴いた時、踊る為の音楽というよりは、じっくり聞き込みたい、マスロック的な音楽だと感じました。マイスペースにあげられていた曲はフォールズを彷彿とさせ、好みではあったものの、ダンスフロアには適さないような気がしていました。
なので、Give Me Walletsにはよりダンサブルに、そしてエモーショナルになってくれるように期待していました。彼らの新曲、”Look After You”は、８０年代風シンセやビートで彩られ、まるで当時の曲のようでした。
また、”Look After You”のボーカルは、歌詞は聞き取りにくいものの、The Brixton Academyのように、感情的かつ情熱的でした。”Look After You”を含む、SoundCloudにあげられているGive Me Walletsの新曲は、バンドが良い方向性を見つけた事を証明しています。視聴は以下から。
ネットレーベルのMaltine Recordsはもともと結構J-Pop推し。でも今年はJ-Popから影響を受けている作品だけではなく、もっと正統にポップを追求した作品を幾つかリリースしています。Avec AvecのEP、”おしえて“もそうですし、東京女子流のリミックス集なんかもあります。で、今回のFazerockのMaltineからのEPもそう。この、”あの星にのせて”では、普段の作風よりも大人しく、ウォブルベースやドロップも控えられてます。Reddam(今回はボーカルで参加。Reddam自身のリリースもオススメですよ）とのコラボ作品なので納得ですし、互いのスタイルが上手く調和しているかなと。でもMaltineにはポップに特化してほしくなくて…その時々の潜んだ才能を持つアーティストをプッシュしていて欲しいのが正直な意見なのですが…今回のようなリリースも勿論面白いですよね。ダウンロードはこちらから。
Miila “Santa Baby” Well, this is definitely putting your own personal stamp on a Christmas classic. Miila, stepping away from the Geeks for this bit of yuletide joy, covers “Santa Baby” by playing a version built around molasses-slow guitar and some simple-but-ominous drum. Miila herself sings it pretty straightforward, but her voice sounds slightly muffled…
Privacy-loving outfit Sotaisei Riron released a new album last week, Town Age, which I have a feeling will be landing on our top albums of 2013 list when that time comes. More on that later…but here is the new video for Town Age highlight “You & Idol.” Watch above.
Tokyo Jihen “Sa_i_ta” It might be hard to tell given the number of live DVDs and best-of releases that have packed store racks this year, but Tokyo Jihen called it quits back at the start of 2012. Assessing the group’s legacy ends up being a tricky task – lead singer Shiina Ringo’s solo albums remain…
Might want to give this one some time – producer Pa’s Lam System’s new album Virus Window went up on the Maltine Records’ site a little while ago, and everything seems to have crashed thanks to demand for it. I can’t even download it at the moment! But we do this album features his club-thumping…
CUZ ME PAINは最近、あまりリリースをせず、ライブやレコーディングに力を入れている感じがします。それともニコラス・ケイジ出演の映画を勉強したりしてるのかな。CUZ ME PAINのプロジェクトMasculinの新曲、”Manhattan Suicide”は、ニコラス・ケイジ主演のデビッド・リンチ映画、ワイルド・アット・ハートの台詞から始まります。２分間シンプルに淡々と流れるグルーブは、リンチ・テイストが他の曲よりは抑えめかも。ワイルド・アット・ハートからの物かは確かじゃないですが、他の台詞とピアノの流れるようなフレーズがリピートされています。そのようなサウンドが楽しい雰囲気を出していて、ツイン・ピークス的か、と言えばそうではないのですが、このような遊び心のあるリリースを聴く事で、CUZ ME PAINから更なるリリースを期待してしまいます。 MANHATTAN SUICIDE by MASCULIN
When I first listened to Tokyo’s Give Me Wallets almost a year ago, their music was more math-rock than dancey. The songs featured on their MySpace page reminded me of the precision-minded rock of a band like Foals, which was good but also not particularly tailored for the dance floor (well, maybe a really awkward one). Jump ahead a few months, though, and Give Me Wallets seem to have become a bit more dance friendly…and also a bit more willing to let down their emotional guard. Their new song “Look After You” brings to mind fellow Tokyo group The Brixton Academy, as it is full of ’80s-evoking synth and a club-minded beat, the entire track sounding like it could have come out 25 years ago. Also like The Brixton Academy, “Look After You” finds Give Me Wallets evoking emotion through the pitch of their vocals. You don’t even need to hear what they are specifically saying to pick up on the longing in the lead singer’s voice. Along with other recent uploads to the group’s SoundCloud page, “Look After You” finds Give Me Wallets moving in a nice sonic direction. Listen below.
Good week for indie-pop darlings in Tokyo jumping up to bigger labels. For Tracy Hyde — who used to count Lovely Summer Chan as a member, just to tie that last link back to this — will be releasing their first full-length album in early December, and ahead of it they’ve shared “Favourite Blue.” True…
A large part of manic pop outfit Dempagumi.inc’s message up to now has been a desire to go worldwide – see the still definitive “W.W.D.” – but on their latest single, they turn a bit inward. “We are Japanese” goes one part at the end of the chorus, though the traditional-leaning instruments popping up all…
I guess it is Nagoya day on the blog! A Nagoya indie-pop day, at that. The Moments have a new song up on Soundcloud, the drifty “Stay Away.” It’s a straightforward number – guitars rattle off, the vocals deliver ennui-soaked words and the whole thing builds to a very slight but still there release. Simple,…
Indie-rock project Figure has always been just outside of any indie-pop community in Japan, their music being too claustrophobic and darker-tinged to really slide in next to the various Sarah Records devotees across the country. After what felt like an extended break, Figure has a new album out in September via Sauna Cool, and has…
Despite being a staple in the INNIT scene, Magical Mistakes (the project of Erik Luebs) doesn’t live in urban Osaka, but rather a tiny forested village in Miyazaki Prefecture. When I talked to him a few months ago, he said how his remote home gave him ample time to record material, and that the natural…
The Red Bull Music Academy wrapped up its month-long stay in Tokyo earlier this month, but music created during that event is still trickling out into the world. The Academy (full disclosure, I contributed a story to Red Bull’s online magazine) brought together young producers from all over the globe and helped them develop new…