東京のデュオ、LLLLの新しいビデオ”Because Of My Eyes”は、まるで週末に夜遊びしているかのような光景。眩しいライトやビデオエフェクトは酔っぱらっているような気持ちにさせてくれます。全て白黒で撮影されていているこの作品では、街を散歩したりクラブで踊ったり、気づけば女性がこちらを眺めていたり。J-Popからの影響が強いものの、LLLLらしい少しダークな雰囲気で日本のパーティーライフを体験できます。ビデオは上から。
Nanba Shiho’s back in good form with her new single “Music.” It pretty much had nowhere to go but up following Shiho’s last single, a song about getting your hair cut set over some snore-inducing piano. “Music” returns to the more energetic pace of her earlier singles, this new number anchored by the forceful beat that switches up into different patters throughout the song but always remains attention grabbing. Unlike the still-excellent “Shoujo, Futatabi” from the start of 2012, the electronics aren’t as commanding, hanging out in the back of the mix to add a cushion to a song that is otherwise quite pounding. Shiho herself moves with the beat well, her chirpy voice adding a touch of sweetness to the whole number. Coupled with a good video…one not featuring Shiho at all…this is a nice return to form for a promising J-Pop personality.
Look, I don’t really want to drag the fashion choices of The Cigavettes’ guitarist into a discussion about the group’s single “Ready To Leave” but – when you wear one of those name shirts (ya know, like this) that clearly honors The Beatles in the attached music video, I’m going to go in and make…
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYfB2cXdJGg”] For a preview clocking in at under two-minutes, Schloder sure manage to wring a whole lot out of “Electro Words” in an extremely short amount of time. This jumps from Queen-aping stadium-rock (the vocals) to U2 life affirming guitar workouts to an overly giddy chorus you’d expect from any number of young Japanese-based indie…
The J-pop landscape features so many idols and idol groups with gimmicks it is practically its own sort of novelty to come across an artist devoid of one. That’s neither a knock against themed outfits (we love them around here when they have the music to back it up) nor an immediate endorsement of the…
This week Music Station will be doing another special episode, one featuring mostly artists who don’t have any new songs out at the moment. The website for the show doesn’t list what songs they’ll be performing but my impeccable research team (me, on Google, spending ten seconds at most) has informed me nothing terribly exciting…
I did not like Perfume’s “Sweet Refrain” at all. Well, the video is cool…but I think the song itself just isn’t particularly good. What makes that song interesting (at least in theory) is how it sets the bass-wubs of brostep against a relatively skippy pop melody. Whereas most pop songs around the world featuring Skrillex-aping…
Tokyo Damage Report posted a fascinating interview with a former Visual Kei record executive. It’s one of the rare articles written on a section of the Japanese entertainment industry that should be just as riveting to folks who could care less about J-Music as those heavily invested in it. Take some time with it and…