Atlanta Girl emerges from the ashes of the band Colorado Coronado, a duo who didn’t release much music during their time together but what did trickle out was pretty absorbing. Their one release Far Away, on netlabel Canata Records, showcases a group who takes their time playing with an idea, clearly influenced by the slow-building…
First off, apologies to It Happens, as I will take one paragraph to vent a little, distracting from this perfectly serviceable indie-pop song. It has only been one month into 2014, but already I’m wondering what has gone wrong with this year. I have gotten extremely cynical about music of all types, and even moreso…
What got us excited about mus.hiba back when he uploaded “Magical Fizzy Drink” was the fact the young Tokyo producer used Vocaloid technology, the singing-synthesizer software often bundled with cute anime characters, to create music that was experimental. His use of Sekka Yufu (one character) is really important for showing the potential Vocaloid holds as…
Note: This will be the final regular update around these parts for a bit…starting tomorrow (hopefully!) we will share MBM’s top 20 Japanese albums of the year. And then we will go on a vacation where posts will be more infrequent. Fittingly, we end with Especia. Osaka idol outfit Especia – who take cues from…
Moscow Clubは本当に素晴らしい。最初に我々が注目した”Daisy Miller Pt. 1″ は、ヘンリー・ジェームスの物語からの引用で、作品同様の感情的な雰囲気を醸し出しています。今回SoundCloudにアップされた曲は、”火星年代記”や、”華氏451″等を執筆したSF作家、レイ・ブラッドベリ(レイ、 数々の素晴らしい作品をありがとう。安らかに眠れ。)へのトリビュート精神が。Moscow Clubの新曲は”華氏451″の英語タイトル、”Fahrenheit 451″で、”Daisy Miller”の曲のように文学的に攻めるのではなく、あくまでレイドバック。悲しい過去の物語を語るのではなく、ちゃんとダンスフロアにそぐうように作曲されています。シンセが良い味を出しているこの曲はMoscow Clubの今までの曲よりも打ち込みがメインになっていて、この3分程の遊び心溢れる作品は、Toro Y MoiやKissesを連想させます。コーラスが実に美しい。試聴は以下から。
When The Brixton Academy announced that they would no longer be recording under that moniker but instead as Nile Long, one had to wonder if it would also mean a change in sonic identity. The EP the group released last year seemed to signal that, yes, this wasn’t going to be the same collection of…
Bedroom-whizz Shugo Tokumaru has released his first glimpse of the follow-up to 2010’s Port Entropy in the form of new single “Decorate.” For those expecting his whimsical, toy-instrument heavy music to morph into something new by now, prepare to be let down because “Decorate” is another solid example of his playroom pop. Tokumaru’s usual assortment of bells, woodwinds and acoustic guitar dominates this song, and at one point he even works in the sound of an alarm clock ringing off. Also intact – the same sense of wonder the majority of Tokumaru’s tracks possess. Listen above. You can buy the single in stores now, and if you do, you also will get the chance to hear Tokumaru’s take on The Buggles’ MTV-launching “Video Killed The Radio Star.” I don’t know what the single version sounds like, but watch Shugo deliver a cutesy live cover below.
The latest from Local Visions is another example where overthinking it would be a disservice to the album in question, even if it can be so fun. Omoya’s Dakede offers up six funk-leaning songs that just offer good vibes and a splash of nostalgia. The title track struts along until it reaches the hook, where…
Anyone living in Japan at the moment probably wishes for a bit of summer overload – the nation is currently dealing with a typhoon, with ANOTHER typhoon on the way for the end of the week. Here comes Osaka’s Stuck In Summer, though, to give us all a splash of the season with their Stuck…
And we are back from Fuji Rock Festival 2016. Let’s see how long we can go before some other event throws me off schedule…oh, hey massive deadlines on the horizons! It feels like Carpainter has been a “rising” artist for at least two years, despite having released a handful of albums and EPs across numerous…
Not much to go off of, I know, but when an always-on-the-fray musician like DODDODO releases even 40 seconds of new music I’m going to write about those 40 seconds. Jet Set Records recently posted four short clips of tracks from her recently released album ど, and as expected they sound a little strange. Biggest…
Long-running netlabel presence Guchon returns with Dogs Of The Future, a new one released via Maltine Records. All things considered, Guchon keeps it simple over these five tracks. Opener “Anywhere Door” exists as kind of a distant cousin to Powder’s “New Tribe,” slowly building tension through constant repetition and subtle changes going off just out…
Lot of good stuff going on for Tokyo’s Sapphire Slows right now. She just wrapped up a small tour of the United States, and in May she will take part in a live event in Tokyo alongside CUZ ME PAIN artists Jesse Ruins and Faron Square, along with Kyoto group (and Double Denim signee) Hotel…