Kawaii-leaning producer Snail’s House has a new EP out in February, and has shared a preview via the chirpy 8-bit bouncer “Pixel Galaxy.” Over the past year, Snail’s House has been exploring new terrain with his sound, but this comes off more like a bit of his go-to style run through a Game Boy Color. “Pixel Galaxy” pogos forward, bordered by a few hyper-bright samples and moments where preferred game soundtracks sneak through. Like Kirby. Listen above.
Maybe the only way to write a song that’s upbeat about the future in 2018 is to approach it from a place of nostalgia. Tatsuro Yamashita might be one of the only artists today who could pull it off, partially because he’s not someone anyone expect to grapple with the present exhaustion of 2018 (nor…
I feel like there are two ways to approach this album, a collaborative effort between the hypnotic singer-songwriter may.e and Oka: 1. The more I listen to may.e’s music, the more I become convinced she’s my favorite artist in Japan at the moment. Nobody else in the country’s music scene does so much with so…
“Parade” sounds lonely enough before they kick in – scattered twinkles surround some downtrodden guitar and they announce “this will be a sad song.” Then, they kick in, they being the deep drum rumbles. They add a surprising menace to a track otherwise excellently uneasy. Stray electric sounds drift away in the background and Flau…
Talk about timing – around the same time I wrote about the anime-loving Maltine Records, the label uploaded their 91st release (free to download) to their site. The newest offering comes courtesy of Submerse, and it’s an entire album full of original songs and remixes clocking in at just under 50 minutes. Also included –…
Maia Hirasawa presents an interesting dilemma for Make Believe Melodies. It has nothing to do with her new song “It Doesn’t Stop,” a bright blast of indie-pop loaded with Tin Pan Alley horns. No, rather I’m not even sure if I should be writing about her. Her MySpace identifies her as a “Swedish/Japanese singer” before…
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