New YMCK: “Sasetsu Shite Usetsu Shite”

YMCK, like fellow Japanese artists Omodaka and the older material of 99 Letters, pulls off a rare thing – being able to make music based primarily around 8-bit sounds and turning it into something beyond novelty. “Sesetsu Shite Usetsu Shite” could be goofy novelty in the hands of someone more interested in playing Mega Man III than music, but YMCK have always put creating catchy pop ahead of simply slobbering over the noises made by a an old Game Boy (to be fair, their visual imagery is entirely devoted to pixels). Critically, they never suffocate their songs with blips and bloops, taking what they need to let the melodies and chorus come through. They are simple in the best way. Here, the key is that easy-breezy chorus, nothing more than the lead singer saying “turn left, turn right” a few times, but with lovely delivery. Listen above.