“Matryoshka” features the most jarring moment yet in Suiyoubi No Campanella’s career to date. It comes early, when a voice that isn’t KOM_I’s enters, stage right. It comes courtesy of Pablo Padovani of French group Moodoïd (and…I didn’t know this until the video dropped…was part of Melody’s Echo Chamber). But it could have been Hatsune Miku and I’d still be caught off guard…the world Suiyoubi No Campanella has created finds KOM_I playing the role of narrator, zipping and zooming around the landscape like a future bass version of Puck. “Matryoshka” lets someone else in, and it also explores space more than anything on last year’s triumphant Superman. The two share verses and come together over light percussion and some synth washes — this project has always treated voices like another instrument, but it might actually be more true here than ever before, unison singing stretched out and Padovani’s French sweet-nothings dripping like eye medication. And in one last twist, the final stretch features a heavy amount of backtracking, warping everything and turning the song into a head trip. It’s intriguing on its own but ultimately more appropriate in the context of their new EP, which (spoiler alert) finds Suiyoubi No Campanella exploring space more than they ever have before, revealing a whole new angle to their sound that’ just as exciting. Listen above.
Sloshed: Japanese Summer Orange’s “Let Me Get You Some Beers”
This current wave of slacked-out indie-rock in Japan gets the chilled-out, enjoying-life part down pretty well…but everything always seems a touch too neat. All these bands that found Mac DeMarco, bought a beanie and picked up guitars sing about eating pancakes, walking around the town or just being vaguely optimistic about the future. Too responsible! Japanese Summer Orange takes this attitude to a far more believable end with “Let Me Get You Some Beers,” a hobbling number that embraces escapism via booze. Which…not here to up a lifestyle (don’t drink beers to complete work!), but works wonders when paired with the guitar playing and the way Japanese Summer Orange slurs out every line. Here’s sloppiness made fun, and a nice roll in the dirt after months of sun-dappled indie-rock. Listen above.
New Taichi Mukai: “Siren”
There’s probably a timeline where tofubeats spends the majority of his career working behind the scenes to create top-notch J-pop, while also having a lesser-known solo thing too. Plenty of folks have done that in history! But he’s starting to go down a path closer to Tetsuya Komuro, wherein his own projects get the spotlight but stepping in to work with others results in said artists most interesting moments. tofubeats tackles the music for young artist Taichi Mukai’s new song “Siren,” and it’s a stand-out number for the youngster. Few acts require great producers quite like Mukai —- seek out his collab with Pa’s Lam System for another gem, or opt to check out his cheesy forgettable side — and tofubeats makes for a good partner. Bits of his solo work come through via the buzzier details and digitally filtered vocals that pop up every once in awhile, but like a good behind-the-scenes guy, tofubeats doesn’t turn this into a tofubeats’ song. Rather, it’s a shuffling pop cut allowing Mukai enough space to show off his skills…with a little left-of-center worked in. Listen above.
A Peaceful Escape: Sunamachi Sound System’s SI
Intricate music isn’t always all that calming, but Sunamachi Sound System’s SI functions as an album that’s fun to listen closely too but also one equally nice to play while staring out a Starbuck’s window while turning thoughts over (guess where I am!). The project constructs songs from a pretty sparse set of sounds — simple drum machine beats, a smattering of bleepy notes — but finds all sorts of ways to to arrange them in a way to turn these into little landscapes wowing both micro and macro. “Snowbird” bobs along, new melodies sneaking in and transforming what begins as a pleasant beat into something with a lot of attention to detail that hits on a lot of emotion. “God’s Patience” goes in a more wobbly direction, teasing skippy percussion and more warped passages along the way. Even short creations like “Natsu” hide nice shifts around every corner. And you can approach it from a place where you want to pick up the little things…or just rest in the glow every element brings out. Get it here, or listen below.
Haruruinu Love Dog Tenshi Teams Up With Dubb Parade for Room2017
Here’s a pairing we can get behind completely. Haruruinu Love Dog Tenshi and Dubb Parade come together for a slippery three-song release that fits nicely in the prior’s bedroom rap world, but with a little more flair around the edges. Songs such as the opener “Furu” combine wispy electronics with piano melodies to make pleasantly warped tracks that are just right for Haruruinu’s whisper rapping, her voice filtered ever so slightly. Part of this releases charm lies in how the two work so well together, with neither one eclipsing the other. Even the rubbery space-out of finale “Planet Planet” finds a happy middle-ground between the two (though wow, what Haruruinu does with her voice is the clear highlight). Get it here, or listen below.