A lot of artists in recent memory have tried to sound uneasy as a way to stand out from the often-clean sound of mainstream Japanese music, but Utae’s “Supersonic” really makes the wobbly touches worth it. It starts with twinkles and a heavily filtered voice, before letting in a slightly more inviting set of vocals and a piano line. But it doesn’t last long, dissolving in favor of skittery electronics and hushed singing fogged in digi noise. Utae easily could have stuck with this atmosphere and come out with an unsettling song, but instead she lets “Supersonic” gain steam and, in its back half, shoot forward. The stranger touches remain, but they form into something more ecstatic down that final stretch. It’s an earned release. Listen above.
New iivvyy: iivvyy
This EP is more about gathering together what’s already out there into one place, but for a project that previously just shared single songs as it coalesced together, that’s perfectly fine. Kosmo Kat and HVNS’ iivvyy found the perfect middle ground between both artist’s sounds, creating a liquid-metal techno accessorized by pitch-shifted vocal samples that give it all a blurry feel. iivvyy gathers the numbers that popped up on their SoundCloud starting from last year, featuring the spiky “Look” and the sweltering “Could Be,” among others. The one new addition is “Thinkin'” which isn’t too far from the more familiar material that floated around before (though the late song breakdown is a nice pivot). For anyone interested in how Tokyo’s club scene is mutating, this is a hell of an intro. Get it here, or listen below.
Fidget Spinning: Johnnivan’s “I Think I Know You”
Tokyo’s Johnnivan move forward on frantic energy, there songs all twitchy and fidgety in how they play out. “I Think I Know You” is a particularly strong example of their inability of how to sit still…and how it benefits the band. They take cues from late ’70s / early ’80s new wave groups — Talking Heads is one they reference directly — and it comes through clearly, especially in the lyrics, which are mainly interested in clever wordplay delivered in a nervy way. Yet it works well with the herky-jerky music, especially when the electronics squiggle in. Listen above…and also give “Tomorrow Night,” which lathers the keyboard on a little thicker, below.
New Boyish: “Asagao No Hana”
It wasn’t long ago that Boyish were making only feedback-glazed indie-pop, the sort of brittle numbers that proudly wore their bedroom-feel on their sleeves. “Asagao No Hana” sees the project trying out something a touch more refined. This crept into a song released last month too, but it’s on this newest number where they really give it a go. “Asagao” features violins playing throughout the song, adding a melancholy to the verses and helping really push the emotions through come the chorus. What makes it avoid being the sound of a band trying to be mature is the electric guitar squalls and horn blurts that pop up around the edges, offering a little unease to an otherwise shiny song. Listen above.
New Yuuki Yamaguchi (Yackle): Metropolis EP
Metropolis is an exercise in rippling. Yuuki Yamaguchi — who has recorded as Yackle in the past — loops and skitters sounds over the course of the three songs here, the at-times suffocating feel of all these noises repeating replicating life in a big city. Singers appear across Metropolis, but Yamaguchi only concerns himself with syllables — even when words come through on opener “Ecosys” courtesy of Moemi, they sound like they’ve been sliced once and re-assembled, like they are held together by tape. It’s disorienting and giddy. Yamaguchi adds in more textural touches on the title track (which features…Yackle), such as water drops, iPhone sounds and assorted chimes, which add an extra layer to a song that often finds a female voice saying “die” (maybe “itai?”) over and over again over pulsing synthesizer and dense beats. Get it here, or listen below.