It’s an easy come down for a Thursday, but one that’s also a touch more clever than it might initially lead on. Feather Shuttles Forever offer a very easy-going number in “Croquette Nanoni,” one mostly focused on pleasant acoustic guitar strums, soft vocals and whistling. It’s a soothing number with just enough of a lift to keep listeners on their toes — well, ever so slightly on their toes — that ultimately works as a simple bit of bedroom pop. But the (slight) twist — this song is at least partially about a fried food, which makes the murmured singing all the more interesting. Listen above.
Emotion Plus: Hamidasystem’s “Yoru No Hakoniwa”
Like a lot of projects in recent memory consisting of young women performing music written by someone else in Japan, Hamidasystem don’t bill themselves as idols even if everything about them is pretty idol-ish. Ultimately, that label is more important for a bunch of other matters — perception by fans and media, mostly — but whatever you want to describe yourself, the music needs to be good. Hamidasystem create “melodic electronica,” though it can get a little more nervy than that description lets on. “Yoru No Hakoniwa” is part of a new series of songs that tell a story…but ehhhhh, let’s see where that idea actually goes. In a bubble, the song is a good slow-rising cut, with the whole “electronica” element being emphasized. The singing is important, but it is wrapped around electric guitar and spaced-out synthesizer which ups the emotional payoff significantly. Listen above.
New Capchii: Memories
Focusing on the cuddly side of Capchii’s music does a disservice to Memories. Sure, it features a lot of “kawaii bass” flourishes, and it has anime-style album art (seriously, this is pitfall number one!), and it does all of this well. But what makes Memories feel like a big step forward for the artist is all the non-fluffy elements. “Melodies, Memories” kicks the album off with a bonafide pop center, getting vocal help from Somunia and constructing something better than 90 percent of happy-sappy idols using a home set up. From there, it’s mostly a high-energy affair, zipping out on the bass-blasted “Connection” and later highlighting dizzying, fluttery electronic escape (with a roughneck border) on album highlight “Emotion.” And you even get sentimental breathers, like the reflective string-assisted “Festival Of Cherry Snow,” which takes one of the better emotional turns here when it blooms into an electronic guitar workout. Get it here, or listen below.
New Emerald Four: “Marigold”
Kyoto’s Emerald Four have always let themselves drift, but earlier releases from the duo felt lost in space, marked by synthesizer and echo-grazed vocals. New song “Marigold” brings them down to earth, though the spaced-out vibe remains. It’s a sparse song, featuring guitar and a simple drum beat (and eventually some keyboard) wrapped in a package of slight feedback. That leaves the space remaining for the vocals to hover overhead, unfolding slowly and sounding like every syllable is thought over deeply. It’s the most indie-pop Emerald Four have ever sounded, yet they still manage to make “Marigold” sound like it belongs in their orbit. Listen above.
Yuzame Label Soak It Up With Meister, Invite Yunomi, Nyankobrq And More To Relax
The M3 offerings roll on, and this one especially jumps out. The Meister compilation finds Yuzame Label teaming up with Tokyo Sento — a site devoted to providing information about public baths in the capital — for a bath-themed set of songs. As far as tie-ups go, this is one I can get behind. The music here touches on a variety of sounds, from Yunomi’s bubbly collaboration with Rollergirl to a more mid-tempo number from the usually high-energy Nyankobrq that features a heavy layer of Auto-tune singing. The highlight, though, goes to Kiseki’s “Hagoromo Fuze.” The project is a collaboration between Foodman and Bo Ningen’s Taigen Kawabe, and the song is a steam-covered pop number that finds both artists trading verses — including raps — over a beat built for a sauna. Perfect for lightheaded sessions in a hot bath. Get it here, or listen below.