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New emamouse: “Desolation” (With Nicolò) And “Black place on the edge”

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The world emamouse has crafted over dozens of releases becomes more inviting with each visit, like if Narnia was built from wonky synthesizer notes and echoes of denpa song. For me, a huge part of that is that nothing else sounds quite like what you’ll encounter on Black place on the edge, and at a point in time when everyone seems to want to be part of a something popular, I’ve realized I’m happy to vanish into corners featuring pitched-up vocal run-arounds (“a grassy guitar”) and stripped-down numbers made for lonely walks at night (the title track). Get it here, or listen below.

Even emamouse’s more fleshed-out concepts carry an escapist edge to them. Desolation finds them teaming up with Nicolò on a set that revolves around the idea of being left alone in a city that everyone else has abandoned. It’s far less whimsical than their usual solo creations, but even in these more spacious songs they sound like an escape from reality. See the zonked-out mood of “Empty Club” or “Air,” bringing to mind the warped world of Moonside from Earthbound (Tiny Mix Tapes get credit for that one). Even when exploring apocalypse, there’s few places musically I’d rather be. Get it here, or listen below.

Fractured Unity: IKTS’ “No-f”

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Tottori creator IKTS turns seeming mess into something mesmerizing on “No-f.” Not to get too deep into simile, but this sounds like the musical equivalent of pouring a bunch of straws onto the ground and watching them spill all over the place. Jagged electronic notes dash all over the place, at first criss-crossing in unpredictable patterns and mostly making a mess. As “No-f” goes along however, all those disjointed parts fall into a pattern that creates a melody — a sharp one that still feels fragmented, but one nonetheless. Listen above.

Kissmenerdygirl Teams Up With MC Matsushima For “Flourishing”

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Producer Kissmenerdygirl has gone a more traditional route on Flourishing, but this well-worn path proves to be a good fit for him. On these two songs he teams up with rapper MC Matsushima, and provides him with two beats constructed from City Pop songs that a few years back he would have been speeding up. Here though, he’s slowing down and crafting backdrops suiting Matsushima’s laid-back flow just right (quickly on him…he establishes a nice flow that isn’t too juiced up or too focused on replicating the ’90s, though he could probably get through his introductions a little faster). Maybe what’s most striking is how Kissmenerdygirl takes two pretty well known numbers from Taeko Ohnuki’s Sunshower and makes them one chilled-out space on the title track…and, with the second song here, takes “Plastic Love” and slows it down into something luxurious. Ballsy, but works in this context. Get it here, or listen below.

New Lucky Kilimanjaro: “Do Do Do”

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“Do Do Do” delivers fun, sure, but the latest single from Lucky Kilimanjaro also allows a little more doubt to creep in around the edges. Perhaps it has just been the recent feel-good-ery of stuff like “House,” but “Do Do Do” comes off as slightly less celebratory, despite still having plenty of pop going for it. That’s mostly because the project leaves a little more space around all the synth springs during the verses, giving this one a slightly more melancholy vibe. That’s until the handclaps come in and the vocals shoot up a level before a more familiar gobstopper of a hook, delivering the sugary energy. Listen above.

New Seira Kariya: “Zawa Make It”

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Seira Kariya comes through almost every summer with big, bright electro-pop numbers perfect for the arrival of sunnier days. She took a little bit of a break over the last couple of years, but returned in June, first with the peppy “Cover” Girl” and its persistent bounce, and now with the even more outright optimistic “Zawa Make It.” Backed by a more chopped-up arrangement full of oscillating synth melodies and vocal chirps (label “future bass” if that’s your thing), it allows Kariya to deliver a song all about staying upbeat and envisioning brighter days, which justifies my use of a weather reference in the first sentence. This is right in her wheelhouse, and offers up some simple joy at just the right time. Listen above.