This one benefits a lot from seeing tofubeats perform it live last week in Shibuya. His latest digital single doubles as the theme song to TV Tokyo drama Video Girl AI, which is about a woman who pops out of a television to live with some guy. The verses to “Fumetsu No Kokoro” feature a bounce palatable for a general audience, more daring than the majority of televised theme numbers but fluffy. The chorus, though, is where things really get going, and I’d say seeing it play out in an actual live space helped a lot with that. “Love love love” turns out to be a great thing to shout out with a bunch of other people, while the squiggly electronics underneath it reveal themselves on a home listen. Besides sneaking drum ‘n’ bass tempo into a primetime musical number, “Fumetsu” shows how he can bring his imprint to a hook and make it work. And get a room going. Listen above.
New Antenna Girl: “Mahou No Jyuutan”
Fairly or not, I’ve always associated Antenna Girl with high-energy numbers, of the future-funk variety or otherwise. Yet her latest song casts her in a different light, and one that proves surprisingly fitting. “Mahou No Jyuutan” unfolds as a mid-tempo ballad, putting the emphasis on Antenna Girl’s singing via music that never overtakes her vocals. The twist is she’s an artist capable of owning a song through her singing alone — she takes “Mahou” from a light jog to a big release almost entirely through her delivery alone. It’s not perfect, but perfect is boring — her singing adds a raw emotion few can articulate naturally, coming close to someone like Yuki. Listen above.
New Chocoholic Featuring Lulu X: “Touch”
The hook for this post was just right there for the taking — Chocoholic gives the world a gift on Valentine’s Day! You can’t get an alley-oop like that everyday. Naturally, her new song came out at the exact moment I’m swamped in work / my brain might literally leak out of my head because of what came behind that slash. Good times! Anyway, the Tokyo producer’s latest finds her teaming up with Lulu X, the name that talent Imalu has given to her new electronic musical endeavor. Her vocal focuses on the thrill of being touched by those you care about, and it features a pleasant follow-the-bouncing-ball flow. But the real hook is Chocoholic’s music, which when it hits the hook imitates a nervous reaction to a touch, the music doing quick start-stops like a heart thumping. That action sells it better than words. Listen above.
Fast, Bright Trip: Oresama’s “Hi-Fi Train”
Oresama have been kicking around for a few years now, finding success online thanks to close ties to various anime and manga communities. It helps that they make bright, bubbly dance-pop songs, such as 2014’s “Ookami Heart.” Well, they did do that, but late last year they ventured into a smoother, more in vogue territory with a far less interesting bit of cartoon disco that probably should have been left for Shiggy Jr. But now they’ve gone head-on back into their electronic sound, and “Hi-Fi Train” finds the pair raising the bar for themselves just by going faster. “Hi-Fi Train” just zips ahead, leaving plenty of space for singing and other details but always feeling off of its feet. And it all comes together for a sweet chorus. Listen above.
New ZZZX1992 Vs. N. Brennan: Scary Moments IV
You don’t need me to tell you the state of media today often feel overwhelming. The Scary Moments series of albums from Wasabi Tapes feel like a nice sonic reflection of this phenomenon, and IV is a welcome addition to it. Like previous entries, it’s a collage set loaded up with video game splatter sounds, anime vocal snippets, nature sounds and more, meant to be at times disorienting, at times downright creepy and unsettling (and, during at least one part, to make you maybe think your computer is breaking). It’s an interesting listen, and one that basically gives you the feeling of…well, using the internet at this point…but what elevates it beyond simple experiment are the moments actual grooves, accidental or otherwise, creep in amongst the chaos. Get it here, or listen below.