New Yurufuwa Gang And Ryan Hemsworth: “Fresh All Day”

New Yurufuwa Gang And Ryan Hemsworth: “Fresh All Day”

Despite being their most zonked out number lyrically to date, Yurufuwa Gang’s “Fresh All Day” manages to avoid falling into the ether. That’s not a bad spot for the pair — last year’s “Palm Tree” being a strong argument for just letting the void devour you entirely — but this one works because Ryan Hemsworth’s…

New Amunoa: Grief

New Amunoa: Grief

I associate a lot of feelings with independent Japanese electronic music — joy, togetherness, escape, ecstasy, lower back pain (owing to a crowd surfer jumping directly onto me at a Pa’s Lam System show…great set, though). But vulnerability isn’t one that has exactly cropped up much in the decade I’ve been following it. Releases and…

Against The Grain: Satoko Shibata’s “Kekkonshimashita”

Against The Grain: Satoko Shibata’s “Kekkonshimashita”

An early buzzing 2019 hit comes courtesy of singer/songwriter Satoko Shibata, an artist who has attracted attention in the past for her playful acoustic pop numbers which often come with clever videos. “Namida” plays out like an update of something you’d find on Taeko Ohnuki’s Sunshower, striking a balance between daily-life ennui and a nice…