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New BD1982: Arclight EP

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Consistency remains the most undervalued element in modern music. Well, OK, not just “modern” music, this is ultimately an art form dictated by trends more than any other. But in a hyper-reality like the one now, where everything moves so fast, stepping back and taking stock of the bigger picture can be a rarity. So this is all to say…Diskotopia, still doing the job! Their latest release comes from co-founder, one-half of Greeen Linez and (uhh, full disclosure?) fellow writer at Metropolis BD1982. The Arclight EP is an exercise in turning disruption into something movable, starting from opener “Arclight UV’s” synthesizer melody being smashed open by the percussion. “Miracles” breaks out with a limber beat but gets an uneasy edge courtesy of robo-vocals lurking beneath and just all sorts of noises competing for attention. Get it here, or listen below.

New Cicada: “Furete Hoshii”

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What has long separated Cicada from other slinky outfits creating smooth city-bound music in the 2010s is the little sense of unease they bring to their numbers. Suchmos or Nulbarich are a mix of cool and goofy earnest, but never unnerving, while Lucky Tapes or Never Young Beach tend to just be chill. Cicada, on songs such as newest creation “Furete Hoshii,” have weaved in little details that throw the laid-back vibe off. Here, it’s those pitch-shifted voices and the way the melody slightly skips over itself. Or how everything crawls to a syrupy stroll late. Experimental explosions this ain’t — Cicada probably still wants in on this boom while it lasts, and this has plenty of bounce too it (plus, those sticky vocals) — but I think their origins in Japan’s electronic (or at least netlabel-adjacent) community color songs like this, and make it far more intriguing than most. Listen above.

New Neshizuku: “Patterned”

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Trying to find a little bit of spring to get you going in the late afternoon, especially on a Monday following a typhoon that maybe kept you up extra late (or is this getting too journal-esque now)? Producer Neshizuku’s latest track offers a nice late-day rumble to get the blood circulating. “Patterned” teases a shift into lo-fi house via its warped vocal samples, but while those moans come off like VHS leftovers, the whole song avoids the faded fuzz associated with that microgenre. Rather, “Patterned” offers something that feels off-kilter, but with a far sturdier backbone, making for a nice energy. Listen above.

New Yuri Urano: Autline

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The latest release from Yuri Urano — formerly Yullippe — finds a mix between the Osaka artist’s familiar slow-burning tension and new turns. The biggest change comes on the title track, which finds Urano using her own voice more heavily to create disorienting details. The other semi-departure (not quite as pronounced as on “Autline”) comes on the finale of “Massio,” which skews closer to Urano’s preferred industrial chug, but here gone to a busy extreme with vocal samples sounding off behind the flurry of noise above. Right in the middle, though, are two tracks playing on her strong skills, with the rumbling “Pec” and the seven-minute shiver of “Knock,” the release’s highlight and a great example of using space to generate unease. Get it here, or listen below.

New Sappy: “Spider”

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Sappy can’t settle on any one sound, and they are probably better off for it. Their just-released second album Altima finds the group zipping from mainstream baiting bits of bright-eyed balladry (“Starfall”) to sun-dappled indie-pop (“She See“). Their best mode, though, comes when they get a bit more dramatic on “Spider.” Those opening guitar chugs are a red herring — “Spider” soon turns into something more understated, letting plenty of space into its runtime to make the moments where everything locks in all the more forceful. And it also lets the moments of optimism that sneak into this otherwise bleaker number shine brighter. Listen above.