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Ratchet & Clank: Inktrans’ At Last.

Leading off with a Bandcamp description isn’t going to win me a Pulitzer, but Inktrans’ profile simply saying “nostalgic!” is too good to pass up on. The four-song At Last. release offers some sweet melancholy via straightforward songs backed by far more fidgety electronic sounds. Opener “hjmr” sways back and forth, but it is the woozier touches on the edges that make it a touch more interesting than similar pop-adjacent projects, while “Lp” transforms a stroll into a clattering number that feels even more wrenching. Nothing wrong with a simple pop song, but sometimes hearing it done against an off-kilter backdrop is all you need for it to really shine. Get it here, or listen below.

New Le Makeup: “Plea”

Le Makeup’s pivot from Bala-Club-indebted bangers to more reflective numbers came because of a renewed focus on everyday life, especially in times that often seem nigh apocalyptic. For the most part, Le Makeup has celebrated the small things and captured daily living, but sometime even that can push you towards some sort of reckoning. “Plea” ramps up the intensity ever so slightly for Le Makeup, the guitar-assisted music still weaving in and out like a daydream but the vocals come out clearer and quicker than before, tipping on the edge of frustration. They get extra punch from Le Makeup’s beat picking up intensity as he barrels through the words. Angry…not really. But a spike visible. Get it here, or listen below.

Orange Milk Shares Some Tour Memories With Foodman, CVN And More

America’s Orange Milk recently wrapped up a tour of Japan and, despite a few setbacks — mainly, the lack of Giant Claw — they put on a great set of experimental loopiness (well, at least at the Tokyo leg at WWW I attended). As they are central to the label as a whole, the performances gave plenty of space to Japanese artists. Orange Milk Japan Tour Compilation, fittingly, does the same. It leads off with numbers from co-founders Keith Rankin (Giant Claw) and Seth Graham, and the highlights producers such as CVN (delivering a melancholy rumbler dotted with vocal samples pitched down to be near unrecognizable) and Metoronori (“The Ivy Acrobat” offering one of the more playful tunes she’s done recently, guided by a crystalline synth melody under which she sing-whispers). It gets a bit wild — Toiret Status’ “#69” flies off the rails in the best way, offering the most cacophonous version of their sound yet — but ends on a solid note via Foodman’s “Toki No Tabibito,” a sweltering groove that finds all the unsettling elements pushed to the corner in favor of something to move to. Get it here, or listen below.

New Mom: “Kiss”

Saitama artist Mom has been all over the place this year, and thank goodness for that — this genre-skipping approach has resulted in one fantastic album and some delirious loosies. Latest number “Kiss” could best be seen as their most straightforward tune yet, a breezy pop number about enjoying the small things (with a slight reminder of how lame most parts of life can get sprinkled in…just to make the good stuff better). Despite being pretty easy-going, “Kiss” features two very Mom-like moments that throw it off balance, first when a harsh blast of electric guitar rips through the song, and next when the guitar melody is allowed to bend a bit after said disturbance. They are brief, but nice reminders of the creativity Mom brings to familiar forms. Listen above.

New Oomori Seiko: “Shinigami”

Wherein Oomori Seiko comes closest to a traditional ballad, at least so far in her career. That’s slightly misleading, at least within the context of J-pop — this isn’t your typical gloopy cinematic ballad, the kind some artist make a whole boring career out of. But structurally, it is quite familiar form an artist who often bucks structure, opting for intimacy or bombast. “Shinigami” builds though, going slow to loud and drops a guitar solo in there too. Yet then comes that element that always pushes her music forward — her voice, as fierce and unpredictable as ever. The structure might be familiar, but she’s, as ever, zipping through. Listen above.