The last few Local Visions’ releases didn’t offer much room to get all verbose about nostalgia and different angles on the past. Ahhhh, but here comes HiRO.JP with a three-song set to get the brain racing again. The project has been playing around with the sonic idea of city pop, doing it far more faithfully…
While finding new angles to old sounds is always going to be great, sometimes capturing the vibe of a time now lost can be just as impressive when done on a Colonial-Williamsburg level. HiRO.JP’s “Last Month” offers up a sleek, sax-accented city pop slinker that isn’t far removed from the synth-glazed peaks of Soichi Noriki….
Funk, boogie, acid jazz, city pop, even a little disco — all these styles have come back into vogue in some way or another in Japan. It has mainly been spurred on by young bands, some raised on Jamiroquai and others smelling an opportunity. Yet plenty of smaller acts have come around to it as…