I don’t think I’ve blabbered too much about my favorite non-Japanese albums of 2014 so far around these parts (though, ughhh, maybe I did? Who knows) (I hope not you), but I’ll take this time to say one of my favorites out of America has been Ricky Eat Acid’s super-lovely Three Love Songs, which you…
The end of the year is creeping up on us, which means it is time to start thinking about the memorable albums of the past 12 months. One of the bigger surprises came courtesy of Tokyo rock outfit Passepied, who have been a perpetually pushed “next big thing” for the last few years, though none…
The main reason this is going up is because it’s a great reworking of Ryan Hemsworth’s “Against A Wall,” featuring Lofty305. The always wonky Seiho gives the song a jazzy edge – throwbacks to his earliest recordings on Day Tripper – along with a reggae-ish (!) vibe, while also dropping in waves of synths. Listen…
Do you feel that, hanging in the air? As chilly autumn winds start blowing in, so does the specter of year-end lists. Tofubeat’s first full-length album Lost Decade is a lock to land somewhere on Make Believe Melodies’ top albums list, and if you haven’t bought a copy yet, get on that. Maltine Records, who…
It’s a side of me that doesn’t always come through on this blog – try the Tumblr too – but I love pop music, even beyond the J-Pop that appears here sometimes. One of my favorite songs of the year has been Ariana Grande’s “The Way,” an absurdly upbeat number that slays despite featuring an…