As 2009 comes to a close and I eagerly await unwrapping a new calendar on Christmas, this seems like a good point to take a look at this Japan Times’ “year in review” article by Ian Martin. Besides talking about clone army AKB48 and the guy from SMAP running around naked, he also devotes a…
A lot of red flags surround Osaka rock outfit SCANDAL. They wear schoolgirl outfits, for one – I needed to shower away the grimey feeling I had after downloading the album art you see above. More pertinent to the music, SCANDAL are only “rock” in the sense they hold guitars; much like Vampire Weekend’s Columbia…
Be forewarned: if you like your cupcakes sprinkle-less, your Facebook feed Farmville free and your music non-cluttered with frivolous noise, you will loathe Cult. HNC’s (formerly Hazel Nut Chocolates) latest full-length features the following, completely unnecessary, flourishes: cats, samples of a Spanish countdown, an elephant, something from the The Conet Project, a witch, a cat…
Dear god look at all the bands listed on The New House’s influence corner on MySpace. Like an eager college freshman looking to attract friends on another social networking site, the Tokyo band have piled on artists from a range of various genres, presumably in an effort to show how well versed they are. The…
Perfect Piano Lesson open up their second full-length album, Wanderlust, by blasting out of the gate. After a little bit of Primus stretching, “(leaving this planet on the) Sunday Night” launches into a Chili Peppers’ (!) guitar groove that’s somehow psychy and math rockish. The band’s voices pop up soon after, leaping off one another…