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Memory No. 36 Recordings Prep First Compilation, Featuring New Stuff From The Paellas And Wallflower

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Canadian cassette label Memory No. 36 Recordings is no stranger to showcasing great Japanese music flying under the radar. They released Elen Never Sleeps dreamy Silver EP earlier this year, and are working with Boyish on a new tape due sometime in the near future. They are releasing their first compilation this Friday (April 19 if you don’t have a calendar handy), and this 31-track beauty features two cuts from Kansai bands that we happen to dig too. The Paellas continue to sound like the ideal band to take up residency at an aging seaside lounge with the track “Candy Eyes,” one of their slower numbers to date. The music offers up plenty of space for the group’s greatest draw, the vocals, which sound eternally lost (aided by the aged-mic sound that is their trademark). Yet this one hides some hope – see the chorus, “there is candy in your eyes,” which sounds oddly sweet. More blatantly upbeat (sorta) is Osaka’s Wallflower, who channel Sarah Records’ glory days on “Summer’s End Getaway.” Like most of their existing catalog – and like 90 percent of what that twee English label used to put out – this does conceal a hint of melancholy that’s easy to miss over the guitar and drums skip. Listen to both below.

And hey, you should get this compilation for some non-Japanese groups too! Friends of Make Believe Melodies Kero Kero Bonito contribute two songs, and vaporwave survivor Saint Pepsi does the microgenre proud with “Serious.” My favorite discovery, though, is LA’s spazzkid. Listen to all of it now.

Dead Funny Records Prep New Compilation Album Featuring The Paellas, Fancy Books, Boyish And More

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The label compilation serves as a great way to broadcast a mission statement for an imprint – here are the groups support, and this is who we are. Dead Funny Records have put out some excellent materials by the likes of Osaka’s The Paella’s, Saitama’s Fancy Books and Tokyo’s Jappers, but with their first official compilation album they attempt to carve out an identity for themselves. This 50-minute-plus album primarily features guitar-heavy rock bands from all over Japan – it’s not the most niche style to put on for, but Dead Funny at least set boundaries as the music here ranges from sorta harsh (POP-OFFICE’s lovely “End Of Summer,” the rough-but-strong contribution from the band Half Sports which features such a good gallop) to toothache-causing indie-pop (the hiccuping “Little Girl” courtesy of Old Lacy Bed, a jangly contribution from the always impressive Homecomings) that is still different from a label like Ano(t)raks – despite both sharing Tokyo tweesters Boyish who appear on this album.

It’s not really shocking that one of the highlights of Dead Funny’s compilation album is a new track from The Paella’s. Over the past few years, this Osaka group has developed a style that suits them perfectly – whenever I listen to them, I picture a dimly lit lounge somewhere in a big city, half-empty at like 4 in the morning – and their “Fall Even Further” is a driving number strengthened by the group’s use of subdued vocals. Yet the other great tracks come from groups that haven’t gotten as enough attention – the CD starts with what might be the best song here, a bouncy bit of indie-pop from the band talk called “In Refrain Rain.” It moves at a skip, but the outfit’s use of bells lend it a soft quality. Plus, that chorus is sweet and manages the tricky business of being inflated and sorta wistful. Fukuoka’s Hearsays also score a highlight with their “The Blind,” a Real-Estate-esque bit of Sunday morning pop.

Only one song clashes with the Dead Funny sound established on this comp, and it’s a welcome curveball. Fancy Books’ “Nephogram” barely utilizes guitars, instead creating a spaced-out track where unintelligible voices drift like stardust and a thousand twinkles burn off in the distance. Every label needs that one band that seems out of place but actually pushes the place in new directions. Buy the album here, or listen to it below (first heard on Gold Soundz).

Ano(t)raks Release New Compilation Featuring Post Modern Team, The Paellas, Foodie And Many More

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Relatively new indie label Ano(t)racks don’t have many releases – they released Osaka group The Paella’s last EP, and dropped an indie-pop compilation titled Soon V.A. last week. Yet the latter upload is one of the best starting points for those looking to get into the current crop of indie-pop bands that have sprung up this year. Soon is an excellent compliment to the Moscow-Club-curated C86 comp from earlier in the year – whereas Moscow Club’s tape featured a lot of bands relying heavily on synths, Ano(t)racks’ latest features very few electronics (BOYISH’s song “Couldn’t Remember” features some keyboard, while a few songs use drum machines). This side of the Japanese indie-pop scene sound more observant towards the bands that inspired them, English groups that usually just featured guitar, drums and vocals. A lot of Ano(t)rack’s contributors get by with just those sounds – Osaka’s Post Modern Team deliver a simple but catchy bit of pop with “In The City,” while groups like The Paellas and Twangy Twangy continue to play to their strengths (the prior still sound like they are playing in an abandoned lounge on “Not So Sweet,” while the later just love jangling off).

Ano(t)racks also highlights some groups featuring women in prominent roles. Kyoto’s Homecomings provide one of the compilations best moments with the all-together-now singing of “You Never Kiss,” a song with sweet sounding vocals but some sharp guitar playing underneath them. Old Lacy Bed get whistle happy on “Coastlands” while Osaka’s Foodie closes out the album with a lovely bit of tight grooving. Get the tape here, or listen below.

Make Believe Mix For July 2012 Featuring Taquwami, Elen Never Sleeps And Rapunzel8083

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Here’s a new Make Believe Mix, highlighting some of our favorite music from July. Lot of variety this time around, ranging from the fidgety electronic sounds of Taquwami, the dreamy meditations of Elen Never Sleeps, the indie-pop stylings of BOYISH and The Paellas, and the surrealist whatever-you-call-it music of Rapunzel8083.

Below is a list of artists and songs appearing in this month’s mix, in chronological order. All artists featured gave me permission to include their music in this mix.

Taquwami “Romantic Gaze” – From the Blurrywonder EP.

Elen Never Sleeps “Slow (Neu)” – Online release.

BOYISH “The Hidden Secrets” – From The Hidden Secrets EP.

The Paellas “Following” – From the Following EP.

Rapunzel8083 “Dalí Jazz” – Online release.

The Paellas Release The Following EP, Get It Now

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(First, officially back from Fuji Rock! Regular posting resumes now.)

The Paellas have been having a nice summer thus far, and over the weekend they made it a touch better by releasing the Following EP. The Osaka group previewed this new release by uploading the wonderful title track earlier in the week, but now they have two additional songs to round out the release. “Spider” is a Paellas’ original, one resembling the fast-paced indie-pop of the title track. They also cover 80’s lo-fi rockers The Cleaners From Venus to close out the EP, delivering a muffled and quicker rendition of the song, one that puts a very Paellas spin on The Cleaners’ original.

Following also serves as the initial release for ano(t)raks, a new online label focused on highlighting Japanese indie-pop. They are offering the EP for free, so download it here, or stream it below.