New releases EVERYWHERE: Cali≠gari

Of what I know, three bands released new material today (3/17/10)! Here are three blog posts in commemoration of this mid-March material, from "worst" to "best"

cali≠gari - マネキン

Note: Umm... not my style. Silver medal.

Genre: visual kei, hard rock
Song style: a straight-up punk/metal song, with no semblances of melody.

Not a fan of this song, but it's good to see cali≠gari releasing new stuff since their hiatus a while back. This is off of their fresh album of today, "≠". There are three versions: "卑劣盤" (3500円 with tax), which seems to include a DVD collection of music videos and porno videos they made, "姑息盤" (3500円 with tax), which includes a DVD with a documentary and concert features, and "良心盤" (2000円), which is just the album. Umm... collect them all?

The beginning of spring break!

cali≠gari - －踏－

Genre: visual kei, electronic punk
Song style: catchy, industrial

I've held out for so long, not putting any visual kei music on this blog! For those who don't know, visual kei is like Japanese glam-rock, where artists usually have crazy hair and makeup, there is an emphasis on androgyny, and there is usually a similar vocal style. Many people seem to think Japanese rock = visual kei, and in my opinion, too many foreigners worship visual kei more than the credit it deserves. With that said, there are still catchy tunes (and bands) within the visual kei sphere that can still be appreciated along with (or in spite of) the wacky visuals. It is also an important part of the Japanese rock music scene, so I can't ignore it completely. A friend sent me cali≠gari about half a year ago and I found their musical style very unique and experimental. This is their first single after a long, six-year hiatus, which came out last summer.