Identity

サカナクション - アイデンティティ

Genre: new wave, electronic
Song style: very Japanese electro-indie

If you like サカナクション, you'll like this new song of theirs that came out on August 4 - it's very stereotypical of their style (almost to the point of being a little too much like them). I'm still a big fan of this band though cause they temporarily fill the hole for me where フジファブリック was (the singer died half a year ago) :-(. Speaking of which, it looks like フジファブリック has magically released a new album, which I'll be checking out shortly.

Back in action!

White White Sisters - Imperfect Conflict

Genre: electronica, alternative
Song style: catchy, satisfying for both electronica and rock lovers

I'm back in the land of awesome music, shopping, fashion, food, everything - Japan! I've been here for a couple of weeks - starting up my work at Tokyo University, vacationing in Karuizawa, and now I'm back in a hotel in Tokyo for a little bit before I travel off to Osaka, Seoul, and Shanghai. Yesterday my sister and I dropped by a Tower Records and I was so happy to see many of my favorite bands have new songs out, while there are a ton of new bands to discover.

Here's one band that I listened to briefly on a CD demo. I don't know anything about them, but plan on doing some more research. This song is off of their first mini album - "[euphoriaofeuphoria]", which came out on July 7th. My updates will be slow until I stop traveling in September, but keep an eye on the new music I find during my travels!

Crazy crazy band

モーモールルギャバン - 裸族

Genre: experimental new-wave, electronic
Song style: crazy and erratic, sorta like Of Montreal

Here is a pretty new band, fresh off the press, with their first major album out today - "クロなら結構です". They have a very fun, crazy sound, though this song is by far one of their crazier ones. For a more normal electronicky one, check out ユキちゃんの遺伝子. As I'm writing this I just realized - here is yet another Kyoto band! Kyoto has really been active these days.

In other news, Asian Kung Fu Generation's new album "マジックディスク" is out today as well, with songs like 迷子犬と雨のビート. Not quite my cup of tea, but a respectable band, so check them out too!

Being a student in Kyoto

くるり　－　京都の大学生

Genre: indie
Song style: acoustic, bluesy rock

An song in honor of the time when I was a university student in Kyoto... feels so long, long ago. This comes from band Quruli, whose members all went to Kyoto's 立命館大学 (Ritsumeikan University). I'm proud to see some Kyoto-ites make it so far in the music industry. Actually, the Kansai area has a lot of successful musicians! This post is also to celebrate Quruli's new compilation album, out "僕の住んでいた街" which came out May 26 (okay so a little bit old news but hey), which this song appears on. Also haven't had enough chill music on this blog for a while. I miss Kyoto, Kansai, and Japan...

No way news

One OK Rock - Liar

Genre: hard rock, post-hardcore
Song style: heavy but young

Okay so my friend posts this on my Facebook wall and I instantly like the vibe. Cool, heavy guitars, pretty catchy. Maybe a litttle predictable but not a style I see often in the Japanese music scene. The singer's Japanese is a bit strange but I guess intentional. Then, I Wikipedia them as I usually do. Relatively new band - 2006, this song is off their new album out 6/9 "Nicheシンドローム", cool. And then whaaaat theee. So apparently the singer is Moriuchi Takahiro, an ex-member of huge pop sensations NEWS and Kanjani8 (kicked out for underage drinking), and a recruit under Japan's hottie manufacturing company Johnny's Entertainment. Wow I didn't know things like this could happen.

Edit: I made a mistake. While he was a member of NEWS (but not Kanjani8), he was not the one kicked out, he just quit. My bad!

Stone Cold Reason

Nothing's Carved in Stone - Cold Reason

Genre: hard rock, alternative
Song style: a bit like a heavier Incubus

I really like this first impression of Nothing's Carved in Stone's new album (out yesterday, 6/9) "Sands of Time". At some points, the song can sound a little too much like early-2000s American alternative rock (Hoobastank, Incubus, Nickelback, etc). Also admittedly, Japanese music turns me off a bit when it has so much English. It's not so bad in this song, but with other bands, often the pronunciation makes lyrics incomprehensible and sound muttled, while you also wonder if the singer knows what they're saying. I'd like bands to make their own unique sound (or at least culturally relevant sound) rather than form themselves off of the American entertainment industry. I'm not saying this in reference to Nothing's Carved in Stone - just as an overall rant. I feel like this band does do a fairly good job of bilingualism and I'm very excited to hear how this new album sounds!

Finally back

椿屋四重奏 - いばらのみち

Genre: jazz rock, alternative
Song style: powerful and catchy - jumps right into it

I had been worried about these guys! They had been laying low since their last album release about a year ago and I was getting worried if they were continuing their activities. But lo and behold, here is their new single, "いばらのみち", apparently out on May 26th, which manages to retain their catchy and unique sound. I have yet to find another band like this - I really value them for sticking with their cool, jazzy vibe. In other news, not only are they back, but I'm also back - at home, and now forever done with my college years and the four years I spent in that town up north. Summer vacation, here I come!

We are here

Brahman & Ego-Wrappin' - We are Here

Genre: alternative
Song style: Brahman's heaviness + Ego Wrappin's jazziness

Wow it's great to see a collaboration like this, and it made it onto the top 30 Oricon charts! This totally came out of nowhere as there is very little information about Ego Wrappin's current events on their wikipedia article. The music video concept works really well for the mix of the two sounds too. This song is exactly how my life feels like right now - weekends working crazy ~16 hour days as a bartender, and then weekdays freely enjoying life and doing research here and there. This is a part of a newly released single, "Sure Shot", which came out the 19th. I look forward to seeing if the other songs are collaborations as well!

The lost puppy and the beat of the rain

Asian Kung-Fu Generation - 迷子犬と雨のビート

Genre: alternative
Song style: slow and whimsical.

This new single, "迷子犬と雨のビート" from Asian Kung-Fu Generation came out on May 26th and presents a different sound from the one I was used to with AKFG! They've toned down a little, and possibly grown up. While I can't stay I'm a big fan of this style, it'll be interesting to see what their new album is like, which is coming out in June. This band played a huge role in globalizing Japanese rock music, with its pretty large American and European fan base. Expect a revisit to their past in the next several weeks to juxtapose their change of style!

New release roll

Out of all of the new releases that have come out today, I pick the following as my favorite...

Prague - Distort

Genre: pop-rock
Song style: Slow but dancey pop-rock

This song gives me a very different impression of Prague versus their previous single I covered (Light Infection). They seem more grown-up here and sound quite a bit like サカナクション. Just so you know, I believe the jittering in the beginning of the video is intentional.

Along with this single CD of "Distort", there are also singles from:

Vamps - Devil Side (covered yesterday)
Screw - "Cursed Hurricane" - a very stereotypical softish visual-kei type song. I think they can do better.
Flow - "Calling" - way too stereotypical and poppy a tune, so hard to put on this blog. But I remember getting a better impression of Flow elsewhere, so they may go up on here another time.

I'm sure many more artists have new releases, but it's so hard to keep track! So perhaps expect a stream of new songs coming after today too.

Devil Side

Vamps - Devil Side

Genre: hard rock
Song style: stereotypical late 90's-esque hard rock

I sometimes feel like Hyde is trying too hard to become an American. The lyrics, the music, and the video are all too 90s American hard rock. But then again, out of anyone in the music industry, maybe Hyde is the one who can do it. This is the new single from his project Vamps, entitled "Devil Side", which comes out in eight minutes (though I guess it's already far into tomorrow in Japan). On the same day, a 2009 tour DVD is also coming out for this group. I find the flow between American and Japanese culture very interesting. Should the two keep separate? What sort of balance is perfect? I've met Japanese people who've integrated perfectly into American society, but others who have a false image that they have. Similarly, there are so many Americans who seem creepy and awkward in Japan and others that seem to fit right in. I hope I am the latter.

Fight!

The Back Horn - 戦う君よ

Genre: hard rock, punk
Song: pretty heavy and militaristic

I can't believe I missed this! I got blindsighted by my fav 9mm's release on the 21st and managed to completely miss this new single from my second favs the Back Horn, "戦う君よ" that came out April 21st. It's not attached to any album thus far. Gotta say it sounds like their other stuff - nothing really new or unique, just "safe". But still fun to rock out to. And shoutout to all the great mothers out there who have helped their kids rock on in this world (hint: it's mother's day). Including to my own mom, who has always supported my endeavors and my love of rock music. :-) We had a wonderful day today, just the two of us, eating ice cream and walking around the mall.

New Release: 9mm Parabellum Bullet!!!!

9mm Parabellum Bullet - The Revolutionary

Genre: post-hardcore, heavy punk
Song style: fast-paced heavy guitars, melodic melancholic singing

Today comes my most-anticipated album of the year - 9mm Parabellum Bullet's "Revolutionary". This band's beautifully sad and powerful music has served as the background to my life for the past two years. I have laughed, cried, sang, danced, and fell in and out of love to this band. This video is the new single off of the album, sharing a similar title. This band is amazing for their complex guitar, bass, drum parts and melodic vocals to contrast the heavy instrumentals. Their style is distinctly Japanese, with Japanese and idiosyncratic melodies, and all of their lyrics in Japanese except for one sentence in one song. They copy no one. With that in mind, they have become so popular that I fear mainstreaming in their new album - so I have downloaded it, but am a bit afraid to listen to it. My heart is beating quickly to think of how this new album could change my life (or sadly fail to). Listening to this new single has been enough for me today. Now I will use the remainder to dance around the album - listening to previous and related songs. My favorite ever is their song Interceptor off of their early EP Gjallorhorn. It was nostalgic even the first time I heard it.

New releases EVERYWHERE again

Monobright - 英雄ノヴァ

Genre: new wave, alternative, nerd rock
Song style: no-frills, simple melody alternative rock that drills through

I'm not very into this new single by Monobright that comes out today, "英雄ノヴァ". The song is very mediocre, normal alternative and Monobright has done much catchier, unique stuff. But the video itself is really interesting! Where did they find all this bizarre footage, and how did they get it all to be timed in sync with the song?

斉藤和義 (Kazuyoshi Saitou) is also releasing his new single "ずっと好きだった" today but I find it so average and poppy (and the clip online is only a short segment), that it's not even worth embedding in this blog. But there is one new release I'm really excited about, which I will blog about later in the evening (hopefully before midnight)!

Does it matter?

Does - バクチダンサー

Genre: indie, alternative rock
Song style: catchy, nostalgic, a little new-wavey

It's almost like the apocalypse - millions of bands are coming out with new releases tomorrow! So I thought I'd get a head start. This band made it onto the Oricon charts, and the single album for this song "バクチダンサー" will be released tomorrow. From what I can tell, this band is straightforward normal alternative most of the time, but this song caught my eye. The video is so reminiscent of the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army! (Plagiarism?) And I really like this singer's manly voice. Mine may become manly too, I feel an itching in the throat that I haven't felt in ages... (meaning a cold).

ちゅうちゅう～

The Telephones - Kiss Me, Love Me, Kiss Me

Genre: new wave, indie, dance
Song style: chill and really simple

Not quite my favorite song but it is off of The Telephone's new mini-album "Oh My Telephones!!!" out today! The Telephones have very fun, light-hearted music and so far every album of theirs has had a song featuring the word "disco" (including songs like Love&DISCO, Urban Disco, Monkey Discooooooooo, and ABC Disco). How many discos can you have, and were these guys even alive during the 70s!? Regardless it shows they're fun at heart and are ready to party! I've known about these guys for about a year now but their music hasn't been compelling enough for me to actually pursue it. But I appreciate the hole it fills in Japanese indie, for danceable meaningless indie tunes (sort of reminiscent of MGMT)? It's a DISCO!

Light Infection

Prague - Light Infection

Genre: pop-rock
Song style: light with a lot of vocal movement

This song feels so close but not quite there. Almost catchy and fun, but the singer goes all over the place, which sometimes ends up in him missing the note he's looking for. But I'm interested to see if this band ends up going the indie route or the mainstream route. They started just at the end of last year (September 2009), and will be releasing their third single CD "Distort" on May 12 (and I believe the song is out - though no music video has hit the youtube waves). I wish the best of luck to these guys.

By the way, I saw Jonetsu Marie and Shabondama High School, and they were amazing! Very charismatic and they put on a great show that even translated well to an American audience. I didn't end up watching Uzuhi or Spirit + Noise, but I saw Uzuhi at their merch booth.

New release: King Brothers

King Brothers - XXXXX

Genre: hard rock, garage rock
Song style: a heavier version of 60's British rock

This band is releasing their first new album in six years "The First Rays of the New Rising Sun" today! Great for a week where we're finally seeing the first rays of spring. I don't know much about them, but I like the sound I hear from this first song. They really have a good charisma. They are very internationally-minded, touring in the US occasionally, but haven't received much recognition, especially because of their long hiatus. I look forward to checking out their new album.

Selfish Love

Miyavi - Selfish Love

Genre: guitar rock
Song style: rock/bluesy guitars and vocals

Can't post for long, cause in a meeting, but I wanted to put something out there. This guy is so weird, interesting, and charismatic. His voice has a nice snarl to it, and he uses his guitar in unique almost percussion-like ways. He released a compilation album and DVD on March 24th. My friend who lives across from me recommended him to me while considering going to see him during his US tour, but couldn't go in the end. Gotta go - shortest post ever!

First some new release info

A quick blog post of news, cause I feel like posting a video of a different not-mentioned band (these two have been getting too many posts on this blog!)

Chatmonchy has released a new album "表情 [Coupling Collection]". Not really sure what's up with this because I haven't heard any singles from this, it doesn't really have coverage on the Japanese Chatmonchy Wikipedia article, and these gals are still in America! Hope it's a good CD anyways. Also congrats to them for winning Best Rock video at the SSTV Video Music Awards for "Last Love Letter"

Acid Black Cherry also now has a new DVD out today of their 2009 Q.E.D. tour (based on their new album of the same title from last year).