Category: music review
Song Of The Week March 1 2024
Pa-Pa – Liminal Pop Up Shop
Ticking all my boxes of Jpop, Synthwave, Vapourwave, Raregroove; Liminal Pop Up Shop is just a joy to listen to. There are nods to early 80’s City Pop like Sadao Watanabe and The ABs or even modern acts like FM84 or The Midnight, with with it’s infectious synth lines and that oh-so-Japanese chordal arrangement. I’m also reminded strongly of the work Vaughn Oliver of Oliver fame is up to from time to time.
A really strong track this one and I hope to hear more from Pa-Pa very soon with their album due March 2024.
Songs I Found Recently And Liked
I’m back from a most excellent trip to Taiwan so have had not too much time to blog. But! I did find some pretty cool music on my travels which I shall regale you with now…
PARIS x Keepa – Only You
A class production here and as a struggling electronic producer myself I greatly appreciate the talent. This is progressive house with a twist of the deep house. It’s the chordal modulations around the 2:50 mark that raise this track to a darned high level.
湯ノ山かがり – 自意識過剰撤廃委員会のテーマ
Theme of the Committee to Eliminate Excessive Self-Consciousness is what the Google translate tells me the song means; a maxim for us all! This is pure Jrock silliness but still catchy nonetheless.
Tuudi – Just Like Before
I’m not a big fan of the song per se but the reason I’m including it is for Tuudi’s voice which is magnificent – think a slightly innocent Lana Del Rey. I have my eye on Tuudi for some good things in the future.
Subway Rat – Corner Cafe
This is a very acquired taste this one but I do write a food blog where I ate cat food so there is that. David Polanco AKA Subway Rat is an autistic rocker from Queens, New York City and judging by the 11 submissions they sent, quite prolific!
Furami – Villian
To round off our list it’s Furami who says on Submithub “Hi, it’s FURAMI here! I make J-Core music!”. You go girl! This song makes the list not least because of solid production but a neat key change in the chorus which keeps things ticking along nicely.
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If you have any music you’d like me to hear send your tracks here.
Songs I Heard Recently And Liked
Urban Hane – Natter Utan Drommar
Nattan Utan Drommer translates to ‘nights without dreams’ and I can’t really segue neatly into anything logical at this point apart from the fact this track is relentlessly 80’s and mixes together The Damned, The Scorpions and some uber obscure Polish banned called Kombi which I shall post here because I fricking love this song:
Jake Huffman – Highs and Lows
Highs and Lows is the first single of an upcoming EP and has very British sensibilities: The Verve and Razorlight spring to mind immediately. A really solid track that bodes well for what I’m sure will be a good EP next year.
darkDARK – Ghost Complex
This one does take a while to get going but by the time the vocals kick in at 30 seconds you’ll be hooked. A lovely pared back production really lets the track breath and flow as every good production should and I am reminded very much of Feist or Imogen Heap – surely a good thing.
Guggenheim Bilbao / Koki Nakano – MONUMENTAL: Ep. 2
A real adventure this one. Starting off as slightly circular piano piece and then evolving into performance art courtesy of Tess Voelker’s intimate dancing, this is a highly unusual and involving body of work.
Tiger Del Flor – Living In The 90s
All I can remember from the 90s is being miserable and hating pop music and listening to nothing but heavy metal. Pop music in the 90s was terrible. Change my mind. However, Tiger Del Flor makes good pop music and this is like a very laid back Lana Del Rey or – oft quoted in these blog pages – Miranda Lee Richards. This is some great Americana.
Christian Loffler – Roused (Ft Malou)
When reviewing songs for the blog often times you’re struck by the occasional production that is utterly flawless and our Christian delivers a huge but very understated track. If M83 were a bit more grown up it might sound a bit like this.
Dual Aeon – Tokimeki Christmas
And what better to round of this selection with a very silly Xmas song by Dual Aeon. Don’t know what else to say – it’s gloriously happy and Santa San will be sure to add this band onto the Nice List this year!
Song Of The Week Dec 18
So I’m in Taiwan visiting family and eating random food when by a quirky twist of fate I chanced across a band called called The Kaleidoscopes who have a new song out called Kung Fu:
Musically it’s a mix of very good things: Home, Empire of the Sun, with bits and pieces of Tame Impala and M83 all thrown in for good measure.
Not much left to say except I have another blog post to write real soon about other great music like The Kaleidoscopes I’ve heard recently. And if you want me to hear your music you can send it to the blog here.
Ridiculous House Song Of The Week
Era Wadi – PRPL FREESTYLE REMIX ft. ARDLAP
As many visitors to my once world famous not-cooking-blog know I do like the odd bit of off-kilter house music and this week provides zero exceptions in the shape of Ardlap’s remix of Era Wadi’s track PRPL.
Era tells me he was a massive Prince fan and wanted to pay his respects to the wee guy by writing a song about the colour purple (not the film, ha!) and then have it remixed by someone certifiably insane. Et voila! Voici le résultat! Une chanson house vraiment dérangée! No idea why I’m speaking French but this song made me do it.
And you will be speaking foreign tongues too once you wrap your ears around this gorgeously deranged, very fidget-y, musical gem.
And if you want to send me stuff YOU’VE made, you can do so over on Submithub.
Infinity Chamber – Gold
Spandau Ballet once sung a song about gold that was used in the 1984 Los Angeles games and it was all like “GOLD! Always believe in your soullllaaahhalll! You’ve got the powah to KNOW you’re indestructible woah” etc etc and it was fun at the time.
However, Gold by The Infinity Chamber (TIC) is nothing like that but is a deceptively technical finger style arrangement a la mode du Donovan with maybe a small side dish of Nick Drake. When I asked TIC what the song is about he tells me:
[The track was] finished in the hot summer of 2004 when I was living in Yildiz, Istanbul. I’d been listening to some early Bowie recordings. It’s a song essentially about how now – right now – although it may not feel so – is tomorrow’s Halcyon time. We will look back one day upon now with soft sentimentality and longing. It’s a strange notion, that we’re walking in tomorrow’s dream
Now at this point I’d hilariously be trying to bend the corners of Spandau Ballet, Nick Drake, TIC and Donovan to some kind of cogent point, but I can’t be bothered quite frankly, so I’ll shut up and let you enjoy the song.
GO. FOR. GOLD!
Songs of the Week October 17 2023
Hey ho another round up of songs I found recently and rather liked. Some via Submithub and some on random travels on Twitch.
The Kites – Drunk In Japan
Well, this being a Japanese music blog (mostly) these young scamps make the blog by virtue of singing about ‘being drunk in Japan’ which I have not done yet, although I have been trashed most other places.
The band tell me “[we] have followed the trusty formula of releasing unrelenting guitar bangers that sound custom-made for radio airwaves, festivals, headline shows and everything in between”.
Quite. And Drunk In Japan is a great song. It does remind me very slightly of a band called The Milky Tangerine in terms of jangly guitars and composition. Vocally, this is very reminiscent of Simon Neil from Biffy Clyro, as is the whole song. So if your fans of the latter and want to get drunk to the former over sake, I say go for it. But drink responsibly, unlike, er, me.
Bobbi – One Fine Day
I imagine a video for this might run with small kittens or tiny talking flowers. Listen, I don’t come up with these comparisons, my random other self does. Enjoy!
Lumero – Dreaming
Not a style of music I feature often times on the blog but this progressive house masterpiece fits in with the minimum of fuss.
While I may not be all about Dat Phat Bass I am about massive drops and this track has a belter that will melt your face. Lumero tells me “Dreaming manages to encapsulate an emotion whilst delivering a melodic; thought-provoking soundtrack to drive the audience to move and feel the music”. It sure will, Lumero, it sure will!
James Joseph Brown – Fly
Last up on this weeks list and bringing the drinking circle to a close is this gorgeous slice of Balearic deep groove from JJ Brown of Scorpion Music Group, utterly perfect for that pool side cocktail.
Not much to say, except when I heard it over on Twitch I sat up and took note and contacted the artist who told me the inspiration for Fly is John Milton’s book Paradise Lost. I would never have guessed that but I’m glad this is paradise found (I’m so sorry about these terrible puns).
Et c’est ca! Verily, you can hear great music everywhere and if you fancy giving me a heads up on something you’ve heard, the can do so here.
Song of the Week Louie Rubio – Echo
Louie is “a one stop shop, [who] writes, engineers, and mixes his music at his full-fledged studio in LA” and ‘Echo’ is a song that has such and interesting chorus – it doesn’t resolve per se but flips modally into something I can’t quite pin down; all I can do is feel and I feel happy and sad at the same time. This is a good thing.
Watch out for this guitarist. Ps Louie – I have a Flying V, although I can’t play it as well as your Strat/Tele xx
Lifeboat Share Crushing Song ‘Till the End’
Over on Submithub I often peruse the Hot or Not charts and every now and again I find a song that piques my interest.
And Some days ago I happened across this song by Lifeboats:
This is a massive song with huge production, crushing drums and a deceptively uplifting chorus.
Comparisons to Linkin’ Park or System of a Down will suffice but these guys lend an interesting blend of melody and melancholy I don’t hear often.
The band lends more detail over a brief chat:
[We are] a kind of powerful and modern rock’n’roll fed by a chaotic assembly of 5 guys, a gang of friends with very different backgrounds but who finally meet to do what they really enjoy.
And it really sounds that they know what they’re doing and I firmly believe they’re going places. Add them to your Spotify playlist right now.
Random Songs of The Week I Found and Liked – September 28
As many folks of this once world famous Japanese music blog know I often times find great music at the back of my sock drawer and will write about awesome new music I find!
So without further ado, lets jump in and see what we have!
Reality Addiction – Grow Up
When I write about music I’ll often find inspiration from lots of sources, one of which is perusing the Popular Charts over at Submithub. And that’s where I found this really cool song which caught my attention with the minimum of fuss. A super melodic pop-rock song very much in the vein of Keane (of whom I’m not a particular fan, but production and stylistically this is similar).
I hope to hear more from these guys in the future, some talent here.
B.Miles – Separate Rooms
Fans of Feist will love this. B.Miles has a lovely soft, lilting voice and the song has strong echos of another independent artist called Dresage whom I found via Bjork’s producer, Damian Taylor.
A lovely slice of summer pop to accompany a trip to a baseball game. And she clearly loves popcorn, but who doesn’t?
Kid Phenomenon – Wheelie
This song is a super well produced track that could easily pass for a male version of FEMM but exists fine as a punchy pop-rap track all on its own.
But here’s the kicker – this 7 piece boy band has an average of 17! They have a long future ahead I am sure.
Nervous City Nervous Self – Stories of Our Names
Nervous City Nervous Self is the English language debut of Swedish singer/songwriter David Josephson and he tells me this and other songs “portray a wandering singer’s delightful doom, and are the expression of an artist staying committed to his path”. Which segues nicely onto my comparison: Jon and Vangellis once had a song called Find My Way Home from waaaay back in the day of which this reminds me. And while about obscure comparisons, see also Justin Hayward and Jose Gonzales for your vocal mood board.
Dance Yourself Clean – 2 Late
I almost typed Dance Your *Elf Clean, hey ho; early morning typos lend well to hilarity I guess.
Dance Yourself Clean started in Seattle (2013) as an indie dance party that grew into the first touring dance party in North America and the band produce high quality indie electronic music of a highly melodic nature.
Not sure what 2 Late is about but it’s a very M83 inspired track with shades of Years of War. Solid vocals and epic synth work blend together to form a highly expansive and involving production.
I look forward to hearing more from these *elfs 😉
*I know it’s spelled elves, but typos are funnier-er.
Todd Binder – Alameda
Pitched against a backdrop of somewhat country-esque or Americana instrumentals, Todd’s Damien Rice or even Daniel Bedingfield inspired vocals make my final choice, Alameda, a really compelling track.
When I asked Todd about the song, he tells me:
I drew inspiration from this song from a visit to Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge in Alameda, CA. The patrons there pin dollar bills with personalized inscriptions to the ceiling above the bar — a practice started by sailors, who would do the same for good luck before shipping out. I wanted to continue that story, writing about a man searching for validation and acceptance in his circumstances. It’s also fair to say the song as a whole walks a divide between — on one hand — that character, and — on the other — my own internal struggles as an artist searching for the same
Anyone that’s been to a Tiki bar in the bay area can probably relate – yes, that means YOU Trad’r Sam.
Anyway, that’s this week’s roundup and if you have any songs, do send my way and if I like it, I’ll write about it!
Najinsan!!!!!!!!! 