In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I'm planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in what's new in J-pop.
With that in mind, here's where you come in: I'm one person with one set of musical preferences, so please embed any other new J-pop tracks you've enjoyed in the comments so we can get a fuller spectrum each week.
*And just like I do with my reviews, I'll wait until full versions of songs are available before posting them in this round-up. This will mostly apply to Johnny's groups, who still limit the majority of their YouTube uploads to shorter, edited versions.
THIS WEEK: Sep 24 - Sep 30
AKB48 – Do The Dance
Not one of my favorite AKB songs, unfortunately. The tempo needs speeding up.
Bullet Train (Chotokkyu) – Lesson II
It's interesting to hear them transition to something darker while retaining their funk backbone. This isn't nearly as good as Call My Name, but the video is downright creepy. It's very captivating to watch.
Daichi Miura – NODO
His new single now has a video to match, and it's as weird as the song.
ITZY – Ringo
I wrote about this here. I wasn't feeling it.
KAMIYA – GALFY4
This is delightfully weird. I'm not quite sure what I think about it, but I'm definitely interested.
King & Prince - Itoshi Ikiru Koto
Gosh, I haven't liked anything King & Prince have released this year. It's not just because of the new two-member configuration, either. The music has just gotten boring. At least the agency uploaded the full mv this time!
Kyrie (Aina The End) - Awaremi no Sanka
I fear June's excellent Red:birthmark may be a bit of an outlier, because nothing Aina The End has released since has hit me. Here, she's operating under the alter-ego Kyrie. The song's a slow burn.
Minako Kotobuki – Golden Hour
I like this a lot. It has the driving, anthemic production that always appeals to me and her voice sounds great. It feels like classic 90's J-pop.
Philosophy no Dance - Curious In The Morning
Funky disco city pop goodness, delivered with a catchy hook and incessant rhythm.
Sakurazaka46 – Shoninyokkyu (song of the week!)
I like this song, and the video is (unsurprisingly) stunning. Sakurazaka46 have had a strong year, and this continues their quality run. It's my song of the week.
SPYAIR – Imagination (New Version)
I'm not familiar with Imagination's original version, so I don't have anything to compare it with. I like the energy, though.
Takanori Iwata - Can't Get Enough
This has a chill vibe that's pretty nice. Could have more punch to it, though.
TOMOO - Super Ball
Lots of groovy stuff this week.
TONAi BOUSHO - Wanna Be Shiny Bright
The synths that open this song caught my attention immediately. It's a great piece of quirky electronica.
TOZ – Magic Hour
I wrote about this here. I thought it was okay.
Vaundy - Zero
Wow, this is like every grunge-meets-glam band that rose to fame in the mid-90s. Not a bad thing, but it's interesting to hear in this context.
XG – Puppet Show
I wrote about this here. I thought it was alright.
Yoasobi – Yuusha
I think I'm finally coming around to Yoasobi. Idol has been a deserved smash this year and this new track is also quite good. Has their music always been this cinematic?
Zigzag – Dazzling Secret
Continuing this week's trend, this is much groovier than I would have expected.
Zillion – Nightmare
A good video for Halloween. The song still isn't quite there for me, but it's growing on me.
This week's old favorite:
Every Little Thing - Someday, Someplace (1999)
How about a track from one of my favorite classic J-pop acts? You can't go wrong with any 90's-era Every Little Thing song, but the propulsive synths of Someday, Someplace have always stood out to me.
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