Today is J-pop day on The Bias List and I'm counting down my fifty favorite songs of the year! You'll want to start with the honorable mentions and work your way up to the best of the best.
10. Snow Man - Tapestry
Snow Man's music is synonymous with upbeat tempos and colorful dance routines, but they unlocked new potential with the melodically rich Tapestry. The song unfolds in striking fashion, leading to a dynamic bridge that sends it out on a high. But really, there's no dull moment here. The songwriting is so wonderfully developed. (full review)
9. Nogizaka46 - Kokoro ni mo Nai Koto
Groups within the Sakamichi series release so much music each year and sometimes it can become a bit formulaic... even if that formula is consistently gorgeous. But every once and awhile, a song finds all the perfect elements. Kokoro ni mo Nai Koto is almost transcendent in its beauty, from its resounding strings/guitar riff to the effusive, lilting chorus. It gives me goosebumps.
8. Ryugujo – Mr.FORTUNE
Mr.FORTUNE could have gone wrong in so many places. It takes some of my least favorite pop music tropes (nursery rhyme melodies, braggadocios sing-talk) and cracks them open to reveal an intricate, infinitely fascinating track with some of the wildest production you'll hear all year. It's impish and off-putting, and I mean that as high praise. I'll never get tired of this weird little gremlin chain gang manifesto. (full review)
7. One Love One Heart – Fireworks
To be honest, I didn't think much of Fireworks when it first came out. Of course, I adore this group and I'm bound to enjoy anything they release, but this hazy summertime sound is far from the rock-meets-choir drama I fell in love with in 2022. Yet somewhere along the line, Fireworks became one of my most played songs of the year. It's just so damn charming, from the sugary melodies to the atmospheric dance production. Through sheer endurance, it's revealed itself as a classic. (full review)
6. Travis Japan – Candy Kiss
You will always get me with a rubbery groove that references the golden age of Michael Jackson. Travis Japan were formed by one of MJ's own collaborators, so an ode to the King of Pop was inevitable. Fortunately, Candy Kiss also turned out to be the group's strongest single. The beat is irresistible (of course!), but the filtered vocals and cavalcade of roller rink ready hooks go just as far in selling this ebullient pop confection. (full review)
5. Tokyo Gegegay – Break The Romance
I remember the first time I heard Break The Romance. My jaw was on the floor -- even before the ecstatic, guitar-fueled outro sealed the deal. This isn't so much a dance song as it is a dance attack. Beats collide with beats -- slabs of stomping percussion that bring to mind the industrial new jack swing of Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. Tokyo Gegegay puts the entire thing on steroids, weaving nimble melodies in between the cacophonous slam of mechanized rhythm. (full review)
4. Mrs. Green Apple – Magic
Was there a 2023 song more uplifting than Magic? Its potent tonic acts as a wind at your back, streaming toward open vistas and delightful adventures. It's also a perfectly executed song, swelling and surging in all the right places. Just when you think we've hit the summit, Magic climbs further, spreading its arms and taking flight. The word "jaunty" can sometimes evoke negative connotations, but Magic's Celtic lilt and openhearted earnestness makes its cheerfulness feel rustic and earned. Its sense of euphoria is utterly timeless. (full review)
3. Ryugujo – 2 MUCH
The music industry often acts in absolutes -- glistening, mainstream pop songs on one side and brash, off-kilter alternative tracks on the other. Either extreme can be fun on its own, but I'm most interested in songs that can strike the perfect balance between the two. Ryugujo's 2 MUCH operates within a relatively tame pop frame but colors it with moments of abrasive abandon and a personality-rich, never-too-perfect performance that gives it plenty of verve. Add a fake-out chorus and climactic key change and you've sold me completely. Ryugujo were the most exciting rookies I heard all year, and 2 MUCH was their moment to throw down the gauntlet. (full review)
2. Genic – Flavor
Genic had an uneventful 2023 when it comes to new music, releasing just one single all the way back in February. But when that single is as exciting as Flavor, I guess you've earned the right to take your time. Flavor forges two distinct ingredients together -- lurching EDM bombast and soaring melodic refrain. Neither would work as well without the other, but it's that stunning, shimmering chorus that vaults Flavor all the way to this spot on the countdown. I'm not sure there was a better hook all year long, and Genic's hesitance to dole it out every time you expect only makes it move coveted. By the time everything comes together at the song's finale, Flavor has briefly touched the pop firmament. (full review)
1. Queen Bee - Violence
There are few songs that'll make me lose my shit the moment they start playing, but Violence's opening guitar stabs portend an epic time. Queen Bee's Avu-chan looms large over this countdown, composing seven tracks in the top fifty. Her unique worldview and ferocious power of expression left a defining mark on my own music taste, and Violence's whirlwind guitar assault exemplifies the raw intensity of her untouchable charisma.
Violence arrived earlier than any other song on this list, emerging just as I was wrapping up last year's list. Since then, I've watched the song make its way through Queen Bee, filter down to protégés Ryugujo, and finally return to its rightful owner in this stunning studio performance released days ago. All the while, the song steadily gained steam as a classic in the making. A year later, I can confidently say it's my favorite thing released in 2023 -- of any genre.
Though we can safely classify Violence as alternative rock, I'm fascinated by how its structure closely mirrors EDM pop. Its appeal lies in build-and-release tension, its tightly-wrapped verses giving way to a flood of guitar-fueled catharsis when we hit the chorus. But this approach colors all moments of the track. Just listen to that gurgling, filtered guitar underfoot during the verses, yanking momentum up and down with calculated recklessness. Violence is in constant motion, wound around Avu-chan's finger as she delivers deliciously rhythmic melodies with a mix of glee and contempt. It's a tactile experience... pop music as a gladiatorial sport. (full review)
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