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: Apr 21 - Apr 27
AliA – Emotion
I'd never heard of this band, but this is a great rock track. I love the backing vocals.
BE:FIRST – Masterplan
Sigh. Another BE:FIRST single that does nothing for me.
BenchWeLeo – Freesia
That's a strange band name, but I really like the singer's voice and the anthemic feel of this song.
BEYOOOOONDS – Hooke's Law
Funky and filled with bounding brass. It's a nice combination.
BRADIO – Party Head
This is a lot of fun. I love the groove.
Bump Of Chicken - Kaikou
I always feel I should be obsessed with this band, but I've never quite found the right song/album. Still searching, I guess...
Doberman Infinity – Dancing With Yes Man
The autotune's a bit much, but this is a really atmospheric rock-tinged groove.
DXTEEN – Good Luck
I love the chiptune influence in the production. The rest feels like 'boy group by numbers'.
East Of Eden – Judgment Day
Hmmm… I don't like this as much as their last single. Still love the violin, though.
Ganmi – Age (ft. Aile The Shota & eill)
I mostly follow this guy because he's a choreographer for Ryugujo, but this song is also quite good.
Go!go!vanillas – Heian
Catchy alt-rock.
Kep1er – Straight Line
I wrote about this here. I thought it was alright.
Kid Phenomenon – One Day
Much poppier and more melodic than their usual stuff. I like this.
Kis-My-Ft2 – I Miss You
I think I just need to make peace with the fact that Kisumai's music won't be going back to the sounds I used to love. This one is boring.
Lienel – Melty Flowers
Quirky boy group pop. It's okay.
Lyrical School – Ultimate Anthem
Yeah… not sure about this.
M!LK – Blue Shower
M!LK's new music continues to sound like subpar King & Prince. Bring back the old sound, please!
Macoto – Alien Rockstar (ft. Daichi Miura & Riehata)
This is really satisfying. Lots of drama.
Man With A Mission – I'll Be There
I'm always happy to hear a new song from Man With A Mission! (I swear I've heard this before, though...)
Nissy x SKY-HI – Stormy
We've got a music video. Song is still… fine.
Shinjiro Atae – Upside Down (song of the week!)
He's really on a roll! This is a super solid dance track. Great beat, great melodies.
Tatsuya Kitani – Preview Of Me
This is the kind of bonkers sound I turn to J-pop for. I really like this.
TM Network – Get Wild Continual (song of the week!)
Ah, the song that will never die. This was re-recorded for Netflix's adaptation of City Hunter (has anyone watched it? Is it good?). The remix is actually a great update of a classic track that will always sound great.
Unlame – Vivid Girl
This is not very memorable.
This week's old favorite:
Koichi Domoto - Fame (2015)
Koichi Domoto's solo work is so different than the music he makes with KinKi Kids. I think K-pop fans (and Lady Gaga fans, honestly) would love the song. This album is also really solid.
https://www.facebook.com/teng.guang/videos/843847849024521/
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