Make Believe Melodies For February 21, 2023
Appreciating The Details
Le Makeup — Odorata
“Touch grass.” What if we chose to interpret this not as a nerd-rattling insult but rather as a gentle, caring request? Get out there, soak in the details of the world around you, let everything from the leaves hanging on tree branches fluttering in the wind to the smell of a local park take up your time. You don’t have to tune out happenings in the world at large, or even be happy doing it — hell, the whole point is just to feel, and maybe that will take you to some uncomfortable places. But going there can be so enriching.
Keisuke Iiri’s decision to spend more time outside had a profound impact on his music as Le Makeup a few years back. “Walking brings motivation for my production. I would be happy if people heard my songs and could feel the sun or smell the earth,” he told me for Bandcamp Daily in 2017 about Hyper Earthy, his shift away from pounding club sounds in favor of looser electronic sketches guided by guitar and his own voice. That album, crucially, also reflected other realities of the time — “I wanted to create something reflecting the feeling of seeing the world is getting worse from my living room couch” — but delivered in a mouth-to-ear intimacy that made it all the more of a revelation.
Since, Le Makeup has further explored that sound, while also helping other artists — from NTsKi to Dove to male pop group ODDLORE — navigate a path towards their own. The biggest surprise is that almost all indie music sounds like what Le Makeup started doing midway through the 2010s, either sonically (guitars, synths and hip-hop coming together) or spiritually (a greater number of young creators making personal songs from a position of “what the fuck do I do now in this world?”). Iiri seemed to hit his Le Makeup masterpiece with 2020’s Bintetsu, an especially aching and cozy set of songs centered around his expression. Where do you go after that?
You go out again.
If Bintetsu was the ultimate peer inward for Le Makeup, new album Odorata looks outward. Familiar names from Iiri’s Kansai circle return, but now he’s also letting a wide array of rappers into his world, helping him find new perspective on his sound. Tamaki Roy proves a natural fit for Le Makeup’s synth showers on “Every Breath,” while JUMADIBA adds swagger to the otherwise contemplative “Alice,” turning thoughts about hanging out at dusk into bravado. Then there’s Tohji and gummyboy, entering Le Makeup’s orbit to offer hyper speedy verses on the two-step fever dream of “Play.” Here, the benefits of reaching out and connecting come off clearly.
Yet the biggest changes come with Le Makeup himself. “Two-step fever dream” isn’t a mode he’s operated in before, and throughout Odorata he’s playing with forms and seeing how his voice can work with it. He’s happy to slow it down and speed up, and he’s crafted some of his poppiest cuts to date, even more so than what he provided for that boy band a few paragraphs back. Yet running through “Dress” and “Bokura Wa Mada” are those details, from the fragrances and faunas and color of glass wines and films (Drive My Car on “Drive My Car”). It’s the little markers of a life lived, giving extra breadth to an album eager to stretch out. Listen above.
MEZZ — “NEO Toki Wo Kakeru Shojo”
In putting together my year-end song list for This Side Of Japan’s friend issue, MEZZ’ “Gyal Drill” landed on the dreaded 11th spot, cut from the top ten just barely. That song stuck with me all of 2022, partially because of how it played with contemporary ideas of drill but largely because of how bright it sounded and how MEZZ moved around it — bouncing, flexing, scowling, slumping off. She’s become more diverse since, but returns to her first style on the excellently named “NEO Toki Wo Kakeru Shojo,” once again playing with drill but largely putting her own expression into the center. Listen above.
Ado — “I’m A Controversy”
Under-celebrated trait of Ado1 — she's self aware, and funny! It's great so many people in the comments of "I'm A Controversy" relate to the lyrics, but I mostly hear a 20-something thrust into national prominence and kickback laughing off the ridiculousness of when people seriously wondered "is it to rude to have a chorus like this?"
Much more celebrated trait — Ado’s just fantastic at bending her voice, and this one’s full of great details, like when she gets all nasally when trying to be polite. And again…she’s got jokes! Listen above.
Gliiico — “She’s Got You”
Ghostly indie-rock practically fading away as it plays out. Fun fact…Gliiico serve as the “backing band” in the video for Phoenix’s “Tonight.” They hang out with Ezra Koenig. Listen above.
Anna Takeuchi — “WILD & FREE”
Will the Make Believe Melodies’ Favorite Albums Of 2022 list ever come out? Yeah, some day, I swear. For now, one lock for a high…but I’m not sure how high…placement is Anna Takeuchi’s Tickets, a straight-ahead pop firework happy to find a good melody and ride it all the way to the hook. The niftiest trick Takeuchi plays on that album is channeling the multi-part structure of contemporary K-pop, and rather than biting it wholesale, she incorporates it into her easy-breezy pop. A bossa nova shuffle can make space for a rap, before launching into a shout-a-long chorus. “WILD & FREE” offers another great example of using this inspiration creatively, with a lot of ideas jumping off of one another, complete with rap interlude that pivots into…acoustic guitar solo. It’s a lot of fun, and a reminder of what she does best. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of February 6, 2023 To February 12, 2023
Back in the day, the Oricon Music Charts were the go-to path to music stardom in Japan. Acts of all sorts traversed these lands, trying to sell as many CDs as possible in order to land a good ranking on a chart choosing to only count physical sales, even as the Internet came to be and the number of versions offered for sale got ridiculous. Today, with the country finally in on digital, these roads are more barren and only looked at by the most fanatic of supporters needing something to celebrate. Yet every week, a new song sells enough plastic to take the top spot. So let’s take a trip down…the Oricon Trail.
NCT DREAM — “Best Friend Ever” (182,806 Copies Sold)
“Best Friend Ever” is fine, a solid stab at breezy afternoon dance-pop that proves a little too lightweight as the runtime goes on. But it’s fun enough and *lowering voice* better than most songs from the greater NCT universe, a project lots of people I respect swear by but has mostly left me cold. The rap interlude stinks, but that’s operating cost.
But man…bronze this week provides a way better example of how K-pop shines in modern times.
I’m hopeful that coming out of the overly serious BTS and BLACKPINK era allows for goofier ideas to flourish, and bless SEVENTEEN subunit BSS for a number tightroping between serious and silly. They offer up a high-energy pop song refusing to slow down and happy to indulge in pitch-shifted vocals to keep the pace blazing, but the trio here are happy to sing about not wanting to wake up and shouting out coffee offerings (“AME AME AMERICANO”). And what the fuck…an actual good rap interlude, courtesy of an actual rapper? What a concept! If NewJeans’ “Ditto” doesn’t count for 2023 releases, here’s my favorite K-pop single of the young year, nailing a tricky balance between silliness and capturing the so-so experience of life in 2023.
News And Views
Akira Tsuneoka, drummer for highly influential and popular punk band Hi-STANDARD, died this week at age 51. No reason has been given, but the news came as a shock to most. It really can’t be downplayed how important Hi-STANDARD has been to Japanese music — most immediately to the nation’s punk community, with plenty finding an in to the style through them and plenty of bands still trying to sound just like them, while also being a pretty prominent outfit internationally. Listen to their most critically celebrated album, 1999’s MAKING THE ROAD for an overview…and note how vital Tsuneoka’s drumming is to helping these balls of energy propel forward.
Call it covering your bases…record label P-Vine is investing big in vinyl production AND the metaverse.
Fuji Kaze’s performance at Osaka’s Panasonic Stadium Suita from last year will be streamed worldwide on Netflix starting March 10. A pretty big step forward for the young pop star, and a chance to connect with folks scrolling aimlessly through the homepage.
While I’m not quite ready to buy into the idea that “virtual club events are getting more popular” at a point when people can actually go out to events again (numbers please), this interview with DJ SHARPNEL about virtual events is fascinating, as they’ve been involved in this world for some time. It’s also a great peek into a niche of Japanese music that seems pretty relevant in regards to…like, hyperpop or digicore or anything young people around the world are making today.
Not sure what a “K-pop Beat” actually means…but that’s a major selling point of a song on a forthcoming EP from Little Glee Monster.
You know what is far more representative of K-pop? The Korean language. Idol outfit Cho Tokimeki♡Sendenbu created a Korean version of 2018 single “SUKI!” and it appears to be…getting a fair amount of attention, on Twitter at least. Maybe that’s because it features a sick breakdown. Anyway, the lesson here is…the power of idols unite us all.
They also made an English version that’s not quite as catchy, though it features some real “yeah, that is how idol music would be translated” moments worth celebrating.
You can watch Utada Hikaru’s 40th birthday stream in its entirety…except for the Bad Bunny cover, which has been muted for copyright reasons.
Haven’t seen it yet, but liked Matt Schley’s review of Blue Giant, the anime movie about ripping it on the saxophone. Mainly, it made me happy to hear that Hiromi Uehara keeps killing it.
Aimer recently performed in Los Angeles for a Demon Slayer event, which is noteworthy…but, god bless Southern California, my home, I can’t get over this beautiful picture.
Ponderous Newsletter Section!
So I’m debating introducing a “paid” level to this newsletter. Don’t worry, this won’t impact what is already being shared…which, despite my threats to “write more” has been on average one round-up post and one additional post on a topic weekly. One of the biggest problems historically with Japanese music is access…so putting writing that in theory helps highlight Japanese music behind a paywall seems silly.
The combination of general unease around the media world in 2023 coupled with multiple people asking why I don’t offer it — not because “people will definitely do it” but more like “just turn it on, it doesn’t matter!” — is making me lean towards trying it, though as this section should clearly illustrate, I’m not totally sure if it’s the right move. Or maybe I’m just lacking confidence! I think any subscription level for this newsletter exists more like a pledge towards the idea of what I’m doing rather than as a way to access writing, which makes it pretty similar to the Ko-Fi page I set up.
But I feel like I’d need to offer…something??? This is where the whole idea starts feeling silly to me, because I really don’t want to wall off anything about music so…like, posts about movies2? Convenience store reviews? Guide to sento and sauna in the greater West Tokyo area? Maybe if I got like $10,000 a month I'd share my enemies list, but that will take some time. Anyway, still very much in my "turning it over way too much" phase, but did want to mention it.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
Follow the Best of 2023 Spotify Playlist Here!
Obligatory full disclosure that I was hired to write her English bio last year.
This flirtation with paid came about in part because I recently watched Checkers In Tan Tan Tanuki, an ‘80s film starring ‘50s-revivalist band Checkers that has become lodged in my brain since.