Make Believe Melodies For July 15, 2024
Just The Right Amount Of Off
Ako — GENE
The resurgence of Japanese pop music on the world stage has brought with it plenty of good…but also one very big negative, at least for us brain-warped individuals following along with it on Twitter. Owing to how global pop has mutated over the last decade, the bulk of discourse around J-pop falls on the “idol” side. That’s part due to its natural link to / competition with K-pop, an industry built entirely on idols at an international level, and partly due to how all pop stars are basically idols nowadays, meaning for a new generation that’s just how they see this lane.
There’s plenty of worthwhile stuff to talk about in this corner…also a lot of garbage…but it does a disservice to how broad the Japanese music landscape has become. Both close to the center of the industry and around the edges, artists are redefining what can work in this space. Just take Ako, whose debut full-length album GENE offers one of the finest and just-off major label offerings of the year.
Since 2020, Ako has been transforming rock grooves into fever dreams. It’s like how if you close your eyes hard enough, you can see weird dots of light interrupt the darkness. GENE presents her in a slightly sleeker form becoming of a Pony Canyon artist, with some of her most straight-ahead slinks to date (“Good Morning,” above, opening the album on almost too bright a note). Yet even at its funkiest, Ako’s hushed vocal delivery adds a touch of mystery to every song here, whether aiming for the dance floor or the livehouse.
At her best, Ako bends the music to match the slight unease her voice brings to songs. The highlights of GENE reveal a glee at turning grooves into something a touch disorienting. See the electronic dapples running throughout “Tenshi” or the 8-bit squelches and violins disrupting the speedy “samurai.” She’s a student of both sturdy pop sounds and those overjoyed at the ability to subvert it — GENE’s balancing act tells you that, though the Sparksnotes come via her own playlists, which nod to acts ranging from Sheena Ringo to Dos Monos to Arashi. She’s an embodiment of just how exciting J-pop is becoming when you peel back a layer, with GENE being a statement. Listen above.
uami — yuna2.31
Ako actually references uami as an influence, so great transition to the latest from an artist reveling at the chance to break down pop and reassemble it into new shapes. On yuna2.31, she's utilizing space more than usual, letting sounds rattle around on the unnerving “horror” and practically floating over a lazy river of electronics on “Nemui.” As deconstructed as it gets, uami’s vocal melodies animate the experiments and give them a sweetness. Listen above.
ELAIZA — “Tamashii”
Critical to J-pop’s health in the 2020s is a robust middle class of performers who have just enough attention to keep on truckin’, but enough distance from the top where they can try out more oddball sounds. Performer ELAIZA has lived in this space her whole career, and it has allowed her to get up to antics others couldn’t dream of — songs about the metaverse, sure! On “Tamashii,” she links up with pop clown prince Taiiku Okazaki, who produces a throbbing dance track over which she can deliver steely singing at times approaching robotic. Which works wonderfully in tandem with the club thump. Listen above.
hallycore, nyamura And lilbesh ramko — “lilbeshnyamcore”
One under-explored sound begging for a little more shove into the limelight is the community emerging from “hyperpop,” which still plays with the sonic textures associated with that style while also pushing it forward. “lilbeshnyamcore” has a little fun figuring out what this step in it sounds like, jamming together two of the most prominent young creators in this space and letting producer hallycore give them a nervy production to work over. I’ll always love a good lilbesh ramko pile driver, but the standout here is nyamura, still shining from a 2023 viral success and exploring how her whispery meditations can fit against rougher sounds. Listen above.
Яu-a — MAD LOVE HARASSMENT
Though you can’t go wrong leaning into downtrodden feelings. Here you get another viral sad girl expanding her glum electronic world. Even though her lyrical focus largely leans towards *sigh* the music offers an upbeat edge that turns numbers such as “Going crazyyy!!!” and “act like I love you…” into particularly lively pity parties. Listen above.
Harusaruhi — “Sunadokei”
Never forget the virtual artists, especially those rapping over lo-fi-style beats. The half-speed nature of “Sunadokei” actually reminds me a lot of something like “Slump,” showing how clever production touches can work wonderfully with existential thoughts. Listen above.
f5ve — “Underground”
Now to go full circle and actually betray the origin of this week’s light theme…
At it’s most effective, pop helps to bring exciting musical developments bubbling under the surface to the mainstream, in a way that should be accessible to all and hopefully leads some to dig a bit deeper. Idols across the world do this very well, though it tends to play out in a very genre-specific way, say NewJeans playing with UK dance sounds. The second single from f5ve (aka “post-crisis SG5”) plays with this idea from its title alone, but actually does something quite rare. “Underground” nods to a very specific underground, the one playing out in Tokyo around “hyperpop” and takes on Eurobeat and rap. I hear STARKIDS, Manon, hirihiri, Tohji and much more in the edges of this one. I especially can hear the sounds coming out of the Kyun Desu party, and can see its echoes in the video which…the founder of that event, N², helped out with casting (and f5ve seems set to appear at her next event).
Here’s one of the best case scenarios for idol music you could ask for — helping to spotlight a very specific scene playing out in a location, and bringing in the people who made it buzzy in the first place to construct the next iteration of it. A good song, but an even more exhilarating prospect. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of July 1 2024 To July 7, 2024
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.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER — Chikai (358,845 Copies Sold)
K-pop takes the top two spots this week, albeit in a form that’s…not particularly interesting to write about. TXT have a strong week, but do nothing to change my mind that we remain in a male-group drought with this plodding collection of songs. Look, when you peak with your very first song…
The silver medalist this week is a bit more interesting, though one of my magnum opuses (and quite possibly the last piece about K-pop I’ll ever write) revolves around them so I won’t say too much. Wait until that comes out in…geez, three years? The video for aespa’s “Hot Mess” actually plays into that…three years ago, this would have been “world building.” Instead, it’s isolated Japanese pop culture splatter. Which…well, wait for the thesis.
Consider Going Premium!
Last week, a report from the BiS reunion show! This week…well, we shall see, but got some good ones coming.
I will note that regular free essays have been slower to come out, largely due to deadline / family stuff. BUT got some great things on the horizon in this corner too…including an interview very soon.
News And Views
Mariya Takeuchi celebrates her 45th anniversary as an artist this October with a new full-length album, her first in 10 years. Watch the trailer below.
Thanks to his appearance on Megan Thee Stallion’s “Mamushi,” Yuki Chiba has broken into the Billboard Hot 100.
XG have a new single out on July 26 called “Something Ain’t Right,” which coincidentally is what I say when listening to most of the group’s music. To their credit, they appear to have also broken into US radio play again (though all three songs listed are…some of the worst songs of 2024 thus far).
In releases that actually get me giddy, the new Pasocom Music Club album is absolutely stuffed with great guests, including tofubeats, Le Makeup and MFS among more.
Virtual group PLAVE coming to Japan, let’s go!
Very real chance that a future breakout J-pop song comes via Sony Music Japan’s involvement with efforts to expand the “world” of meme game Palworld.
The future truly is animated, with deals happening all over the place.
Misaki Yoshikawa, the drummer for popular rock trio Shishamo, announced this weekend that she had entered a partnership with the woman that she had been dating for a longtime. Which also means…this was Yoshikawa sharing to the world that she is gay, which is very significant in Japan (think back last year when English publications wrote about Shinjiro Atae coming out). LGBTQ couples still can’t be legally married in the country, so a “partnership” is one way to approach it. People have reacted well to the news!
Takkyu Ishino of Denki Groove helms the soundtrack to a new Netflix series called Tokyo Swindlers.
Fuji Rock will stream on Amazon Prime…and Twitch? Not sure about the details, but you will have a chance to check it out…probably.
I wrote about the thrilling state of Hatsune Miku-featuring songs for the paper.
Tourists love Shimokitazawa apparently, and it’s resulting in a shortage of coin locker space, including at live venues such as Shelter…resulting in a nearby fashion brand to allow patrons to use their lockers. The winner? Bocchi The Rock!
Animated-but-also-real idols Strawberry Prince have their first film out in theaters next week…and as I discovered yesterday while taking in a matinee screening of the latest Anpanman movie, they now serve as United Cinemas’ characters instructing patrons on how to behave during a film.
Gongon, former vocalist and guitarist for the band B-DASH, died at age 46.
Pony Canyon laid out an aggressive plan to gain Western attention via idols and artists, with an aim to win a Grammy and an Oscar (?!?!?). A bit vague and ultimately revolves around my least favorite ambition out there (award statues), but intriguing.
And last…two very important entries in the Kendrick / Drake summer of spite, featuring Japanese music.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
Oh no, do I have to stan f5ve now?