Make Believe Melodies For June 17, 2025
Choose Life
world’s end girlfriend — “Helix of Frequency, Phenomenon of Love and Void”
Rare is the song that comes with guidelines one has to follow…but the world’s end girlfriend project has always enjoyed a touch of the elevated.
“From the day you listen to this song, a rule is imposed upon you: ‘Live for one year.’ (You may also choose to reject these rules and not listen to this song.)” goes the description for the slow-burning catharsis that is “Helix of Frequency, Phenomenon of Love and Void.” There’s additional requirements, most importantly that you can’t share the audio on YouTube or social media, yet the key point — described as a “gentle curse” later on — is to simply listen to the song, experience existence for one year and feel how your relationship to it changes in those 12 months.
On a purely conceptual level, “Helix of Frequency” is a wonderful rejection of access-all-the-time art in the streaming area, requiring the slightest of effort to access. Truly, it’s not much…you can download it for free, though we always recommend paying…but that one extra bit of exertion offers the kind of commitment so absent in the digital ecosystem of today.
As a thought experiment, it’s fun and a welcome rejoinder to the eternal drip of “actually everything should be convenient for me!” Helping out further is it’s one of world’s end girlfriend’s finest songs in recent memories. Aided by guest vocalist Jessica, “Helix of Frequency” explores the ugliness of the modern world and the hope for something better buried in the nooks for nearly 10 minutes, the music mutating along the way thanks to a blur of violins, guitar and electronic touches. It’s memorable — and certainly one to dwell on for at least a year. Get it here.
CRZKNY — Deadly Outlaw
My earliest encounters with Hiroshima producer CRZKNY’s work was of something pulverizing and at times claustrophobic, but over the years he has revealed himself to be one of the most versatile electronic artists across the country. Deadly Outlaw, released via Polish label outlines, offers a minimalist set of techno where CRZKNY plays with space. There’s still unsettling about the way the beats rumble and the producer adds details around the edges, all while maintaining an icy groove that only sometimes approaches a sound more suffocating (“TR-04”). Listen above, or get it here.
Asa No Muretachi — Hen Na Asa
Any project involving Mattya Potato Salad — a young creator responsible for one of the single best and mind-expanding releases of the decade — is going to be a trip, and their outfit Asa No Muretachi with Shota Hara is no let down on that front. The pair create four songs of oddball rock-pop indulging in weirdness right away on the bossa-nova-tinged headrush of “Hen Na Asa,” sporting the line “you got monkey/ I got song / In a strange morning.” Later tracks make guitars more central, but the same drive to warp familiar ideas into something off-kilter come through. Listen above, or get it here.
MPC GIRL USAGI — “Music For Tonight”
You have to dig into the credits of the latest blurry-wonder from MPC GIRL USAGI to understand why it has such a dreamy edge to it. Shoegaze-meets-the-club tinkerer Acidclank helped to compose this one, and it sure sounds like his voice is blending into MPC GIRL USAGI’s singing to create an out-of-body delivery working wonderfully with lightheaded atmosphere of the song. Listen above.
rirugiliyangugili — “ABEMA”
I’m a bit behind on my rirugiliyangugili transmissions — I’m catching up to “ABEMA” just as the Strong-Zero-powered creator dropped the grungy scream-fest “Sucks” — but “ABEMA” deserves some love. It moves at a syrupy pace, the electronics cloudy and voice muffled. Yet from this sound comes moments where the actual human eruption feels especially forceful, especially the growls lurking within the mix. Listen above.
MONONKVL — “HOTPOT”
I’m a long time summer-defender, but it’s a position that has gradually become harder to hold as temperatures become worse and worse. I applaud duo MONONKVL for trying to find solutions to the problems the season brings in the funky sounding “HOTPOT,” which zeroes in on the benefits of, well, hot food to help boost natural nutrients to people while generally promoting the idea that sweating out the bad vibes is the best way to do. This is all delivered over a groove incorporating a pinch of club elements to give it extra kick. Listen above.
The Seven Charismas — “Charisma Onsen Towns”
It’s a very 2000s-coded pop summer. RIP SLYME is back together making new music, while the world falls for Halcali’s “Otsukare Summer.” Then you have the above, which exists in the exact same space as those two acts and is much more zany than either of them.
There’s moments where I wonder if I’m genuinely going crazy that I like the wacky pop of The Seven Charismas as much as I do. Yet this is what pop should be — silly, kinda stupid and just fun. “Charisma Onsen Towns” celebrates the pleasure of natural hot springs in a rap-but-not-serious-rap approach bringing to mind the aforementioned groups, who stood out for finding a way to fuse hip-hop with the Japanese mainstream. There’s also a sprinkle of Suiyoubi No Campanella here, though maybe I’m fixating too much on their song about public baths. Whatever it is, it’s a delightful whirlwind working overtime to honor relaxation. Listen above.
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Oricon Trail For The Week Of June 2, 2025 To June 8, 2025
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.
SixTONES — “BOYZ” (356, 596 Copies Sold)
One of the big dilemmas facing J-pop has it moves further into the global light emerges from anime. Which is to say…can artists make a name from themselves based off only opening and ending themes? It’s been a hot topic all year, and one with no resolution as the summer slate of shows creeps near.
Yet personally, I kind of just think…who cares? “Anime artist” has become an outdated idea in an age where the medium has global mainstream appeal. There’s strategy to consider1, but I don’t think it’s a scarlet letter in general. Case in point, SixTONES.
Absolutely nobody would consider this STARTO project an “anime group,” and yet they’ve climbed to number one on Oricon with a guitar-powered number serving as the opening tune to the second season of WIND BREAKER. It’s the outfit’s second anime song, so this isn’t new territory either. It’s totally serviceable — I applaud STARTO when they embrace rock rather than show tunes — but I think it’s much more interesting considering what it says about the relation between J-pop and anime than anything else.
Now is not the time to explore the weeby jeebies, but I’m struck in these discussions how there are clear delineations between “anime artists” and those who contribute to anime but never get lumped into this. The days when Granrodeo could become superstars at Animelo Summer Live have ended, because fragmentation means niches now spill over to the mainstream, bringing in unlikely names. Snow Man is arguably the biggest J-pop group in the country, and they have a Blue Lock ending song. Mrs. GREEN APPLE could also claim that title, and they have a bunch of collabs in this world, but nobody is ever like “noted anime band Mrs. GREEN APPLE.” Foreign acts get in on it, from Stray Kids to aespa to Yungblud to Kamasi Washington, and it’s hardly a detriment to them. Save for a few instances2, I don’t think it’s as big a deal as it’s made out to be.
Besides, the real fear from this isn’t the tag “anime music,” it’s actually “TikTok music,” where all these viral cartoon-connected songs go supernova. Now that’s something to worry about. Listen above.
News And Views
Fujii Kaze shared a new single and announced his next album — his first in English — coming later this year. Famous last words, but more on this later in the week.
The English branch of hololive announced plans to hold its third concert this August at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
Capitalizing on global interest in her music, Tommy february6 has started a global remix contest for her song “♥Lonely in Gorgeous♥”
Sony Music Entertainment Japan acquires the full rights to…Spookiz, some kind of YouTube cartoon? Maybe YOASOBI will do a song for them.
Speaking of animation….you know I’m excited about this My Melody and Kuromi stop-motion affair on Netflix, complete with song bringing LE SSERAFIM together with Hoshino Gen.
Here’s something intersecting with all my interests. The DeNA Yokohama Baystars are holding “idol week” from tonight, and one of the groups appearing is AKB48. So they needed to revisit a classic. I’m pretty sure Trevor Bauer is one of the people doing “Koisuru Fortune Cookie” here?
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
Check out the Best Of 2025 Spotify Playlist here!
Though like…just look at the Billboard Hot 100 and wonder “wait why are any of these this high up?” The entire industry is much more chaotic than you think, and cosplaying A&R only goes so far.