Make Believe Melodies For June 6, 2022
Ain't I A Stinker?
chelmico — gokigen
Duo chelmico have always exuded a cartoon energy, a characteristic in their music that probably made it easy for them to actually provide a theme for an anime about animation (and creativity). If “Easy Breezy,” their breakthrough moment, found them synergizing their oddball energy into something anyone could be caught up in Tasmanian-Devil-like, than gokigen is their “Duck Amuck.” Here, chelmico push their style off the rails, at times bordering on crashing out, but come up with their best album to date.
There’s a freewheeling and at times chaotic approach to sound scattered across gokigen. The first stretch of songs sum it up best — after a pulsing intro, “Rollercoaster” plunges the two into a disorienting French-touch-indebted beat covered in a layer of fuzz. The fun of past incarnations of chelmico mutates into something dizzying and hiding a four-on-the-floor interlude, and then they find themselves singing about responsible drinking over a Gqom-inspired beat on “Moderation.” From there, they ping-pong all over the place, in ways unexpected for them — cheery indie-rock impersonations (“bff”), slippery house-pop (“December”), actual Technicolor pomp (“ISOGA PEACH,” beat courtesy of Tomggg). At times, chelmico come closer to sounding like Dos Monos than a band signed to Warner Music.
The pair’s last album, maze, was playful but ultimately aiming to offer optimism amidst a pandemic. gokigen is what happens when you finally get back out into the world and realize you’ve lost all knowledge of how to be a normal person. That’s something chelmico say influenced this set of songs, a desire to go out and just live but also being scrambled by all sorts of factors. So instead, they clatter about, reference movies, try out new sounds and generally take their energy to places that can get a little wild. They’ve always been presented as a duo capable of the unexpected. Here, they truly deliver on that. Listen above.
Ms. Machine — Vinter
Creeping unease is a feeling for all seasons. Trio Ms. Machine — responsible for this newsletter’s pick for the best album of last year — returns with a lurching pair of songs. Machine beats pound along while synths screech alongside them on “Vinter,” offering light cover for vocalist Sai’s lyrics, sometimes sung and other times spoken quickly, as if running to get away from something in pursuit. “Cloud Gap” leaves just a little more breathing room, but those vocals coupled with the guitar and synths still inspire claustrophobia (“light shining through the wall” repeated also making the walls feel closer than expected). Get it here, or listen above.
LAUSBUB — “Solaris”
Hokkaido duo LAUSBUB went viral on Twitter last year because they were two high schoolers making technopop, being both extremely cool and creating something that could appeal to a wide range of listeners, especially those pining for another era where Yellow Magic Orchestra was on top of Japan and everyone was getting in on it. Now graduated, LAUSBUB take a turn for the foggy. “Solaris” uses the same tools but coats them in a layer of synth smoke, making the jittery rhythm and zippy keyboard melodies feel far more unnerving. Binding all this tension together is the vocal, stretched out and floating through most moments, offering the core emotion to this listen. It underlines the depth of songwriting these two possess, a nice reminder they are a unit to watch instead of a memory to retweet. Listen above.
Ushio — Blue Blur
I’m just a sucker for Vocaloid being deployed over indie-pop melancholy. Ushio does it better than most, and Blue Blur shows how effective a synthesized voice can sound over guitar pop built for a solo stroll. Get it here, or listen above.
Creston Club — Wakai Chigiri
Japanese experimental and noise music — if Wakai Chigiri tells us anything, it’s that these communities are in good hands moving forward. Put together by Oita-based experimental label Creston Club, this compilation showcases creators under the age of 30 working in disorienting and often harsh sounds. All proceeds go to the Japanese Red Cross Society! Get it here.
iyan D1KE — “Nekomimi Chukamachi”
Levi Featuring SERI And Benxini — “ag:)in”
Considering this newsletter used to share at least one “hyperpop” song a week…and that was a low count for me…the relative lack of said numbers in recent times should have caught the attention of hyper-aware hardcore readers. Though hopefully it didn’t, please go outside and enjoy life sometimes! Anywho, this is partially due to not wanting to overload on the style around these parts, but it also does reflect a kind of burn out from the dominant sonic palette favored by these younger creators. Mainly, guitars on guitars, summoning pop punk, emo and other mall-friendly sounds for a new generation, This can be done really well, but recently has become a bit uninspiring. Rather than push to find their own voice in this ever-more-crowded field, artists are…sounding like the ever-more-crowded field.
Here’s two welcome curveballs. “Nekomimi Chukamichi” from iyan D1KE is electro-pop pogo assisted by a subtle but ever-present guitar melody (along with a pinch of Orientalism via its vaguely stereotypical melody a la “Entertainment,” and references to, like, pandas). It’s a song about…walking around Yokohama Chinatown, maybe with someone wearing cat ears and who works at a maid cafe? That’s not the most important part — except for when they can drop a reference to this — as this stands out because of the chipper energy running through it and the playful bordering on silly attitude.
Levi of STARKIDS, meanwhile, put out a whole EP of material worth your time (including plenty of examples of that rock sound managing to sound fresh), though this SoundCloud loosie might be the best of all. Here, he and friends deliver a hop-scotching dance pop number featuring an electric buzz around all the vocals. It’s sweet, a little sad and also optimistic. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of May 23, 2022 To May 29, 2022
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.
Hey! Say! JUMP — “a r e a / Koi Wo Surunda / Harutsubame” (228,840 Copies Sold)
Don’t worry about the second and third songs bundled into this release — those are generic. Now, “a r e a,” that’s a humdinger. A fizzy electronic song underlined by percussive skitters and…voices lost in radio waves?…occasionally joined by jaunty piano playing. The description touts this as having a melody evoking an ‘80s pop song…but joined by a "mellow EDM track.” That’s a hell of a combination, and doesn’t even explain just how busy it gets…somehow, they fit whistling in too!
It’s probably the most interesting Johnny’s song released at a time when lots of groups in their ranks are dabbling in eyebrow-raising ideas (while still offering plenty of safe and bland stuff too…see the other two songs here), but I’m not sure if that’s great in the long run. In the moment, “a r e a” makes my jaw drop and brain twirl at the idea of this topping any sort of chart. Yet will I remember how it sounds…beyond “wild”…a week from now? Something like “Right Next To You” is surprising and catchy. Check back with me later this summer to see if Hey! Say! JUMP’s latest can pull off the latter, too.
News And Views
Artist Mafumafu plans to take a break from performing after two shows at Tokyo Dome to focus on improving his health. He’s had health scares in the past, so it makes sense for him to take some time and try to get better.
Nikkei Entertainment released their “Talent Power Ranking” for 2022, and Kenshi Yonezu takes the top spot for musicians once again. I never know how much stock to put in these things, but a few other interesting developments deeper in — Tatsuro Yamashita sprung up into the top 20, as did YOASOBI. Meanwhile, MISIA…going strong, landing at the third spot.
Perfume helping to promote their hometown of Hiroshima just in time for greater efforts to draw domestic tourists out this summer.
Missed that GaijinPot…a site primarily serving as a job board for non-Japanese residents of the country…launched a longform section? And they have a pretty good story about Japanese hardcore, with a video feature too? Hey, look at local media go!
This week at Anime Village in Saudi Arabia…miwa played, and people were thrilled! I also heard through off-the-record sources of a different artist who was offered to play Anime Village, but with some wild contractual stipulations. Perhaps one day the story shall emerge!
Otoboke Beaver’s enjoying attention in the global media spotlight behind the release of Super Champon, their latest and most JASRAC-mentioning album to date. Lots of interviews with the band, including good ones from NME and NPR (the latter mentioning the interview I did with them a few years back).
My take on Otoboke Beaver…saw them live a couple weeks ago and it confirmed to me that they are a top-notch in-person group, and that seeing them perform takes the songs to another level. Also..thanks to the length of the songs, you get like five encores.Hoshino Gen coming to Fortnite for a show, can you do the “Koi” dance in game now?
Spotify made a short video about Amapiano, and alongside South African artists making the style what it is, they talk to members of Tokyo party / crew TYO GQOM, about how far it has traveled.
EMPiRE broke up…and actually just changed their name. WACK!!!!!
Yurufuwa Gang releasing a new album next week. Note to self!
All of the idols are having babies! Two former members of Especia, along with Kaede and Nao of Negicco…which lead to just a delightful photo from the latter.
Happy 10th anniversary to Trekkie Trax! I went out to their party as part of the lovely Incubus Camp festival in Kawasaki, and it was fantastic…this newsletter was almost me babbling on about “live music…what a thing, right!”
Sounding off on Harry Styles helping the continued elevation of Haruomi Hosono for The Japan Times. Seeing a lot of articles popping up about how this means Styles is doing “city pop” but…has anyone listened to Hosono House?
The collaboration of our times.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
I'd pick LAUSBUB as my favorite song this round-up. Love your writing and the amount of time.
Btw, not sure if I mentioned it before, but I have my own small blog, where I review music. (https://108ent.blogspot.com/ if you're interested), and I use your site to find new music to review often!