Make Believe Melodies For March 20, 2023

"Good Pop" (Not That One)

Mar 21, 2023

bala — “barla”

The story of J-pop this year has become clear — there’s a growing number of “global pop groups" with either ambitions or at least marketing implying an aim to go further than just Japan. XG and SG5 stand out as the most obvious efforts to date, but they won’t be the only ones. That prompts more questions — what separates a “global group” or artist from everyone else? So far, it’s an embrace of music and visual trends popular abroad (mainly, the West) and the use of English.

Based just off of press materials, four-member group bala feels fit for this lane. They mention the word “global” frequently, both via the members’ backgrounds and aim to reach the greater world with their music. There’s bits about spreading Japanese culture abroad, a Metaverse component and even a reference to Y2K culture resurgences, which feels on first brush very opportunistic.

Yet debut single “barla” is anything but, and rather the best case scenario for J-pop in 2023.

There’s no chasing trends, but rather a clear through line for Japanese music history, less about finely tuned efforts at commercial success and more about building on the past and handing it over to a new generation. Shinichi Osawa produces, and that Y2K sound turns out to be filter house, a style he played around with plenty in the early Aughts and here makes for a fresh backdrop for bala to bounce over. Kenmochi Hidefumi helps with lyrics, and in his contributions you hear echoes of the 2010s, especially the KOM_I version of Suiyoubi No Campanella come the rap. That interlude also feels natural and earned, not tacked on because “why not” but rather built to.

The real thrill, though, comes in hearing all of this embraced by the four members of this “creative group” (not idols, key marketing). That includes Manon, who loves playing around with Y2K sounds and has a trolly side, but here pivots to something more focused, skipping along with the track but knowing when to interject. English pops up, but as sound to play around with and a way to help bolster the Japanese around it. “barla” is an exciting single, balancing old and new just right while showing the best foot forward to the world doesn’t have to carefully mapped out, but rather an expression of yourself. Listen above.

Kalen Anzai — “Oooru, Vegi♪”

What a weird career Kalen Anzai has had. Presented as the next big thing by Avex — to the point of getting to play Ayumi Hamasaki in a drama about the J-pop heavyweight — her sound has been sorta lost after initial successes and she got way overshadowed by the lady in the eye patch on that show. I don’t know if this song fixes anything or sets a path for her to follow…but damn, it rules on its own. Tagged “digital rock,” it’s way wilder than that implies, featuring disruptive bursts of digital sound and riffs galore pounding into bass drops, chaotic but held together by a really good vocal courtesy of Anzai. You know what, who cares about what it means? This is how you experiment as a top-level pop star, and create something endearing. Listen above.

SYCLES — Floater EP

New project from producer Broken Haze, swapping out the jagged textures of his previous works for smoother tracks still flashing a little bit of sharpness around the edges (see the nervous beeps of “SIGNALS”). Listen above.

pomodorosa — Shinkansen Girl

A loving ode to the Shinkansen delivered through bubbly electro-pop. Simple? Sure, but sometimes you just need some simple words of appreciation and some vocal manipulation to make it work. Listen above.

Schoolmizzy — “nothing”

protoloq — “proloq”

Two examples of how Hatsune Miku remains an intriguing instrument in modern Japanese music. Duo Schoomizzy craft a galloping synth-pop song with a slightly warped edge, over which Miku’s digi-voice races along. Production team protoloq (featuring Eri following up their excellent animacy) delivers a headrush of a track, where Miku’s voice blurs in with the buzz around it to create a textural treat. Listen above (include a Nico Nico link!).

KiWi — “Okashi Na Bako”

Duo KiWi were on that The Addams’ Family-core long before it came roaring back last year, and they continue to smash Halloween-ready creepiness with floor-ready tunes on this song about creepy candy. Includes some incredible biting samples spliced with bass wobble nightmare. Listen above.

Oricon Trail For The Week Of March 6, 2023 To March 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.

Naniwa Danshi — “Special Kiss” (516, 199 Copies Sold)

I’m not writing about the BBC documentary anymore, think I covered everything last week! Anyway, I jumped on The Japan Times Deep Dive podcast to briefly talk about the pluses and minuses of the doc, while the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan hosted Mobeen Azhar and Megumi Inman to talk about Predator: The Secret Scandal Of J-pop, which was livestreamed here.

Yet Johnny’s groups just keep topping this Oricon Chart…timing! Naniwa Danshi’s latest number-one single reminds that there’s always space for an inoffensive midtempo stroll through one’s feelings, and that whatever happens around them, fans will still flock to a group of male idols providing pop fantasy. It’s tempting to lament this as same-old J-pop, but let’s check in at the runner-up spot, shall we…

…this is kind of the same song, right? Midtempo stroll that easily could have been a ballad, with idol-ready imagery amounting to “we are friends.” Totally inoffensive pop. NiziU as a group offers K-pop aesthetics and structure, but get to the center of “Paradise” and you find something not all that different from “Special Kiss.” It’s about the idols after all, and how the whole industry is closer sonically than you’d think.

Important Newsletter…News

I have officially added a paid subscription option to this newsletter…I think you can click “upgrade to paid” in the corner, but I gotta look into all that. This was prompted by 1.) doing my taxes for last year 2.) general 2023 work exhaustion and 3.) uhhhh why not. Right now all that means…you just like reading this, and have the means to support the newsletter on a monthly basis (one time donations…right this way, I truly appreciate anything and honestly just love that anyone reads this). Nothing about what gets posted here changes, as the round-up and usual weekly column will remain free to all. Maybe in the future I’ll do some…kind of special post, but it would probably not be related to music, or at least be stupid enough where I would be OK making it a treat (bring back Frappuccino reviews? Resurrect Konbini Watch? Review all these shitty J-pop related movies I watch for kicks?). But who knows, I honestly feel weird even doing this, but also want to make it an option. Thanks again, and the most important thing is that you read it!