Make Believe Melodies For Nov. 30
Semi-compact version because deadlines!
My two normal friends and my clown friend
Sekai No Owari (End Of The World) — “Rollerskates”
In another time, Sekai No Owari’s English-language crossover album might have been a hit. Specifically, 2014. The guests present on the Japanese band’s attempt at cracking the West include Clean Bandit and DNCE among others, with runs on this effort also falling into the friendly Bruno Mars lane of funk-pop. Listening to it is like stumbling into a pre-Trump pocket of culture, when The Fat Jewish could feature prominently in a music video. That’s also the period when Sekai No Owari themselves were at the peak of their power in Japan, when their starry-eyed earnest-pop connected with millions of millenial listeners (while drawing the scorn of the Internet-damaged 2channers for being “embarrassing”). So…why not revisit your peak for a late-career hail mary internationally?
There’s no way this one is going to move the needle on Sekai No Owari in 2020 (as will prominently featuring a man dressed as a creepy clown in your band), but…as someone who went into this one drooling at the prospect of a disastrous effort at Westward expansion…they somehow made their best album in any language? A few listens through and Chameleon boils down everything about them good and bad into 41 minutes, but with the added unease of them knowingly appealing to the English-language market. The ballads still slog, but they also end up with “Rollerskates,” wherein their mid-2010s reminiscing accidentally brings them to contemporary retro trends (the vague “disco” thing playing out). It’s also just off in the right way — this is a song about rollerskating at night, with zero irony (something this band isn’t capable of), but with a great slink and, critically, those talk-box interjections which somehow nudges Sekai No Owari towards LUVRAW & BTB territory. It’s reallygood, and that’s before the delightful plinky-plonky bridge! Who knew those late-era Obama vibes were the way to go?
Shin Sakiura Featuring Kuro — “Shinkuro”
I’m completely in the bag for Shin Sakiura’s brand of production, and here he flexes some of his bouncier melodies alongside a fantastic vocal contribution from Kuro. There’s a reason dude is one of the emerging tinkerers of J-pop…which speaking of…
Kan Sano — “Ash Brown”
…here’s the OTHER new architect, dropping a great album showcasing his funk, jazz and robo-soul strengths all at once. “Ash Brown” is the one that has stuck in my head the most over the past week, boasting one of his sturdiest beats and enough digital ripples to keep it fresh.
MANON — “18”
I’ve never quite gotten aboard the MANON hype train, although the fact she had HNC producing the bulk of her songs for a while felt like an interesting twist. Maybe expanding her sound to more modern rap styles might have been the best move, because “18” and its foggy atmosphere and lighter beat fits her voice well.
Stones Taro — Pump EP
Feels like I mention a Stones Taro release every month on average, but for good reason — few electronic artists in Japan balance the ecstatic and the disorienting quite as well. This release via Highball Records offers a compact example of just that.
Crunch — Mitsumetetai
Mentioned this one very briefly last week, but Nagoya’s Crunch returned with a charming little three-song release. The last two songs, in particular, seem built for your winter evening walks.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of Nov. 16, 2020 To Nov. 22, 2020
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 the 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 drip down…the Oricon Trail.
NMB48 "— “Koi Nanka No Thank You!” (130,416 Copies Sold)
The dirty secret of this rebooted segment so far has been that…most of the Oricon chart-toppers featured actually feel worthy of being on top of a ranking. Like, you might actually here them in the outside world, and they might reach the ears of the average person. Well rejoice, here’s one defining what Oricon Trail is all about. NMB48, still plugging away and releasing music from “laugh out loud music,” top Oricon with a jaunty-enough number that just breezes from one end of your noggin to the other. A for-fans-only proposition from the start, with this appearance on the chart being the only notable thing about it.
News And Views
Atarashii Gakkou no Leaders signed with 88Rising for overseas promotion. Great for them, but I remain baffled by 88Rising’s approach to Japan (what has HAPPINESS done?), especially as I talked to Sean Miyashiro and this kind of pop factored into none of his plans.
Things are about to get GRIM at Avex.
The E-Girls disbandment happens at the end of this year.
I’m sure this will be handled in a levelheaded way by everyone involved.
Battles collaborated with AC-bu for a new video that is, predictably, fantastic.
Finally, an important announcement
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies