Pretsy

Knowing that his "main colleagues" a.k.a MOON CHILD drummer and Koba are there, it is less likely that this will end up as some sort of "nu-DEG"-kind of thing (your definition sounds like something Kaoru would rather do than Die himself...since Kaoru's the "main tailor" of Dir's sound after all):
 
- Both Kashiyama (drummer) and Kobayashi ("guest" guitarist) are rather huge brit rock/shoegaze enthusiasts (common favs including Ride, The Smiths, The Cure...you can get the gist already in case you know these)
- Die always used to be the person behind the most melodic (Kaishun) and rather "alt. rocking" (I suppose "Wake" counts as one) numbers in DEG repertoire (i.e. definitely not a "metal" person, nor a person with "complex" tastes)
- Both Die and Kobayashi seem to be a lot into exploring various guitar trickeries and riffages, and their traits on that matter make them really stick out well in their respective bands 
- Marine-colored, foil-based room scenes are not doing much in case they want to express what you just called "more watered down Sukekiyo"-effect (most artsy bands aim to expand and clarify their "visions" by adding a lot to the visual effect as well, see: sukekiyo's "Aftermath" PV)
 
All in all, ender's expectations (I suppose mine too) are more likely to happen according to the factors I expressed above.

Artist: 雨のパレード (Ame no Parade) Album: new place 1. new place 2. encore 3. bam 4. inst/□ 5. 僕≠僕 6. 夜の匂い 7. YES 8. AM4:29
Rating: | WAIT WUT? NON-VISUAL VISUAL ROCK?!?!
 
If you thought Visual Kei was the only musical paradigm in Japan where you could find bands with a strong emphasis on, well, visuals, then you're wrong! Up-and-coming indie outfit Ame no Parade offer an entirely immersive "art-rock" experience. The quartet consists of Kohei Fukunaga (vocals), Mineho Osawa (drums), Kosuke Yamasaki (guitar), and Ryosuke Korenaga (bass). Additionally, they have their very own in-house creative staff - a painter, a fashion designer, and a jewelry artist. With this inventive ensemble, the band has a firm foot in the music arena as well as the art world, which lands them atypical gigs at places like fashion shows and art galleries. But for a band with such a dynamic focus, how do they hold up on a strictly musical basis?

new place, Ame no Parade's third and latest mini album, is the perfect place to explore this question. It's their second release under the highly esteemed indie label Zankyo Records, and for most indie-heads, that's an automatic sign of quality. As musicians, they're as competent as any other bands on the roster. Drummer Mineho is especially ingenious. Having previously played in jazz bands, she brings a certain eccentric grace that perfectly accentuates their post-rock leanings.

Kohei's singing is also a pleasant draw for the band. He has that typical, effeminate vocal tone that you can find in any number of radio-ready Japanese indie-rock bands (think plenty, people in the box, dry as dust, etc), but his delivery is pristine and soulful enough to distinguish him from his peers. Kosuke and Ryosuke are no slouches either, as the former makes clever use of effects pedals to create different guitar tones and variations without straying from the band's sound, and the latter's buttery basslines are the icing on the cake.

When these four coalesce, they're easily capable of making magic, but that's not always a guarantee. Title track and album opener "new place" is an excellent example of when they get it right, though. As soon as the song starts, the melody of the opening riffs and Kohei's catchy "ooh"s and "woo"s are enough to make you think that you're about to hear the latest EDM hit, but as soon as Mineho's drums kick in, you realize that you're in for something a bit different. Whether it's the subtle, yet deviceful drumming, the minimalistic and calculated guitar, or Kohei's piercing vocal lines - Ame no Parade's strength lies in taking the familiar and repainting it from different musical palettes. The result is usually atmospheric pop with the combined ingenuity of indie-rock, post-rock, and math-rock. In addition to "new place", "encore" and "僕≠僕 (boku≠boku)" are the tracks where this style of songwriting works best.

But even with such a potent formula, the band doesn't always replicate the same results. The 'sparse-verse-to-explosive-chorus' structure that was established in the opening track is recycled throughout the first leg of the album and wears especially thin by the third track "bam" - a song with much less impact than its title insinuates. "YES" and "夜の匂い (Yoru no Nioi)" are more amorphous in design, but the melodies are demure at best, and neither Mineho's intricate percussion nor Kohei's crooning is enough to sustain interest. With these tracks, it feels like the band was more interested in establishing atmosphere rather than engaging the listener. Furthermore, the instrumental interlude "inst/□" seems like an unnecessary prelude to the song that follows, and the final track "AM4:29" is five minutes of ambience with no intrinsic value other than sounding like 'a good way to close the album'.

All in all, new place is a decent release from a promising young band. It's got some good songs and a few potential growers, but your experience with it depends on just how much you'll be able to tap into and appreciate the band's aesthetic. They've certainly got the chops to make compelling music, but for now, it seems like they're more focused on curating than creating.


Support the band! Purchase new place @ CDJapan
Purchase new place @ HMV
Purchase new place @ iTunes JP

Knowing that his "main colleagues" a.k.a MOON CHILD drummer and Koba are there, it is less likely that this will end up as some sort of "nu-DEG"-kind of thing (your definition sounds like something Kaoru would rather do than Die himself...since Kaoru's the "main tailor" of Dir's sound after all):
 
- Both Kashiyama (drummer) and Kobayashi ("guest" guitarist) are rather huge brit rock/shoegaze enthusiasts (common favs including Ride, The Smiths, The Cure...you can get the gist already in case you know these)
- Die always used to be the person behind the most melodic (Kaishun) and rather "alt. rocking" (I suppose "Wake" counts as one) numbers in DEG repertoire (i.e. definitely not a "metal" person, nor a person with "complex" tastes)
- Both Die and Kobayashi seem to be a lot into exploring various guitar trickeries and riffages, and their traits on that matter make them really stick out well in their respective bands 
- Marine-colored, foil-based room scenes are not doing much in case they want to express what you just called "more watered down Sukekiyo"-effect (most artsy bands aim to expand and clarify their "visions" by adding a lot to the visual effect as well, see: sukekiyo's "Aftermath" PV)
 
All in all, ender's expectations (I suppose mine too) are more likely to happen according to the factors I expressed above.

*waits for this to be super radio friendly alt rock*

Not musician-fanboying-over-musician as is typical, but I have a feeling Satsuki is a HUGE fanboy of the manga/anime series Angel Sanctuary. His Twitter name is Satsuki_Rociel (Rociel is the name of Angel Sanctuary's main antagonist/prettyboy fan favorite), Rentrer en Soi have an album named UNENDING SANCTUARY, Satsuki posed as an angel for a couple of photos...
 
         
                                                                                                               (^ angel feathers appear randomly A LOT in AS, especially when his supposed idol
                                                                                                               character appears)
 
Though nowadays he doesn't strike me as being anything like his idol:

 
 
Also MARRY+AN+BLOOD had an album whose name started with "天使禁猟区" (Japanese name of Angel Sanctuary), interestingly. I know all this because I am a bit of an AS enthusiast myself ^^'.

Artist: グリーヴァ (Grieva) Album: 妄想主義者ノ背徳。(Mousou shugisha no haitoku.) 1. Type[艶] (Tsuya) (SE) 2. 自己精神殺害推進會 (Jiko seishin satsugai suishin) 3. 妄想主義者ノ背徳 (Mousou shugisha no haitoku) 4. Art play 5. 夢デ逢ウ貴女ガ削除デキマセン。(Yume de au kijo ga sakujo dekimasen.) 6. 密室104号室～暗イ部屋二僕ト君～ (Misshitsu 104-goushitsu～kurai heya ni boku to kimi～) 7. 腐『furan』乱
Rating: | No need for grievin', visual kei is not dead!
 
Grieva sure came into their own over their few years of activity. Starting out as a glaringly obvious exercise in old-school DIR EN GREY fanboyism (pretty much producing a blueprint replica of the Gauze album), they raised lots of eyebrows but also gained an ever-growing fanbase. They've been churning out release after release like clockwork, a practice that few can pull off successfully while maintaining quality. These guys, however, not only manage to put out consistent tunes, but also seem to be slightly evolving every year. While there's no drastic change in sound (thank god for that!), they're constantly tweaking their formula and instrumentation to achieve a greater effect. Their latest mini album, Mousou shugisha no haitoku demonstrates this tendency excellently.

From the kick-in-the-teeth industrial beats of the intro to the impressive sonic diversity of the closing track, Grieva presents a fine-tuned version of their vision: building upon the legacy of the old-school with youthful vigor, and a tad more than a pinch of craziness. On the one hand, compositions like the title track or "Yume de au kijo ga sakujo dekimasen" burst forth from the speakers with a mixture of yesteryears' melodic sense coupled with a truly modern (or post-modern?) approach. On the other hand, we're inevitably treated to a small number of songs where Grieva wear their hearts on their sleeves a bit too obviously. It's hard not to recall exact moments from DIR EN GREY's back catalog when you hear the intricate lead guitars of "Art play" or the jackhammering bass in "Misshitsu 104-goushitsu～kurai heya ni boku to kimi～". The difference this time (compared to, say, their debut album) is that they were able to fully integrate these parts into their songs, not sticking out like a sore thumb throbbing with plagiarism. "Misshitsu 104-goushitsu..." even has a music box interlude reminiscent of a certain DEG classic – it's hard not to crack a smile of appreciation at the homage.

The arrangement and delivery of the songs deserve praise too, where it's due. Even though the mini album starts off in a rather repetitive fashion (after a surprisingly bangin' intro SE) with "Jiko seishin satsugai suishinkai", they more than make up for that later on. Tracks like "Art play" employ a wide array of styles, from metal chugging to upbeat ska-influenced guitars, resulting in nice changes of pace and dynamics. As soon as you're beginning to feel you're listening to 'just another typical Grieva tune', they change it up ever so slightly, introducing an interesting guitar tone or effect. In short, it's hard to get bored while listening to Mousou shugisha no haitoku. This statement is ultimately solidified by the closing track "furan", an ambitious composition that goes from a punky, all-out shoutfest (props to those pipes, Kyouki!) to an unexpectedly sweet melodic guitar solo, short bass and piano interludes and a driving chorus. It is a thrilling, dare I say progressive, finish to an already cool release.

A year ago, with the release of their 2nd full-length album Shuuen, I couldn't imagine Grieva going any further in terms of quality, but along came this release and blew me away. Granted, Kyouki and co are still far from being the most original bunch of visual kei musicians, but who needs that when you have a reliable, constant supply of kickass tunes to rock out to? I could hardly ask for more.


Support the band! Buy the mini album @ CDJapan
Buy the mini album @ Yesasia

a bubbly chap.
 
think I get what you mean.
 

Dead is Me
I Aim to Inspire
Fuck Kisaki
My Mixtape is Fire

凛として時雨 will release their new mini-album「es or s」on 2015.9.2. The Regular Edition will contain the main CD only, whereas the Limited Edition will also contain a 7 inch vinyl.


 
Disc 1 1. SOSOS 2. Mirror Frustration 3. Karma Siren 4. Tornado Mystery 5. end roll fiction   Disc 2 (7inch) Side A: SOSOS Side B: Mirror Frustration 
 
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Lycaon, right? :V

Seriously, THIS. One of my all-time fave DEG albums.

Kagrra, - 京 (Miyako) for me.
 
I don't know what's up with this album to be honest; it wasn't really well received when it came out (people were already assuming they sold out after going major) and people always overlook it since their most popular one, san, was released shortly one year after. The thing with Miyako for me is that it fills a void of darker tunes and a gloomy mood that always lacked in their discography and that was only rarely explored (like in songs in the same vein as Oumaga toki, from just a year earlier, and even older stuff from their first and classic mini-albums).
 
The production is kinda mushy, making Isshi's voice in particular more immerse in the songs rather than a standout, and it truly encompass that "oni" and demon-like energy they carried through their indie years, even in the more upbeat tunes like 徒然謌. Certain songs like 咒, 冬幻境 (Nao's bass solo and Isshi's vocal melody afterwards are a thing of beauty), 螺旋 and even the instrumental, selftitled intro are easily among my favorites in their catalogue. The only downside of this album imo is its lenght: 34 minutes just wasn't enough at the time. But then we got san, their largest one, later on with songs in a similar vibe like 斑雲, 鬼を憐れむ謳, 孑孒 and 廻, so it's all good.

Excuse you, Gackt. >8|

Artist: 赤西仁 Album: Me 1. Let Me Talk To U 7. Christmas Morning (2015 Mix Ver.) 2. Good Time 8. Dayum 3. Miss California 9. Mi Amor 4. We The Party 10. What Happened 5. Baby 11. [bonus Track] Go Gitt'er 6. Lionheart 12. [bonus Track] Mi Amor (Spanish Ver.)
Rating: | Westernized Japanese? Doing it right!
 
Jin Akanishi is one of the lead vocalists of popular boy band KAT-TUN as well as a solo artist. Last month, Akanishi released his third studio album, and the majority of it is how Namie Amuro’s latest attempts at creating a Western sound should have sounded like.

The album’s Western feel comes from its many dance floor sounds, from the feel good single ‘Good Time’ to the mighty track ‘Dayum.’ The album starts off strongly with these hard hitting dance/club numbers. With ‘Good Time,’ Akanishi noted that he "wrote this song with the image of summer,” and while this certainly comes across with its upbeat presentation (both in sound and PV), the repeated hand-claps and the EDM induced chorus give it more of a dance floor feel. It’s a nice follow-up after the opening PV song, ‘Let Me Talk To U.’ This has a soul feel with a rhythmic build, featuring acoustic guitar during the bridges and a heightened chorus with a dash of folky elements in it. I didn't know where this was going as it started with a baby giggling/speaking, but Akanishi’s whispery vocals kick in straight away and keep this an engaging listen. Visually, it’s a gorgeous contrast of monochrome imagery against colourful flowers which goes wonderfully with the change from quiet verses into the louder chorus.

With the third song titled ‘Miss California,’ I was expecting this to sound extremely Western. I wasn’t wrong. Its rapping section as the bridge, albeit a small part, is both very well done and well placed. The highlight in this one is its chorus, with a rather cowboy like sound to it thanks to the whistles and the Latin-flavored instruments that tend to pop up now and again. The song is surprisingly bearable for one which sounds like it’s created for Ke$ha. What’s more, the song is sung entirely in English. Doing it right, Akanishi! ‘We The Party’ doesn’t let up with the American vibe – most noticeably with its grammatically wrong name, and more English to further highlight this Western sound. A tambourine features in this one, as well as taps and clicks of the finger. This is the best song to showcase how precise Akanishi is with his English, especially during the rapping. Autotune is also involved within this one, and it may sound like a lot to digest as a whole but it actually works surprisingly well and flows the best out of the dance-y tracks.

‘Dayum’ very much gets a "D-AYUM" from me. At track eight, this one can be grouped with the above dance numbers, thanks to its energetic and dance-encouraging sound. It’s another song that features a tambourine, and it’s highlighted gorgeously with its quick, repeated shakes during the chorus. There's a lot going on here, but the song has a certain charm with its unstructured sound. Little jingles and strums of guitar with the sound of clapping going off here and there spice up the track until that tambourine comes in to emphasise the chorus amongst it all. Everything mashes together into a flawless number, making this my favourite out of the four dance numbers.

With a neat batch of previous dance tunes, ‘Baby’ is the first slow song on the album. While the previous two have demonstrated Akanishi’s ability to rap, this ballad highlights his smooth tone, very fitting to such a genre of music. While ‘Baby’ isn’t the best ballad song – with literally nothing being noteworthy about it - Akanishi’s vocals really make up for it. It’s your typical Japanese ballad. The following song is how ‘Baby’ should have sounded like. ‘Lionheart’ features the gentle vocals Akanishi exhibited previously, alongside a tribal-like drum instrument and soaring choir vocals gives it an African vibe. It’s a massive upgrade which leaves ‘Baby’ in the dust.

Never have I listened to a supposed Christmas song which didn’t sound at all Christmassy. Apart from the English lyrics, ‘Christmas Morning (2015 Mix Ver.)’ is a needlessly dramatic track which starts with guitars, similar to the foreign sounds from ‘Lionheart,’ but that’s quickly lost. This is the first track I wouldn’t mind not seeing in the tracklist. At track nine comes the PV song ‘Mi Amor,’ which got me hooked to Akanishi. This one is a dash of David Guetta meets MIYAVI – let me explain before anyone throws their guitar at me – alongside Enrique Iglesias, the latter being a key factor throughout this. The opening has some neat guitar work that instantly grabs your attention, because it’s done with the skill and swiftness of MIYAVI. Even the PV will make you question who the guy playing guitar is. The Spanish element now smacks you right in the face with the final track being a Spanish version of this song. ‘Mi Amor’ has it all; a thrilling beat break, catchy guitar work, and splendid vocals in both versions.

Seeing as ‘Mi Amor’ is the standout track on the album, whatever follows has to be at least four and a half stars. Unfortunately, the last couple tracks really pull this whole package down. It would have been near perfect without ‘What Happened’ and ‘Go Gitt’er.’ What DID happen, Akanishi? The first of the two start of promising, with nice little taps of a high pitched keyboard. I was enjoying his vocals until he started rapping, and it wasn't in the same way he had done before. Akanashi sounds like an amateur trying to freestyle to the beat. The mix of a boy band sounding bridge against a slow ballad rap doesn’t blend together at all. It doesn’t help how his rapping in this one sounds completely different than his singing. I usually like contrast, but here it’s unbearable. The first bonus track (the other one being 'Mi Amor (Spanish Ver.)) ‘Go Gitt’er’ fails harder than ‘What Happened.’ The last track shows how Akanishi’s attempt at the Western sound could’ve gone down if most of 'Me' sounded like this one. It’s best to avoid this song unless you can somehow dig a Japanese version of Chris Brown. It’s a “No Gitt’er" from me.

Akanishi excels in staying loyal to Japan with the majority of the album being in Japanese, while also being extremely apt for the American audience of this day. The couple of songs which are completely English really do capture that Western vibe Akanishi was going for, and props to him for achieving that! All in all, the start and middle of the album are extremely strong, while the last part is a miserable flop. Hopefully the last couple of songs can be forgotten because the beats, the vocals and the instruments are all really Western sounding as a whole, while genuinely being enjoyable most of the time. Just goes to show Johnny’s do have a gem in the rough!


Support the artist! CDJapan
US iTunes
Japanese Amazon

Shinya feeling fab.
 

A 37 year old man suddenly decided one day "I don't want to look like a girl anymore, I want to look like Titus from FF X", and he was being completely serious.

Lol @ that gig title
 
and yes, they need a new album ASAP (frankly speaking I could care less about new Kiyoharu (Kuroyume is dead, long live Kuroyume!), I want him to revive Sads again )

An addition to my previous post:
 
Capsule - L.D.K. Lounge Designers Killer
 
Whenever you go and have a peek @ what Nakata fandom or just standard Capsule enthusiasts have to say about their favorites, you'd might rarely (even VERY RARELY these days) stumble upon someone bringing this up as their no. 1 choice. I think each talented act has a certain album in their repertoire that works as a "median" in their possible style transformations (the jury is still out on what exactly counts as DEG or MUCC's "median" for instance) - and in Capsule's case it's this album:
 
LDK is the first Capsule album to introduce house-y/dance-y elements that they will cultivate even further and eventually embrace completely in the long run, AND the last album to showcase (unfortunately) minimally missed "Shibuyaisms". One might imagine that such feat might only scream mumblejumble, but no - as my fellow enthusiasts might be already aware of it, Nakata garnered over decade-long experiences in making electro albums akin to the experimental/progressive concept albums (YMO influences showed their worth), and not just some odd collections of bangers to pop your pills and start raving to. Despite the fact that in LDK songs tend to work weakly when played separately, but as an entirety it's truly intriguing achievement. In case you are more of an album listener, and have enough time and desires to explore electro-based works with precision, jot this into your to-listen list
 
SPECIAL MENTION:
 
Dir en grey - The Marrow of a Bone
 
- Perhaps the only album that doesn't sport overwhelming "smorgasbord"-ian attributes (e.g. their first albums that lack aim/"goal" despite having many elements worth sympathizing to)
- Not Pro Tools'd to death (looking at you, post-Uroboros releases)
- Tailored for live performance-related purposes (highly appreciated)
- Risky, intriguing move (especially at that time when they were on the way of garnering their old fans back with friendly alt. rock -isms in WtD...and of course, that Dynamite Tommy arrest scandal)
- Even with the vast amounts of anti-bias, no one still ruled out the fact that most memorable moments (aside from radio hits @Gauze) stem from this album, OOGABOOGABOOGA.
- Punchy arrangements (despite being ridden with "boo nu metal" and coreistic ambitions)
- Kyo sounds fittingly "raw" in this one, when compared to his nasal doom @pre-Vulgar releases and glory of 3 Pro-Tools vocal layers @post-Uroboros releases. 

Thought someone would find this worth noting:
 
http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/07/03/gackt-lashes-out-at-cool-japan-almost-no-results-of-japanese-culture-exported-overseas/
 
 
 
Ruh-roh.

I am not aiming to affect your picks but here's a piece of advice (and I am speaking from my personal experiences in terms of Towa's stuff):
 
Older Towa Tei: "Sound Museum" (most Towa fans tend to choose this one as his "most definitive work")
Newer Towa Tei: "Sunny" and/or "Lucky" (doesn't matter which one of these you choose first, they are sorta similar in terms of catering various "quirky aspects")
 
In case you want to go for further "risks", you can give his earlier group - "Deee-Lite" (might ring bells), a try (note: Western act )

It's actually one guy xDD
 
You ought to give his earlier outputs a try too, in case you don't mind a bit quirkier "Shibuya Kei-isms":
 
 
Lol @ album leak. This sorta sounds intriguing so far (might be even a bit better than that "LUCKY" album or w/e it was)

Sweet PV song! I've never really listened to this group, but I might begin with this album then.

Shibuya kei powerhouse Towa Tei is back with some new jams!
 

Towa Tei's upcoming full-length will be titled "CUTE", and it will be released on July 29th. 8th studio album of his will, as his earlier post-00 takes, feature a vast plethora of frequent collaborators and even some newer ones (e.g. frequent Tei collaborator model Kiko Mizuhara's younger sister Yuka Mizuhara...who's also a model lol)!
 
Tracklist with production credits and featured artists below (taken from Arama):
 
 
LUV PANDEMIC PV

 
This sounds very promising!

Show from Kishidan is calling - he wants his weave back
 

 
I know that it's supposed to be a knock on Bousouzoku-gang/biker style, jk here lol