CAT5

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For whom it may concern~ http://pitchfork.com/news/60083-pitchfork-guide-to-upcoming-releases-summer-2015/ Didn't see too much that I'd be interested in, but I'll probably be checking these out: Tame Impala: Currents [interscope] Tamaryn: Cranekiss [Mexican Summer] Disclosure: Caracal [PMR/Island] Graveyard: Innocence & Decadence [Nuclear Blast] And I suppose whatever PJ harvey releases.

Woah, another one. Enon doesn't stop.

Best New Tracks: June 2015 Best New Tracks is a new series brought to you by MH's Official Reviewers (ORZ)! Every month we'll be recommending brand-new Japanese songs from the recently passed month, so stay tuned! Feel free to comment or discuss any of this month's picks and even offer your own as well! Visual Kei "Crepuscule" by Femme Fatale "R-18" by ゴシップ (Gossip) "Imperial Concerto" by Kamijo "身を知る雨 (Mi wo Shiru Ame)" by アルルカン(Arelquin) "花占い (hana uranai)" by ザアザア (Xaa Xaa) "ヴァルプルギスの夜 (walpurgis no yoru)" by トキノキト (tokinokito) "窃盗 (Settou)" by 少年記 (Shounenki) "終幕の芥 (shuumaku no akuta)" by 滅びの美学 或は、加虐偏愛者の調性の確立 (horobi no bigaku arui wa, kagyaku henaisha no chousei no kakuritsu) Rock / Metal / Punk / Indie / Alt. "Famous Day" by [Alexandros] "Core" by Aureole "泡と羊 (awa to hitsuji)" by back number "スパイシーマドンナ (Spicy Madonna)" by BRADIO "悲しくなる前に (Kanashiku Naru Mae ni)" by indigo la End "! (amadare)" by Kidori Kidori "Synthese" by LOST IN TIME "ナイトダイビング (night diving)" by polly "Millions of Stones" by SiM "ナイトフライング (night flying)" by シナリオアート (Scenarioart) Pop / Idol / R&B / Hip-Hop "僕たちは戦わない (Bokutachi wa Tatakawanai)" by AKB48 "THE LIGHT" by Crystal Kay "光追いかけて (Hikari Oikakete)" by FLOW "BABY" by RYKEY "music" by 三浦大知 (Daichi Miura) "出逢いの続き (Deai no Tsuzuki)" by 渡辺麻友 (Mayu Watanabe) "六月三日 (rokugatsu mikka)" by 近藤晃央 (Akihisa Kondo) "Swallow Dive" by 降谷建志 (Kenji Furuya) Electronic / Jazz / Other "Sentimental Girls Violent Joke" by The Bilinda Butchers ft. Smany "Ricoh Elemex" by Ventla "あなたを保つもの (Anata wo Tamotsu Mono)" by 坂本真綾 (Maaya Sakamoto) x コーネリアス (CORNELIUS) See you next month!

Shiina Ringo's career: 1998-2015

MH POLL OF THE WEEK #26: Which is your favorite video game developer? Poll suggested by @yakihiko To submit a poll for the MH POLL OF THE WEEK, P.M. either @CAT5 or @beni with your poll question, choices, and state whether it's multiple choice or not.

Which version of Record of Lodoss War do people generally consider the better one? I've been watching the OAV, and it's quite grueling to sit through.

Wishing a wonderful Happy Birthday to our amazing and irresistibly lovable @beni! Have a great day! Also gonna steal your magnanimous, self-appointed task for today and wish a happy birthday to @thermacutsf and @elladesu, so you don't have to

Looks like she is releasing a new single (that will include the song above) titled "長く短い祭 (Nagaku mijikai matsuri". It's going to be released on 2015.08.05. These promo shots tho! 『長く短い祭／神様、仏様』 2015年8月5日発売 <初回完全限定生産> UPCH-89233　1,200円（税抜） 全2曲収録

I think those comparisons, while not completely warranted, were at least understandable. I can't really see that happening here since Koba's vocal style is completely different than Kyo's. But since the band's sound is still up in the air, it's hard to say what'll happen. Koba is a composer too, but I feel like since this is Die's project, he'll probably want to have the most creative input there. Tho I won't even be mad if this comes out sounding like diru with Koba on vocals

Japanese Jesus. He's come back to save you and your heathen ears!

DECAYS aka sekushikiyo

HOLY SHITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ropes (achiko and Masafumi Todaka of ART-SCHOOL/Crypt City/MONOEYES) will release their new album on August 5th, 2015. LABEL: THROAT RECORDS (スロートレコーズ) CAT.NO.: DDCZ – 2038 PRICE: \ 2,500 + 税 RELEASE DATE: 2015.08.05 FORMAT: CD DISTRIBUTION: SPACE SHOWER NETWORK INC. 01. dialogue 02. Drive 03. Quiet 04. 見えない窓 05. Last Day（album ver.） 06. Egret 07. sister and brother 08. チューリップ http://weareropes.com/ https://www.facebook.com/weareropes

MAMADRIVE 1st. full album 『うらはら』 発売日：2015年7月15日（水） 価格：￥2,000（税込） 品番：TRJC-1043 【全9曲収録】 01. マッドサイエンティスト 02. X 03. 深夜列車 04. 蛇の男 05. 監禁 06. LOVE LOVE LOVE　 07. ラブホテルの歌 08. 女の穴 09. 愛の果て https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo-ooc9jf0Y&feature=youtu.be http://www.mamadrive.com/ https://twitter.com/mamadrive

Yeah, I had a rough time trying to trying to come up with a rating that would accurately reflect my feelings on the album. A 3.5 would have been suitable too. But even tho the album doesn't have any major flaws, I still felt indifferent to it as a whole, so I figured a 3.0 (6/10) would be a good score for a solid release. None of the tracks were "bad", I just wish there were some epic moments like in "Incident Light" or moments that just completely captivated me like in "Dark Adaptation" or "Live Again". But despite my reservations, I would also call this my fav. Aureole album as a whole too. "Core", "The House of Wafers", and "Inner Plane" were my favorite tracks.

Nice! Been digging these guys, so will def. check this out.

Seems like a good/fun idea if ppl are down to enter

Artist: Aureole Album: Spinal Reflex 1. I 7. Edit 2. Core 8. Inner Plane 3. Closetsong 9. Brighten 4. The House Of Wafers 10. In Light 5. Pearl 11. Ghostly Me 6. Hercules 12. Last Step Rating: | A thrilling ride with a few bumps in the road Aureole albums are always an adventure to listen to because you never quite know what you're in store for. The band consists of six members with an ambitious setup. Besides the usual 2 guitars, bass and drums, they also have a keyboardist/flutist and a vibraphone/glockenspiel player. So while they have a variable pallet of sounds to work with, it's the songwriting of vocalist Daichi Mori that keeps things interesting. His approach to music is deeply entrenched in Radiohead and Sigur Rós aesthetics, but his vision is more expansive and he's always had a penchant for experimentation. These musical proclivities have continually been stretched since the band's debut in 2009 and now with their 4th album Spinal Reflex, they've progressed even further down the rabbit hole of Mori's sonic imagination. So where exactly have Mori and the gang decided to take us this time? Well, the opening track "I" literally begins with a bang - complete with crashing cymbols, distorted guitar shredding, and a warbly, alien-like synth, insinuating that we've reached lands unknown. Within a matter of seconds, the raucous intro to "I" becomes an upbeat, bass-driven rock track with frantic vibe/flute riffs and a rather cacophonous chorus. While this may serve as an effective intro for new listeners who get the alien metaphor, it's doubly effective for long-time fans because it also marks a literal departure in the band's sound. "I" is more direct and to-the-point than Aureole has ever been, whereas in the past, Mori's songwriting has overwhelmingly favored the slow-burn of post-rock soundscapes. "Core" follows suit in a similar instrumental fashion, but somehow this track manages to realize Aureole's newly embraced sound in a much more convincing manner. It's not as frenzied as the opening track, but it's still upbeat and there's something more graceful about how Mori's falsetto glides over the cacophony of instruments. It's no wonder this track was released as a promotional video - it's the perfect song to represent the band's new direction. On the other hand, "Closetsong" maintains the same straightfoward rock approach, but sounds more restrained and lacks the melodic appeal of the first two tracks. It's a pleasant, but ultimately unremarkable song. Much like how "I" lead into "Core", "Closetsong" also feels like a setup for the next track. If you were just getting familiar with Aureole's newfound territory, well this is where Mori takes a sharp turn and steers the record into more uncharted grounds. "The House of Wafers" was previously released for free as a B-side to "Ghostly Me", and takes on a new form in the context of the album - marking the first stop on the record's experimental detour. This track expands upon the piano introduced in "Closetsong" and opens with a riff very reminiscent of a haisuinonasa song (who their vibraphonist plays support for incidentally). The verses have an awkward, trippy funk to them that crescendo into an uproar, much like the choruses found in the first leg of the album. "Pearl" and "Hercules" take the funk influences ever further; the former starts as an airy post-rock track before transforming into a hand-clapping groove and the latter is a full-on dance track with Mori's croon sounding fittingly Bee Gees-esque. Though as fun of an artistic divergence as these tracks were, Mori never stays in one place for too long. The following two tracks take the album in yet another, somewhat darker direction. "Edit" harkens back to the experimental tendencies found in "The House of Wafers" by employing an equally cerebral groove, but this time there is no melodic chorus to pull the song together amidst the aural chaos. It's perhaps the most challenging song on the album, and has a distinct, downy-ish feel to it. "Inner Plane" is a bit more palatable, but it's also more trippy. The song plays out like a soundtrack to a mysterious dream that slowly evolves into a perplexing nightmare - going from an off-kilter groove to an explosion of menacing distortion and psychotic piano riffs. These two tracks are definitely located somewhere deep within the rabbit hole, and as far as Aureole has traveled in the span of the first eight tracks, it's only inevitable for fatigue to set in at some point. "Brighten" would have made an excellent final destination, but instead it feels more like a rest stop on a route headed towards locations that aren't worth visiting. The song is cozy and dreamy with post-rockish accents that bring early Aureole to mind. It puts a fitting cap on the madness that proceeded it and would have been a great way to end the album. Unfortunately the journey continues with "In Light", the most standard and mundane rock song on the record, "Ghostly Me", which, while decent, sounds like a prototype of the sound found on "Core" and "I", and finally "Last Step" which is more of a forced outro than a closing track. These final three tracks would have been better relegated to bonus disk material, but instead their addition seems to skew the narrative of the album in an unmeaningful manner. That's a rather minor grievance, though. The most glaring flaw of the album is perhaps its lack of musical peaks - those moments that stop you in your tracks and practically beg you to put them on repeat. Conversely, the album doesn't have many low-points either, which is an interesting feat to accomplish for such a dynamic record. It may not be the most memorable trip your ears will take, but Spinal Reflex is a journey that'll intrigue you at every step of the way. Support the band! Spinal Reflex on US iTunes Spinal Reflex @ CDJapan Spinal Reflex @ HMV

LOL, yeah, that thread title IS lolzy. I felt weird typing it, but I just follow trombe's format despite how grammatically...curious it is. As for that daoko track, yeah that's old. Apparently the one for the album has a different mix or something. If this album is anything like the first, then i def. think you might enjoy it!