fitear1590

Oop, I guess I was one of the 33 donors too, haha. Yeah... still waiting on that third album. The lack of communication has been very disappointing. In general though, I actually don't mind the crowdfunding format. I've gotten some cool bonus items (signed CDs, limited merch, etc.). The Lacroix one is the only one I supported that didn't work out. That's the impression I get too. Besides Lacroix (2015), I'm only familiar with möscow çlub (2013), as far as Japanese bands doing crowdfunding.

女王蜂 (Ziyoou-Vachi / Queen Bee) are releasing their new album Q on 2017.4.5. Limited edition: 3800 yen (CD+DVD) Regular edition: 2800 yen (CD) More details to come.

This af. I'm not denying the OP's observations about a certain bias some fans may have, but at the same time, I think a lot of people downplay the uniqueness of different languages themselves. When it comes down to it, it's extremely difficult to find bands singing in different languages that actually manage to "sound" like each other. Even if a German-language band existed that sounded, musically, exactly like THE NOVEMBERS or something, I highly doubt I'd ever enjoy listening to them as much as Japanese NOVEMBERS, just from a phonetic standpoint. And this is coming from someone who studies/teaches/otherwise loves German. But there's all kinds of biases. There's fans that never go beyond English-language or Anglo/European music. There's Japanese music fans that don't dare touch VK, because it would ruin their cred. There's VK fans who put the blinders on to any other scene or country's music.

Polly are releasing two consecutive live-limited singles. Both releases are pronounced "sou," but with different kanji meanings. 愴 4.14.2017; 1000 yen 1.狂おしい 2.残骸 3.知らない 想 5.31.2017; 1000 yen 1.花束 2.刹那 3.Night Diving

"METALIN" PV

Yay, just saw this! Stoked af!

Those tweets... Anyway, sketchy as this appears to be, interested in which Zephyr tracks will be included!

I love how it's "Chulip" on Spotify. Sounds so British

Some previews of: くじらのゆめ (Kujira no Yume) [live-limited edition only] 瞼に残光、 (Mabuta ni Zankou,) [regular edition only] チュリップ (Tulip)

Interesting, but it's hard for me to even connect the "rave/trance" synths here (I looked it up; this is from 2002ish?) with the trebly stuff now. Definitely a big change. What electronic genre could we even relate the synths to nowadays?

As someone who doesn't follow the behind-the-scenes VK gossip (also, I just don't care about R-shitei), I am definitely surprised. What a tool.

This af. I love Kaya's version of "C'est si bon"!

"Frabjous" is quite a word.

YES, Corinne Bailey Rae! The entire album didn't stick with me unfortunately, but there are some major 2016 highlights like "Been to the Moon," "Green Aphrodisiac" (the video is really interesting and...sensual), and "Horse Print Dress". She's got a unique voice and it works well with the 'neo soul' stuff. Chouchou sounds noice from the sample! Shit, JYOCHO aka uchu conbini 2.0 went under my radar but this sounds tight. Gotta contact @Peace Heavy mk II, cause I know he's all about that #SPAAAACE math-pop. The Seshen sounds really nice too. I need to finally check out siraph. I wasn't aware of the haisuinonasa connection, so that's a good incentive!

I'm not sure if everyone realized you had two lists this year So honored PELICAN FANCLUB made it on your list! That song is one of the main ones from OK BALLADE to stick with me and I agree, it does have that interesting 'western indie' feel to it. Other notes: -Fujin Club's sound and aesthetic is so vibrant; thanks for sharing them earlier this year! -I was ready to toss Akai Ko-en in the crapper after they butchered Spitz on the compilation last year, but damn, this smooth vibe is actually kinda working! -digging SOSO BREAK THE WALL's sound! -yasss, Kiryu! I love that they've become one of your go-to VK bands! Solid choice, for sure. -I think I lost the gene for yelpy punk stuff like Limited Express (has gone?) over the years (even thoughh I love stuff like Kulu Kulu Garden, Afrirampo, etc.)... Listening to the entire album made me crazy, haha. -Aoi Teshima sounds dark and beautiful! Really looking forward to checking her out! Thanks for providing samples for everything!

Ha, "crystal synth kei". Sounds nice! I think I know what you're talking about, but do you have any specific examples? I definitely understand that, but for me, this particular style of synthwork detailed in this thread really gets under my skin and makes me reach for the skip button faster than anything. I remember back in 2011 when REALies came out with "NuAGE" and a lot of people accused them of having super sloppy synths with no sense of dynamics, myself included. However, compared to what I'm calling the "treble synth kei" style that seems pretty prevalent now, that REALies song sounds innovative!

We need to talk about the elephant in the neo VK room. What the hell is with "treble synth kei" and why does it seem like this style is gaining more and more traction? Not only is it the same exact synth in each song, but it is always used in the same one or two rhythms. Lemme give you some specific examples in chronological order so you know exactly which sound I'm talking about. 2008: Girugamesh 2011: Suzaku, REALies 2012: LM.C 2014: メカクシ (mekakushi) , ROYZ, MAJOLICA 2015: anfiel, MegaMasso, Jupiter, DIV 2016: i.Rias, 0.1gの誤算, LONDBOY 2017: Soan project What's most alarming to me is how ubiquitous this trend is in the scene. It's not just limited to the poppier or host-kei bands--even if just for one song, it's also gotten to Jupiter (supposed to be metuhl!!), DIV (a momentary fall from grace for the VK kings of electronic), and the upcoming Soan project (even art kei, dear god, why?!). What's next, are Kiryu gonna use it? The god and death stars? This is by no means an exhaustive list of offenders; in fact, help me fill out the list! I have a sick obsession of getting to the bottom of this grating trend. I'm particularly curious if the sound predates Girugamesh in 2008 (thanks to @nekkichi for bringing this example to my attention in VK Tropes You Can't Stand thread) and/or if there are many other examples between 2008-2013. I can definitively say that this is one of my least favorite aspects of VK at the moment, but am I just overreacting about treble synth kei? What are your thoughts on it? Discuss!

Thanks so much for checking out the list, d00d! I'm glad you found a few things that interested you. I'll be commenting on your lists in the next few days!

Same, but maybe more like 95% for me! It's a shame!

So, what does everyone think? I'm really disappointed that they've done the obnoxious treble synth kei thing again, to an even stronger extent than in "DATURA". Plus, the melodies are just messy.

I wonder if we'll get a PV or something soon... One can hope!