fitear1590

Here's disc 1 from the Spark of Flower DVD!  Enjoy!




01. 潜在証明 
02. Re:myend！ 
03. メルシールー 
04. フラワー 
05. メイドミー・・・ 
06. 街 
07. トレモロ 
08. week...end 
09. たしかなうた 
10. greatwall 
11. nameless 
12. ループ 
13. カロン 
14. sharp ♯

Here's disc 1 from the Spark of Flower DVD!  Enjoy!




01. 潜在証明 
02. Re:myend！ 
03. メルシールー 
04. フラワー 
05. メイドミー・・・ 
06. 街 
07. トレモロ 
08. week...end 
09. たしかなうた 
10. greatwall 
11. nameless 
12. ループ 
13. カロン 
14. sharp ♯

I guess my original point is that while people may seem negative, those are just the loudest ones and stand out the most. When you think, where are all the reasonable people? Oh yeah, they're just listening to music and not giving a fuck.

Not sure if you would count Nakano Aya, but there you go:
 

 
 
Julee Karen might also be something you like:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-EHskr1uls
 
 
And some Oonishi Yukari:
 

 
 
None of them are "groups" though, not sure if that's important?

I don't know if this is right or not, but you can try moumoon, they have soul vibes
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1uBh_YJSeI
 

 
people generalized them as Jpop, but I don't think so, they have wide music genre in every songs
honestly I rarely listen to this kind of music, so.....

*SLOW CLAP*

This might be the first year, where I’m familiar with/ actually listened to a handful of the artists on your list, haha.  Even though they didn’t make my own AOTY lists, I’m really pleased to see Toro y Moi, Sister Crayon, Blue Hawaii, Wolf People, and Gregory Porter.

I remember you saying you enjoyed the Purson album, so I was sad it didn’t make the cut, but I guess you have Blood Ceremony and Jex Thoth instead, I’ll have to check those out when I get time.

Babi sounds like it could almost fit in the Azumanga Daioh anime, haha.  I like the “portuguese” tag on Linda Martini,

Based on the samples, I am definitely interested in hearing the releases by Doppelzimmer, Lantern Parade, Lycoriscoris, Play Dead Season, ミツメ, Daughter, Frandé, Jhené Aiko, and Lanterns on the Lake, among others.

One late addition to my own list that could interest you as well is "Department M" and their self-titled mini-album.  You were a fan of GRAMMATICS, right? Well, this is the solo project vocalist/guitarist Owen Brinley and this time he's making dark, 80's inspired electronic stuff.





Slightly off-topic, but how did you get mp3 samples to work?  The last time I tried the usual dropbox method, it didn’t work…

NON-JAPANESE PICKS:

Best of 2013: Pop
 

The World In My Eyes by 歌者森

Songs: Drunk and Cables The Electric Lady by Janelle Monáe

Songs: Dance Apocalyptic and Q.U.E.E.N. 魔女図鑑 by 吉澤嘉代子

Songs: 未成年の主張 and らりるれりん 空中ランドリー by エリーニョ

Songs: highway and ピクニック 浮き名 by 椎名林檎

Songs: 熱愛発覚中 and IT WAS YOU

Besides bolded/italicized (favorites) and the not-so-bold/italicized (honorable mentions), there's no particular order.  Click on each release for a sample!

Japanese:

ねごと (NEGOTO) - 5
Fun synth/keyboard-led indie pop-rock. This group of girls shows how to be a major-label band, while not sacrificing their identity/sound.

The Acid House. - The Acid House
Wonky, psychedelic and acoustic guitar songs sung by the weird genius behind 踊ってばかりの国 (odotte bakari no kuni).

Jupiter - CLASSICAL ELEMENT
The best thing from the Versailles crew since Jubilee.

Tam Tam - Polarize
Reggae/dub not your thing? Doesn't matter. You still might enjoy Tam Tam, because they put such a new spin on it!

DIV - ZERO ONE
Shocked at how good this album is, considering their singles are very hit/miss for me!  A really solid alternative/pop-rock album.

THE NOVEMBERS - zeitgeist
They experiment with a darker sound that is a major departure for them.  They pull it off quite well, though I still find myself preferring their "dreamier" sound, such as the one in the sample.

ドレスコーズ (the dresscodes) - bande dessinée
This band seems like the brother of THE BOHEMIANS, though I think the dresscodes have slightly more interesting compositions! Nostalgic, fun rock!

カルペディエム (Carpe diem) - Carpe diem
Another surprise release for me. This band seemed to come from nowhere and they delivered a solid debut!  The vocalist is exaggerated in a good way (imo).

Hotel Mexico - Her Decorated Post Love
Second and final (mini-)album from the now-defunct indie pop/chillwave-y group.  Massive improvement shown on this release... They will be missed!

宇宙コンビニ (uchuu konbini) - 染まる音を確認したら
If something like Haisuinonasa is TOO mathtastic for your brain, give this band a try.  They have almost a perfect balance of mathy tendencies with beautifully catchy pop melodies, all topped with some serene female vocals.

Moran - jen:ga
I don't know if they'll ever return to the awesome shoegaze-y sound that their former guitarist Velo provided, but Moran's first full-album is a very solid effort nonetheless.  Not many VK bands have a sound like this.
__________________________________________________

Non-Japanese:

Sister Crystals - Sister Crystals LP
A great shoegaze/dream pop release from a fairly unknown band.  Lush music and beautiful vocals!

Camera Obscura - Desire Lines
5th album from the veterans of indie pop.  It doesn't tread much new ground, but they sound just as lovely and longing as ever.
 
Rose Elinor Dougall - Future Vanishes EP
Rose's follow-up to her great debut album.  In just a few years, her sound has matured and gotten so much more interesting.  If this is any indication of what's in store for her second album (hopefully slated for 2014), then I'm psyched.

Department M - Department M
Department M is the solo project of former GRAMMATICS frontman Owen Brinley.  While his angelic vocals still shine here, the music takes a completely new direction.  This time, he's traded in the intricate guitar work for gloomy, yet punchy, retro electronic sounds.  The atmosphere of the music video in the link is spot on with the music.

네미시스 (Nemesis) - Dream
My go-to Korean band releases "part 2" of their third album, which also happens to be their most diverse-sounding release.  Well done!

Lanterns on the Lake - Until the Colours Run
Shamelessly lifted from Cat's AOTY list, haha. This is a GORGEOUS release.  Very cinematic, orchestral dream pop.  A fantastic album!

Lorde - Pure Heroine
Forget the hype about "Royals" (honestly, my least favorite track of the album).  Here is an amazingly confident debut album from the now famous 16 year old from New Zealand.

Purson - The Circle and the Blue Door
Psychedelic "occult rock" fronted by vocalist/guitarist Rosalie Cunningham, formerly of Ipso Facto.  Her deep voice commands our attention.  A fantastic debut album from a band that will hopefully be around for a while.

Janelle Monae - The Electric Lady
Is it as good as The Archandroid? Sadly, no... But it's still a fantastic album.  Besides the cheesy "radio interludes," we have another large collection of songs further expanding on Monae's unique and grandiose brand of sleek sci-fi-tastic pop music.

The Internet - Feel Good
Introduced to me by greeeeen, this is SO relaxing.  It has the similar kind of retro, chill atmosphere (with great vocals) as the group "The Bird and the Bee," though the former is more pop-inspired, while The Internet is more r&b/funk.  Just ignore the fact that this duo has anything to do with the Odd Future gang and chilllllll the fuck out with these smooth tunes!
 
Wampire - Curiosity
Some great new blood in the American indie pop scene with some psychedelic and other unique influences.  The song provided in the link has a great "lo-fi" organ intro that would be at home with any "gothic" VK band from the 90s, haha.

Kacey Johansing - Grand Ghosts
I found out about this singer/songwriter via CAT5 and was pleasantly surprised by her album.  Atypical female vox over beautiful chamber pop-type stuff.

Heavy Hawaii - Goosebumps
I still stand by how I initially described this band: "Think hazy, surf music interpreted through the lens of a nightmare carnival.  From vocal pitch shifts and a generally creepy, yet engrossing atmosphere, this album exhibits all kinds of fuckery."

Slow Hello - Audio Baby
A Filipino band I discovered this year.  Slow Hello started as the solo-project of singer-songwriter Selena Salang.  Now with a full band, the group delivers mellow 80’s-inspired indie pop, perfect for hazy summer days.  This style of guitar is perfucktion.  While some bands in this genre go way too “cutesy” with the lyrics, I think Salang keeps it fairly interesting and introspective.  The music video for “You Know It’s You” (my fave song) is also adorable by the way.  You can check out the band’s 2013 album “Audio Baby” on Bandcamp or Spotify.

Lamp is releasing their 7th album "ゆめ" (yume) on February 5th 2014.  This marks their first release since the 2011 album "東京ユウトピア通信" (tokyo utopia tsushin).  The album will retail for ¥3,000.
Tracklist:
1.シンフォニー
2.A都市の秋
3.ため息の行方
4.6号室
5.空はグレー
6.渚アラモード
7.残像のスケッチ
8.二人のいた風景
9.静かに朝は
10.さち子
____________________________
 
HOLY FUCK, I'M EXCITED!  I've been waiting for them to release something!  If this album is consistent as their other fantastic albums, then I'm sure this will be a good 2014 AOTY contender.  My ears are ready to be soothed!

LOL, waiting for this.

PV spot for 夢想咏花.

PV spot for 夢想咏花.

Yes! Glad to see this on here.  DIV's debut album is an extremely solid effort from a fairly new band.  I wrote an in-depth review but long story short, one of the best VK releases of the year, imo.  Some bands flourish with singles and then when they release that long-awaited album, they fail miserably.  Not with DIV.  I personally prefer this album to any of their previous stuff.  If you're looking for a mature, and well-executed pop-rock/alternative album from the VK scene, look no further!
9/10

(Also Linh, I actually love the song "interlude"! The way it leads into ASTERIOS is brilliant, )

Yes! Glad to see this on here.  DIV's debut album is an extremely solid effort from a fairly new band.  I wrote an in-depth review but long story short, one of the best VK releases of the year, imo.  Some bands flourish with singles and then when they release that long-awaited album, they fail miserably.  Not with DIV.  I personally prefer this album to any of their previous stuff.  If you're looking for a mature, and well-executed pop-rock/alternative album from the VK scene, look no further!
9/10

(Also Linh, I actually love the song "interlude"! The way it leads into ASTERIOS is brilliant, )

I REVAMPED MY WEBSITE!!
 
And posted a new complete mini comic! Weee wooo weee woooooooooooo!!
 
http://tribal-century.com/PAGE001.html

Yeah, streamlining the list is a great idea.  Some categories (like "best ballad") were definitely filler.

I do kinda want to keep the "What the Hell were they thinking!?-award " though, simply so Misaruka's terrible Gekka no Yasoukyoku cover/PV can win, haha.

^Thanks, Trombe!

LOVING that bass and atmosphere.
 
Perfect gif.

2 dates added my 33Degrees: source~
 

Joining "Pandabear" on the Jupiter nomination.

My suggestions would be:

DIV - ZERO ONE
I honestly hate using the term "j-rock" but this really is a solid "j-rock" album.  After this album, I foresee them landing a major-label deal and as long as they maintain this quality (*eyes narrow* we'll see...), I'm fine with that.

The positives:
+Great compositions; restraint shown when necessary
+Almost all of the new songs are better than the three old songs
+Cohesive sound throughout album, but with enough variety
+Chisa is a highly capable vocalist
+Wonderful improvements in the synth/electronic arrangement department
You can see my full review here.  http://www.monochrome-heaven.com/topic/24314-div-zero-one/?p=303649
(Most of the other reviewers seemed to have equally positive thoughts about the album.)

Samples from the album:



ねごと (NEGOTO) - 5
Unfortunately, only Deith and a handful of others on MH seem to care about them, haha.  NEGOTO is a (imo underrated) major-label all-girl pop-rock group with keyboard and quirky, indie rock influences.  While this second album shows less of an emphasis on the keyboard/piano, the composition and musicianship is nonetheless very strong among these young women (I believe they just finished college this year)!  Check out some of their creative PVs to hear their sound.
Re:Myend: http://www.jpopsuki.tv/video/Negoto---Re%253Amyend%2521/aef45a7a453eb9c319c64a54b482ff0c
sharp ♯: http://www.jpopsuki.tv/video/NEGOTO---sharp-%25E2%2599%25AF/7a257335156a99375de5cb436764c5ac
nameless: http://www.jpopsuki.tv/video/NEGOTO---nameless/ca8c639feaef58bece8c1491898fcf20
 
カルペディエム (Carpe diem) - Carpe diem
One of those "fringe" VK bands that maybe kinda associate themselves with the scene, but bring something new and fresh.  The closest thing I can compare them to is Jikkendai Marmot, though this band is darker and more rock-oriented.  But that "jaunty" factor is somehow still here on certain tracks.  The vocalist does have very exaggerated vocals, but this time, I see that as a positive thing.   Although the album is padded with instrumentals, the musicians are very capable and, unlike filler "SE," these melancholic tracks are actually a joy to listen to.  I'm pretty sure this band came out of nowhere for most of MH, but I'm glad we got the chance to hear them!

My main suggestion was and remains... rather than choosing ONLY 1 candidate for each category, we should be able to submit perhaps 3.  

My rationale for this is that it is often quite difficult to decide the absolute best in any given category (especially for fickle people like me, ).  That combined with "voting politics" (trying to consider, will my vote for 'obscure band x" count if everyone is picking Mejibray or GRIEVA for some award) makes it extra tough.  I think having the chance to submit 3 candidates for a category solves these problems.

Now I realize that having 3 candidates from each participating MH-user will increase the amount of work for you, so I am volunteering right now to help with anything you'd need regarding this competition (if you want)!

Even though this is "kinda" breaking the rules, I thought I would post this here, since it may have bypassed many of the indie fan's radars.




Yeti, although formed from the members of 4 VK bands, sounds like no other VK band out there. They have a very strong indie/math rock influence.  Check em out!

Congratulations to DIV!  Having just formed last year, this is HIGHLY impressive for a debut album.  In fact, it’s just a good rock album, period!  And this is coming from someone who started off with a very lukewarm impression of the band; I didn’t care for their debut mini-album much.  The following singles showed progress, even if it was a bit inconsistent.  But this album is a totally different story.

Early on in their career, I remember thinking DIV had some composition issues (夏の行方 and its B-side had almost identical choruses; unacceptable, especially on a three song single!) and that their electronic arrangements were uninspired and lacking (especially when compared to labelmates, UNiTE).  Both of these problems seem to have been addressed over time and I can say that the band is in top form on this album.  From start to finish, it’s a pretty cohesive listen.  There’s plenty of variety with well-composed, bright pop-rock tunes like “ZERO ONE” and “Place,” as well as heavier, more melancholic tracks like “ASTERIOS” and “VANISH.”  Unlike many other VK bands that make it to the full album stage, DIV didn’t feel the need to pad their tracklist with the obligatory “experimental” mainstays we all know like out of place “jazzy” track or “heavy-repetitive-track-with-growling/screaming-throughout.”  I honestly congratulate that restraint, haha. 
 
Regarding the electronic arrangements, they’ve shown some massive progress!  Whereas their mini-album featured a totally pointless “SE” track with aimless chiptune bleeps, there’s a lovely “galactic” synth sound that permeates most of this album. Sometimes, it lends an “epic” quality to the music, while other times, it creates a fun, light atmosphere like in “Chocolate Prayer”.  As Shanethvarosa mentioned, the way “interlude” leads into “ASTERIOS” is beautiful and the subsequent chaotic screeching and “wub wub” dubsteppy sounds are actually quite nice, mainly because it's used very sparingly.  That and the autotuning (another thing I generally find obnoxious) in “Teddy” are tastefully done.
 
One of the things that really sets DIV apart from most of the VK world is Chisa’s voice.  He’s not your typical, nasally, whiny, over-exaggerated VK singer.  He has a very “normal” (yet capable) voice and somehow that works for the band and keeps them grounded.  He’s able to serenade us with dramatic ballads like “I swear,” get us moving to catchy tunes like “Chocolate Prayer,” and bring some emotion out in heavy tracks like “VANISH.”  If there’s one thing that could still use work, it’s his growling.  He sounds like he’s straining himself a little bit, sometimes like he’s “barfing” out his words, haha.  But once again, the band doesn’t overuse these screaming/growling parts, so it’s hardly a problem.

If I have any real complaints about this album, it’s the choice of old singles to include.  夏の行方 is a solid enough choice (though as unrealistic as it is, I would’ve absolutely preferred B-side 蛍火 [hotarubi]), but I find SEASONS and ANSWER to be the band’s two weakest single tracks.  “SEASONS” has so much that I should love (the twinkly, soft piano throughout), but the “hooo-oooh” background voice annoys me and I find the bouncy guitar riff that leads us into the verse (starting at about :38) to be so meh.  As Shaneth said, “TASTE OF LIFE” might’ve been a better fit, since there were some other poppy songs on the album and they worked just fine.  “ANSWER” is a track I find decent at best.  It could’ve benefited from an arrangement overhaul, considering the band’s newfound mastery of the synths, but alas… This rerecording doesn’t sound much different.  In fact, none of them really do…  The only major difference I could detect was the background arrangement of "SEASONS" sounded (unfortunately) more subdued in certain parts.

But if the album’s biggest weakness is its old songs, that’s probably a good sign of the pure progress the band is making!  

Review Breakdown:
+Great compositions; restraint shown when necessary
+Almost all of the new songs are better than the three old songs
+Cohesive sound throughout album, but with enough variety
+Chisa is a highly capable vocalist
+Wonderful improvements in the synth/electronic arrangement department
 
-Chisa could work on his growls
-Old singles are the weakest tracks; shame that two of these songs end the album

   
An extremely solid debut! Certain to make an appearance on my my Album of the Year list!

Lol, yeah, THE NOVEMBERS have been super prolific lately...I'm not sure what's gotten into these guys, BUT THEY ARE FUCKING INSPIRED. Seriously, everything they've been releasing recently has been QUALITY!
 
This album is gonna kick so much ass.