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Ito

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Posts posted by Ito

  2. Posted

    Day 4: 超能力セレナーデ (chounouryoku serenade) by クウチュウ戦 (koochewsen)

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    Release Date: 2016-08-03

    Label: ramble

    Genre: Progressive Rock 

     

    Impressions from @doombox:

     

    Quote

    Koochewsen are so consistent it hurts. This year's 超能力セレナーデ (Chonoryoku Serenade) was another strong release pressing forward with the band's psychedelia-fueled retro rock. After the first couple of tracks -that positively slay- Serenade takes a more laid back approach than previous albums, but without losing any of Koochewsen's fabulous vintage atmosphere. It ends up being a delightfully chill ride overall, which works as a wonderful playlist addition for the transition from fall into winter for me. My favorite tracks off of this release would have to be the quirky epic "インドのタクシー (Indo no taxi)", as well as the slow and spacey trip of "お願いUFO (Onegai UFO)". 

     

    Highlights: インドのタクシー, お願いUFO, 魔法が解ける

     

     

    Impressions from @fitear1590:

     

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    Throughout this year, Koochewsen has sky-rocketed to become a new favorite of mine. It appears that they're slowly weaning us off their extra progressive sound, but trust me, they're not boarding the shuttle to Genericville by any means. Opening track "ぼくのことすき (boku no koto suki)"  is a noisy helping of synthy power pop. Plus, I always appreciate a band that can fuse talent and a good sense of humor--a combination that Koochewsen are currently killing. Their PVs are a blast--just check out the kooktastic "インドのタクシー (indo no taxi)" if you need proof. One of my favorite tracks, however, is "お願いUFO (onegai UFO)" which shows that the band still get their prog juices flowing now and again. Slow, creeping verses build into mighty choruses that split the sky wide open just long enough for a UFO to zip down to our stratosphere and abduct us. And lawd,  is it glorious. As a cooldown, the track graces us with a killer organ breakdown and a face-melting guitar solo. Overall, Koochewsen had a stellar year, with two successful mini-albums (and five PVs, if I recall correctly!). For the purposes of this list, chounouryoku serenade just edged out Sukoshi Fushigi for its slightly more varied compositions. Let's hope 2017 brings even more tunes from these surprisingly accessible, psychedelic weirdos.
    Highlights: お願いUFO, ぼくのことすき, インドのタクシー

     

     

    Sample song:

     

    saltofstones, Pretsy, Chi and 5 others reacted to this

  4. Posted

    Day 3: Newpoesy by TAMTAM

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    Release Date: 2016-09-04

    Label: P-VINE

    Genre: Pop/Dub

     

     

    Impressions from @Ito:

     

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    Newpoesy, for me, has easily been the catchiest album of the year.  That statement on its own certainly doesn't say much, as catchy things can also be quite annoying - we've all had a tune stuck in our heads that has driven us absolutely insane. Thankfully, I can say that there has only been pleasure from tracks like "CANADA" looping around in my head as I get ready for bed. TAMTAM's unique blend of pop and dub has found a perfect equilibrium with Newposey. The band started off far more dub  in their earliest work, with their last few releases only hinting at it that genre as the morphed in to more of a pop outfit. Not to say any of those releases where bad, but this album feels as though the band has taken all the things they have learned and truly grown - something that is sadly become exceedingly rare these days.

     

    All of that said, I am not sure I am willing to call Newposey their magnum opus but more of a evolution of a band's sound. The album feels cohesive, yet every song is unique with their(maybe change this to it's) own appeal - from the sludgy groove of "karute"to the dynamic instruments of "CANADA,"  this albums keeps me engaged from stat to finish, back to start again.

     

    Highlights: CANADA, sweetcigarettes

     

     

    Impressions from @Original Saku:

     

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    Newpoesy, the long awaited follow up to 2014's Strange Tomorrow, is TAMTAM's 3rd full album and their second major album. It's no secret that there has been some major contention on whether or not TAMTAM has been 'compromised' since signing with Victor in 2014; after all, their signature sound took a hit after going major. What we saw in Strange Tomorrow was an experimentation of their sound, where the focus was shifted more toward the band's poppier sensibilities for a wider mainstream appeal. Their dub influences, while still present, took a back seat. I personally felt that the change was a bit much but overall I still enjoyed the album and appreciated the bands willingness to grow. Two years later and we've heard nary a peep from the band release wise... Until now.

     

    Newpoesy is a very interesting album when we get down to it. You can hear clear traces of Strange Tomorrow's poppy experimentation, but also there are now new facets to their sound that have been introduced such as the funky influences to the instrumentals and the differing vocal styles. The overall picture is pretty easy to grasp though: this album is the byproduct of their two distinct sounds perfectly balanced without either taking the short end. It's actually quite great. One of my biggest disappointments is that after they went major their dub sounds took a hit which was the unique aspect that drew me to them to begin with. Now it feels like they have found the sweet spot and are continuing to evolve as well. The results show in songs like "sweetcigarettes", it has a great buildup, an almost nostalgic feeling to the instrumentals, and the sweet n' soft vocal technique gives me goosebumps every listen. Another standout track is "星雲ヒッチハイク" which I believe is their best pop oriented song in their entire disco and possibly my favorite on this album. It has very subdued dub input with most of it being in the instrumentals, but for some reason it works very well and blends nicely with the flashier vocals.

     

    I don't know exactly why it took them this long to release a follow up album, but I sure am glad that they took the time to reflect upon their past releases and truly put out something worth the wait. Too many bands these days rush to release new material and that goes double for newly signed major bands, but TAMTAM did the opposite and took the time. After this album I feel more comfortable with this band's future and while I don't think anything will ever top Meteorite from them for me, this is definitely a close second and a step in the right direction.

     

     

    Sample song:

     

    emmny, CAT5, crossparallel and 3 others reacted to this

  7. Posted

    Day 2: 歌謡サスペンス劇場 (Kayou suspense gekijou) by ベル (belle)

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    Release Date: 2016-02-17

    Label: SPEED DISK

    Genre: Visual Kei

     

     

    Impressions from @emmny:

     

    Quote

    I'll confess, I had written off Belle for quite a while, assuming they'd be a bunch of older dudes (ex-Catfist, PLUNKLOCK, Ayabie) trying their hand at oshare. That's kind of exactly what they are, but not in the way you might be thinking. Their praises are sung quite a bit on here, but once I heard whispers of them somehow sounding like 'art-kei', I knew I had to give it a try. I heard "Vidoro", track seven on Kayou... and I was hooked. These guys are smooth as hell, recalling a less messy, older oshare sound from the early/mid-2000's with their melodic pop-rock and soft jazzy stance.  There's also something so retro/80's about their sound that I can't put my finger on; a theme Bellealso embrace in their hilariously quirky music videos. If you think any of the above is interesting, then you're in luck because Kayou... is 14 songs full of consistently catchy, fabulous, and well written pop-rock. Even though it's lighter listening, Belle still sound mature and true to their style; no distracting bleep-bloops, screams, or gang choruses. There's something to love here for everyone, regardless of what your current taste or opinions on the current scene are.

    Highlights: "さようなら僕だけの人" (Sayounara, boku dake no mono), "ビードロ" (Vidoro), "もう一度" (Mou ichido)

     

     

    Sample song:

     

    Buy the album:

    Amazon Japan

    Jigsaw9, Ada Suilen, returnal and 4 others reacted to this

  10. Posted

    Day 1: psycho:lens. by …。【サイレンス】(Silence)

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    Release Date: 2016-04-22

    Label: Independent

    Genre: Visual Kei

     

    Impressions from @Ito:

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    Gloomy - There is something about this specific mood; not quite a sadness, but rather an thoughtfulness. Like sitting at the edge of the windowsill watching the rain pour, the torrent outside and the calmness inside, and the feeling of being left without a task other than to think. Perhaps that comes across as very convoluted, but this is atmosphere perpetuate throughout the entire length of psycho:lens.  Maybe it's not always outright, as Silence certainly has some more chipper songs, but the overall feeling of the album stays constituent through the entire run, which really solidifies this release as a powerful completed package.

     

    Silence's hazy sound, the thick guitars and nasally vocals, certainly aren't for everyone. But for those who enjoy that sound that I usually associate with early 90's nagoya kei bands like Merry Go Round, this album is for you.

     

    Highlights: Crevice, lens

     

     

    Impressions from @emmny:

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    Alas, the first album we open our list with is the most obscure visual-kei pick. I vouched for this baby pretty hard because I wholeheartedly believe this is the best visual-kei album you haven't heard in 2016.  Silence is composed of veterans from the underground goth/visual scene: featuring ex-cocklobin drummer Kiri, Sou from emmurée, Inori from Serpentine Ghost/Glamscure and Zull from MONOURAL CURVE. Silence have been active on/off since 2009. As telling from the lineup, there is a heavy goth-rock/post-punk influence at play, but now it's filtered through a sunny shoegaze and dream-pop lens. There's a lot going on here in terms of styles and sounds, and Silence operate at the fringes of all these genres, visual-kei included. The end result is an odd patchwork blanket, incorporating scraps from all their influences. The closest to a definable end result is a dazzlingly dark, beautiful yet light ode to the 80's/90's alt-rock sound. Silence's past work has been quite experimental, but all of that inconsistency has been smoothed out for psycho:lens., making for an incredibly solid album. There's a lot here to enjoy, both for fans of more alt-rock leaning visual bands as well as j-indie heads who wouldn't touch visual-kei with a ten foot pole. If you enjoy your rock gloomy and dreamy, give Silence a try--or I will find you...

    Highlights: "faraway", "プラネタリウム" (Planetarium), " 薔薇と十字架のRelief" (Bara to juujika no Relief)

     

     

    Sample song:


    Buy the Album:
    CDJapan | Amazon Japan

    Jigsaw9, returnal, gojiragojira and 12 others reacted to this

  11. Posted

    This thread will be used for discussion on the Staff best albums of 2015 list. See the thread HERE.

     

    A quick directory to each album:

    1. …。【サイレンス】(Silence) - psycho:lens.
    2. ベル (belle) - 歌謡サスペンス劇場 (Kayou suspense gekijou)
    3. TAMTAM - Newpoesy
    4. クウチュウ戦 (koochewsen) - 超能力セレナーデ (Chounouryoku Serenade)
    5. 柏大輔 (KASHIWA Daisuke) - Program Music II
    6. BUMP OF CHICKEN - Butterflies
    7. Kiki Hitomi - Karma no Kusari
    8. 中島孝 (Nakashima Koh) - TAXIS
    9. Versailles - The Greatest Hits 2007-2016
    10. MIYAVI - Fire Bird
    11. the god and death stars - after the addle apple
    12. DIV - EDR TOKYO
    13. chanty - 不完全な音楽 (Fukanzen na ongaku)
    14. abstracts - Hologram
    15. Royz - S.I.V.A.
    16. KEEL - raison d'etre et de sang
    17. ギャロ (The Gallo) - DIAVOLO
    18. ザアザア (XAA-XAA) - 中毒症状 (chuudoku shoujou)
    19. the Novembers - Hallelujah
    20. DEZERT -「最高の食卓」(Saikou no shokutaku)
    21. THE BLACK SWAN - OUSIA
    22. BUCK-TICK - アトム 未来派 No.9 (Atom miraiha No.9)
    23. downy - 第六作品集『無題』 (Mudai)
    24. siraph - siraph
    25. ギルガメッシュ (girugamesh) - 鵺-chimera-
    CAT5 and Delkmiroph reacted to this

  12. Posted

    Welcome to the 25 days of ChristMHas!

    Given that this is our 4th year doing this, I imagine most of you know the deal already. But for the sake of those of you who are new or just haven't checked out the list in previous years, let me give you a quick explanation.

     

    The MH official reviewers and the staff have gotten together in an attempt to create a list of our favorite releases from 2016 (excluding December). Every day of the month we will be posting a new album until we reach the number one release on our list on Christmas day. Each album will come along with a little blurb from different staff members explaining why the release made it on the list. Keep in mind that it is impossible to really create a list that captures all of the diverse tastes of the our individual staff members, so you will have to wait for the staff member's individual lists if you really want to know a certain member's favorites. Also, the list was limited to only Japanese albums.
     
    This post will serve as the "directory" with all of individual albums being featured in each reply post. The discussion for this will go in THIS THREAD.
     
    And without further ado, the list!

     

    1. …。【サイレンス】(Silence) - psycho:lens.
    2. ベル (belle) - 歌謡サスペンス劇場 (Kayou suspense gekijou)
    3. TAMTAM - Newpoesy
    4. クウチュウ戦 (koochewsen) - 超能力セレナーデ (Chounouryoku Serenade)
    5. 柏大輔 (KASHIWA Daisuke) - Program Music II
    6. BUMP OF CHICKEN - Butterflies
    7. Kiki Hitomi - Karma no Kusari
    8. 中島孝 (Nakashima Koh) - TAXIS
    9. Versailles - The Greatest Hits 2007-2016
    10. MIYAVI - Fire Bird
    11. the god and death stars - after the addle apple
    12. DIV - EDR TOKYO
    13. chanty - 不完全な音楽 (Fukanzen na ongaku)
    14. abstracts - Hologram
    15. Royz - S.I.V.A.
    16. KEEL - raison d'etre et de sang
    17. ギャロ (The Gallo) - DIAVOLO
    18. ザアザア (XAA-XAA) - 中毒症状 (chuudoku shoujou)
    19. the Novembers - Hallelujah
    20. DEZERT -「最高の食卓」(Saikou no shokutaku)
    21. THE BLACK SWAN - OUSIA
    22. BUCK-TICK - アトム 未来派 No.9 (Atom miraiha No.9)
    23. downy - 第六作品集『無題』 (Mudai)
    24. siraph - siraph
    25. ギルガメッシュ (girugamesh) - 鵺-chimera-
    thom35, CAT5 and Zeus reacted to this

  21. Posted

    Man, I feel like this thread has served as a reminder that I never much cared for Oshare Kei. I dabbled in it, but very little stuck.

     

     

     

     

    But for whatever reason, I still love the fuck out of Panic Channel's Pink Cherry.

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