enyx

I stumbled across one of 水曜日のカンパネラ's songs (西玉夫) and was drawn to it pretty much immediately, but I haven't really found much else from them that I've particularly enjoyed. I've been meaning to give the album a shot but just haven't gotten around to it, my worry is that I'll enjoy one or two tracks but not really care for the rest of it.

The sukekiyo one will probably be on there considering how well their previous album did on last year's list. THE NOVEMBERS' Elegance is a likely candidate too. Other than that, I'm not so sure. This has been a bit of a weird year for me, lots of decent releases but not many standouts. Perhaps toe's HEAR YOU or mouse on the keys' the flowers of romance are in with a shot? I think the latter of the two definitely deserves a shoutout. SCLL's ghost is dead might make the list too.

Ciri from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

I think last year's 今日も生きたね single deserves a mention too. Definitely worth listening to if you're more into their poppier stuff. The b-side in particular is rather nice, although I can only find the a-side on Youtube. Although their pre-2011 material isn't as consistently good as everything from To (melt into) & (Two) into holy onwards, I think some of their best catchy/poppy tracks come from that era. Songs like philia, dnim, こわれる, and アマレット. EDIT: Come to think of it, this thread makes me realise how hard it is to suggest a single release to people interested in checking out this band. Although they don't seem as eclectic as a lot of other artists do at first glance, their sound is actually very varied between releases. If the person asking has no particular stylistic preferences, then the best suggestion I can come up with is simply to listen to Elegance and Rhapsody in beauty and then work your way backwards from there.

Felt like it. (yes my bottom lip is chapped as fuck)

Spangle call Lilli line - ghost is dead 01. azure 02. echoes of S 03. ghost in a closet 04. escort & landing 05. feel uneasy 06. dawn draw near 07. iris 08. evoke 09. anthology of time 10. constellation 11. sogna Spangle call Lilli line has been one of the mainstays of the Japanese indie scene for well over a decade now. After forming in 1998 and releasing their debut self-titled album in 2001, the band has consistently released quality material earning them a high degree of respect amongst J-Indie fans. In the past, the band’s release schedule had been rather fast-paced, sometimes releasing multiple full-lengths in the same year; such as ISOLATION and PURPLE in 2008 as well as VIEW and forest at the head of a river in 2010. Since then, however, the rate of their output has dried up significantly. In fact, ghost is dead marks the band’s first full-length release in over five years, following vocalist Kana Otsubo’s entry into motherhood and bandmates Ken Fujieda & Kiyoaki Sasahara’s work lives becoming more and more time-consuming. Such a renowned band releasing an album after such a long period of inactivity can be both a cause for excitement and for apprehension, so the question naturally begs to be asked - does ghost is dead succeed or fail? If there’s a single word that I’d choose to describe SCLL’s approach on ghost is dead, it would be “minimalist.” SCLL have never been the most technically complex band, but there’s a markedly more simple approach to songwriting here than on their previous efforts. This can be most notably observed on songs like ghost in a closet, iris, and sogna, but nevertheless permeates the rest of the album too. It's not a bad thing, however, one of SCLL's most defining traits over the years has been their ability to remain consistently inconsistent. There's a certain quality to Otsubo's vocals and their musical underpinning that helps to keep the band's discography feeling consistent in terms of its overall vibe, regardless of whether they're playing accessible indie-rock, orchestral pop, or longer, more complex tracks. In that respect ghost is dead feels right at home within their discography. Otsubo's wispy vocals are as relaxing as they've ever been, and the more minimalistic songwriting feels like less of a case of laziness and more like a case of the band embracing the elegance of simplicity. All this talk of a highly-respected Japanese indie-band returning after a long absence with an album notably more restrained and minimalistic than their previous releases might remind some people of another notable release from earlier this year; namely toe's HEAR YOU. Indeed, in many ways the two albums are rather similar with regards to the way that they both feel situated within their respective bands discographies, but where ghost is dead succeeds while toe's effort can sometimes feel underwhelming is in the fact that SCLL's music has often served more as a musical landscape upon which Kana's vocals take center-stage. toe, by contrast, has always been a predominantly instrumental band, and an instrumentally complex one at that. Although embracing more minimalism in their music, SCLL haven't taken anything away from their core sound. Kana's vocals are are as soothing and beautiful as they've always been, and the album still feels very much in the same vein as the rest of their discography. That said, however, one obvious side-effect of the approach that SCLL have opted to take this time around is that there aren't as many standout songs on the album compared to some of their previous efforts. azure is perhaps the album's most energetic and catchy song, whereas feel uneasy also stands out for being the first SCLL track to feature guest vocals in the form of moto kawabe from mitsume. Otherwise, however, I'd say that ghost is dead is best enjoyed as an overall package rather than as a collection of individual songs (something that seems to have been a common trait on a lot of indie releases this year, I feel). There's a remarkable consistency on the album, but those waiting for that one killer track to come along may feel somewhat underwhelmed. Nevertheless, Spangle call Lilli line have been absent for far too long, and ghost is dead marks a welcome return for a band that has earned their place in the hearts of many over the years. It may not be the most memorable release in their discography overall, nor the most musically proficient or experimental, but it's still everything that an SCLL album should be, and after such a long time in the game it's surprising that they're still able to release music of such quality. With the band being so busy in their personal/work lives these days it could very well be the last release we get from them for quite some time, but encouragingly it seems that there's still a lot of life left in the band... when they can find the time to write new music.

Sorry for bumping an oldish topic but I found an interesting article/interview regarding the album's creation as well as the current status of the band I though thought was worth sharing here: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2015/11/15/music/spangle-call-lilli-line-returns-new-sound-familiar-vibe/#.Vklw99grKhd Also they released three additional PVs for the album: echoes of S ghost in a closet escort & landing

Qualia had one or two standout tracks but I felt the songwriting was rather lacking overall. That said, if they can improve their consistency on this album then it could be pretty good.

Trailer uploaded:

Cat already mentioned my two favourite labels; Zankyo Record and PROGRESSIVE FOrM. These are the only two Japanese labels that I follow in the sense that I always make sure to check out whatever new releases they put out. Other than that, I do think that kilk records is a pretty decent label whose artists tend to be at least worth giving a shot. Examples include Aureole, コッテル, ferri, and AUDIO BOXING. For the most part though, I tend to find new artists mostly via recommendations, word of mouth, etc rather than through labels.

The artwork only has 4 Cats. Where is their CAT5? Song doesn't sound like anything particularly special. I might give the album a shot but I've been rather underwhelmed with these guys for a little while now so I'm not sure.

Here's an old picture of me from the Show Yourself thread. And to keep things on topic, I'm discovering way too much new music lately, I can't keep up >_<

Glad to see both THE NOVEMBERS and the piqnic on here, though I suppose the former at least was pretty much a given. Also... Phoenergy... hmmmm.

So I'm just walking along campus when suddenly two cute-as-fuck Korean girls run over and start fangirling over me like I'm their favourite K-Pop star or something. What is life?

There's absolutely no way they came up with that name without realising how similar it is to RedTube. Anyway, I'm kind of sick of subscription services cropping up everywhere. It feels like everyone is trying to convince you to set up a monthly subscription these days. I guess it was only a matter of time before YouTube jumped on the bandwagon, but I probably wont use it personally.

I'd imagine that RY X from The Acid / HOWLING and Robin Aoki from downy could both work well together. RY X Robin Aoki

Well, this is my actual team in Gen VI right now. I named them all after Shin Megami Tensei demons for shits and giggles. Beelzebub (Volcarona, ♂) Lilith (Ferrothorn, ♀) Catoblepas (Garchomp, ♂) Izanami (Mega Gardevoir, ♀) Loki (Klefki, ♂) Lorelei (Azumarill, ♀)

Went to Club Ellui in Gangnam last night and somehow managed to get free entry, free JD & coke, free tequila shots, free beer and didn't even have to take a taxi back because we just got the first train instead. Cheapest night out ever.

Cannot unhear...

I think that's the whole point of track six, though. It's there to subvert your expectations. Personally I really like it as an ender in this context, though as a standalone track it's nothing special.

Honeymoon ver. Basically both videos played together. Really cool concept.

I think the heavier/darker side of the band gets talked about more on here primarilly because of the fact that they've been focusing more on that as of late, but I think most people are fans of their softer side too.

Hahahaha, that was brilliant!

Do we have a MH room already set up on dubtrack?