enyx

The studio version for that track just got released too, I really like it!

Fucking LOL 凛として時雨 - some guy get's his balls trapped in a doorway and then proceeds to wail in agony for the next 3 hours while his guitar gets repeatedly smashed against a wall.

I listened to the rerecorded Shandy and found it rather decent. I liked the way the section from 1:10 - 2:06 was reinterpreted, not necessarily in the sense that I prefer it to the original but just in the sense that it was different and refreshing. I stopped listening to signal halfway through and I've already heard the acoustic version of unravel so I didn't even bother.

I don't like to get too much into ranking or ordering bands, so I just listed them in alphanumeric order: 八十八ヶ所巡礼 ATLANTIS AIRPORT Boris downy ハイスイノナサ 凛として時雨* school food punishment** Spangle call Lilli line THE NOVEMBERS toe * This is an awkward one because it really only applies to their output up to and including i'mperfect . Their recent output has been awful. ** This will probably be replaced with siraph if that band keeps on going in the same vein as their first EP suggests. So far the band is essentially all of the better parts of sfp minus most of the worse parts.

YES BOYS!

I freaking love this band, even though they've only been a recent discovery for me (been listening to them for about a year or so). Weirdly I don't really tend to listen to their complete albums so much as I do a few key songs that I love enough that I'd inject them directly into my veins if I could. Tracks like 苦苦★念仏, PALAMA･JIPANG, 霊界ヌ〜ボ〜♨, and a few others. That said though, I'd argue their 2014 is their strongest overall package. I didn't find their 2015 release as good despite it being the first that I listened to, but it still has some okay tracks. Hopefully they release something this year!

I'm pretty sure that the song starting at 0:33 in the new preview video is the one that they played when I saw them back in February. If the rest of the album is even half as good as that then we'll be in for a treat!

Ohhhhh my god this sounds brilliant!

Angry driver = Trombe, cartoon characters = MH staff, guy laughing = me. Sorry, I just had to...

Saw this posted elsewhere and thought it sounded really promising. Will keep an eye (or ear) on this and hopefully it wont disappoint.

I made an introductory mix for them in this thread, if you're interested. It has songs from across their entire discography so it should give you a good idea of their overall sound.

That interview was hilarious. Kyo's "Die again and become an insect" answer made me spit my drink.

Dope. Fucking. Band. This is one of those few artists that I could genuinely gush over for hours if given the time. I'll admit that they're definitely not everybody's cup of tea but, goddamn, they do what they do so fucking well. Their sound, though it has developed over the years, has always felt to me like one of the few really genuine explorations of feelings like depression, displacement, awkwardness, and uncomfortably without coming across as melodramatic or over-the-top. I love the way their music often employs these constant repetitive phrases throughout the duration of a song, particularly when it comes to their percussion and basslines. Just... aaargh, even typing about them makes me wanted to scream like a fangirl at a One Direction concert. My favourte album would have to be 第五作品集『無題』, but all of them are extremely solid efforts. As for favourite songs, 春と修羅 has generally been my go-to answer even though there are a handful from pretty much all of their albums that I could include in a list like that.

Playing fine in the UK too.

Pshhhhhh. I've been sending YOSHIKI all of my student loan money each month for the last 3 years and all he did for me was promise me a catering role in that new Lady's X project.

Sounds dope.

I can't comment on Gesu no Kiwami Otome since I haven't really listened to them enough, but with regards to TK it's hard for me to decide how I should appraise his work overall. If you asked me this in 2012, when his only releases were the film A moment DVD and flowering, I'd have gladly placed him above just about anyone else out there with the exception of a very select few other artists, but considering how everything since then has been increasingly dull and more and more generic/stagnant, I'm not sure how I should feel about him overall. I mean technically when you view his discography as a whole it still contains those two amazing releases that I mentioned before, but the fact that the 'average' quality of his work has gone so downhill just makes me feel like it would be hard for me to vote for him had he gone up against an artist I knew well enough to be able to vote.

That feeling where you still briefly get hyped upon seeing the words 'TK from 凛として時雨' only to remember how bland his releases have been for the last 3-4 years. I'll give it a courtesy listen, at least, but I don't see it doing anything for me, especially if Secret Sensation and that latest single are anything to go by.

Sup?

Horror = A negative thing Horrible = A negative thing Horrific = A negative thing Terror = A negative thing Terrible = A negative thing Terrific = A positive thing WTF English?

I'll keep an eye on this. I really love the musical and compositional aspects of IX-NINE- but something about the vocals REALLY puts me off them and kind of ruins the whole thing for me, which is a shame because normally I'm pretty good at looking past vocals that I dislike. If the vocals here are more tolerable then this could be right up my alley.

July was a slightly underwhelming month for me, though one or two nice releases still slipped through the cracks. lycoriscoris - Transient With only three tracks, one of which being a remix by another artist,Transient is a short but sweet EP that displays what makes lycoriscoris one of the underrated gems of Japan's brilliant glitch/IDM scene. For those familiar with his previous work, Transient is essentially more of the same; but when you're as talented as lycoriscoris that's really all it needs to be. Highly recommended for those looking to try out the genre, or for those that are already into it but have never given him a shot before. Bandcamp TTNG - Disappointment Island There are a few things that are certain in the world: the sun rises every morning and sets at night, all living things eventually die, and TTNG always releases solid math rock albums. Disappointment Island, thankfully, doesn't alter this inherent state of nature. Much like the lycoriscoris release, this one doesn't exactly throw up any new surprises with regards to where it fits in with the rest of the band's material, but I don't think anyone particularly expected or really wanted it to. On a personal level I have to admit that I've always preferred their previous vocalist, but it's not a big enough deal to stop me from enjoying this album. Bandcamp

Most people do, except the select few that get really lucky early on.

I read a particularly interesting and rather depressing article regarding Spangle call Lilli line (who, for the uninitiated, are a popular and long-running indie band) and it really put into perspective how even an influential and highly-respected outfit like them aren't even close to being able to survive off of the band alone and have to resort to working day jobs that ultimately end up taking up 99% of their time; especially as responsibilities like parenthood slowly start creeping in. Reading things like that makes me slightly more forgiving towards groups like 凛として時雨 for basically just selling themselves out and going down the generic anisong route, even though it still sucks either way.