indigo

I haven't been gaming much lately but just bought Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition from Steam Sales, should be good!

Why not take two friendly bands and pit them against one another? I thought this might make for an interesting match up, so let's go! We've got the legendary Plastic Tree who have been around for over 20 years, and then THE NOVEMBERS, who are a bit younger (they've been active for a little over 10 years) but well-respected. Both bands are loosely associated with shoegaze, but whereas Plastic Tree has been a mainstay for overseas VK fans, THE NOVEMBERS has been prominently favored by overseas. 'J-indie' fans. Which band do you prefer, and why?

Just to make it tougher for fans of both

Ryutaro Arimura (PLASTIC TREE) & Yusuke Kobayashi (THE NOVEMBERS)





Plastic Tree







vs.

THE NOVEMBERS

Here are the nine albums that shaped / influenced lil' ol' me while growing up to be the big Jigdaddy I am today.
 

 
♪♪♪ Blind Myself - Product of Our Imagination
♪♪♪ BUCK-TICK - 狂った太陽
♪♪♪ David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
♪♪♪ Marduk - La Grande Danse Macabre
♪♪♪ Marilyn Manson - Holy Wood
♪♪♪ Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In
♪♪♪ SHERBETS - MIRACLE
♪♪♪ Tom Waits - Bone Machine
♪♪♪ Watch My Dying - Klausztrofónia

Nice thread!
 
non-VK:
 
凛として時雨 - still a Sigure virgin? (2010)
Lostage - Lostage (2010)
The Novembers - zeitgeist (2013)
凛として時雨 - i'mperfect (2013)
The Novembers - Rhapsody in beauty (2014)
 
VK:
 
グリーヴァ - 鬼ト影 (2013)
cocklov... cocklobin - Iris (2012)

Nice thread!
 
non-VK:
 
凛として時雨 - still a Sigure virgin? (2010)
Lostage - Lostage (2010)
The Novembers - zeitgeist (2013)
凛として時雨 - i'mperfect (2013)
The Novembers - Rhapsody in beauty (2014)
 
VK:
 
グリーヴァ - 鬼ト影 (2013)
cocklov... cocklobin - Iris (2012)

Nice thread!
 
non-VK:
 
凛として時雨 - still a Sigure virgin? (2010)
Lostage - Lostage (2010)
The Novembers - zeitgeist (2013)
凛として時雨 - i'mperfect (2013)
The Novembers - Rhapsody in beauty (2014)
 
VK:
 
グリーヴァ - 鬼ト影 (2013)
cocklov... cocklobin - Iris (2012)

I hope the sax guy/gal will be present again XD

Since dub has been doing well, and we've been establishing more of a community on there, we've decided to make an Official dub room run by the MH staff - just like on plug.dj. We will now be using this room to host the MH Sunday sessions, so be sure to update your bookmarks!
https://www.dubtrack.fm/join/monochrome-heaven_145247137777434

(Some of) my favorite non-Japanese releases 2015

 

 

Algiers by Algiers
 
This band came out of the blue and instantly swept me away. A bizarre mixture of post-punk,
industrial electronics and... soul, gospel and blues? As weird as it sounds, it works amazingly.
 
 

Trilogy by Carpenter Brut
 
The mighty French mastermind of dark retro synthwave released a collection album, much to my
delight. The perfect soundtrack to your life, if you're living in a zombie-filled '80s B-movie that is.

 

 

The Anthropocene Extinction by Cattle Decapitation
 
Cattle Decapitation is one of those few bands that I'll always dig, no matter what. Hard-as-balls
deathgrind onslaught that will melt your face off, but only after pummeling you into the ground.
 
 

True Enemy by Disgrace
 
Speaking of pummeling, Disgrace's debut album is one mean listen. This lethal combo of death
metal and metallic hardcore is your perfect choice if you had a bad day and wanna cut loose.
 
 

I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside by Earl Sweatshirt
 
It's no secret that Earl is my favorite from the (now defunct?) Odd Future collective, and he
doesn't disappoint here either. Hazy and bleak hip-hop delivered in the usual Earl fashion.
 
 

Dreamcrash by Grave Pleasures
 
One of my most-anticipated albums of the year, Grave Pleasures' first full-length offering is a
potent cocktail of romantically morbid melodies and haunting post-punk melancholia.
 
 

Bodies by Haust
 
Utterly vile and crusty black metal'n'roll with a surprisingly atmospheric undertone. Expect
anything from cosmic keyboards to all-out punk nihilism. One of the very best of 2015!
 
 

Exercises in Futility by Mgła
 
The Polish brothers did it again. Imagine everything that is awesome about black metal,
channeled through fantastically crafted misanthropic tirades. Essential metal listening.
 
 

Life Rips & Assholes by Mommy Long Legs
 
These girls just came and stole my heart right away. Their two cassette EPs are packed to the brim
with hilariously fun (and funny) DIY garage-punk tunes that will stick in your head. Slumber party!
 
 

Key Markets by Sleaford Mods
 
A dude with a microphone and a dude with a bottle of beer and a laptop. So simple yet genius.
The guys are doing their usual fare of vitriolic rants and minimal punk-hop beats and winning.
 
 

Ten Solid Years of Applause by Super Luxury
 
A totally random discovery of mine, Super Luxury play abrasive in-your-face noise rock that just
sounds so honest and knuckleheaded (and even catchy) that they immediately won me over.
 
 

A legszebb éveink by Szabó Benedek és a Galaxisok
 
Benedek Szabó, one of Hungary's young singer-songwriters, finally released his second album
and oh boy, is it fine! Bittersweet lyrics and instantly hummable melodies, the total package.
 
 

Tremors by Terrible Feelings
 
This band is so good, I just don't get why they aren't known more. Heartbreaking melodies layered
on top of vintage-sounding punk'n'roll hymns, straddling the line between melancholic and uplifting.
 
 
 
That's all, folks! Bear in mind that this is only a small segment of all the cool music 2015 had to offer. I had a really hard time narrowing my lists down to 10 entries (so I made this second one 13, lol), especially considering how I started out with 30-35 entries for my Japanese list and more than 100 for the non-Japanese one! So I guess this is more like a spur-of-the-moment type listing, but still, I hope you'll find some good stuff here.

Great list! I can agree with most of your picks. I still need to try マルコ and The Mortal albums.

(Some of) my favorite Japanese releases 2015

 

 

テクノ・ナルシスのすべて by Burgh (All About Techno Narcisse by Burgh)
 
Newcomers Burgh deliver a quick round of catchy post-punk tunes with heaps of that surfin'
punk flare you can’t help but love. Fun and dancey goodness. A band to look out for!
 
 

12 by cali≠gari
 
It's no secret that cali≠gari is close to my heart, so naturally this was gonna be on here. Quirky,
melodic and always interesting - a very strong album with a surprising amount of diversity.
 

 

妄想主義者ノ背徳。by グリーヴァ (Mousou shugisha no haitoku. by Grieva)
 
I must applaud Grieva: after losing a drummer, they quickly found a new member and proceeded
to release some of their best work to date. This mini takes the cake, such kote-kei goodness.
 
 

ホログラムを登る男 by 平沢進 (Hologram wo noboru otoko by Hirasawa Susumu)
 
Hirasawa outdid himself once again, serving up his unique brand of futuristic new-age synth pop.
Soaring melodies and arrangements bursting with bio-mechanical personality; the very best.
 
 

Cthulhu & R'lyeh by KEEL
 
KEEL is undoubtedly the Nagoya-kei supergroup of the year for me. Four excellent musicians,
two mini albums, a cool dark style with garage-y undertones. Couldn't ask for more, just perfect!


 

 

近代ブラック by マルコ (Kindai Black by Marco)
 
Marco are one of the big positive surprises of 2015. Even though their style is unmistakably
borrowed from MERRY, they manage to crank out killer tunes like it's nobody's business.
 
 

VITIUM by sukekiyo
 
Kyo & co can practically do no wrong with their mystical progressive style of music, no matter
how challenging it may seem at times. The overall length is just right for it all to click too.

 

 

情緒 by THE HAKKIN (Joucho by THE HAKKIN)
 
Sadly THE HAKKIN is no longer with us, but before their demise they released a full-length.
This baby is full of shameless '80s new-wave nostalgia. If you can handle cheese - dig in!
 
 

I AM MORTAL by THE MORTAL
 
BUCK-TICK's Sakurai Atsushi turned his goth-o-meter to 11 and, with his talented crew, cooked
up a boiling cauldron of dark rock elegance. Bauhaus called, they want their swag back!

 

 

CUTE by TOWA TEI
 
With a plethora of impressive guest artists (and a telling album title!), master TOWA TEI made
one of the best electronic pop albums of the year: full of bleeps, bloops and sleek Shibuya chic.
 
 
 
Stay tuned for my list of Non-Japanese favorites - coming soon!

I might be a bit late but I'll be there.

Totally random and spontaneous question: how would you guys like to do a live DVD viewing session tonight on dub? We did something once on plug before, and it was pretty fun (even if only a handful of people came). I'm in the process of uploading the video, should be ready in about 30 mins.
 
Since it's Xmas and all, I figured I'd make it something special & extravagant: we'd be watching UNDER CODE's omnibus live DVD "Nihon seiatsu -2005.11.30 TOKYO LIQUID ROOM ebisu-" (already 10 years have passed, wow!), with the following performances: Kalen, Pashya, Siva, Dali, KuRt, Himitsu Kessha Codomo-A, 12012, Vidoll, Phantasmagoria - and a special ending session! Each band plays around 2-5 songs, and there's a nice variety of styles. All in all it makes for three whole hours of indies-vk fun from the golden age of UC, how about it?
 
My proposed starting time would be approx 3.5 hours from now, so 8.30PM GMT.

a tip: if you want to insult someone, just say that their favorite song sounds like anime opening song.

SHERBETS new album "CRASHED SEDAN DRIVE" will be released at 2016/01/20 (2 TYPE)
 
limited edition (4,320yen) will include CD+DVD, and regular edition (2,916yen) will include CD only
 
[CD track list]
01.JOLENE
02.Stealth
03.Crashed Sedan Drive
04.A BABY
05.COWBOY
06.September
07.俺たちの季節(oretachi no kisetsu)
08.Kinshasa
09.Canberra Zombies Food Court
10.Practice Hand
11.JAKE

no, i dont mean emo as in my chemical romance, tokio hotel, post-hardcore as in a day to remember or screamo as in bring me the horizon, alesana. for the sake of this thread, exclude those types of bands because im sure there are other threads dedicated to them and their respective genres.
im currently obsessed with thursday, mineral, funeral diner, the appleseed cast, daitro, city of caterpillar, christie front drive, envy, sunny day real estate, american football, empire! empire!, gospel, pianos become the teeth, suis la lune, touche amore
comment below with any of ur current favs within the genre, if there's an awesome underground bandcamp band you'd like to share with the rest of us and recommend+ask for recommendations!

it is announced at event "1118 GIGS 2015" at Ikebukuro CHOP at 2015/11/18 that the god and death stars new mini album "after the addle apple" will be released in 2016 spring, although details have not yet been announced
 
 
btw they will perform at Shibuya DESEO at 2016/01/08 and at Sel'm presents 3-man live "0.1.3.0." at Shibuya MILKY WAY at 2015/01/29 with Sel'm & More under band name "Rehabilitation of the god", and they will hold their one-man live "recovery of the god" at Shimokitazawa SHELTER at 2016/05/06

Had to check out what's with all this fuss about the piqnic, and man, I'm glad that I did.

Had to check out what's with all this fuss about the piqnic, and man, I'm glad that I did.

[track list]
01.猫とアレルギー
02.怪獣の腕のなか
03.夏の夜の街
04.35℃
05.スカルプチャー
06.ドライブ
07.桜が咲く前に
08.ハッカ
09.ありふれた言葉
10.YOUTHFUL ANGER
11.名前を呼んで
12.ひとひら
 

it is announced at HIGH FASHION PARALYZE live at NAGOYA HOLIDAY NEXT at 2015/10/24 that gibkiy gibkiy gibkiy(f.k.a. HIGH FASHION PARALYZE) new full album "不条理種劇(fujourshugeki)" will be released at 2016/02/24 (4,212yen)
 
 
btw they will hold their live tour "不条理種劇(fujourshugeki)" since Tokyo at 2016/03/05 and up to Niigata at 2016/04/05
 
http://gibkiy.com/

Excellent gig at one of my fave venues (A38 Ship) last night!
 
Opening act was Jessica93, who's a French dude doing a dark-rock one-man-band kinda thing, drum machines, guitar / bass guitar switching and looping back and forth while singing. It was quite fun for the first few songs, then it became kinda boring (the tunes were a bit repetitive with just one drum program and guitar riff/melody per track xD). Interesting nevertheless.
 
Then came the band I was looking forward to seeing for months now: the mighty Grave Pleasures! It's no secret I'm a huge fan of "Climax", the album of the band's previous incarnation Beastmilk, and their new album is pretty cool too, so I had high expectations. The band itself was amazing, with tight and energy-filled playing, and McNerney is one of the coolest frontmen ever for this type of dark and decadent post-punk vibe. I really appreciated that apparently they played the most songs out of all the gigs on this tour so far (16 in total, performing almost all the tracks of "Dreamcrush" too). What a magical night - it's just too bad that there weren't that many people there. One of the lowest turnouts I've seen at this venue for such a kickass band. Oh well, it was absolute fun, and that's what counts!
 
A video someone took:
 


 
(you can sometimes see me rockin' out in my new white Grave Pleasures T-shirt to the right XD)

...kind of?? Needs facial hair and a receding hairline tho, lol.
 
edit: there we go xD