Some recent bands that kind of have that 90s emo/post-hc/screamo vibe:
Balance and Composure
Touche Amore
Piano Becomes the Teeth
Dikembe
Modern Baseball
Snowing
Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely State)
Crash of Rhinos
Joie De Vivre
Not quite new, but great: This Town Needs Guns. Kind of emo/math-rock, really good band
Very underrated band: I Hate Myself. Powerful and painful songs like this one
i'll definitely go with Neurosis. Powerful, cathartic, emotional music.
So, anyone can see on my profile that I'm a user since 2013. Kind of a ghost user I know, but I decided to become active and give you guys all the proper feedback you all deserve.
Dir en grey - UROBOROS
Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Deafheaven - Sunbather
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Elliott Smith - Either/Or
Lupe de Lupe - Sal Grosso
Mineral - The Power of Failing
The Microphones - The Glow, pt. 2
Recommended Tracks: January 2016Greetings, fellow Monochromians! The Official Review team has rebranded our "Best New Tracks" series to "Recommended Tracks"! We've also revamped our format! New Year, new improvements! 2016 has blasted off to a brilliant start, and with so much great music being released, we've got a good batch of new music to recommend! So have a look around! We hope that you discover some new music to get into! If it conveniences you, we've also made a playlist of the embedded YouTube videos here! ^^
@Zeus's Pick: "OUSIA"byTHE BLACK SWAN I have had a lot of time to digest THE BLACK SWAN's magnum opus thus far. "OUSIA" is vocalist Jin's first eleven minute progressive behemoth, birthed with no formal training in music theory. I'm sure he got by with a little help from his friends, but having the pleasure of reading Jin's translated comments concerning the origins and motivations behind "OUSIA" emphasized some elements of the song more. I must admit I am biased and find progressive wankery a much better alternative to a breakdown or simple repetition any day of the week, and the effort is impressive. The five or so minutes of melodic rock sound like a NEGA homage thanks to the piano played by Yuu (who used to play piano and drums in NEGA) mixed together with a section that reminds me of Dir en grey's "Macabre". The breakdown halfway in is ripped straight from NEGA's "虚しき「生」の寓意≒「死」の真意", and then the band buries their homages in guitar solos so frenetic the mood switches from depressing to energetic and back in under a minute. I wouldn't blame anyone for finding it a tiring, confusing mess, but I love every second of the ride.
@emmny's Pick: "「ここにラブソングを」 (koko ni love song wo)"byDEZERT Leave it to DEZERT to return unfazed after a seemingly long lull after the departure of their guitarist, which, in their defense, could have easily killed any other band. Kira is out, Miyako (ex-Moran) is in, and DEZERT came back more brutal, melodic, twisted and catchy than before—take “「ここにラブソングを」” off their second full length album “「最高の食卓」”as an example. The song blasts through its incredibly quick two-minute run time with an even faster drum blast-beat as 千秋 half-sings, half-raps like a madman while the guitars chug in Miyako's hideous, extra-distorted tone. This brief sequence ends with 千秋 belting the sugary chorus, and a little breakdown before closing off the song in his surprisingly angelic falsetto. It all shows just how well DEZERT mix uglyness and beauty to make their one-of-a-kind style of alt-metal—a style that was sorely missed and well worth the wait.
@fitear1590's Picks: "Open your heart"byLONDBOYB.P.Records has been on my shit-list thus far. 己龍 (Kiryu) may be one of my favorite active VK bands, but that has nothing to do with this multi-type-obsessed label. With no long-term interest in their other bands, I considered their signing of Kiryu to be a fluke. Then came LONDBOY, whose PV seems to have been produced by the label. Silly name and cheesy song title aside, their first song has me very interested! The song begins with a simple, but beautiful synth line. Gone are the cheap trash synths (I need to make a thread about this) we hear with Royz, for instance. Though the drums could use some production work, I'm pretty impressed with the catchy and dynamic pop-rock composition in "Open your heart"! It's unclear whether B.P.Records will actually sign the band, but whatever the case, I'm hoping their March single "アイリス(iris)" will impress!
"MOON" by LUCKY TAPES About 4 years ago, I discovered Lamp--truly "love at first listen". Their sublime, relaxing brand of jazz/easy-listening infused pop is unmatched. Having said that, I've been keeping an eye on a few musicians who approach their style, such as the Indonesian solo artist Noh Salleh, the quirky シンリズム (shin rizumu). LUCKY TAPES is my latest find. Their new song "MOON" might be one of the closest I've ever heard to Lamp! Unfortunately, a quick YouTube search seems to indicate that their previous music isn't quite in the same vein. But if this single marks an overhaul in their sound, then I'm all ears for what they'll come up with next!
"光線 (kousen)"byクウチュウ戦 (koochewsen)"Kousen" is the single from their 2nd mini-album Sukoshi Fushigi and it's so fun. While it might not exactly be the psychedelic romp of their 1st mini-album's single, there's still plenty to love about their compositions. It opens with a kind of off-kilter kookiness, before moving into an extremely groovy verse. Vocalist Riyo also has an intriguing style, at once raspy and breathy, proving to be a surprisingly strong singer. You gotta love that PV as well! Special shoutouts to @doombox and @seurong for turning me on to them!
"N_tower"byLILI LIMIT LILI LIMIT's new mini-album #apieceofcake might be a hodgepodge of indie sounds from the math-poppy "morning coffee" and Czecho No Republic-esque "Festa", but "N_tower" is the standout track for me! I hope you'll allow me another namedrop, but right from the first pulsing beats of the song, APOGEE came to mind. Tight bass lines and cosmic synthwork create a gorgeous soundscape. The late chorus is massive and you'll want to sing along 'Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuume!' Somehow, the song sneaks past the 5-minute mark in the blink of an eye. LILI LIMIT still seems to be finding their sound, but I'd love to see them explore this synth pop style even more!
@beni's Picks: "Speaking"byMrs. GREEN APPLE I wasn't expecting Mrs. GREEN APPLE to be as rocking as they are. They've been on my 'to listen to' list for quite a while now, and seeing their album promoted on the net encouraged me to finally get into them. If I could talk about the majority of their first ever full length album's tracks, I'd totally go into more detail as the album itself is well worth a full listen, however, here's hoping the rocker tune will get the majority of you guys on board to give them a go. Not only does "Speaking" make your blood pump with a super quick delivery in every way, but it manages to make me feel depressed over the fact that they've not only been under my radar for so long, but for plenty of others too, I'm sure. So don't make the same mistake I did and give this awesome song a listen and then get straight to TWELVE!
"Mobile Phone" by Swinging Popsicle Adorably pleasant indie darlings Swinging Popsicle finally release some new material after a good moment of silence. "Mobile Phone" has their signature Engrish (fluent in fact!) lyrics and a sweet, chirpy beat (modern bass sounding at that!) they always incorporate together with cute (and repetitive~) lyrics. If you're new to these guys and enjoy some indie now and then, as Swinging Popsicle being one of the first I ever discovered and still love to this day, I cannot put them forward any more, so please give this MV a shot. It's a treat you'll wish would never end.
"ゴードン (Gordon)"byFINLANDS What caught me at first and what kept me listening to their mini-album ULTRA was Fuyuko's voice. Her super squeaky and off-pitch vocals when it comes to certain words in their songs and choruses are both endearing and engaging, and something different compared to those note perfect bands. My favourite song from them is the leading MV for their recent mini-album, which is totally worth a listen with simple yet catchy melodies and a rough and quirky singer to top it all off. Be sure to add FINLANDS to your indie, female fronted collection.
"タイムマシン (Time Machine)"by加治ひとみ (Hitomi Kaji)The first thought I had when Kaji's voice graced my ears is that 'this is one of the most distinct voices within J-pop'. Against the lush and elegant music, it only emphasizes her sophisticated sound and tone more, which is anything but your typical popular J-pop music. Her discography is super small, with only two singles and her first mini-album being the source of this MV track. We can only hope and pray for more material after this impressive release.
@CAT5's Picks: "1 Nite Wonder"byATATAIt's been four years since ATATA's splendid self-titled debut EP, and I've been longing for new music from these guys ever since. Thankfully, their follow-up EP JOY was worth the wait. The guys haven't augmented their sound at all - everything from the production, to their songwriting and musical competence is right where they left off in 2012. While this might be a bummer for some, I found JOY to be a most welcome addition to ATATA's scarce discography of roughly 9 songs (a 'whopping' 15 now, including the new material). More of the same doesn't hurt if the music is still good, right? With that said, pinpointing a standout from "JOY" is almost impossible - the EP is thoroughly awesome. "1 Nite Wonder", with all of its punk spirit and post-hardcore brovado, works just as well as any track from the EP. In fact, you should just pick the EP up on iTunes for a meager 6 bucks.
"Luv U Tokio" by METAFIVE Yukihiro Takahashi of Yellow Magic Orchestra has recruited the likes of Leo Imai, Tomohiko Gondo, and legends Towa Tei, Cornelius, Yoshinori Sunahara to be a part of METATIVE - to call them a superband would almost be an understatement. With so many brilliant musical minds together, expecting any less than greatness was not even an option. Their debut album META may not have been the instant masterpiece that fans might have hoped for, but it was also lightyears away from being a disappointment! "Luv U Tokio" is among the most straightforward tracks on the album, but production is absolutely pristine, it's insanely catchy, one of the few with majority Japanese lyrics!
"ブルース (blues)"byGalileo Galilei After almost a decade of unexpected success, fraught with applaudable triumphs and inevitable setbacks, radio-friendly rockers Galileo Galilei are calling it quits after touring in promotion of their final album Sea and The Darkness. The album isn't as gloomy as its title suggests, though. In fact, it's full of the light and airy pop-rock that their career was known for. However, if there's one emotionally poignant moment on Sea and The Darkness, it's undoubtedly the aptly titled "ブルース (blues)". It's a rivetting track with amped-up instrumentation, and a passionate vocal performance from Yuuki Ozaki. In a farewell message from the band, they expressed that they put all of their last thoughts into this album, and in this track, you can literally feel the heartache and sorrow that they've experienced on their road to the end.
"女子達 (joshi-tachi)"byNakamuraEmi In an era where Jpop artists are either rehashing tired trends or trying too hard to be different, aiming for alternatives and missing the mark, I found NakamuraEmi's debut album NIPPONNO ONNAWO UTAU BEST to be completely refreshing. It's your typical pop record through and through, but Emi takes everything back to the basics. She doesn't overextend her reach, yet she's got enough going on to seperate herself from the hordes of Jpoppers playing 'follow the follower'. "joshi-tachi" almost perfectly encapsulates what NakamuraEmi is all about - lush acoustic-pop that neatly draws from both jazz music and hip-hop. And what's best is that this blend sounds completely organic and natural. The only gimmick you'll find here is 'good music'.
"Captive of Mists"byCHERRYBOY FUNCTION Unless you're some kind of Japanese club music afficianado, then chances are you probably haven't heard of CHERRYBOY FUNCTION. Hell, even if you're just a casual fan of electronica, coming across him or his music is unlikely given his sufficiently weak social network game and scanty remix work. Yet despite this, he's been quietly cranking out his bleeps & bloops via the small record label ExT Recordings for about a decade now, and also plays alongside more prominent electronic acts like DE DE MOUSE and TOFUBEATS. "Captive of Mists" is but a small, yet healthy dose of the colorful techno and house grooves to be found on his latest work "Word in the Petals"!
☆Guest☆ Picks: "Big Bear Remix from Gravitation" by ギルガメッシュ (Girugamesh) Once again, Satoshi and his mates were able to make a good and refined release, and the "Gravitation" remix has turned out to be my favorite on their new mini album. They and Big Bear were able to manage a decent remix at an 8:00 length that makes me not care if it was ten minutes or more. If you like to dance in night clubs with all that crazy remix and related, this is definitely a thing you could enjoy.
-submitted by @yakihiko
"FANTASIA"by魔天楼オペラ (Matenrou Opera)In such a long time, I have never heard an album like this from 魔天楼オペラ, full of precious songs. "FANTASIA" could be pointed as a normal instrumental song, but they have Anzi, an amazing guitarist that has learned to improve himself to do really great solos, and was able to excellently carry a six minute track with the help of his band mates: Yo, Yu and Ayame. This has become my favorite song from 地球 (chikyuu).
-submitted by @yakihiko
See you next month!
This thread is for vistlip fans to talk about their expectations, experience and share their love for the band. I didn't post videos here, because most of them are block in my country and this is the largest topic ever made xD I also want to thank @hiroki to help me with the live limited cds
January is drawing to a close, so I thought I'd make this. Picking up the torch this year too, I hope we can make 12 threads for the 12 months of this year (I'll try to be more prescient/proactive this time around). The thread title is pretty self-explanatory, but here are the rules (well, more like guidelines) as said by @Bear last year:
This year started out in a pretty good way musically for me, especially considering the latter half of January. Many anticipated releases, good times, some disappointments, but mostly cool vibes all around. Here are three albums that had a bigger impact on me than others:
David Bowie - Blackstar / What a strange and monumental work of art! Mr. Bowie's passing makes listening to it all the more strange and surreal. Exciting, thought-provoking and full of adventure, especially considering how far into his career he made this record. He will always be one of the very best!
Ty Segall - Emotional Mugger / This dude just can't seem to stop releasing music all over the place, and I sure as hell don't mind. His latest album has everything that makes his style so cozy to listen to: warm fuzzy guitars, trippy vocals and an almost glam-like garage-rock atmosphere.
Chthe'ilist - Le Dernier Crépuscule / These guys don't play around: this is probably the most twisted and deliciously morbidly groovin' death metal release I listened to in a long time. It has the technical chops, the appropriate powerful sound and the sick atmosphere to elevate it into perfection.
Honorable mentions
DEZERT -「最高の食卓」/ Even better than their first album. These guys keep doing their own twisted thing, and it's excellent.
Savages - Adore Life / Their debut album was a bit more to my taste, but the mood is still there. More of a 'thinker's album.'
Spektr - The Art to Disappear / Pulverizing black metal mixed with industrial wastelands and fever-dream jazz? YES, COUNT ME IN.
Ah man this is a tough one xD I love both of these bands, so I'm gonna vote both in the poll. If I had to choose one over the other with no exceptions tho... I would have to go with Pura since I've been listening to them for over 10 years now and they're one of the bands I can trace my love of Japanese music roots to, whereas the Novembers I've only been following for like 5 years and I was already an avid fan of Jmusic by the time I caught wind of them.
im pretty sure if i spent my time with the novembers, they'd outrank pura because of their darker sound
but pura remind of the reason i loved indie rock so much when i was younger, so pura it is.
I tried to pick one particular favorite, but i felt chunks of my brain starting to melt out through my nose as i was trying to make up my mind, so i'm just gonna pick both :^)
CAT WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MEEEEEE these two bands are like my all time top favoritesss
i'm gonna have to choose plastic tree though since i've known them longer and they've carried me throughout my youth hood up to now.
plus, i love ryutaro's voice over anybody else, not sorry.
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)
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