Ito 2438 Posted December 1, 2016 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: …。【サイレンス】(Silence) - psycho:lens. ベル (belle) - 歌謡サスペンス劇場 (Kayou suspense gekijou) TAMTAM - Newpoesy クウチュウ戦 (koochewsen) - 超能力セレナーデ (Chounouryoku Serenade) 柏大輔 (KASHIWA Daisuke) - Program Music II BUMP OF CHICKEN - Butterflies Kiki Hitomi - Karma no Kusari 中島孝 (Nakashima Koh) - TAXIS Versailles - The Greatest Hits 2007-2016 MIYAVI - Fire Bird the god and death stars - after the addle apple DIV - EDR TOKYO chanty - 不完全な音楽 (Fukanzen na ongaku) abstracts - Hologram Royz - S.I.V.A. KEEL - raison d'etre et de sang ギャロ (The Gallo) - DIAVOLO ザアザア (XAA-XAA) - 中毒症状 (chuudoku shoujou) the Novembers - Hallelujah DEZERT -「最高の食卓」(Saikou no shokutaku) THE BLACK SWAN - OUSIA BUCK-TICK - アトム 未来派 No.9 (Atom miraiha No.9) downy - 第六作品集『無題』 (Mudai) siraph - siraph ギルガメッシュ (girugamesh) - 鵺-chimera- 2 Delkmiroph and CAT5 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 1, 2016 Day 1 - …。【サイレンス】(Silence) - psycho:lens. posted! 1 CAT5 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Reverend 3566 Posted December 1, 2016 (edited) Alright! I love the reviews and lists this time of year... and we're starting off with an album I really liked. Agree with @emmnyI do think Silence made their full-length debut a bit more accessible than past works. Some of the songs on those minis were so weird/dense they could put you off. They still experiment, but also write some killer tunes. Edited December 1, 2016 by The Reverend 4 Anne Claire, Ito, emmny and 1 other reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CAT5 9075 Posted December 1, 2016 I listened to the Silence album, and while it's a bit outside of my taste, I can definitely understand the appeal. "Navy daydream" was my favorite track. We're off to a good start! 1 emmny reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokage 5930 Posted December 1, 2016 wtf they're not even brutal 0/10 doesnt deserve to be on the list Nah, actually, I'm quite frankly surprised to see this album appear here. Pleasantly surprised, but surprised nevertheless. Mostly just because I didn't feel it reflected the majority of the active userbase's taste.. Anyway, most of the things I've heard that Sou and Zull have been involved in (well, maybe except for The Candy Spooky Theater) have been quite stellar. I dont actually know who's responsible for composing most of Silence's material, but I sure as hell do enjoy the atmosphere they manage to create w/ their music. Also agree w/ the statement that they appear to have ''sacrificed'' some of the more dense/abstract elements of their style for a somewhat more accessible sound, but the end result's still good. Not ''Tokage's personal top 10 of the year'' good, but undeniably stellar nevertheless. 2 CAT5 and saltofstones reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
emmny 4139 Posted December 1, 2016 18 minutes ago, The Reverend said: Alright! I love the reviews and lists this time of year... and we're starting off with an album I really liked. Agree with @emmnyI do think Silence made their full-length debut a bit more accessible than past works. Some of the songs on those minis were so weird/dense they could put you off. They still experiment, but also write some killer tunes. i loved their dreamier stuff like amazora no stardust, dreamer dreamer, and orangeiro no object, but the second they got into their weird screamy funky cabaret jazz rock i would tune the fuck out. im so happy they pretty much entirely abandoned that mess, but that said, those songs were 3-6 years old; i can't believe they've been at it for so long. that funky cabaret side came out really well on the last emmuree record with taiyou no melody, so i think its a concept sou likes but for silence i think he dumped it (thank god) 11 minutes ago, CAT5 said: I listened to the Silence album, and while it's a bit outside of my taste, I can definitely understand the appeal. "Navy daydream" was my favorite track. We're off to a good start! hells yeah...welcome to the emo cult...im responsible for this 3 CAT5, Anne Claire and The Reverend reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plastic_rainbow 2162 Posted December 1, 2016 (edited) i think i actually enjoy their previous minis more than this one lol. i kinda miss that experimental stuff they had going in the past, it was gloomier and ambient, even some of the bizarre songs can be enjoyable sometimes. yet this album still manages to impress me, and may go on my top list of the year, with favorites being プラネタリウム and navy dream. Edited December 1, 2016 by plastic_rainbow 1 emmny reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anne Claire 392 Posted December 1, 2016 THE BEST RELEASE OF 2016, HANDS DOWN 2 emmny and Ito reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 2, 2016 Day 2: 歌謡サスペンス劇場 (Kayou suspense gekijou) by ベル (belle) posted! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
saltofstones 136 Posted December 3, 2016 Awesome first choices, these two are definitely among the albums that stood out for me as well from this year's batch. psycho:lens is kind of required listening for long lazy rainy days, contemplative or listless moods and for every Nagoya Kei fan. As for Belle, they were really not on my radar at first at all, I just kind of gave their album a listen on a whim, but it was so unexpectedly good and dare I say they concocted a sound that definitely gives them their own color in a VK scene that sometimes feels a bit too samey. It's fun apparently light pop-rock, but it's also very melancholy and I am a sucker for retro vibes in modern music. And I really love the guitar work in their music, it's something I've come to expect from them and they don't disappoint. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 3, 2016 Day 3: Newpoesy by TAMTAM posted! 2 saishuu and CAT5 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CAT5 9075 Posted December 3, 2016 I really enjoyed this TAMTAM album, and It's a welcome return to form. I don't think the sound they were going for previously was "bad", but I don't think it was for them. I think they realized that too. Anyways, this album is a really easy listen. It's one that I can put on and groove to in its entirety. That said, there aren't really any moments on the album that wow me, or beckon me to hit repeat. So I didn't really feel justified in endorsing this as an AOTY. I say this, yet I'm still unsure whether i'll put it on my personal list or not lol - it may very well be one of those albums I include just because it's still better in relation to other albums I've heard this year - but i'll see near the end of this month. At any rate, cool choice! Super solid album and definitely worth a listen! 3 Zeus, saishuu and Original Saku reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
saishuu 3220 Posted December 4, 2016 The new TAMTAM is such a pleasant listen. I think I played it right before I went to sleep pretty much everyday for a month right after it came out. I agree with CAT5 in regards to the lack of a standout moment, but there are definitely a couple of nice combos in there, namely コーヒーピープル+CANADA and greedcity -the theme of lisa-+星雲ヒッチハイク. In a year where the quieter albums caught my attention the most, this was definitely one of my favorites. 2 CAT5 and Original Saku reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeus 7997 Posted December 4, 2016 Sounds like I need to get on the TAMTAM wave. I loved Silence's debut from earlier this year but I couldn't conjure the words to describe it. I had the same problem with their debut EP. Wonderful release, and totally deserves a review and more attention, so I'm glad we were able to kick the list off with a bang. Unfortunately I am unfamiliar with Belle but the preview was nice so I'll dig into them a bit further as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jigsaw9 6783 Posted December 4, 2016 Totally missed this thread for some reason, lel. Anyway yay for Silence and Belle, two extremely solid albums, especially the latter! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 4, 2016 Day 4: 超能力セレナーデ by クウチュウ戦 (koochewsen) posted! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chi 2624 Posted December 4, 2016 (edited) YES!!!!!KOOCHEWSEN they were unstoppable this year and dropped 2 great EPs, i really hope they have lots of good songs prepared for 2017<3 chounouryoku serenade is my favorite out of them and i have been listening to it nonstop!!! the music videos are very fun too! Edited December 4, 2016 by seurong 2 fitear1590 and doombox reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 5, 2016 Day 5: Program Music II by 柏大輔 (KASHIWA Daisuke) posted! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
returnal 543 Posted December 6, 2016 how did i never know about silence? it's so up my alley it's wild. sounds amazing also, hi Belle! soooo good 2 Ito and Zeus reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fitear1590 2414 Posted December 6, 2016 Really happy that Belle made the list! "さようなら僕だけの人" was a surprise favorite for me this year. I agree with emmny that it's hard to situate the band's sound (which is exciting!), though something in the art-kei department seems apt. Like I said in my Recommended Tracks blurb earlier this year, their timeless melodies and extremely exaggerated vocals (in a good way) remind me a lot of the short-lived カルペディエム (Carpe diem).TAMTAM's album is also pretty good, though I agree with Cat and saishuu that it's hard to find a standout in the album. They (or rather, TAM TAM) set the bar way too high with "Polarize" and I don't know if they'll ever top that track! 1 Zeus reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 6, 2016 Day 6: Butterflies by BUMP OF CHICKEN posted! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 7, 2016 Day 7: Karma no Kusari by Kiki Hitomi posted! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 8, 2016 Day 8: TAXIS by 中島孝 (Nakashima Koh) posted! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ito 2438 Posted December 9, 2016 Day 9: The Greatest Hits 2007-2016 by Versailles posted! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
saishuu 3220 Posted December 9, 2016 I missed the Nakashima Koh post yesterday, but yay for that EP being included! @CAT5introduced me to him recently and I've been listening to both his EPs almost non-stop, and this one is definitely my favorite too. I was drawn to his music instantly given how it's almost like a LEO Imai + spam_life hybrid, only less electronic. Highly recommended! 1 CAT5 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
