THE JAPANESE INDIE THREAD

[bonsaijodelfisch 328]

dis gud!

 

 

btw, anyone got their album? couldn't find it anywhere...

[enyx 903]

Anyone listened to Aureole's new single? It's available as a free download on their site here. Here's a PV for one of the two tracks. Personally I think both of them are really good. 

 

[violetchain 912]

Not really crazy about the new Backdrop Cinderella song, but the lyrics made me laugh.

 

[enyx 903]

Anyone heard the new きのこ帝国 track? I've never been entirely sure how I feel about this band; on one hand they have a nice blend of styles but on the other hand I don't think they've ever done anything particularly extraordinary to merit the sheer degree of adoration they seem to be generating. That said, however, I do think they've been getting better with each release and there's a sort of 'confidence' in their music lately that I can't help but respect and enjoy.

 

[Kaye 296]

Maybe something of marginal interest to some fans here.

 

イツエ (itsue) vocalist Mizuki has participated in some anime song with "SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]" (not familiar with him):

http://www.jpopsuki.tv/video/SawanoHiroyuki%255BnZk%255D%253Amizuki---AZ/0b768b7fccc66c93f3040db197fbffb5

Imo, it's kind of a basic power ballad... Cool that she's getting more exposure, but on this track, there's not really any traces of her amazing vocal work with イツエ.  

Try aLIEz, the second song on that single. A lot more powerful than AZ itself.

 

Starts at about 0:33

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrLng3LBqhU

[sai 868]

TIME TO FORMALLY JOIN THIS THREAD (finally). I recently discovered a band called 雨のパレード (ame no parade). They've formed in 2012 but only released their first material this year after being signed to Zankyo Records. So far they've released two mini-albums, though the first one can't be found anywhere (I've tried iTunes, zankyo's bandcamp, CDJapan, etc.) the second one CAN be found and it really impressed me!

 

 

They seem to go for a sort of shoegaze sound, but since they're relatively new I'm curious what more they'll bring to the table!

[Slsr 207]

 

Pretty nice band imo, vocals are still rather personal sounding though so I think vocal performance might be a bit controversial with this band, I like it though personally at least. BTW you can get their latest work from bandcamp (link below) in price you name, so maybe throw them some yens while getting it if you liked them if you can. They are very small and ug band anyway.

 

https://tsumetaiyubiwa.bandcamp.com/releases#_=_

[Slsr 207]

This thread is so ded, anyway some cool bands I have been liking/been impressed by/whatever more and less lately:

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://soundcloud.com/lonemori/nq95krrwoivb

 

 

Feel free to share if you have such bands too . 

[Pretsy 1343]

I have a few cool bands/artists to share as well:

 

Bonjour Suzuki

 

Intriguing amalgamation of Chara, cokiyu and daoko's styles - not to mention a tinge of inspiration from Suzuki's favorite French artists (you can check 'em out @ her twitter)

 

Sucrette

 

...and early Capsule (Phony Phonic, Cutie Cinema Replay - era) had a baby, woo.

 

Cymbals

 

Read the Sucrette part + imagine if a "pop rock" band arranged it

 

 

 

 

and finally Tokyo Karankoron, but I think Cat shared my thoughts (surprisingly enough lol) in that SOTY thread...

[allisapp 303]

I wonder if I should buy the new BIGMAMA album. D:

 

[violetchain 912]

The new Suck a Stew Dry song is really cute. Not crazy about the video though. I can't take anything with slinkys in it seriously.

 

[beni 2149]

My first ever J-indie band I found. Will always be a group I'll remember and go back and forth to. 

[CAT5 9075]

fox capture plan's new PV for their upcoming album "UNDERGROUND"

Thoughts?

I've been following these guys nearly since the start, and while I was initially hopeful given their lineup, they're yet to crank out anything stellar. They're going for a post-rock aesthetic with a jazz setup, but I think they fall short in both areas. For me it all comes of a bit cheesy (especially the melodies), and the production is too clean, sterile even. I do wonder if their sound is more effective in a live setting, though.

Also, has anyone listened to the new tricot album?

[sai 868]

REALLY DIGGING THAT VIDEO. I love the artistic direction of it.

 

Hmm, the song really grew on me as it played. To be quite honest "trinity" was a good effort on their part, I enjoyed it quite a bit. "Wall" however left me completely unimpressed apart from the title track I hope this one will be better!

[doombox 4421]

the fox capture plan song is nice. Not something I'd buy for myself, but not bad. 

 

I was kind of disappointed with the tricot album. It felt really all of the place and kind of just 'slapped together' for me. I remember liking "消える", "庭" and "CBG" a lot, though.

[CAT5 9075]

I was kind of disappointed with the tricot album. It felt really all of the place and kind of just 'slapped together' for me. I remember liking "消える", "庭" and "CBG" a lot, though.

 

I didn't expect anything great, but I was still extremely underwhelmed. The vocalist was never the best, but it's like she found a way to sound even more shrill and annoying than before. As common as it is for J-indie vocalists to sing outside of their range and sound strained, her attempts on this album were just plain bad (kinda sounded like karaoke at times). The songwriting didn't help either...I don't think they played or sung a single, memorable melody the entire album - which doesn't bode well when you're trying to play hooky, melodic rock of this nature. The featured drummers (esteemed as they may be) didn't do much to save the album either.

 

The hype surrounding this band is certainly lost on me. They started off nicely with their first mini album (I liked their first PV enough to buy the mini blindy...and via proxy at that), but everything that followed has been a bit of a mess. It's a shame because female-fronted math-rock bands are still pretty novel.

 

On the bright-side, at least the production on the album was pretty decent this time around.

[sai 868]

I'm honestly surprised the tricot album got so many positive reviews over the internet (one website rating it a 9/10 even) because I agree with CAT, I couldn't find a single memorable melody on the entire album.

[doombox 4421]

 

I didn't expect anything great, but I was still extremely underwhelmed. The vocalist was never the best, but it's like she found a way to sound even more shrill and annoying than before. As common as it is for J-indie vocalists to sing outside of their range and sound strained, her attempts on this album were just plain bad (kinda sounded like karaoke at times). The songwriting didn't help either...I don't think they played or sung a single, memorable melody the entire album - which doesn't bode well when you're trying to play hooky, melodic rock of this nature. The featured drummers (esteemed as they may be) didn't do much to save the album either.

 

The hype surrounding this band is certainly lost on me. They started off nicely with their first mini album (I liked their first PV enough to buy the mini blindy...and via proxy at that), but everything that followed has been a bit of a mess. It's a shame because female-fronted math-rock bands are still pretty novel.

 

On the bright-side, at least the production on the album was pretty decent this time around.

 

 

I'm honestly surprised the tricot album got so many positive reviews over the internet (one website rating it a 9/10 even) because I agree with CAT, I couldn't find a single memorable melody on the entire album.

 

*All over the place (I swear people on this forum must think I'm permanently I'm drunk from all of my typos)

I agree about the vocals. I thought that might just be me because I'm picky. And about there being zero hooks. I don't feel like THE was amazing, but I remember liking it a whole lot more than this one. 

[enyx 903]

I have to second the opinions mentioned here when it comes to both fox capture plan and tricot. The former just sound like a less-interesting version of jizue in my opinion, and even jizue has a habit of just sounding like background/study music to me. The latter sounds like nothing more than an average run-of-the-mill indie band with some math elements; and let's be honest, math isn't exactly uncommon in the J-Indie scene these days. It's funny that Cat mentions their vocalist as a weak-point though, since I consider her vocals to be one of tricot's only (somewhat) distinguishing elements. So yeah, I don't really get the hype behind either of these bands. 

 

Come to think of it, I tend to find that it's not uncommon for some bands to generate massive amounts of hype in the indie scene despite seemingly lacking any particular flair that separates them from everyone else. Sometimes I think that this can simply be the result of effective promotion/exposure (such as performing an anime opening, etc), but sometimes I wonder if it's also largely because a lot of people tend to be far more into the 'indie aesthetic' than the quality of writing itself. Has anyone else thought this before?

[Original Saku 1593]

You guys make me really sad  

 

I'm loving the new tricot album.... I also don't understand the hate for the vocalist, probably my favorite thing about the band xD This album is definitely better than the last, especially since they got rid of the drummer (I really wasn't digging him) and became an all girl band

[fitear1590 2414]

Honestly, I didn't even realize that Merpeoples was still around, but it looks like they're releasing one last album and disbanding on April 5.

[beni 2149]

You guys make me really sad

 

I'm loving the new tricot album.... I also don't understand the hate for the vocalist, probably my favorite thing about the band xD This album is definitely better than the last, especially since they got rid of the drummer (I really wasn't digging him) and became an all girl band

 

I'm at the half way point of listening to 'A N D,' and I'm backing up Saku-san on this one. I guess it was because I was expecting something terrible after reading all your opinions beforehand that it's sounding pretty great to me now at track six. I agree about the melodies usually being none existance in the majority of the sounds and that they morph into one another at certain points, but I disagree about the vocalist being a bad part in this. I feel the same way as Saku-san on this too, that the vocalist is the best part (yes, I say that about all bands but shhhhhh ;3). I also really like that last fact, that they're an all girl band now. x3 Might be in denial just because of this lol. I've loved three out of the six tracks so far so I'm guessing I'll give this a good score tbh. It's an interesting listen after having read through the inputs so yay for posts!

[CAT5 9075]

Come to think of it, I tend to find that it's not uncommon for some bands to generate massive amounts of hype in the indie scene despite seemingly lacking any particular flair that separates them from everyone else. Sometimes I think that this can simply be the result of effective promotion/exposure (such as performing an anime opening, etc), but sometimes I wonder if it's also largely because a lot of people tend to be far more into the 'indie aesthetic' than the quality of writing itself. Has anyone else thought this before?

Yeahhhh. I feel the same way. Aesthetically, they're legit, but their music leaves so much to be desired. It makes me wonder if they're trying so hard to appeal to a certain crowd/image that they've unwittingly sacrificed their sound along the way? I usually like for bands to maintain some level of rawness, but I feel like tricot would actually sound better with a bit of pop refinement.

Other bands that I think fall into that whole "aesthetics > sound" trap are kinoko teikoku, indigo la end, and even though she's not "indie" (not anymore at least), Seiko Oomori.

 

 

You guys make me really sad  

 

I'm loving the new tricot album.... I also don't understand the hate for the vocalist

Like I said above, I think she'd be ok with a bit of refinement.

 

 

Honestly, I didn't even realize that Merpeoples was still around, but it looks like they're releasing one last album and disbanding on April 5.

wow.....This is pretty upsetting actually. They were a cool band (and one of the more interesting female fronted ones), so it's sad that they're calling it quits. What makes their disbandment even worse is that those samples sound great!

-

Speaking of female-fronted bands, here's a new all-girl band that one of my pals is into. They'll be releasing their first mini album in a few days. Nothing special or amazing, but still promising considering that these girls are only 17. My friend said they sound like a young/old-school akai-koen, and that description is accurate!

[enyx 903]

Yeahhhh. I feel the same way. Aesthetically, they're legit, but their music leaves so much to be desired. It makes me wonder if they're trying so hard to appeal to a certain crowd/image that they've unwittingly sacrificed their sound along the way? I usually like for bands to maintain some level of rawness, but I feel like tricot would actually sound better with a bit of pop refinement.

Other bands that I think fall into that whole "aesthetics > sound" trap are kinoko teikoku, indigo la end, and even though she's not "indie" (not anymore at least), Seiko Oomori.

 

As I told you before, I agree wholeheartedly with regards to teikoku. I'm not too familiar with indigo la end or Seiko, though, so I can't comment there. It's a shame really, I think that too much of a focus on aesthetics can result in a rather narrow/closed music taste, which is why I feel that a lot of 'indie' communities tend to develop rather elitist, anti-VK/pop/etc sentiments.

 

Speaking of female-fronted bands, here's a new all-girl band that one of my pals is into. They'll be releasing their first mini album in a few days. Nothing special or amazing, but still promising considering that these girls are only 17. My friend said they sound like a young/old-school akai-koen, and that description is accurate!

 

Hmm, they sound pretty decent. Nothing amazing like you said but worth giving a listen, particularly considering their age. Thanks for sharing.

 

In other news, HaKU seem to be fully embracing their poppy tendencies. I think it was just a matter of time considering how their sound has been developing over the years, though I'm not sure if it's really my thing based on this sample.

[violetchain 912]

^I don't mind HaKU going more pop, but I'm not crazy about Haruna singing lead. I think Tsujimura's voice is way more interesting. Hope it's just for the one song.