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Greetings, monochromians and netizens at large! I'm a bit late, but here are my top 20 Favorite Albums (and mini-albums) of 2016. In this list, I've made no distinction between Japanese and International releases, since I enjoyed much fewer non-Japanese albums in 2016 than usual. I usually never bother ranking my AOTY lists, but I wanted to give it a shot this year for fun. I do think the rankings reflect my general sentiments in a way, but...don't read too much into them lol. XD Lastly, Please note that this list isn't meant to be some kind of objective statement on the music released last year - this is simply a recollection of the albums I enjoyed most in 2016. So have a look around, and if you have any thoughts to share, please feel free! (I also made some short audio samples for each track, for those who might be curious!) Let's get into it! 20 The Heart Speaks In Whispers by Corinne Bailey Rae While this album didn't entirely live up to the lofty expectations set by 2010's The Sea, there was still a lot here for me to enjoy! Corinne dabbled in her usual pop fare, but it was the strong, classic r&b and soul influences throughout the record that truly struck a chord. I adore her usually refined and elegant approach to songwriting, but it was great to hear her stretch those fantastic vocal chords and really go for it at times too. 19 SECRETS by Deep Sea Diver At the risk of sounding like a complete and utter weeb, I must admit that's it's been incredibly difficult for me to find American indie-rock bands that cater to my taste. There are, of course, some that I enjoy, but on the whole, few seem to possess the kind of rhythmic and melodic sensibilities that I go for. Seattle's Deep Sea Diver are an exception, though. They're certainly not innovators by any means, but they do have an understated quirkiness that I find extremely charming! 18 TAXIS by koh nakashima I'm a bit surprised that there's not much mention of this guy in the Western Jpop sphere. For me, he's been one of the most impressive and promising newcomers to hit the scene. He seemingly came out of nowhere, dropping two EPs - RAFT and TAXIS - just a few months apart. I found TAXIS especially appealing for its nostalgic, yet refreshing blend of house, city-pop, uk garage, and pop. This also gets extra points for being one of the few releases where me and @beni's taste actually converge! 17 NIPPONNO ONNAWO UTAU BEST by NakamuraEmi Speaking of nostalgia - NakamuraEmi also won me over with an acoustic-pop style that hearkens back to early 00's jpop. Though, like Koh Nakashima, she brings a hip flair to her music and even skillfully incorporates a rap flow at times; which is something of a normal occurrence in Jpop these days thanks to acts like daoko and suiyoubi no campanella. Funnily enough, "NIPPONNO ONNAWO UTAU BEST" is simultaneously Nakamura's major debut while also serving as a best-of album for her indie material. This was my first experience with her (as it probably was for most people), and I'm nothing short of impressed. She already has a well established sound, honed from years of toiling away in obscurity, and I can't wait to hear what's next for her. 16 Word in the Petals by CHERRYBOY FUNCTION Unless you're some kind of Japanese club music aficionado, 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. Word in the Petals is just another great dose of his colorful techno and house grooves. 15 THE NEWEST JOKE by VELTPUNCH Despite their prominence as one of the western fanbase's treasured indie bands of the 00's, I was never much of a VELTPUNCH fan. Even when I first listened to this album, I wrote it off as being decent, but nothing more. Yet for reasons unknown to me, I gave it another try and it actually began to click, growing on me with each repeat listen. With a whopping fourteen tracks, clocking in at over an hour, the album does drag on for a bit too long. I might have placed this higher in the list if the pleasant-but-forgettable tracks were omitted in favor of the stronger moments, but there's still more than enough raucous indie-rock fun here to keep me coming back! 14 LAST WALTZ by world's end girlfriend This was actually my first time listening to a WEG record, and to be honest, it just barely made my list. Not because I didn't enjoy it, but because it's simply a massive record and I felt I hadn't properly digested it yet. Though the fact that I still included it is a testament to the impression that's it's left on me. LAST WALTZ is an expansive amalgam of beautiful, cinematic landscapes, twisted distortion, and gritty electronics - right up my alley. I'll definitely enjoy continuing to digest this one in the year ahead. 13 freeform jazz by uyama hiroto Uyama Hiroto will probably be viewed as the spiritual successor to his peer and collaborator, the late Nujabes. However, with all due respect, I would say that this album has propelled him into a league of his own. While not technically "free-jazz", it certainly feels less bound than his previous works. It's a more musical effort overall, and the drumwork is especially more organic than before, as opposed to the straightforward boom-bap approach that similar artists take. In fact, you can hardly categorize this as just "jazzy hip-hop" anymore. Hell, the entire album only has one actual rap feature (and thankfully so, because I can't stomach cheesy backpacker rap!). It's an exquisite listen with fantastic vibes. 12 remix04 rem by Chouchou I've followed Chouchou casually for years now, but this album has completely cemented me as a fan. It's a self-remix album in the which duo have reworked their songs completely into ambient piano pieces, and it's astoundingly gorgeous! It's so well done that this albums feels like a new, cohesive work of its own, as opposed to an assortment of previously released tracks. I'd love for them to continue along this style. 11 DEEPER by HITORIE Wowaka's musical mind never ceases to amaze me. As a former vocaloid producer, he brings to HITORIE all of the colorful melodies and infectious riffs that I love, while thankfully leaving the actual vocaloid at home. If it weren't for the tail end of the album, DEEPER would have been much higher in rank, but the first half is so strong and has received SO MUCH playtime from me that it warrants a place on this list! 10 "inori de wa todokanai kyori" by JYOCHO The spirit of uchuu combini being resurrected in the form of JYOCHO was no doubt the biggest year-end surprise for me. For the most part, JYOCHO picks up exactly where the band left off, except this time adding a flutist into the arrangement. Even the new vocalist Rionos is barely distinguishable from uchuu's Emichoco. All in all, It's a lovely dose of math-pop, and just what I needed in my musical diet last year. 09 DISTORTION by THIS IS JAPAN These 4-piece alt. rockers appeared with yet another awesome debut EP last year. Citing influences such as Fugazi and Japanese indie legends NUMBER GIRL and Bloodthirsty Butchers, these guys play a style of rock that smashes together fun and catchy melodies with pure, spastic rawness! At a time where the smooth grooves of city-pop and the chilled sounds of western indie are trending in the J-indie world, THIS IS JAPAN is a breath of fresh air! 08 Floa by Mammal Hands With the emergence of acts like mouse on the keys and fox capture plan, bands fusing post-rock with piano-based jazz seem to be appearing more these days. Mammal Hands was my latest discovery in this style, and unlike their labelmates GoGo Penguin (who also released a solid album in 2016), this trio are a bit more loyal to their jazz influences. They have a pretty awesome saxophonist, which definitely supplements their jazzy predilections and gives them a more notable edge over similar bands. I like to imagine that Floa is what Uyama Hiroto would sound like if he went in a more jazzy and cinematic direction. 07 Flames & Figures by The Seshen The Seshen was another serendipitous new discovery for me last year. I stumbled across them while perusing one of my favorite UK music labels, Tru Thoughts, and I was enamored immediately. They make the kind of forward-thinking soul music that I love, with hints of electronica, synth-pop, and psychedelia all bundled into one, crisp, enthralling package. I've seen them described as "Little Dragon meets Erykah Badu", which is brilliant since I love those two. Apparently, they've also supported acts like Thundercat and Hiatus Kaiyote (who I also love!). 06 IKI by HITORIE No, you're not going crazy. This is, indeed, another HITORIE album on my list lol. They released two last year, and as you can see, I'm smitten with them both! IKI, however, is the second one to be released and also the better of the two. It doesn't have the powerhouse singles that DEEPER did, but it's the more cohesive and balanced work. Whereas DEEPER fizzles out towards the end, IKI is thoroughly engaging throughout. The amount of quality music that HITORIE released last year is just baffling! 05 A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead I'm most likely a fan of any Japanese band that you can describe as sounding Radiohead-esque - sleepy.ab, downy, trico, wooderd chiarie, ar - so it only makes sense that I'd be a fan of the masters themselves. I can't even tell you why I like them so much, but I guess their sound just speaks to my heart on a visceral level. This album is like the soundtrack to a dream of infinitely unravelling splendor. The arrangements are gorgeous and the production is as pristine and masterful as it gets. Amazing! 04 Ugly Slave Children by No Party for Cao Dong These Taiwanese rockers completely swept me off my feet after seeing what I'd easily consider my favorite music video of 2016. Admittedly, the album took a while to grow on me, with its unexpectedly danceable nature, but I've really come to love its uniquely passionate blend of grooves, mathy passages, and emo outbursts. 03 SONASILE by Shohei Amimori I was beginning to lose faith in PROGRESSIVE FOrM, my favorite Japanese electronic label, as the quality of their releases have been shoddy over past few years, but Shohei Amimori has completely dispelled my growing stigma with this album! SONASILE is an absolutely incredible sonic feast of colorful IDM and sunny glitch-pop. There are also hints of modern classical and jazz piano strewn throughout, and even some very strong Shibuya-Kei influences. I'm surprised that the western fandom seems to have overlooked this one! 02 dai roku sakuhin-shu "mudai" by downy As expected, downy's 6th untitled album is absolutely singular! It's much different from their previous album, yet just as good. Robin Aoki's vocals are more prominent than they've ever been, and the production seems a bit more earthy and natural, as if the album was produced specifically with live performances in mind. It's brought out a new kind of warmth to their otherwise stark and cold, dystopian sound. The general soundscape of the album isn't as varied as their previous releases, but it works in downy's favor here. Instead of going for an outwardly expansive sound, the album plays out like the band exploring their own inner workings, and it's a whole new world unto itself. I'm not sure how these guys do it, but they keep evolving while remaining a uniquely potent force. 01 siraph by siraph You know those "create your dream band" topics? Well, I've ruminated on those kinds of subjects quite a bit and never in a million years would I have thought to create a band as perfect as siraph. These guys are literally a dream come true - mostly due in part to the god-tier combination of haisuinonasa's Yoshimasa Terui and school food punishment's Masayuki Hasuo. Terui was the driving force behind haisinonasa and Hasuo was responsible for school food punishment's best material. With both bands in the throes of oblivion (the former appears to be on hiatus and the latter has been disbanded for years), their unique sounds seemed at danger of being lost to time. Thankfully, siraph has appeared with this godsend of a debut to save the day! The EP combines Terui's offbeat, math rock-sensibilities and Hasuo's eccentric synth grooves to brilliant effect. Both composers wrote three tracks each, and while their individual styles are obvious, they couldn't be any more complimentary as a unit. Singer Annabel completes the circle, bringing with her an anison charm that completely invigorates Hasuo and Terui's already imaginative compositions. With this EP, in addition to their demos and recent single, siraph has single-handedly made my 2016!

Greetings, monochromians and netizens at large! Here are my Top 30 Favorite Songs of 2016! Every year, there are tons of amazing songs released that, while not belonging to my fav. albums of the year, still heavily impact my musical experience. So for once, I wanted to highlight these songs! Unlike my AOTY list, every song here is Japanese. I also chose not to include songs by artists that made my AOTY list. As I mentioned in my AOTY thread, I usually never bother ranking lists, but I wanted to give it a shot this year for fun. These rankings are super erroneous, though, as I could prefer any of these songs over another on any given day. XD So...yeah, don't read too much into the actual ranks, ahaha. As always this, list isn't meant to be taken objectively. If you have any thoughts, please feel free to share! And if you're curious about any of the songs, please do check out the short sample clips I've created! Shall we begin? 30 "UNDYING" by the GazettE the GazettE's 'Dark Age' has been...same-y to say the least, but "UNDYING" has stood out as one of my favorite songs from this era - probably because it sounds like a mess, with the band trying their hardest to be progressive. It's an enjoyable mess, though, and as usual, it never takes much for Ruki an co. to win me over. 29 "KEIREN" by qujaku THE NOVEMBERS have been on a mild decline since 2014's Rhapsody in Beauty, and qujaku are slowly creeping in to capitalize on all of that lost potential. the loud, pummeling art-punk of "KEIREN" is captivating, and I can't wait until this band releases a proper debut! 28 "matsuo basho" by suiyoubi no campanella suiyoubi gave me a scare with the release of UMA, wherein the group's characteristic sound was subverted by incorporating several different producers, but they quickly followed up with "matsuo basho", reviving my hopes in the process. As long as Hidefumi remains the sole producer, I doubt they can go wrong. 27 "2772" by ZA FEEDO Experimental pop outfit ZA FEEDO has a plethora of talent and potential, but unfortunately, they've yet to truly find their sound. The groovy and soulful "2772", however, is a fantastic indicator of where they should focus their efforts! 26 "gods" by mothercoat Sadly, mothercoat released only this single last year, but it's the band doing what they do best. Quirky, upbeat indie-rock that's both buoyant and super infectious! 25 "gourmet kikou" by fujin club Organic pop with bright melodies and crisp, colorful instrumentation = instant love from me! I like to imagine this song as the musical equivalent to a Ghibli movie. It's cozy, endearing, pure, and full of wonder! 24 "sayanora anata" by ayano kaneko Young indie singer-songwriter ayano kaneko made an instant fan out of me with this one. "sayonara anata" is the perfect blend of carefree indie-pop and adorably earnest folk-rock. 23 "LAST HERO" by BLUE ENCOUNT BLUE ENCOUNT are amongst the kind of major-label rock bands in Japan that I don't typically gravitate towards (stuff like ONE OK ROCK, KANA-BOON, KEYTALK), but I'd be damned if "LAST HERO" isn't one of the most catchy and fun tracks that I've heard in 2016. That and, I blame @benifor bringing my tastes full circle and getting me to appreciate the poppier side of life again. 22 "Sunshine Freeway" by I love you Orchestra In spite of their brilliant line-up, I love you Orchestra has yet to truly strike a chord with me, as I found their work a bit too erratic and unfocused, but with "Sunshine Freeway", the band has found a great balance between their spastic tendencies and accessibility; making this a coherent and easily memorable track. 21 "wither mind" by girugamesh I'm only familiar with girugamesh's material from about 2013 and on (shout out to @togz for actually getting me to listen to them), so while I can't compare their early works to their recent stuff, I've come to enjoy the synth-laden alt. metal that seems to be characteristic of their final days. "wither mind" sums this sound up perfectly, and it was the highlight of their farewell mini-album for me. 20 "tabun, kaze." by sakanaction This is your average sakanaction song: danceable, synth-driven rock with big, sing-a-long choruses - and thankfully, 'average' for sakanacation means that's it's frikkin' great! It's been about 4 years since their last original album, and I'm practically salivating for more! 19 "short hope" by akai ko-en As bright and talented as the girls in akai ko-en are, their music has been hit-or-miss in my book - a sentiment that became especially true for me after they went from inventive indie-upstarts to a full blown Jpop band, seemingly overnight. They definitely get things right on "short hope", though, showcasing a kind of hip and smooth, r&b-esque side that I've yet to hear from them. Not to mention, I'm in love with Chiaki I'm in love with Chiaki's vocals! ^_^;;; 18 "voice" by SOSO BREAK THE WALL I'm still thanking @Hakoniwafor indirectly introducing me to this band, as I most certainly would not have heard it about them otherwise. "voice" is the kind of dark, mournful female-fronted alt-rock that I've been craving since me-al art's third album and the demise of REDЯUM. SOSO released a solid EP last year, but I need MORE! 17 "Talisman" by Boris Forbidden Songs, the 2nd disc from Boris's reissue of 2006's Pink, is comprised entirely of unreleased songs, and it could have easily been released as a brand new album on its own. The songs are just that good. "Talisman" is an absolutely crushing stoner-doom number that harkens back to 2002's Heavy Rocks, but is equally apt as an extension of Pink. 16 "The UNreal" by Silhouette from the Skylit I've been casually following this band for a few years now, and while they're consistently solid, every now and then, they put out a song that really sticks with me. "The UNreal" is a charging tune done in their usual electro alt-rock fashion, and it's both funky and commanding. 15 "yotaka" by kiryu I'm super new to Kiryu, as I've only heard their material from 2015 and on, but they've been one of my favorite VK discoveries of recent times. Admittedly, I wasn't too impressed by their full length last year, but I loved the entire single for "irodori". "yotaka" was the first b-side for this single and its frantic, cacophonous mix of metal, traditional Japanese motifs, and VK melodrama is everything I've come to love about Kiryu! 14 "kami-iro awase" by binaria 2016 has been a busy year for Annabel. Not only has she continually wowed me with her work in siraph, but she also released a solo EP in addition to cranking out both a single and an album with binaria. I actually consider binaria to be somewhat of an anison supergroup, with both Annabel and the renown Nagi Yanagi on vocals. I like to imagine that they're this generation's Maaya Sakamoto and Akino Arai, respectively. "kami-iro awase" serves as the OP for an anime called "Danganronpa 3", and it's a brilliantly penned track with subtly ingenious instrumentation - very similar to some of school food punishment's material. 13 "EDGE" by nowisee Speaking of anison, nowisee (pronounced "noise") is a rather enigmatic audio-visual project that specializes in creating songs with their own, unique animations, so it surprises me that they've yet to actually do a song for anime. They've been highly prolific over the past 2 years, but the recently released "EDGE" has become favorite track from their rapidly expanding catalog. It's an electronically infused pop-rock power-ballad, with graceful verses and a monumental chorus. And yes, I fully accept my inner-weeb. ; ) 12 "Shandy" by TK from ling tosite sigure TK has been a flat-out disappointment these past few years, so it should come as no surprise that the best song he released last year is actually a re-recording of a classic ling tosite sigure song from 2010 - back when he was at the top of his game. Surprisingly, TK hasn't altered the original too much, and he hasn't watered it down either. Instead, it's a more organic version that faithfully captures the same epic intensity of the original. Hopefully, TK will begin to take a few more cues from his past. 11 "Mother Fucker" by Limited Express (has gone?) It's so refreshing to hear these veterans of the Japanese underground still kicking ass after nearly 20 years in the game. Their latest album All Ages was a wild, alt-punk ride that showed the band is still as vital and crazy as ever. "Mother Fucker" stuck with me in particular, but it's emblematic of the entire album: turbulent drums, chaotic sax, groovy post-punk basslines, erratic riffs, and YUKARI’s ear-piercing vocals! It’s noisy, it’s bonkers, and it’s a hell of lot of fun! 10 "F.A.K.E." by lynch. "Listening to a Lynch album all the way through is like the musical equivalent of living on macaroni for an entire week." said one @Disposable some time ago, ahaha. I'll never forget that line. I agree with him, but I do enjoy lynch. quite a bit. I think it's due to their creative stagnation that I've come to expect at least one major jam from them with each new album. In 2015, it was "EVOKE", and last year gave me "F.A.K.E.". I also have to thank @Flame-Xfor making this song infinitely cooler by using it in his awesome AMV for Gundam IBO. Now I inadvertently associate it as the actual opening theme for that anime, and it's glorious. 09 "lost/stand/alone" by cinema staff 2016 was a great year to be a cinema staff fan. They released a super solid album and an excellent single/EP, both of which showcased their range and continued viability in being both talented rockers and compelling pop songwriters. I thought "lost/stand/alone" was the perfect example of this duality, with its catchy emo riffs, coercive drumming, and Mizuki's bright, soaring vocals. I've yet to hear anyone I've liked better doing this style. 08 "Youth" by Young Juvenile Youth Young Juvenile Youth, consisting of vocalist Yuki and producer/beatmaker Jemapur, are fairly new, but they already stand out within the greater Jpop landscape. Not exactly trip-hop, and not exactly electro-pop either, "Youth" sports a sound that I can name no contemporaries for in Japan. It's the kind of sleek, minimal electronic music that you'd sooner expect to hear out of London than Tokyo. The synths in "Youth" are meticulously layered and arranged, and the beat is just chill enough to garner a contemplative head-nod. It's also accessible, but not overtly poppy. This duo definitely has my attention, and I'm curious to see where they go in 2017. 07 "shirobara no lullaby" by aoi teshima Aoi Teshima's image has always been a direct reflection of her music. Her songs exude the same level of elegance, class, and modest beauty that she does, and as such, her most recent album Blue library was expectedly lovely. "shirobara no lullaby" was particularly extravagant. It's a stunningly somber, psych-folk song that harkens back to 70's kayōkyoku ballads and even reminds me a bit of Douji Morita. Exquisite! 06 "I Love You" by Chocolat & Akito I feel like Chocolat & Akito have gone grossly underrated by the western Jpop fanbase. While most overseas Jpop fans were praising Seiko Oomori for including hints of Shibuya-Kei on her latest album as if she single-handedly revived the genre, Chocolat & Akito -actual vets of the movement- were busy releasing quality music as usual. The married couple's latest venture saw them team up with Californian surf jazz twins The Mattson 2 and the results were lovely. "I love you" was an instant favorite for me, as Chocolat & Akito did a fantastic job of merging their beautiful vocal melodies and their sunny, shibuya-kei flavors with the jazzy psychedelia of The Mattsons. 05 "Nightseeing" by Klan Aileen I was instantly mesmerized upon watching the original video for this song, and sold even more on this band after hearing the re-recorded version. They left such a big impression that I'd automatically shoehorned them into a spot on my AOTY list without even hearing the album yet. Sadly, the it didn't turn out the way I'd hoped, but "Nightseeing" has a permanent spot on my playlist. It's a riveting, noisy psychedelic-rock track with killer riffs. Hopefully they do more of this style in the future. 04 "M.U.T.E" by PELICAN FANCLUB According to some fans, OK BALLADE wasn't PELICAN FANCLUB's strongest release, but it was the first one in which any of their songs were able to leave a significant impact on me. "M.U.T.E" has this surprisingly smooth and groovy, western-indie feel to it. I can't really explain why, but it just feels "right", aha. I may not be as devout a fan of these guys as @fitear1590or @seurong, but "M.U.T.E" has provided me with a fantastic incentive to sign up to the "FANCLUB". 03 "Tokyo" by ame no parade ame no parade has been...highly conflicting for me. Kohei has quickly become one of my favorite vocalists, and I enjoy the band's general sound and aesthetic, but my gosh, their songwriting has been incredibly stagnant - especially after going major in 2016. "Tokyo", however, is one of the best songs they've ever written. It takes on their usual format of minimalistic verses, and big pop choruses, but actually manages to be engaging in the process. Not only that, but the song just has a really amazing vibe to it. I think the PV, where Kohei is openly singing and dancing through the streets of Tokyo on what seems to be a beautiful evening, perfectly sums up how this song feels. 02 "blues" by Galileo Galilei Galileo Galilei called it quits last year, as they left us with their final album Sea of Darkness. The album wasn't as gloomy as its title suggests, though. In fact, it was full of the light and airy pop-rock that their career was known for. However, the aptly titled "blues" was the most emotionally poignant moment on the album for me. It's an enthralling 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. 01 "us" by Aimer Annnd finally, my number one track! If you've bothered reading this far, then bless you! I love Aimer's powerful croon, but she's the type of artist whose music quality depends on who she works with. Her vocals are like a hollow reed through which the intent of the producer flows. She's released some amazing tracks alongside the likes of Yoko Kanno, Hiroyuki Sawano, Androp, and Taka from ONE OK ROCK, but her most stellar work comes from a collaboration with none other than TK from ling tosite - which is ironic considering how I just ragged on him for the declining quality of his own music. In "us", TK employs all of his signature touches, but with Aimer at the helm, his songwriting feels fresh and new, as if the two of them have unlocked an entirely new dimension to their respective sounds. "us" is a beautifully haunting and epic pop-rock song. I can only hope that these two will continue to collab in the future!

indigo's unpopular favorites of 2016 It's a little after midnight here, so basically I missed the deadline, but it's still sunday somewhere! I'm not in it for the prize really, I just wanted to get this list out there for fun so I didn't really invest in creativity, it's just a simple list. I imagine these artists won't appear on many - if any - lists. It's good to have a bit of diversity too, right? Some of these videos might be blocked for you, my apologies for that! Here are the Japanese albums I enjoyed the most last year! #1 ムニムニ (Munimuni) - A KILLS A I feel like this album would be on a bunch of EOTY lists if it wasn't for the hmm... unique vocals. I have never been bothered by his voice, though. And he uses his lower register a lot more on this mini-album anyway. I must admit the vocal melodies and delivery can be for an acquired taste. Every time I hear someone say "I love the music but can't stand the vocals" about a band I enjoy, it makes me particularly happy for some weird reason. Few of us have been waiting for new Munimuni material for ages and finally we got a new mini-album! A KILLS A is only 17 and half minutes long but it's still something. And that something is 17 and half minutes of quality music: melancholic rock with fucking awesome atmospheric, wailing shoegazey guitar. Just listen to it on BIG MONEY or NEO SONG, for example. Third song &4 is the weakest point on the album but it's still good. Sample song Highlights: BIG MONEY, NEO SONG, KOGEN #2 Age Factory - LOVE I'm not entirely sure, but I like to think that this album is about a summer, two teenagers and first love. As you know, everything feels 10 times worse when you're a teenager, especially a break up. This album has that whole bittersweet, exaggerated end of the world atmosphere. You could almost cut these feels with a knife. I simply adore the vocalist's voice, I just want to give him a man-hug and say "it's alright". It's near impossible to pick a favorite song, they're all my favorites. This album needs to be listened to from start to finish as one consistent piece of music. For me "LOVE" hit hard, one of my favorite rock albums in a long time. Sample song Highlights: EVERYTHING, maybe with the exception of Veranda #3 iri - Groove it I stumbled upon iri's music randomly. I saw the cover art and was intrigued. A few youtube song samples later I was excited. After the full album I was hooked. The album is influenced by urban music; R&B, soul, funk, hip-hop. The production on the album is smooth and groovy. The list of producers include mabanua (ナイトグルーヴ), STUTS (Wandering) and Kenmochi Hidefumi (breaking dawn, フェイバリット女子) among others. iri's voice is soulful and despite her young age she sounds mature. There's even some parts where she is rapping but she is comfortable with it, it doesn't sound awkward or try-hard. Perfect music for a night drive in the city! Sample song Highlights: breaking dawn, Wandering #4 友川カズキ (Kazuki Tomokawa) - 光るクレヨン (Gleaming Crayon) Tomokawa has been around for a long time. He's been churning out albums regularly for 40 years and I think we're close to 30 studio albums by now. He's known for his avant-folk style of music and Gleaming Crayon continues on the same line. The most well-known characteristic of Tomokawa is his idiosyncratic voice, I'd describe his technique as "coughing-your-lungs-out". It's desperate, disgusting, intimidating. Most of the time his voice is accompanied by acoustic guitar. There's also some occasional instruments; distressing drums, scary strings, sporadic saxophone, you name it but which ever the instrument, it's always a harrowing feat. Sample song Highlights: つつじ, 愉楽 #5 SALU - Good Morning I remember when I saw the PV of first single Tomorrowland and thought to myself "this is trash". Well, since then I have changed my opinion a bit, it's still my least favorite song though but the rest of the album makes up for it. The opener "All I Want feat. Salyu" is a strong one. It's nothing like "Tomorrowland". It's an emotional song, with a piano-based beat. The subdued "la la la's" which serve as a chorus are beautiful and last minute lets Salyu shine. The production on this album is great for the most part, it's soulful. There's jazzy horns, piano aaaaand I just noticed that I love to list instruments. SALU flows on these beats effortlessly and he got some good hooks. There's surprisingly lot of singing too, like on "How Beautiful" and "Lily". All featuring artists do a great job, there aren't any rappers but singers Salyu and Mika Nakashima and trumpeter Kuroda Takaya. Especially Salyu almost steals the show on her feature. Sample song Highlights: All I Want feat. Salyu, How Beautiful, タイムカプセル #6 Yellow Studs - door There are bands that I wish would evolve with every album, and then there's bands like Yellow Studs. They have basically been doing the same thing since forming - garage-ish rock with hints of jazz - never really changing their sound, and damn I'm glad they haven't! They have nice melodies, raspy vocals and great instrumentation with catchy guitars, cool upright bass and some lovely keyboard/piano. I've always enjoyed their faster tempo songs the most, and this album proves it true again. おはよう (Ohayo) is a great example, it might be one of the best songs they've done so far and it's one of my favorite songs of 2016! It's simply a fun album which never fails to lift my spirits. Sample song Highlights: ガラクタ, おはよう

I don't have time to write fully detailed reviews, so I'm just going to share with you my favorite releases and songs from 2016 with short blurbs. Also, these aren't best to least best, they're all equal to me and it'd be pretty hard to choose one over the others so they're not in any specific order except maybe alphabetically. Enjoy and thanks for reading! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ・FAVORITE RELEASES・ 甘い暴力 - 嘘キス Honestly, fucking phenomenal. 10/10. This is the new unit that was formed after the disbandment of 黒姫の夢遊病 and 白日ノ夢. I can't wait for them to release more music in 2017 because this song is lit. ----- AmyDolly - creation Literally disgusted at myself for liking this. There's something super addictive about it even though it sounds atrocious. I just can't get enough. Both songs are cringeworthy yet bangers at the same time??? ----- アンフィル - アクア This is probably my favorite Anfiel song EVER. Shogo's voice is so smooth and sexy like milk and it just flows nicely throughout the entire song. ----- Axkey - アイシア/DAHLIA Both songs are super catchy and the vocals suit the music perfectly. Pretty perfect release to me <3 ----- BLESSCODE - Imperial City I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT WAS POSSIBLE TO MAKE A SONG LIKE THIS. FROM THE CHORUS TO THE SOLO, EVERYTHING IS PERFECT. I THINK THIS WAS THE SINGLE OF THE YEAR THAT I WAS MOST HYPED FOR EVER SINCE I HEARD THE PREVIEWS EVEN NOW WHEN I LISTEN TO IT, I'M STILL LIKE "OH FUCK" The 2 other tracks on this release compliment the single exceptionally. This release is just so well-rounded and hot like fuck omg ----- DECAYS - Baby who wanders More like "Baby who fucks me up" This was a nice surprise this year. I normally wouldn't have given this a listen, but a lot of people were saying such good things about it and I can see why. I can get down with any song that has a violin in it tbh. ----- dexcore - The Dead Sea This was probably right under Imperial City for single I was most hyped for. I'm really not into harsh and brutal vocals, but when they're paired with hot, angelic clean vocals, then I'm into them. The chorus in The Dead Sea is fucking phenomenal. It's also my ringtone. Mistake and Hunger are fucking lit as well. I can't wait to hear more from these guys! ----- FoLLoW - FoLLoW If you haven't listened to FoLLoW yet, do yourself a favor and listen to this album. I know the album art is atrocious but their music is SO GOOD. Ever since hiroki showed me プラネタリウム, I've been hooked. It's a shame they decided to disband. ----- 白日ノ夢 - 白き記憶 I don't even know what to say other than THIS MINI ALBUM IS FUCKING AWESOME. Kou is for sure one of my favorite vocalists and every release is phenomenal. I can't think of one release that I didn't like between Shounenki, Hakujitsu, and Kurohime. 事例03 -策略- from this release is a fucking B A N G E R ----- Kra - 宇宙トラベラー [CELL+CORE] Another band that has yet to release something that I didn't like. While these are 2 separate mini albums, I'm counting them as a whole because they're equally brilliant. Songs like Eclipse are highly reminiscent of Kra's earlier songs and I'm glad they revisit earlier sounds. ----- 黒姫の夢遊病 - リィザ SLEEPING BEAUTY, NIGHTMARE KISS PAINFUL PRINCESS RIZA SLEEPLESS BEAUTY, FEAR, EVIL KISS DARKNESS BEAUTY RIZA RIZA SAVE ME RIZAAAAA ----- 凛 - 「the end of corruption world」 Kisaki pls come back All my jams packed into one release ----- MAN WITH A MISSION - The World's On Fire Whoa... something that's not vk. This is probably my favorite album by MWAM. The first 3 tracks are so explosive that I couldn't help myself but to venture further into the album. ----- ピノキオ - Melancholy box Someone made a status about this album, so I decided to check it out and I was extremely pleased. Pleasant album from start to finish with some really stand-out tracks! ----- RAINDIA - トラッシュジュウス Another release that surprised me this year. I listened to this single on repeat for 4 hours while I was on a plane. I can easily listen to 碧落ノ彼岸花 on repeat all day. ----- RAZOR - RED INVISIBLE After losing interest in BORN in 2012, my initial thought was: "I'm going to hate this." Did I? Not at all. Surprise surprise. I literally found all 6 tracks enjoyable. PRIMARY and RED ZONE are my favorites. ----- SHIVA - 救世主-メシア－ UH........ RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. LIKE DAMN. ----- 少年記 - TIMELESS BANG ME one last time. ----- vistlip - Snowman I haven't enjoyed a vistlip single in its entirety since CHIMERA. Either the singles weren't that great, or there was a B side I didn't care for. With Snowman, I could get behind all 3 tracks which is the first since 2013 LOL ----- パノラマ虚構ゼノン - XENON BEST SELECTION YAAAAAAASSSSS SO MANY BANGERS ----- -真天地開闢集団-ジグザグ - オキラ Dude this release was crazy good especially 本当はね、私わるい子。 -----

Now I won't have an excuse to not think about Gackt while taking hole pics

・FAVORITE SONGS・ Aimer - us アンティック-珈琲店- - JIBUN アンフィル - オフレコディスコ アンフィル - 指切り アンフィル - ラヴァ アンフィル - Lamplight=melody アンフィル - セピア Angelo - リテラシー アルルカン - omit ASTARIA - Dancing rendez-vous!! Axkey - クリアノート BLESSCODE - Gone with the Wind BRATBAX - Jailbird BUCK-TICK - DEVIL'S WINGS Develop One's Faculties - この世界が嫌いな人へ DIV - 神様がもしいるなら Fixer - MaercS GARAK'S - ガラクタヒーロー GLAM GRAMM@R - リトル・マーメイド ～the First Love～ グラムヘイズ - 優しい街 グラムヘイズ - ハナムケノウタ グラムヘイズ - I say goodbye,what about you? GOTCHAROCKA - Ash GRIMOIRE - ネバーエンド 白日ノ夢 - 事例02 -お祈り- Initial'L - MOON LIGHT DOWN KAVKA - Nameless 清春 - FUGITIVE 黒姫の夢遊病 - 旅立ちの輪舞曲 黒姫の夢遊病 - 黒猫姫 LIEVRE CLAY - Infinite Loop LIEVRE CLAY - colors LIPHLICH - シャルルの憂鬱 LONDBOY - アイリス #ロストワールド - メルトリアム the LOTUS - ダムド 『Awaking "-ELIZA-"』 the LOTUS - HALION Luccica - ButterfLux Lydiar - the Elpis Megamasso - ふとん史 Migimimi sleep tight - GOODBYE MORRIGAN - NECRO THE NOVEMBERS - 美しい火 ペンタゴン - ドラマ Purple Stone - パニックパニック！ Purple Stone - パラダイス・ダンス the Raid. - Let's Get Crazy the Raid. - Re:born Rides in ReVellion - Seirios Rides in ReVellion - Another... Rides in ReVellion - Close. Rides in ReVellion - RAIN Royz - R.I.P SALIVAN - TRUST SALIVAN - Clever Trap SALIVAN - PROGRESS 砂月-SATSUKI- - CRYING SHIVA - 蟻-ARI- SHIVA - VARUNA SHIVA - キミノカゲ SHIVA - DayBreak 少年記 - 離さない Sioux - カミオ TRA TRA TRA - メルト umbrella - アラン UNiTE. - 無限ピクセル vistlip - Imitation Gold vistlip - 彩〔Re:Birth〕 ViV - anagram ViV - EMOTION ザアザア - カミソリ -真天地開闢集団-ジグザグ - 悪いのはバンドマン -真天地開闢集団-ジグザグ - 死んでほしい -真天地開闢集団-ジグザグ - 愛シ貴女狂怪性 -真天地開闢集団-ジグザグ - 小夜時雨 -真天地開闢集団-ジグザグ - 一祭合祭 ぞんび - 墓場 de ラヴソング

vistlip new album "BitterSweet" (4 types) will be released on 2017/03/29

Kiryu will release its 16th single called 「私ハ傀儡、猿轡ノ人形」(watashi ha kairai, sarugutsuwa no ningyô) on 2017.04.05 ! 4 types will be available. TYPE A : 1944 yens CD : 1.私ハ傀儡、猿轡ノ人形(watashi ha kairai, sarugutsuwa no ningyô) 2.[title not yet decided A] DVD : 1私ハ傀儡、猿轡ノ人形(watashi ha kairai, sarugutsuwa no ningyô) (clip and making-off) TYPE B : 1944 yens CD : 1.私ハ傀儡、猿轡ノ人形(watashi ha kairai, sarugutsuwa no ningyô) 2.[title not yet decided A] DVD : 1私ハ傀儡、猿轡ノ人形(watashi ha kairai, sarugutsuwa no ningyô) (multi angle PV ) TYPE C : 1620 yens CD : 1.私ハ傀儡、猿轡ノ人形(watashi ha kairai, sarugutsuwa no ningyô) 2.[title not yet decided A] 3.[title not yet decided B] 4.私ハ傀儡、猿轡ノ人形(inst) (watashi ha kairai, sarugutsuwa no ningyô) 5.[title not yet decided A] (inst) 6.[title not yet decided B] (inst) TYPE D : 1620 yens CD : 1.私ハ傀儡、猿轡ノ人形(watashi ha kairai, sarugutsuwa no ningyô) 2.[title not yet decided A] 3.[title not yet decided C] 4.私ハ傀儡、猿轡ノ人形(inst) (watashi ha kairai, sarugutsuwa no ningyô) 5.[title not yet decided A] (inst) 6.[title not yet decided C] (inst)

My last order from RarezHut finally arrived

umi is the name of their guitarist/leader lol...

Hello fellow Monochronians! Here's my End-Of-The-Year list of 26 albums that I enjoyed in 2016. To be honest, there weren't a lot of Japanese albums that caught my interest last year so it'll be practically non-Japanese. As you'll see, it's a little synth heavy (as I really got into that genre last year). But, there's a little bit of everything so take a look and don't be shy to leave any comments! *I organized albums alphabetically and I put more of a focus on genre for my list. JAPANESE Babymetal - Metal Resistance [Pop/Metal] A super solid sophomore release by the cute but deadly trio. Metal Resistance is a more serious take on the pop and metal infusion, but equally as enjoyable as their self-titled. The instrumentals are excellent and there are many catchy melodies to be found. Yui-Metal and Moa-Metal are also featured a bit more prominently. There were quite a few surprises sprinkled throughout as well like the dreamy yet hard-hitting From Dusk Till Dawn and how the ending of Tales of the Destinies seamlessly transitions into THE ONE and perfectly ties up the album. Highlights: KARATE / YAVA! / Meta Tarou / From Dusk Till Dawn / Sis. Anger / THE ONE ----- born - Abnormal Head Machine -Remastered- [Visual Kei/Indie Rock/Industrial] I never imagined born would remaster and release their first album in its entirety. This album has remained a favorite of mine with it's dark, industrial and raw sound, but the muddled mixing has always left me wishing for a remaster. If you liked Abnormal Head Machine the first time, you'll like it even more. It isn't drastically different, but a lot of the density has been removed to allow for a cleaner and crisper sound. Highlights: Extemly waltz / Tragedy / white harmony / Innocent Bullet / Rotten cherry / -tHiNk- / THE END ----- Dezert - Saikou no Shokutaku [Visual Kei/Indie Rock/Hardcore] Saikou no Shokutaku ranks among the top of favorite Dezert releases for me. It takes the musical groundwork that the band has built and twists it into something a little stranger. The result is a delightfully quirky and fun album. While it may be lighter in tone as a result, their heavy and rough sound is still present. Highlights: 「あー。」/「君の子宮を触る」/「ここにラブソングを」 /「問題作」 /「追落」 /「排泄物」 / 「 おいしい脾臓は笑わない」/ 「セイオン」/「宗教」 /「ピクトグラムさん」 ----- Kiki Hitmoi - Karma no Kusari [Electronic/Dub/Reggae/Enka] Karma no Kusari was a surprise hit for me. I listened to the album based on the cover art alone and am I sure glad I did. This album mixes Dub Electronic, Enka, and even some Reggae to create a uniquely Kiki Hitmoi sound. You'll be listening to her sprite-like rapping over funky bass lines one moment and Japonesque melodies swirled with sonically rich electronics in another. Everything was recorded analog so the audio has a warm lo-fi quality to it that gives the album a more personal feel. Highlights: Nightwalkers / Yellow Story / Pink No Kimono / Yume No Hana ELECTRONIC Andy Stott - Too Many Voices [Techno/Experimental/Downtempo/Abstract] A more lighthearted follow up to the bleak and violent Faith In Strangers, Too Many Voices is Andy Stott's fourth full album release. It still features Stott's signature dark and grimy sound but it is more straightforward and, with the inclusion of more vocals and elements of hip hop/RnB, gives off a more laid back and downtempo feel. Highlights: Butterflies / New Romantic / Selfish / On My Mind / Too Many Voices ----- G.H. - Housebound Demigod [Drone/Experimental/Ambient/Dark/Industrial] This was another artist I gave a try based on the cover art. The cover looked dark and foreboding and gave off a feeling of a bad omen. And, much to my pleasure, the music reflected the tone of the cover. It's industrially monotone but at the same time savage and primal. Through drab drones and pulsating subbass the album churns out its front of black and nefarious sounds making for a mechanically surreal listening experience. Highlights Screamin' Demon Pickups / Mickey Cosmos / Angels and Doormen / Yorkshire Fog / Bikini / Housebound Demigod ----- Com Truise - Diffraction [Downtempo/IDM/Synth] Com Truise has already made his name in the retro synth scene, but this is the first release by him I've listened to. His latest EP features 5 rhythm-driven tracks with intricate synth melodies that play off the percussion. The bass kicks and snare are punchy and the synth parts sound crisp and perky making for some lively and refreshing head-bobbing compositions. All the tracks hit this sweet balance of sounding math-y but also being danceable. Highlights Sunspot / Diffraction / du Zirconia ----- Tycho - Epoch [Postrock/Chillwave/Ambient] If I'm being honest, Tycho albums are all kind of the same. They're all chill and easy on the ears, but it's hard to tell one song apart from the other. However, there are notable changes in style with each new album, and with Epoch it's the band's greater focus on technical performance that stands out. I really have to give props to the drummer. He lays down some amazing drum work that really brings life into this album. In general, there are more lively compositions, such as Glider and Slack and these are the tracks that I find myself coming back to most often. Highlights Glider / Horizon / Slack / Local ----- In Love With A Ghost - Let's Go [Chillwave/Electronic/Downtempo] Let's Go is probably the most low key release on this list. It's written by a French artist and released by a small Slovakian indie cassette tape label called Ztapes. It's a very short EP too with only 4 tracks that aren't very long, but it manages to woo me with its sweet and delicate melodies and interesting use of pitch distortion on vocals. The simple use of piano adds a cute factor and the sampling of soft noises, like gently sifting water, placing something in a bowl, or moving dishes, makes the album feel cozy and inviting. Highlights we've never met but, can we have a coffee or something / flowers (feat. nori) / sorry for not answering the phone, i'm too busy trying to fly away ----- FM-84 - Atlas [Synthwave/Retrowave/Synth-Pop/Dreamwave] Atlas is full of dreamy sun-soaked melodies that'll take you back to the 80's. The compositions are lush with radiant synth notes and filled with a sonic warmth that sends chills down my back. The album is a mix of instrumental tracks and tracks with vocals, but I enjoy the tracks with vocals more. There are a lot of featured singers but I especially love powerhouse vocalist Ollie Wride. His voice is electric and he adds so much emotion to the songs he's featured in. This is the kind of album you listen to driving through the night at high speeds with windows down while shouting the lyrics like a teen. Highlights Running In The Night (Feat. Ollie Wride) / Tears / Let's Talk (feat. Timecop1983 & Josh Dally) / Arcade Summer / Wild Ones (feat. Ollie Wride) / Jupiter / Goodbye (feat. Clive Farrington) ----- Gost - Non Paradisi [Synthwave/Slasherwave/Darkwave] Non Paradisi is a loose musical adaptation of the epic poem "Paradise Lost" by John Milton which is about Lucifer's fall from heaven and ascent from the Lake of Fire. This is Gost's first more conceptual work and he really captures the essence of the poem. There's a greater focus on atmosphere than on his past works and you feel like you're taking a dark and gritty journey to the gates of hell. The album is full of hellish explosive moments that'll have you headbanging like a fiend and, by the end of this whole thing, you'll have felt like you've seen the face of Satan. Highlights Commencement / Lake of Fire / Supreme / 4th / Arise / Maleficarum / I Am Abaddon ----- Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley [Synthwave/Darkwave] *Artwork features nudity NSFW If you like post-apocalyptic cyber punk darkwave synth music, look no further than Perturbator. His latest work is full of hard-hitting compositions full of pulsating synth lines, relentless and percussive rhythms, and dark and sinister atmosphere. He makes excellent use of several featured artists, like Greta Link and Hayley Stewart, who greatly enhance the songs they're featured on with their vocals. And, the mix of hard, dance-y, and ambient tracks leave no dull moments on the album. It's probably his most complex album to date and, consequently, my favorite release so far. Highlights Neo Tokyo / Weapons For Children / Venger (feat. Greta Link) / Disco Inferno / She Moves Like A Knife / Sentien (feat. Hayley Stewart) / The Cult of 2112 / Souls At Zero (feat. Astronoid) ----- The Midnight - Endless Summer [Synthwave/Retrowave/Synth-Pop] The 80's may be long past but The Midnight won't let you forget. This album is ripe with synth-soaked pop melodies, amazing vocals, and even a healthy dose of saxophone. It goes in between tracks with vocals and instrumentals, but I like the vocal tracks more. The range of emotions this album makes me feel is wide. Songs like Jason and Vampires get my blood pumping while songs like Synthetic and Comeback Kid move my heart with their deep lyrics and powerful vocal performances. Only 80's kids will remember the 80's like they do, but only twenty-tens kids will remember the 80's like we do. (btw, I couldn't find an official term for the years 2010-2019. Chose what sounded best to me from my google-ing!). Highlights Sunset / Synthetic / The Comeback Kid / Vampires ----- Tommy '86 - Transhumanism [Synthwave/Darkwave] A dark and electrifying dark synth album about A.I. taking over humanity, Transhumanism features lots of blood pumping compositions and gritty buzzsaw synth lines melded with bleak melodies. This has quickly climbed to the top of my favorite synth albums of the year because of the story it weaves through its music. Much like Gost's Non Paradisi or Perturbator's The Uncanny Valley, Transhumanism's conceptual conception gives the album a very strong sense of direction from beginning to end. Each track feels necessary in building up to the final moments of the album with songs like Command and Control and Doppelganger building desperation and suspense and songs like the despondent and desolate No Man's Earth preparing the way for the dramatic closer Transhumanism. In this vast sea of synthwave, Tommy '86 manages to stand out with his own brand of sounds and I can't wait to see what he does next. Highlights Citymulation / Sequential Slavery (feat. Dan Terminus) / Animus and Assimilation / L.V.T.H.N. Central Unit / The Shutdown of Humanity / Transhumanism ----- Trevor Something - Soulless Computer Boy and The Eternal Render [Synthwave/Retrowave/Chill/Synthpop] Trevor Something is a unique artist as I find his music to tread a fine line between synthwave and r&b/hip hop. While his music is unmistakably synth heavy, his lyrics and singing style are often times similar to a lot of pop/r&b artists. As a result, I didn't initially enjoy his music. But, with more listening I've really grown to like Trevor Something and even find him to be special. His fourth album is a dreamy and ambient entry with much more atmospheric tracks featured than before. In fact, the first half of the album are vocal tracks while the second half is instrumentals. As one of his song titles accurately details, the second half is like experiencing a "digital cleanse". That isn't to say that he's completely left behind his pop sensibility. Tracks like Do It Again and The Real You are catchy and a lot fun to listen to. It's a more serious direction for him but a welcome exploration into what else he's capable of. Highlights Girlfriend / Do It Again / The Real You / Digital Cleanse / I Came Back For You / Waiting For The Cold / Beyond The Infinite ----- Waveshaper - Station Nova [Synthwave] 2016 was a great year for dark and atmospheric space themed synth music, but Station Nova stands out as the galactic dance party of the bunch. It nails that sense of space travel but in a much more lighthearted mood. You can help but dance to tracks like Future Vision, Pixel Stars (feat. Robert Parker) , and Hardware Passion. What really makes this album memorable are the melodies. Waveshaper has great melodic sense and every song is catchy and memorable. You really can't go wrong with a retrosynth space disco album. Highlights Future Vision / The Engineer Part II / Vector Dream / Pixel Starts (feat. Robert Parker) / Hardware Passion / Airlock Love / Escape To Eternity ----- Shoutouts Dynatron - The Rigel Axiom [Synthwave/Extraterrestrial/Darkwave] Fantastic space-like synthwave to give you intergalactic chills. Atmospheric and immersive. Highlights Contact / Stones ----- Dynatron - The Legacy Collection Vol. I [Synthwave/Extraterrestrial/DarkwaveRock] It's like The Rigel Axiom but a lot more upbeat and more on the rock side with prominent use of electric guitar. Highlights Throttle Up / 37 Million Horserpower / Intergalactic Highway / Zero Gravity ----- Makeup and Vanity Set - Brigador Vol. I [Synthwave] Fantastic space-y and atmospheric synthwave album with plenty of upbeat compositions and fantastic percussion and rhythm. Highlights Solo Nobre / There is No Law Here / No Way Out / March / Great Leader Has Fallen / It's Our Rules Now ----- Orax - Cometa [Synthwave/Italo-Disco] Synthwave but with an Italian Disco twist. There's a lot of dance rhythms to be found but also an underlying tone of benevolent darkness. Also, there's a fantastic use of a narrator, Tom O'Bedlam, on "Alone" who has a wonderfully deep and ancient sounding voice. Highlights Broken / Stay / Roof of Love / Empty / Alone ROCK eskimeaux - Year of the Rabbit [rock/lo-fi/bedroom pop] This is a sweet little EP with simple and lovely melodies spoken through pensive melancholy lyrics. The themes presented here are all too relatable whether it's about being so busy that you lose track of time or feeling good about a new year but not really believing it. But the tone is always upbeat and presented in a bedroom-pop/rock style that makes listening to the album fun. Highlights Year of the Rabbit / What The Fxxx / Power / Drunk / Bulldog ----- The Fall Of Troy - OK [Math Rock/Post Hardcore/Progressive Metal] OK marks an interesting time in the band's history as it's their first album in 7 years since their disbandment in 2009. The album was also self-released. While it doesn't stack up to its predecessors (minus In The Unlikely Event), OK manages to be an enjoyable listen and even pull some surprises. After their over-produced last album, It's a much needed return to form focusing more on slick and technical guitar lines and solid song structure. Songs like Inside Out and A Single Word even sound reminiscent of their earlier works using similar phrases or melodies. One thing the album does better than their earlier works is balancing their harsh and chaotic play style with more melodic passages. As a result, Its easy to listen to the album on repeat. Highlights 401K / Inside Out / A Single Word / An Ode to the Masochists / Auto Repeater / Your Loss ----- Setentia - Darkness Transcend [Black Metal/Avantegarde/Ambient] I haven't listened to much black metal, but Darkness Transcend is the first album in the genre that really caught my interest. Its destructive precision softened out by gloomy ambient passages creates a chasm of chaos that swallows everything in its path. Anything in the way will be ripped to shreds and assimilated. However, it's the incorporation of melodies and how the band balances that with the harsh thrashings that keeps me engaged. Highlights Throne Of Thrones / Beyond Myopic Blame / Seeds Of Death (Departure) ----- Show Me A Dinosaur - Show Me A Dinosaur [Black Metal/Post Rock/Ambient] Unexpectedly, another black metal album made it onto my list. This time it's by Russian post rock/black metal band Show Me A Dinosaur (although there are a few more genres you could smash in there). While the music is aggressive and relentless, its tone is tragic and desperate. This is most notably expressed through the vocalist whose unrestrained shrieks tear through the whirl of guitars and flurry of drums. With the harder moments also come the more soft and ambient moments with tracks like Ochag and Hearth which are darkly somber and desolate. Highlights Rakev / Vjuga / Ochag / Lights / Gone / Wojna SOUNDTRACK Over The Garden Wall [Jazz/Blues/Classical/Folk/Country] The soundtrack to the hit mini-series Over The Garden Wall features a sweet collection of folk and bluesy medleys. They're cute and cozy compositions that have an antique sound and feel like they belong in another time period. Much like the cartoon, this lovely soundtrack will warm your heart. ----- Stranger Things [Synthwave/Score] Not only is this show amazing, but the soundtrack is too and greatly interested its listeners to the synthwave genre. Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein did a superb job in creating music that complimented the shows throwback to the 80's. There were nostalgic tracks that brought back feelings of being a kid, ambient and foreboding songs for tense and suspenseful moments, and gritty and hardcore nerve wracking tracks for moments of danger and peril. I can't wait for Season 2 to see what new compositions the two composers will bring to the series.

Setlist of their 4th one-man on 2017/01/13: Opening SE 「PαR@LyZ￡ -Op.10-」 1. パラダイス・ダンス 2. 歌舞伎町バタフライ 3. アオイヤミ 4. 回転木馬 5. Dark Insanity 6. Hysteric Lady -SE- prelude re:vir 7. RIVER 8. 絵空事 9. 嘘つきピエロ 10. Scar 11. ポイズンチョコレート 12. 甘酸っぱいマンゴー 13. アドレナリンBANG! 14. パニックパニック！ Encore 1. キャットウォーク 2. BLAME

Because you didn't dig DEEP enough..

fitear1590's Musical CliffNotes to This Dumpster Fire of a Year (2016) From disgraceful political developments to an endless stream of unexpected celebrity deaths (including Mariah Carey's career on New Year's Eve), a lot of people are deeming 2016 to be one of the worst years yet. Will we look back and see it as exaggeration? Who knows. In any case, other media like music and film can usually be beacons of hope, but unfortunately for me, 2016 has been one of the most ho-hum years in music since I've started doing these more in-depth end-of-the-year lists. I had to start streamlining the format of my list last year to account for the fact that I was working with a small amount of EOTY-worthy releases. However, 2015 was different, because I was dealing with a series of disappointments from some of my faves, which isn't so much the case this time around. Looks like I'm going back to the drawing board this year, so let's try a format highlighting 16 different artists/works (you know, for 2016? Get it???). While it's been the second disheartening musical year in a row for me, I want to be fair to the few releases that nonetheless shined! In order to ensure the most breadth and variety, I made sure that there were no repeat selections throughout the various sections. I hope you'll find this guide helpful and I look forward to seeing your feedback! Table of Contents -Surprising Releases- I. 「むくあ」("mukua") by PIGLOW in GLOOMY II. Chapters by Yuna III. YAMINABE by そこに鳴る (sokoninaru) -Unforgettable Music Videos- IV. "Everybody Wants To Love You" by Japanese Breakfast V. "Dove" by Pillar Point VI. "Happy" by Mitski -Outstanding Tracks- VII. "Room 314 feat. Mark Redito" by Neon Bunny 야광토끼 VIII. "She'll Never Forgive To Be Insulted." by a crowd of rebellion IX. "さようなら僕だけの人 (sayounara boku dake no hito)" by ベル (belle) X. "煌々と輝く (koukou to kagayaku)" by 神はサイコロを振らない (kami wa saikoro wo furanai) -Runner-Up International Releases- XI. Ópalo Negro by PAPA TOPO XII. Waste by Ulzzang Pistol XIII. Under the Influence by Steady Holiday XIV. House of Souls by Tele Novella -International Release of the Year- XV. All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend by AURORA -Japanese Artist of the Year- XVI. クウチュウ戦 (koochewsen) -Bonus- "欲望の歌 (yokubou no uta)" by ゴールデンボンバー (Golden Bomber)

I wonder if we're getting any new musics from Goat before 2020 or so inb4 unexpected collab w. mana-sama resulting in malice mizer techno/dubstep remix CDs (vol. I <> XXII, or so.)

current Ryohei mood: Aaand merci @Danaofor the help! <3

LOL.. i guess google translated umi as ocean?

[tracklist] 01. with you 02. happy day 03. jealous 04. eve

I can't believe Luna Sea is breaking up

I really like Fumas hair in the instore photos ;; Regarding their recent direction – I like it a lot, it's fun and cute loved that Keiya got another chance to dance, haha.

Purple Stone held their 2nd Tokyo oneman (4th overall) to celebrate GAK's birthday on 1/13! Some photos (i'm actually kinda surprised they got so many flowers!! <333) Set list on the night (which @CloudyTree has already posted on the news thread) Opening SE 「PαR@LyZ￡ -Op.10-」 1. パラダイス・ダンス 2. 歌舞伎町バタフライ 3. アオイヤミ 4. 回転木馬 5. Dark Insanity 6. Hysteric Lady -SE- prelude re:vir 7. RIVER 8. 絵空事 9. 嘘つきピエロ 10. Scar 11. ポイズンチョコレート 12. 甘酸っぱいマンゴー 13. アドレナリンBANG! 14. パニックパニック！ Encore 1. キャットウォーク 2. BLAME and pics from their Jishuban instore the very next day because why not? btw today is GAK's actual birthday! here's his twitter if you wanna wish him happy birthday

Limited edition cover Regular edition cover

Yay for MUNIMUNI! <3 Also daaaaamn, the new Kazuki Tomokawa album completely flew under my radar! Must...listen...nowww...

Yep, me too. It's interesting how sexuality influences perceptions of this genre especially, since so much of the marketing and visuals depend on sex appeal.

They are literally the best I don't even care I'll stan them forever

!!!!! were you drunk when you wrote your list? lololol anyway, nice list a little surprised you chose Snowman over CONTRAST for vistlip though. but i agree that everything vistlip did in 2016 (EXCEPT aya rebirth) was wayyy better than disasters like COLD CASE. so that's a relief. i'm also surprised how many people REALLY liked anfiel's aqua. i mean, yeah i love it (obviously) but was it markedly better than the other stuff they did in 2016?? i'm probably too biased to tell though haha.. also loved everything Axkey did, especially Fantasia, which placed just outside my top 10 singles. RAINDIA was a nice surprise too... never thought i'd buy their stuff when they first started out.

I am as well.

You can add me to that. I absolutely adore the ladies.

it pisses me off when it's the opposite you had to choose one song and you chose the worst one!!!!!!!

The pond in my neighborhood was frozen yesterday! So, I braved it and took a self-portrait on it. It was frozen pretty solid so I actually ice skated a little too (haha).

So 2017 will be the year of cringe-worthy bands, eh ? This is beyond awful ! Toddlerkon +furry + shitty vocals + lame synth and the song is about overcoming bullying !?

gotta agree :/ why did he change his hairstyle which he had for like 8 years?? ._.

wtf none of these people are wearing kawaii dresses even though its 2017??? 0/10 list : S : S : S ... In all seriousness, as usual, I'm gonna have to scope some of this stuff 'cuz it sounds interesting. Already discovered Koh Nakashima through the 25 Days of MHmas and enjoyed it, so I feel like there must be some more gems up in here

Some cool sounding stuff in here that I'll surely check out later! (Shohei Amimori, No Party for Cao Dong, THIS IS JAPAN, uyama hiroto, koh nakashima, Deep Sea Diver)

gET OUT

Lol, I had the same thought about Tomorrowland the first time I heard it. It grew on me a lot after I saw a live version but yeah, part of me still thinks that video is awful.

Really disappointing, I really liked most of what little they released. The main problem I had with them though is that they would release too much of what I would consider filler stuff, if it can be called that. On their 'JOKER' and 'iNSOMNiA' releases, only the first song seemed like they really cared too greatly about it, leaving 1 and 2 songs, respectively, that felt like they existed just to pad the releases' length out. Since from what I know they've only released like, 7 songs so far, that means 3 of the 7, nearly half of their discography thus far, is filler stuff. I don't know if that's truly the case or if it was a result of inexperience writing music because it seems like this is their first proper band, with the only previous credentials I've seen from them being that a few of them were roadies for other bands. I do still like the 'filler' stuff, but it really could be better. My biggest hope in the disbandment is that they get some more experience as musicians and songwriters and at least some of the members come back in other bands later down the line because they really do have potential in my eyes, but iNSOMNiA just isn't the band in which they fully realised that potential. On another note, really looking forward to the album.

Cool stuff! I'm not too well-versed in this era, but I occasionally whip out this excellent compilation:

they will cum to your city masturbation tour............comming soon

tbh, VK has already hit that all time low in the 90s. It's popularity in Japan is debatable. As many others have noted, VK isn't totally obscure there (though I guess it has a bad rep, so many people wouldn't ever admit to like it) but not really as popular as it was. And no, I don't think Visual kei was always as niche as it is now in Japan. Back in the old times when VK wasn't such a widely used label bands of that caliber used to fill stadiums and had regular TV and radio exposure. There's a reason why some describe the early 90s as the band explosion era, particularity in regards to the Nagoya rock music scene. But yeah, those days are long gone. hell, most of us gaijin folks have no real clue about it, since the time we got introduced to Vk it was already old hat in Japan. You had to be there for yourself in the early 90s to really see and feel it – but how many foreigners, save for a few, had the privilege and luck? When bands like Luna Sea started to kick off and Malice Mizer rose to fame I was in friggin' kindergarten. Sure, I like to diss the modern scene a lot (because I simply don't like the type of music the bands are playing now), but even I know that I am not a special snowflake and a "trvuer" fan. But to get back to the core of the thread: it's true that in the west VK has lost attention and Fans. people in this thread have offered enough explanations and hypotheses for it's fade in popularity. I am just here to give my two cents on the extinction of the local VK scene in my country (if you can even call it that way): As with others, it all started in the early 00s with the Manga and Anime boom. I really doubt any one in Austria and Germany could have known about VK without either moving to Japan, getting introduced to it via websites and communities specializing in Glam- or Japanese rock or Anime/Manga. Most of us peeps were too young and too poor to go to Japan and most of us had no internet at home. So that leaves us with Manga and Anime. I remember I used to buy these Anime magazines of which there were plenty on the market and many of these papers tried to market japanese culture to us impressionable youths. So they had lots of articles about japanese food, society and of course music. And some might also remember that Neo Tokyo's (a japanese Manga store in Germany) founded their music publishing label (?) Gan-Shin, which brought to us some of Dir en grey's discography. Only shortly after (or before? I don't remember that well) they started playing in Germany. And as stated before in this thread, due to the Anime fad being so closely related to the J-Pop and VK boom many Manga/Anime Conventions went a great deal to get some bands, including bloody the Gazette, to play at their conventions. And it was a self fullfilling cycle that simply worked: people got to japanese music via Anime and Japan culture based media, they participated in local communities; these were lured to leave their money at the conventions and these in turn invited bands to play to bring in the fans. Then there were online communities like Animexx, where we weebs gathered en masse and talked about our bandomen all day and night, spent all our time drawing and writing shitty slash fanfics and Mangas. It was like paradise. But yeah, around 2009 the German and Austrian scene started to crumble like an old ruin. Suddenly all the people crazy about Moi dix Mois (of which there were MANY here. They even called it a "Manamania") switched from VK to JPop and what they deemed "more sophisticated" music. They also sold all their previously well treasured Moi-Même-Moitié dresses and Sexpot Revenge clothes to go either "normie" or "gyaru". I noticed weblogs of people who loved VK previously popping up with lamentations about how stupid they were for liking it, that it was just a phase and that VK is actually really dumb and shitty. And of course there was also the huge amount of people bickering about how the post 2009s scene wasn't as good. Tbh I can kinda related to it, because in that timespan I also stopped giving shit about newer bands. But I still like to listen to my oldies. Many others for whom it was really just a short fad, stopped caring about it entirely. Indeed, Social media and the way we consume media and music today, compared to ten years ago, factor in this as well. But the once really big German-speaking scenes, which were infamous enough to be featured regularly in sensationalist TV formats and press, already died before all these changes could have affected the decline of interest in VK. The truth is simply that liking Visual kei was a fad and it's success in the western world a short-lived hype. Most people have since moved on or hopped on the newest trendwagon. And if I am honest: I do not miss it. I think it's just fine if VK stays obscure. I have moved on and no longer care about old skewl VK being dead. As already said, many music scenes have died and never came back, and that's a fate you have to accept . Though I disagree with the notion that the current goth revival is so bad. It's not the same as the 80s, sure, but it has some fun and redeeming qualities and it's not mainstream. So, if it comes back, it will probably never reach it's former glory. And that's okay too. A friend of mine also once said that certain eras of VK needed a certain Zeitgeist. And that Zeitgeist is just strongly tied to that specific era. If that era is over than the atmosphere that made it special in the first place is gone too. Hence some of those old music styles no longer work outside the context of so called retromania. Of course, VK has the benefit of being a patchwork genre, it can and has to adapt to survive and it will probably carry on existing in some way (or will influence something else that exists in the future). But it will never be the VK we used to fall in love when we discovered it (and that counts for all eras). I also do not think I ever want the local VK scene being as big again, because I remember that it was mostly a large collection of the most immature, hysterical and downright creepy individuals I have ever seen. Some of these self-called "Visus" looked cool, but were really uncomfortable to surround you with.

Apart from a couple of nice songs I don't see, and have never seen, what's so great about Gazette. Same for Mejibray. 420 was a decent album, THE END was up my alley but I can't get into anything else. I don't understand the Dadaroma hype. And finally, Nocturnal Bloodlust probably wouldn't have half the amount of fans they do now if the members actually wore clothes. The thirst in that fandom is real.

no one gives a shit about ur english songs, cancer cafe dir en grey already made ur mistakes for u in 2009 and here we are again

It's the end of hyphen kei

I only like their first debut mini album, "Sense". Their recent release seems a little bit off for me, especially in their electronic music part. Aside from that, Kohei has talented voice, and I like the female drummer My fave tracks: ペトリコール 揺らぎ巡る君の中のそれ

masaya's official disbandment comment: The rest are similar in essence to his, so I haven't translated them. And here's masaya's blog entry from this morning: This is such a huge loss i can't even begin to put it into words. I've followed them since they were standing along the streets outside tiny Hiroshima livehouses giving out free music to random strangers because no one cared about them, and they had to work so so so hard to get to where they are now. But if it's down to member differences (which I believe is the truth) then I guess it can't be helped. I'll be there to see them off at their last live ♡

in all honesty past: bi curious now: strictly dickly. I'm a b*tch who can't date another b*tch not meant to be offensive.