Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Jigsaw9

Jigsaw's 2015 Favorites

Recommended Posts

(Some of) my favorite Japanese releases 2015


 


 


テクノ・ナルシスのすべて by Burgh (All About Techno Narcisse by Burgh)

jgnxco.jpg 11v6yz7.jpg

Newcomers Burgh deliver a quick round of catchy post-punk tunes with heaps of that surfin'

punk flare you can’t help but love. Fun and dancey goodness. A band to look out for!

 

 


12 by cali≠gari

2zjhy7k.jpg 1zw0qxj.jpg

It's no secret that cali≠gari is close to my heart, so naturally this was gonna be on here. Quirky,

melodic and always interesting - a very strong album with a surprising amount of diversity.

 


 


妄想主義者ノ背徳。by グリーヴァ (Mousou shugisha no haitoku. by Grieva)

4gnnlk.jpg 2m7gj04.jpg

I must applaud Grieva: after losing a drummer, they quickly found a new member and proceeded

to release some of their best work to date. This mini takes the cake, such kote-kei goodness.

 

 


ホログラムを登る男 by 平沢進 (Hologram wo noboru otoko by Hirasawa Susumu)

v7tevo.jpg 2gse3xy.jpg

Hirasawa outdid himself once again, serving up his unique brand of futuristic new-age synth pop.

Soaring melodies and arrangements bursting with bio-mechanical personality; the very best.

 

 


Cthulhu & R'lyeh by KEEL

iy23k9.jpg 33esols.jpg

KEEL is undoubtedly the Nagoya-kei supergroup of the year for me. Four excellent musicians,

two mini albums, a cool dark style with garage-y undertones. Couldn't ask for more, just perfect!



 


 


近代ブラック by マルコ (Kindai Black by Marco)

2lwary9.jpg 2415tuo.jpg

Marco are one of the big positive surprises of 2015. Even though their style is unmistakably

borrowed from MERRY, they manage to crank out killer tunes like it's nobody's business.

 

 


VITIUM by sukekiyo

289lmw9.jpg 5mwitw.jpg

Kyo & co can practically do no wrong with their mystical progressive style of music, no matter

how challenging it may seem at times. The overall length is just right for it all to click too.


 


 


情緒 by THE HAKKIN (Joucho by THE HAKKIN)

2up30ur.jpg ri66uw.jpg

Sadly THE HAKKIN is no longer with us, but before their demise they released a full-length.

This baby is full of shameless '80s new-wave nostalgia. If you can handle cheese - dig in!

 

 


I AM MORTAL by THE MORTAL

1z1qpls.jpg 34efamg.jpg

BUCK-TICK's Sakurai Atsushi turned his goth-o-meter to 11 and, with his talented crew, cooked

up a boiling cauldron of dark rock elegance. Bauhaus called, they want their swag back!


 


 


CUTE by TOWA TEI

2hfhtue.jpg nqvfj9.jpg

With a plethora of impressive guest artists (and a telling album title!), master TOWA TEI made

one of the best electronic pop albums of the year: full of bleeps, bloops and sleek Shibuya chic.

 

 

 

Stay tuned for my list of Non-Japanese favorites - coming soon!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You always have a really cool style with your tastes, it's so eclectic but everything has an edge to it. I was all over the cali≠gari, sukekiyo, and Towa Tei albums this year. <3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

(Some of) my favorite non-Japanese releases 2015


 


 


Algiers by Algiers

n1dxmp.jpg 20j2u7n.jpg

This band came out of the blue and instantly swept me away. A bizarre mixture of post-punk,

industrial electronics and... soul, gospel and blues? As weird as it sounds, it works amazingly.

 

 


Trilogy by Carpenter Brut

b4gglt.jpg sx0q68.jpg

The mighty French mastermind of dark retro synthwave released a collection album, much to my

delight. The perfect soundtrack to your life, if you're living in a zombie-filled '80s B-movie that is.


 


 


The Anthropocene Extinction by Cattle Decapitation

14cwgfp.jpg 20f2dkg.jpg

Cattle Decapitation is one of those few bands that I'll always dig, no matter what. Hard-as-balls

deathgrind onslaught that will melt your face off, but only after pummeling you into the ground.

 

 


True Enemy by Disgrace

2u6nu3d.jpg n56bgj.jpg

Speaking of pummeling, Disgrace's debut album is one mean listen. This lethal combo of death

metal and metallic hardcore is your perfect choice if you had a bad day and wanna cut loose.

 

 


I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside by Earl Sweatshirt

34j416q.jpg 2hdwm6e.jpg

It's no secret that Earl is my favorite from the (now defunct?) Odd Future collective, and he

doesn't disappoint here either. Hazy and bleak hip-hop delivered in the usual Earl fashion.

 

 


Dreamcrash by Grave Pleasures

jg0f20.jpg 2cr60t2.jpg

One of my most-anticipated albums of the year, Grave Pleasures' first full-length offering is a

potent cocktail of romantically morbid melodies and haunting post-punk melancholia.

 

 


Bodies by Haust

35m4mdv.jpg 350qrz8.jpg

Utterly vile and crusty black metal'n'roll with a surprisingly atmospheric undertone. Expect

anything from cosmic keyboards to all-out punk nihilism. One of the very best of 2015!

 

 


Exercises in Futility by Mgła

21crno8.jpg 2myvoqs.jpg

The Polish brothers did it again. Imagine everything that is awesome about black metal,

channeled through fantastically crafted misanthropic tirades. Essential metal listening.

 

 


Life Rips & Assholes by Mommy Long Legs

16izfx1.jpg qrcetl.jpg

These girls just came and stole my heart right away. Their two cassette EPs are packed to the brim

with hilariously fun (and funny) DIY garage-punk tunes that will stick in your head. Slumber party!

 

 


Key Markets by Sleaford Mods

wikas7.jpg 2pq8129.jpg

A dude with a microphone and a dude with a bottle of beer and a laptop. So simple yet genius.

The guys are doing their usual fare of vitriolic rants and minimal punk-hop beats and winning.

 

 


Ten Solid Years of Applause by Super Luxury

llc8y.jpg vr4qs3.jpg

A totally random discovery of mine, Super Luxury play abrasive in-your-face noise rock that just

sounds so honest and knuckleheaded (and even catchy) that they immediately won me over.

 

 


A legszebb éveink by Szabó Benedek és a Galaxisok

ae0652.jpg igx9qs.jpg

Benedek Szabó, one of Hungary's young singer-songwriters, finally released his second album

and oh boy, is it fine! Bittersweet lyrics and instantly hummable melodies, the total package.

 

 


Tremors by Terrible Feelings

2n6yyae.jpg 6t1nd3.jpg

This band is so good, I just don't get why they aren't known more. Heartbreaking melodies layered

on top of vintage-sounding punk'n'roll hymns, straddling the line between melancholic and uplifting.

 

 

 

That's all, folks! Bear in mind that this is only a small segment of all the cool music 2015 had to offer. I had a really hard time narrowing my lists down to 10 entries (so I made this second one 13, lol), especially considering how I started out with 30-35 entries for my Japanese list and more than 100 for the non-Japanese one! So I guess this is more like a spur-of-the-moment type listing, but still, I hope you'll find some good stuff here.










Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have NO idea who ANYONE in the Non-Japanese picks are. x'D Mommy Long Legs looks cool though, I'll probably check them out. Such sophisticated selections. Burgh and cali≠gari look interesting, only ever tried half of a cali≠gari album and I THINK I stumbled across Burgh at some point this year but never gave them a try. I really want to try out Marco, I've never heard of them before but they look like they'd sound fab. (Because of that comment I should really try more MERRY, huh? xD) Also, If I remember correctly, you had THE HAKKIN on your previous AOTY list right? TOWA TEI and Hirasawa Susumu were great listens as expected. I JUST REMEMBERED YOU PLAYED CATTLE DECAPITATION IN PLUG! Were there any others you played from here? Because that's cool. x3 You can't forget that album cover!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

^ You should really try those! ;3 And yep, I had THE HAKKIN's mini album on my 2014 list. As for the Western bands, I'm sure I plugged Disgrace, Grave Pleasures, Terrible Feelings and Algiers before.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very cool list! I still haven't tried that Burgh album, but from the samples I heard, they seem worthwhile! I was super pleased with THE MORTAL btw, age cannot stop Atsushi!

That Marco bands also seems interested, especially with the MERRY comparison. I'm assuming you mean early MERRY, yes? :P

I should also really look into your non-Jp list too. There's just too much music out there @.@

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sign in to follow this  

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...