Released: 23.03.15 | Label: SPILD illiomote is a band we’ve looked at once before in 2022. That track, A.O.U, left me wanting but interested in the group so here we are checking out a song from their latest album HMN</3. Let’s see what they’ve made for us today! Well, it’s a little bit more dynamically interesting than before. I really like the break down idea they went with, but overall the rest of the track was lackluster. I’m not a fan of the weird grooves they’ve mashed together here, and I think it might be the same copy/paste issue I saw last time. There are definitely some mix probl ..read more

Released: 23.03.24 | Label: mini muff records Czecho No Republic is a 4-piece pop rock band who have been on the scene in Japan since 2010. Their current line up is: Masami Takei on vocals and bass, Shotaro Yamazaki on drums, Kazuki Sunagawa on guitar, and Mai Takahashi pulling triple duty on guitar, synthesizer, and vocals. If you’re a fan of Dragon Ball you may already know some of their music from the ending credits of Kai and Super. I however, have somehow never actually heard them play before, so this is a real treat. I have some idea what to expect after reviewing the side project Livin ..read more

Released: 23.03.08 | Label: Speedstar Tomita Lab. has a new collaboration out! And it comes with a strange and honestly kind of creepy music video! Let’s watch. This song is somehow way happier than it should be given what each part is doing. It’s got that signature wackiness that Tomita Labs. always brings to the music, (we’ve reviewed him before if you remember) but mixed in with the smoothest and calmest voice ever à la TENDRE. This is a combination I didn’t know I wanted, but hearing it together made it seem so obvious. Definitely worth your time, but be warned that this is a love it or ..read more

Released: 23.03.15 | Label: Ouchi Daisuki Club Records / Suzume Studios What year is it?!? This song sounds like a mid to late 2000s summer anthem release about 15 years too late. Super catchy and ambitiously fun, with the weirdest music video I’ve seen in a while. Who is that man and why are we watching him dance around a nameless city? You’ll never know. BBHF is a band I’ve reviewed before, and I really loved that track. I like this one ok as well, it’s just waaay noisier. I feel like they were going for something a bit cleaner and just added way too many plugins to the mix. It’s absolutely ..read more

Released: 23.03.15 / Label: HIP LAND MUSIC Wez Atlas has been a busy man. We saw him in multiple projects last year but this is the first time reviewing a song off his own album. I’ve been really excited to hear his new album “This Too Shall Pass” which just dropped last week coinciding with his performance at SXSW. This is clearly an artist who is pushing hard to make it to the top, so let’s check out this latest single to see if the music lives up to the aspiration. Man, I just love Wez’s flow here. The way he transitions seamlessly between languages in particular is something that I’ve be ..read more

Released: 22.10.19 / Label: Self Released TOKYO OX ISSUE is a newer electropop duo hailing from, of course, Tokyo. The duo is made up of model and actress Hinata Kohinata on vocals, and classically trained pianist Shu Katayama on keys. They made a bit of a ripple with their first album, it featured an impressive mastering engineer adding his talents to the lead single (which sounded amazing). But since then it seems like the going has been a bit rough. This track is from their 2nd, and latest, EP “cupola” but it hasn’t seemed to have made as much of an impact. Is it just bad timing, or is the ..read more

There were some admin things that got in the way of my regular review schedule, so sorry for the wait. Old reviews are slowly being reformatted and updated and once that’s done I’ll be working on the look of the site, so stay tuned! In the mean time, regular weekday reviews are restarting today with Dive by 0am. So check that out and share the site with your friends! Also, if you have any review suggestions I’d love to hear them so send me a message ..read more

Released: 15.09.16 / Label: P-VINE Today’s track is from previously reviewed artist Satoko Shibata. While I wasn’t entirely impressed with her track Ryokou it did make me want to do a bit of a deep dive and see what else she’s released. I eventually ended up here, Bokumetsu off her self-titled release Shibata Satoko from way back in 2015. But is it all that I’d hoped for? Perhaps even more? It is! It’s a much more subdued and sweet composition than Ryoko. And I must say I prefer this energy. Bokumetsu is a well written balled featuring delicate vocals supported by a dreamy and simple indie po ..read more

Released: 22.07.28 / Label: fuwari studio Quite a simple design for this track’s cover. I expect some pop when I see text like that. I’ve not heard today’s band before, so let’s find out a little bit before we listen. The Artist Yukarisa is a three piece band that formed in 2019. They all sing and play instruments, so probably a pretty full sound for three people. And they use a unique group of instruments to boot: organ, synth bass, piano, guitar, and harp. So, something a bit unique to start the week off! Let’s take a listen. listening to Signal… The Song That was definitely some fresh clea ..read more

Released: 22.08.26 / Label: Pony Canyon Killer track coming from the relatively new band chilldspot today. They may be young, but they’ve already made a name for themselves. After taking off on Spotify over the last two years they’ve been grabbed up by Pony Canyon, one of the larger labels in Japan. This track is being used in a car commercial, so they may be jumping to a major label soon. This is the first track of theirs I’ve actually properly sat down and listened to, and they’ve got a tight a pop sound that really took me by surprise. The song moves. While the band is tight, they aren’t b ..read more