Chanmina: harenchi / #2021reviews
Ever since the previous generation of Great J-Pop Divas either retired (the one-and-only Namie Amuro), became a shadow of their former self (Ayumi Hamasaki), became increasingly boring (Utada Hikaru) or…
Chai: Wink / #2021reviews
Chai became a surprise international sensation in recent years, thanks to their strangely charming sound, which is both naively childlike and highly sophisticated, incorporating influences from all over the pop…
Controlled Death / Mayuko Hino split / #2021reviews
One of this year's surprise releases was a joint album from Controlled Death and Mayuko Hino, two seminal figures of the Japanese noise scene, that came out on UK's Cold Spring…
Young Yujiro: 2025 / #2021reviews
2025 is the latest offering from rapper / trapper Young Yujiro who quickly became a huge fave of mine a couple of years ago when he surfaced with the rest…
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu: Candy Racer / #2021reviews
For years, many people have been criticizing pop icon Kyary Pamyu Pamyu for being too predictable, having next to no variety in her music. Which is true after all, but…
Grim: Totem Song / #2021reviews
Unlike the previous entries in the "A Year In Reviews" series, this one is not an album, but a 7" single, however it is a very special one, the kind…
Newspeak: Turn / #2021reviews
Newspeak's been around since 2017, but I only ran into them about a year and a half ago and I don't really remember the last time a band became such…
Mainliner: Dual Myths / #2021reviews
Mainliner was originally formed in 1995 by Asahito Nanjo (of High Rise) on bass and vocals and Makoto Kawabata (of Acid Mothers Temple) on guitars and a few years, a…
Puffy: The Puffy / #2021reviews
For a long while Puffy, the pop duo of Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura was a mainstay of Japan's mainstream music scene, starting with their million selling debut single, Asia…
Mono: Pilgrimage Of The Soul / #2021reviews
Mono's new, 11th studio album, Pilgrimage Of The Soul was advertised as "the most dynamic MONO album to date". And it got me very curious about whether it is really…