The 2016 Music Thread
 

Yeah, OK, so I said it was perhaps too early to start this thread, but with the announcement of certain releases for 2016, I thought "well, perhaps it is time".

Also, wrote this quick little article on my blog about the 4 upcoming Japanese releases worth getting excited about (if anyone cares to read)

https://deadgrandmablog.wordpress.co...-a-good-start/

Jun Togawa. Enough said.

It is indeed really hard to care about much else. First album in 11 years!

Is Zombie-Change going to be a physical release or digital download?

Physical. Ordered that too :-p

It's slowly dawning on me how epic this Hijokaidan x Jun Togawa thing will be. A full album of THIS:

TOGAWAKAIDAN

The whole "age tames you" argument is a load of fucking bullshit :-p

HURRY UP JANUARY 20!

That sounds amazing. Can't wait.

Regarding 2016:

NON-JP:
- David Bowie!!
- Suede (?!)
- Ulver (!)
- Ty Segall
- Savages
- Jesu/Sun Kil Moon (yup...)
- Swans (possibly)

JP:
- Jun Togawa x Hijokaidan (knowing that it won't turn into another random sample + random noise mix)
- Gesu no Kiwami Otome
- Charan-po-rantan
- Sherbets


JP albums I am very positive about (i.e. more likely to be released imho):

- Karasu (鴉) - They are aiming to release a few singles atm...
- Perfume (they cannot just kaisanize without releasing something)
- Kyary - knowing her regular releasing schedule, it's possible
- Seiko Oomori (well, tours and 2ch rumors/gossip...)
- Base Ball Bear (idk)

Japanese artists tend to be too secretive about upcoming plans...hmph.

Waiting for a new Metallica album. Apparently Kirk said it's gonna be something along the lines of Death Magnetic which doesn't make me ecstatic, but I'm not particularly worried either. Wish they did another Load kinda stuff :p

They should make 2016 a bit merrier and churn out another "St. Anger" just for the sake of fun trolling. I want my horrendous tin can snares back, Lars.

New Gesu no Kiwame Otome. coming in January, too. Fun month.

They have an album announced?

http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/573160/products/1158479/1/

Aye. January 6.

http://www.musicjapanplus.jp/news/1/...eir-2nd-album/

looking forward to new releases by:

Deerhoof
Kanye West
PROM
Captain Murphy/Flying Lotus
Gorillaz
That RHCP album that Danger Mouse is supposedly producing
Bloc Party (well, not exactly looking forward, but they were my favourite band as a teenager)
385 are supposed to be announcing the future of the band soonish now that MIYA's baby is born, I'd love to hear some new stuff by them (thus the avatar).

As well as a load of the stuff you guys have mentioned (Bowie, Togawakaidan, etc). I haven't really been looking out for new releases though. I usually let these things come as they do.

Been saying it each year for a while now.... But Tool?????

While we're being totally unreasonable, maybe that new Madvillain will finally get released.

I am very surprised that out of your speculation none of you mentioned SHIINA RINGO. She's gonna have one I bet. And it's gonna be made up of the singles we have plus some slap togethers. (But never fear! Regardless of this fact, most of you will like it anyway!) Actually. I'm pretty confident about it. Let's see if I'm right or not :-p

:wub:

They're like just not quite popular enough for me to absorb news on them via Twitter osmosis.



Album already gets at least a 7/10 for Anata no Kuni no Merry-go-round.

It bothers me that they say "2nd album". I know it means second AVEX release, but they do have tonnes of pre major stuff that is just as good.

Anyways, probably will get the CD+Blu Ray set. Depending on what is on the blu ray of course. The last album's DVD was worth getting.

EDIT: Oh wait:

Disc-2(Blu-ray)
●貴方の国のメリーゴーランド(Music Video)
●メビウスの行き止まり(Music Video)
●テイラーになれないよ(Music Video)
●ぎんなん楽団カルテット(Music Video)
●ムスタファ(Music Video)
●71億ピースのパズルゲーム(Music Video)
●フランスかぶれ(Music Video)
●美しさと若さ(Music Video)
●私の宇宙(Music Video)
●ワーカホリック(Music Video)
●スーダラ節(Music Video)
●忘れかけてた物語(Music Video)
●戦う女(Show Movie)
●さよなら遊園地(Show Movie)
●Oppai Boggie(Show Movie)
●NY~Philly密着+メイキング
MUSIC VIDEO・Show Movieほか密着&メイキング映像収録予定
収録曲数未定
収録分数未定

LOL, pretty sure a fair amount of that was on the last albums DVD IIRC....

BUT NOT IN BLU RAY QUALITY LOLZ

Well, it's not really an album, but I'm willing to speculate that she'll have a live DVD/Bluray of her current tour out next spring. Which I suspect I will enjoy as per usual.

I just thought it seemed redundant to bring her up. Wouldn't be on here if I wasn't looking forward to a new release. Also SUNNY wasn't that long ago, her album turnover hasn't been that quick since the first two. I don't think we'll get a new album in 2016.

Even if there would be no actual album, I think we're bound to have a live dvd/blue-ray at the very least. Couple of singles along the way and then the LP in early 2017 with 6-7 already released songs :)

Yes... But now there is no Jihen either. I have good reason to think we will see an album in 2016.

Looking forward to:

David Bowie
Jun Togawa x Hijokaidan
Bokutachi no Iru Tokoro
Zombie-Chang
Seiko Oomori (nothing announced but I'll be very surprised if she doesn't release one)

I'll be surprised if we get a new Ringo album next year, 2017 I reckon.

Tracklist is somewhat disappointing, with Togawa only appearing on 8 songs by looks of it. But oh well. I'm still goddamn excited!

https://deadgrandmablog.wordpress.co...list-revealed/

Is it just covers of her songs? I listened to that one posted on the 1st page. It made me want to listen to the original song instead, honestly.

Yeah mainly Yapoos covers actually.

I can see where you might not enjoy the 2015 sound, but I mean... she's heading towards 60 now and she's had years and years of voice abuse (not to mention what I imagine is quite a hefty amount of cigarette smoking, drinking and most likely drug abuse). She already sounded pretty croaky on Togawa Fiction 11 years back. I LOVE it though. Absolutely adore the sound she currently has.

But for me, that version of Suki Suki Daisuki (the one on this is another re-recording) means more than just a cover to me. It's a complete deconstruction of the song. Sure BiSKaidan (idol group Bis x Hijokaidan (same noise band working with Togawa on this one) if you're not aware of who that is) had done it before, but it fucking sucks in comparison to having Togawa do it. I love her tearing apart the old song. Is it as good as the original? No. Is that the intention? Fuck no.

And man, this has 肉屋のように on it. Can you imagine how awesome a hard noise version of that would be?!!!

Original to jot your memory if you're not sure what I'm referring to:

Yapoos

*unfortunately best quality I could find on YouTube, other versions are long gone

肉屋のように AND ヒステリヤ? Damn.

new GACKT in March

So Yano Akiko did a song for Isetan......

http://youtu.be/gBwzxydX3rY

SR's fate in a few years time?!??

Edit: Oops thought I posted in the 2015 music thread but I guess not. Soz!

^^ That video was posted in March 2014. I think both threads were wrong to post in :P

Oops, my friend recently shared it on FB so I assumed it was recent......

frontrunner for cover of the year, like, wow

Noone is cooler

^ I'm excited for this!

I have to say I am IN LOVE with the Koi no vacances/summertime EP.

I love reading the comments between the debut and now... seems the general hate towards her has shifted immensly.

I however, am true hardcore and liked her from the start.

Her debut really does have some nice stuff on it, if you give it a legit listen.


Also, this new album comes out exact same day as Jun Togawa x Hijokaidan. That's pretty exciting to me.

Like Oomori Seiko, she's not a strong vocalist, so I feel like this sort of low-fi production on the recent EP suits her best. It's a good sound. I'd also rather listen to that than an n-th reinterpretation of the folk genre.

This is gonna sound like pure stanning (which admittedly, it partly is), but come on, how can you claim Seiko Oomori isn't a strong vocalist? Unless you are talking on lame-ass traditional X-Factor standards.

I mean, her voice is like the main thing that hits you when you first listen to her. Pretty unforgettable and trademark. And I'm not just saying this. Regardless of what you think of her and her music, her voice is what will stick with you the longest on first impression. Her vocals are as unmistakable as Shiina Ringo, Jun Togawa, Tori Amos or Joanna Newsom (as some examples who come to me straight away) to me, easily. Different qualities to it, obviously, but definitely something you cannot mistake.

Sure, I agree that Zombie Chang isn't super strong in the vocal department though and hasn't really developed a trademark to her vocal style (yet), but this carefree delivery she has suits her style really nicely. And she really is the coolest girl out there. I even think she out-cools Oomori, if that says anything. In many ways, I rank her vocals alongside say, Paipaidekami.

I don't think that's stanning. In fact I'm sure of it, now that I've looked up what "stanning" actually is. :)

But seriously, while I'm not the biggest Oomori fan, she definitely can sing, and she definitely has her own style. I'm not always into it 100%, but I've heard several of her performances that I quite enjoyed. Her vocal style is, as you say, unmistakable, and definitely worthy of respect.

I am also firmly of the opinion that Oomori (or any of those artists, really) could conform much more closely to traditional vocal standards, if she chose to do so. The problem is that so much is lost in doing so. I remember reading about one western artist (I forget who, but it was someone run-of-the-mill) who had the hardest time learning how to suppress the nasal aspect of her voice. Apparently her voice coach was always on her case about it. And here I am a Ringo fan, thinking, where would we even be if that had happened to her?

One of many reasons I can't listen to the music other people listen to.

DG, I really just don't find anything remotely interesting or alluring in how Seiko sings. It's really just uncontrolled wailing. To me, a well-crafted pop song like Nagaku mijikai matsuri is just so much more enjoyable to listen to -- but good luck to me trying to convince you of that, I guess.

In contrast the new Zombie song is good, because she's using her voice in a way that makes the song listenable. I don't need all the music I listen to to feature good vocalists, but there's a fine line between interesting voices that make for good music, and just plain unlistenable.

To add on, I think at the very least SR, Tori Amos and Joanna Newsom are in a whole different league of their own in terms of vocal ability. I think Jun Togawa can sing but I don't like her music so that's inconsequential. I'll give Seiko the benefit of the doubt, that she 'can sing' if she wants to, but maybe then she should start singing properly?

I think you've really hit the nail on the head with the idea of control. I agree 100% with the argument that Ringo is operating on a higher plane in terms of vocal ability, and what puts her on that level is control. She has mastered traditionally "good" vocal technique and adapted it to encompass the more "interesting" aspects of her voice, allowing her to break the rules (sometimes pretty flagrantly) without it ever feeling like she's actually doing something wrong. Her singing is unconventional, if you will, but rarely unintentional.

Oomori seems to very often to go off onto these frenetic tangents where she's not even really singing so much as she's just talking really fast and beating the hell out of her guitar. That's where she loses me. But that isn't all there is to her - for example, "I Love You" from Magic Mirror I thought was quite good. It was just that kind of controlled performance, where she's really *using* the edgier aspects of her voice, and I'd love to see more of that from her.

Maybe. I like a bit of danger too - but what I'm really looking for is a tightrope walk, not an armed robbery. A test of physical, rather than mental, limits.

Well, anyway, I can see where you are both coming from. But I'm seriously just not in the same area of what I believe constitutes great vocals I guess. Being memorable and exciting comes far higher than being controlled and comfortable for me.

However, I can't see how anyone could find the Coke song particularly pleasant, even on the pop scale of things. But oh well. Let's not start that up.

This reminds me of another debate I read, some kids whinging over people recommending BiS fans Seiko Oomori... while I'd never instantly put those 2 together in a train of thought- I don't see what the big deal was. Sennou is a pretty damn good example of idol style music done really well (without the trappings of relying on someone else writing the songs)- and there isn't a dud track on it. Why not recommend it to idol fans? If I had heard a similar album by an idol group when I was searching through the mounds of shit I woulda really have appreciated it. (I'm still looking for something as good as it by a 'legit' idol group- starting to think this may never happen because where idol groups are mainly made by an outsider to sound like idol and sell the girls, Oomori is making music from the love of idol and it's all her. God, surely there's some idol group that writes their own stuff out there? Someone rec me if so) I don't get it... BiS fans are insane though, from first hand experience. Perhaps even more insane than Oomori fans... maybe.

I have to agree that Seiko's uncontrolled wailing is what I enjoy most about her (I this say while my favorite song is and probably forever will be Midnight Seijun Isei Kouyuu). It's not something you can expect everyone to like, though, especially if you go in to listen after hearing her come up as a recommendation somehow for those who like an artist like Ringo.

They both have their fascinations with different facets pop music and how to express that in their own way, but even their musical backgrounds and influences seem so different. I honestly feel like the association is entirely based on that Shouso Strip homage/parody cover she had...

One thing about Seiko for me though is that a lot of artists who can't necessarily sing tend to fall into the same vocal style? Like, I listen to hirone-chan sometimes, and she does a similar wavering-wailing/fast talking thing while standing with her instrument. It kinda reminds me of when Ke$ha broke and I couldn't tell which songs on the radio were her and which were similar-sounding one-off artists :whacko:

Also, kinda unrelated, but I don't get why everyone says Zombie Chang is so cool. Like, she seems chill and cool and her music is nice, but it just kinda reminds me of college kids...? I guess that's cool tho. Ppl in college are chill and cool, and she seems like she's enjoying herself even though her name gets pronounced wrong. If there is something definitively cool that she has done, please do let me know though :P

Also, BiS fans are definitely wilder than Oomori fans last I checked. It was like being stuck in a raging whirlwind for like 2 hours. I've never walked out of a show covered in so much sweat that wasn't my own, and I'd lost my voice even though I don't remember screaming :blink:

Also, I don't see the problem with idols having a lot of their music (though not always lyrics?) written by others. If you have songwriting talent but not the voice to bring your work to completion, then why not? :D

...But man, I really miss BiS...

Yeah, BiSH is really no substitute.

Speaking of!

New BiSH album dropping 1/20! :D

Here's the new track on soundcloud. I really like it, and I admittedly like them better musically, but I feel like I have to see them from the frontlines before I can decide definitively how I feel overall. Like a lot of idols, BiS stood out not just musically and for what there fans and events were like, but also because of the strong individuality each member gave off.

It's probably best to view them separately from BiS, though, as I don't see the folks in charge trying to recreate the same...whatever led us to the BiS we all knew. I don't even see a member page on the website? :( But they seem less on the metal/hardcore/??? side, and more on the raw, kinda uncomfortable, things-you-aren't-supposed-to-see-from-idols side of things...

They're still very young too, so if they stick around for a while longer even just in name, I'm sure they'll make some legends of their own. :)

dunno if this is really the thread for it but Tricot are coming to Europe next year.

http://skream.jp/news/2015/12/tricot...e-tour2016.php

I really enjoyed a lot of Sennou, for what it's worth, mostly because the production takes away from what I dislike about her voice, or at least complements her style of singing.

I think Otsuka Ai is pretty similar to Seiko's pop moments, for what it's worth, especially her first 3 albums. And a lot of Morning Musume's earlier stuff is also very good, if you're looking at idol stuff. They had a flawless string of singles in the early 2000s. Granted they don't write their own material (Ai does but MM doesn't), but I'm not overly concerned about who does the writing as long as the song is good, so it's not really a 'trapping' for me.

Not only a live show together, Boris and Goth Trad are also bringing out a song together. Unfortunately, could not find any details on release date but I assume it will be either a freebie at the show

Have no idea who Goth Trad is, so I don't really know what to expect. New Boris is always good, though.

Discussion over Oomori's vocals? I've said a long time ago I thought her vocals were weak. She has her style and she does it well, but she's not exactly a properly trained singer. I was never a fan of the vocal freak outs. They always felt disingenuous and sort of "look at how weird I am!", but they're infrequent enough that I can ignore it. She would do well to learn more about proper singing, IMO.

=
 

Goth Trad

Goth trad sounds like this

PJ

I am fuckin excited

^ FUCK YEAH!

Boris x GOTH TRAD trailer

So the Boris x Goth Trad release will be getting CD pressings given out at the show.

But if you want a vinyl you better get there goddamn fucking early and be prepared to FIGHT for it.

Because it's very limited.

Limited to...

10 copies.

That's right. 10.

Just over 2 weeks till TogawaKaidan. I'm more than just a little bit hyped.

Just under 2 days till Onna no 46 Pun, and ditto.

edit: nope, it's a trainwreck, sorry the run had to end girls

That bad huh?

I still haven't had chance to listen but I'll let you know my verdict. Perhaps I'll even do a review.

EDIT: I liked it, albeit 'samey' to a fault. I saw your complaint about it having no 'restraint' and being 'loud', however, I can't really relate. I'm not really hearing much difference between this and the last album, so for me, it's an enjoyable, if too familiar ride. No major surprises here, but then, no major letdowns either. On these early listens, I'd likely give it a 7. Definitely will be going back to it a lot. Will decide final verdict later, but there you have it.

Had time for another listen this morning!

My second impression is that the arrangement is more culpable—for what I see as the noisiness of the album—than the production (which is still typically solid Avex fare). Tokei Jikake no Jinsei is a good example—the entire horn section blares away on offbeats and does nothing else apart from a few solo riffs; if it were a big band or jazz number they'd be torn apart by critics. A lot of it just feels plum lazy: Taylor ni Narenai yo is static chordwork and the same rhythm drilled into my head for three-and-a-half minutes, while Watashi Machigatteta and Otoko no Saga have the backing bands play...more or less the same thing? Overall, I'm looking forward to my copy getting here so I can compare arrangement credits with Theatre Theatre (and also because, well, the case looks gorgeous :)).

My first impression that it's a thoughtless jumble of songs feels even stronger. Theatre Theatre and even Futae no Rasen flow smooth as butter. The track placement on Theatre Theatre is so thoughtful it has the feel of a concert; even the reused songs feel more at home there than in their original context (I always forget Mustafa is one of their earliest songs since for me it's most memorable as the lead-out from 71 Million Piece Puzzle Game on Theatre Theatre). On Onna no 46-pun the A/B-sides are plopped-down misfits. Anata no Kuni no Merry-Go-Round tries its hardest to be an album climax, but instead it's stuck awkwardly between a short gimmick track and a Jewish folk song.

"No restraint" was unfair of me. The lowkey Milk Tea → Suki Doushi duo is phenomenal and the highlight of the album for me. Last night I was too fatigued by the end of the first half to care—and really, there isn't a individual track I outright hate in the first half anyway. It's just...when I first heard Anata no Kuni no Merry-Go-Round last year, I overwhelmingly thought "this is next-level." Instead of merely codifying their own little niche of a genre they were doing something special. In that sense, I agree with you that Onna no 46-pun is "samey to a fault" and think that they're spinning their wheels with an album less thoughtful than Theatre Theatre.

Reviewed it https://deadgrandmablog.wordpress.co...nna-no-46-pun/

well put, well put

totally, I hope they're in New York again this year

The Jezabels- Come Alive

Just, holy fuck.

Both at the song and THAT GORGEOUS FUCKING VIDEO CLIP.

And when it 'launches' to full height at 3:25...

Wow.

Damn! That was an amazing song. Never heard of this band until now.

RIP David Bowie, may you find your place among the stars.

RIP.

Is the rest of Blackstar as good as the title track? I haven't listened to the album yet.

The video for Lazarus hits so hard now. RIP Bowie.

I think it's one of his best albums, and there isn't a dud on it.

And I thought this before the current circumstances btw.

Blackstar is currently the album to beat for 2016, for whatever that's worth twelve days in? (I think I said that about Vulnicura this time last year.)

New Gesu out but it's really 64 minutes long? So much for listening to it on lunch. I didn't think this band could do a 17-track marathon like this, lol.

Marathon is the key word there... felt like an endurance test on first listen

https://deadgrandmablog.wordpress.co...me-ryouseibai/

ZOMBIE CHANG

New ZOMBIE CHANG, as always, is cool as a fucking cucumber.

^Gosh, I've looped that Zombie Chang song about 20 times now it's so great!

EDIT:

Also, thanks to that Zombie track, started exploring some of the other tracks under the Omake Club label. Am OBSESSED with this track by Tokyo Health Club:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXoycAM-3QM

Think it's only out on vinyl so far (and I don't have a record player) -- if anyone can point me in the way of a good rip, or a legit digital download, that would be great. (ADDENDUM: it seems that the vinyl I was referring to was a recut of this original song that's on an earlier album that can actually be bought from iTunes, hurrah; but if anyone has the 2015-recut version...)

Ha, guess she had inspiration from Zelda since the title music from A Link to the Past plays during the first 5 seconds of that video. I thought it was a good song. Don't see what's so "cool" about her, though. It's just lo-fi electronic indie complete with Instagram-esque camera filters.

The answer you seek is in the question you pose :-p

Video's by Hikaru Tsukamoto- also did never young beach and Parapunte stuff (as well as Zombie Chang's "Summer Time"). And I love all of them.

Speaking of never young beach, vinyl pressing of their album is out tomorrow and has this new track as an added bonus:

Pink Jungle House

Really digging Never Young Beach now.

Saw a few people mentioning Daoko covering Shiina Ringo.

Anyone got any idea what song and when she did it?

And if possible, link?

EDIT: Was on a live stream on LINE. Song she did was 歌舞伎町の女王

If this is a cover in DAOKO style... might be AWESOME!

Can't say I like where DAOKO's been going recently, but I'd love to hear that Ringo cover. She doesn't really have a set of pipes on her, so she would have to do it in her style. Hope it pops up soon!

New HANAE album "Show Girl" out March 23

Boris x Merzbow - Gensho (Japan Edition) is 4 discs, instead of 2....

It doesn't seem like she'll be releasing any new music this year, but here's a nice English write-up about Aoba Ichiko from Japan Times. She needs more recognition on these boards.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/.../#.VpyrAFOLTeR

Reviewed the new ZOMBIE CHANG album

https://deadgrandmablog.wordpress.co...zombie-change/

I think I'll like this more than her folk endeavors. I tried checking out her early albums, but didn't do it for me. I think her voice suits this kind of music. Off to listen to the album!

Boris x Merzbow

And every Boris fan just came in their pants. HOLY SHIT.

Not this fan. Merzbow doesn't add anything worthwhile to this. Just a bunch of high pitched noises that distract from the real meat of the song. It's better off without him. I understand noise is his thing, but it never mixed well with Boris for me.

I have the Rock Dream vinyl with Merzbow - more of the same. Couldn't really enjoy it. There was only one release with Boris x Merzbow that I enjoyed: Klatter and that's because the noise was toned down to a level where it blended in more and wasn't overpowering everything else.

Well. Ok. But at least you can get some solace knowing the Boris and Merzbow discs are separate from one another.

But probably even more exciting:

PJ HARVEY ALBUM TRAILER

While it's still very early, from what I've heard (the trailer and the single), it seems like this album will be a natural progression from LET ENGLAND SHAKE- except far more guitar driven. And I'm TOTALLY fine with that!

Lucius - Born Again Teen

Pretty St. Vincenty

Album "Good Grief" comes out March 11th

Heimet - Wieder Ja!

TMR015 - Heimat - S/T LP
Experimental Pop from Paris - Strasbourg ; France
Out Soon on TeenageMenopause Records

Liking this. Hope the album turns out to be good too.

The two songs above are pretty damn great in their own rights.

Defnitely looking forward to the full Heimat release. It reminds me of something that I can't quite put finger on. Maybe just the vocals, pretty Nico-esque.

The Togawakaiden version of "ヴィールス"....

I dare say nothing will top this track this year. Just breathtaking.

And my review
https://deadgrandmablog.wordpress.co...-togawakaidan/

don't know how I fell so far behind on January stuff

ZOMBIE-CHANGE is chill af and Grimes-ish in places; style blows the acoustic stuff out of the water

(and still album cover of the year; no one can make Converse work in 2016 like she can)

OK, just finished listening to the album for the first time, and I gotta say, that was pretty impressive. It's amazing how well those old songs hold up even when given a radically modern treatment. Virus was probably the best, if I absolutely had to pick, but I really liked Nikuya no You ni too (but I'm kind of biased toward that song anyway). And I don't think there's anything to apologize for in her vocals - maybe she can't do some of the tricks she could in her youth, but she still packs a nice punch and I thought her performance suited the music very well.

January is going to be a tough month for the rest of 2016 to top...

The Togawa songs on it are making me overly emotional the more I listen. Maybe I've lost my mind.

New Shins incoming.

Their Xmas song was great too

New Rihanna album is EXCELLENT; 10/10 certain it will be on my year end top 10 and I wouldn't even consider myself a Rihanna fan.

Interesting, I've been hearing opposite from the rhianna fans...

It's actually great.

I can see how it's quite a departure from her previous albums. There aren't any hard hitting club hit type songs, but there are a lot of nice, dirty grooves to it which I really love. The second half of the album is very doo-woop and ballady, but actually reveals what an interesting vocalist she is. It's overall just a really great, understated, sexy album for me.

The Jezabels

And another astonishing track from the upcoming Jezabels album.

Another great MV too.

Couple more album teasers also popped up:

Album Teaser

Album Teaser

Bloc Party's Hymns an early contender for Worst Album of 2016. Should have released it last month so at least it'd be better than the Kid Cudi album

this is cool

Akko Gorilla - Tokyo Banana

edit: Also, SOIL&"PIMP"SESSIONS have a new album out April 6th. It's called BLACK TRACK and it's supposed to harken towards 70s groove. We'll see.

Hiromi Uehara's new album is electrifying, and certainly more imaginative than Alive. I thought she had gone as far as she could with The Trio Project, but evidently not? She has over 12 hours of studio material now and this could legitimately be her best. So many striking polymeters; she makes them an art form :wub:

Listening now. It's STRIKINGLY brilliant

This weeks review I reckon.

I downloaded the new Hiromi album yesterday but hadn't gotten around to listing to it until tonight. It really is something special.

That good, huh? I was gonna wait until the western release but I might see if I can find a japanese copy floating around.

I'm really digging the METAFIVE record. I didn't think I'd like it after hearing the first couple tracks but I fully fucks with the album. It's great fun.