With a large music industry such as Japan has, the second largest in the world, it is inevitable that music fans will be inundated with a profusion of good (and also less good) music from this country. It is impossible to keep track of this and write a review about it per video. But to avoid missing out on gems, it is time for a weekly list of new music videos from lesser-known Japanese musical acts that are definitely worth watching.
We are now looking back on a couple of videos that were released in week 27 of the year 2021. Enjoy the new discoveries! Also good to know, next week it will be 1 year ago that this project officially started.
Sisters In The Velvet – Love, Massacre
Alternative rock band Sisters In The Velvet released their first EP, Five Foot Daydream, in October 2020 and seems to draw a lot of attention in the indie scene of Tokyo. The music of the three-piece is a balanced mixture of distorted guitar sound and lyrical melodies that tickle the ears. Love, Massacre is part of a double-A single, now available digitally, it will be also released on 7-inch vinyl. — Recommended by Francisca
Loiro – GOD
Consisting of guitarist and songwriter Ruri Namiki, who appeared as a guitar prodigy in the TBS TV programme SANMA’S SUPER KARAKURI TV, and bassist Takuma Sato, who won the grand prize in a contest organised by PROJECT B., the music unit Loiro started activities just a few days back with the release of a double-A single and music video. It is a promising start for two young musicians with diverse experiences in the music scene. — Recommended by Francisca
cherry CC tonic © – PEANUTS!!
cherry CC tonic © are a three-piece melodic punk band based in Yamaguchi Prefecture and formed in the autumn of 2016. While it has not been an easy time, the band decided to make a song full of happiness in the hope that this will be of support for everyone who doesn’t have it easy at this moment. — Recommended by Francisca
Jr.alcohol – she’s gone
All the way from Morioka located in Iwate Prefecture comes the indie band Jr.alcohol. The three-piece released a digital single in May, titled seaside, and this seems to be connected with the second digital single, released on the 10th of July, titled she’s gone. The music of the band is a construction of emo, dream pop and indie rock. — Recommended by Francisca
AFTERGLOW – Burning life
Active since 2016, the metalcore band AFTERGLOW released a couple of singles and an EP before going on a hiatus in 2017, after several members left the band. In 2018, AFTERGLOW made a comeback with a revamped line-up and brand-new music. The five-piece is still very much on the rise with performances in mostly Tokyo. — Recommended by Francisca
gato – 21
Popped up in the indie scene in 2018 and consisting of five members, gato can be best described as an electro band while they weave a wide range of music genres from tropical house to Trap into their music. In October 220, they released their first album, titled BAECUL, followed up a few months later with a digital album full of remixes done by 80KIDZ, AmPM and Kenmochi Hidefumi. — Recommended by Francisca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTLnSd0FMZY
inweu – Night Groove
Mito-based instrumental quintet inweu got formed in the spring of 2012. The music is based on post-rock and the band emphasizes on layering single notes. The band mostly performs in and around the city of Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture and has collaborated with quite some musicians and bands. Soon inweu will release their long-awaited second album, 点と線の間 (Ten to sen no ma). — Recommended by Francisca
Next week we will be back for a new list of new music videos to check out. But you can also look back to the earlier editions of this weekly article series for when you yearn for more musical gems!
