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 45 of the year 2021. Enjoy the new discoveries!
Oh No Darkness!! – ディアボロ (Diabolo)
The three-piece alternative rock band Oh No Darkness!! got formed in the autumn of 2015. The Osaka-based band can be placed in the shoegaze corner, with the addition of their distortion sound influenced by American bands from the 90s, the heaviness of multi-layered guitars with a bit of pop-ness creating a nostalgic yet new alternative sound. — Recommended by Francisca
Muscle Soul – Fake Pleasure Syndrome
The four-piece post-rock, shoegaze and alternative rock band Muscle Soul were formed in 2009, when Tomoaki Taguchi and Taiki Araya were still in high school. They recently have released their second album digitally, the song with the same title received a music video to promote it. The album carries the same message as their previous album, although it is more aggressive, direct and sharper and the band called it their kind of punk. — Recommended by Francisca
エルスウェア紀行 (Elsewhere Kikou) – 少し泣く (Sukoshi Naku)
“A journey to nowhere”. After changing the band name from Hinata to Ashley to Elsewhere Kikou in September 2020, the duo released a self-titled album a couple of months later. In terms of the band sound, they created an intriguing arrangement of several music genres from city pop with progressive fusion elements. The band performs live in a variety of formats, including acoustic performances with just the band members, and band performances with supporting musicians. — Recommended by Francisca
一寸先闇バンド (Issunsakiyami Band) – 知らんがな (shirangana)
Together with the music video’s release, linked below, the four-piece Issunsakiyami Band also released a new EP, with the same title. The title track symbolises the band’s unique choice of words. The band was formed in 2019 centred around singer-songwriter Otake@James and has a high degree of freedom that is not confined to any one genre. — Recommended by Francisca
四丁目のアンナ (4choume no Anna) – 苦しいね (Kurushii ne)
It was the spring of 2016 when this alternative five-piece pop band got formed, where they combine disco songs with 90s alternative elements, groovy instrumentation and quirky vocals. The band calls themselves a super Tokyo band, where they mix the jumble of different cultures in the metropolitan area. They have released a couple of EPs and singles, it is now waiting for a full-fledged album. — Recommended by Francisca
THE 118’s – pet
THE 118’s slogan is “Ai ga, Itoshii”, which can be translated as love is dear. The rock band is based in Osaka and the music is themed around the desire to be loved and expressing the strength of a woman’s spirit through the lyrics and voice of vocalist and guitarist Yuri in combination with a powerful rock band sound. Since the restart of THE 118 last summer, the band consists of one member with three support musicians. — Recommended by Francisca
徳永由希 (Yuki Tokunaga) – お化けになって (Obake ni natte)
Yuki Tokunaga is an Osaka-based singer-songwriter that started her career in 2015 and soon after performed at MINAMI WHEEL (twice, also with a band formation), one of the biggest circuit events in Kansai. It has been a while that the musician released a music video, but she has been active with releasing cover videos and live videos. — 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! Want to read more about how this project started or check out the YouTube playlists? Click here for all the information.
