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 9 of the year 2022. Enjoy the new discoveries!
the pullovers – 蹂躙 (Jurin)
Since the formation in the summer of 2019, this rock band, consisting of vocalist and bassist Cettia and guitarist Riku Sasaki (also active in the bands Cynical Animal Youth and the scented), has been putting out their work in the form of a zine, containing short stories that are associated with their music. In October, they released a short film to accompany their third zine, which had appeared the previous month. — Recommended by Francisca
ミイ (Myy) – コンタクト (Contact)
The four members of Myy decided to form the pop-rock band in the summer of 2021, the first performance took place on 9 June at Shimikitazawa MOSAiC. To date, the fresh-faced band has released three digital singles and can be seen on live stages in Tokyo. In the short time this band has been up and running, they have already performed at various festivals such as TOKYO CALLING and MINAMI WHEEL and soon MiMiNOKO ROCK FES. — Recommended by Francisca
She Her Her Hers – Diagram X
The alternative band She Her Her Hers got formed in 2011 and the music they produce can be best described as a fusion of chillwave, shoegaze, synth-pop, ambient and bedroom pop. In 2019, the trio released their 3rd album location. In that same year, She Her Her Hers became the first Japanese band to sign a contract with a Chinese label and successfully completed a seven-city China tour. Coming 23 March, the trio will release a new album, Afterglow, more than 2 years after their third album. — Recommended by Francisca
猫背のネイビーセゾン (Nekoze No Navysaison) – 愛想のまちがい (Aiso no Machigai)
This Kobe-based four-member formation got formed in 2019 and the band describes itself as an alternative neon rock band. Led by bass player Tomoki Oka, the four members have focused on creating songs that could become a picture book. Nekoze No Navysaison recently released their first mini-album, titled PHANTOM MOMENT. — Recommended by Francisca
東京少年倶楽部 (TOKYO SHONEN CLUB) – I hope I die before I get old
TOKYO SHONEN CLUB got formed in the summer of 2017 after Kuuya Miyoshi (bass), Kotaro Matsumoto (vocalist and guitarist) and Shunto Komata (drums) met each other and decided to start a rock band together. After releasing some music and performing at ROCK IN JAPAN, the band became a four-piece with the addition of guitarist and keyboard player Gyary. In the meantime, the band has released several mini-albums and (digital) singles. — Recommended by Francisca
Lucie,Too – Fool
It has been a while since we wrote about Lucie,Too, after several line-up changes, currently the band consists of two band members and a support drummer, the indie-pop band has finally released an album, their very first album, entitled Fool. This is very much proof that the band, led by vocalist and guitarist and the only original band member Chisa, is still going strong. — Recommended by Francisca
Gurislamar – Diamond
The Tokyo-based alternative rock band Gurislamar, led by vocalist Misaki, shared a short acoustic live video of Diamond as a Christmas gift. Since the last day of February, the song has been released as a single release and received a dark up-and-close music video for this song. To date, the rock band has released two albums, an EP, an acoustic mini-album and several singles. It seems that they will probably share something new in April. — 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.
