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 33 of the year 2022. Enjoy the new discoveries!
bed – Kare Wa
This Tokyo-based four-piece band (not to be confused with Bed In) labels its music as “music for sleeping well,” but can you really do that after listening to all of it? It might be music that psychedelically drains the body’s energy while you dance to a riff that keeps repeating; this could eventually help you fall asleep. Maybe I’m reading too much into it! Kare Wa is the second single for the post-punk band, which started operations in 2022. They have attracted attention in Tokyo’s live scene, we can be glad that we can enjoy the music digitally at the moment. — Recommended by Francisca
Otherside – Closure
Following the release of a few singles, the Tokyo-based alternative rock band Otherside recently released a new EP named BATHROOM. For one of the songs, they have created their first music video to make it complete. The five-piece is influenced by shoegaze, grunge and alternative rock and hasn’t been around for that long, they started releasing music in 2020. The rock band is somewhat enigmatic unless you have seen them perform live in Tokyo. — Recommended by Francisca
トリルダン (TRILL-DAN) – ANSWER
After working on it for a long time, the indie rock trio TRILL-DAN are back with new music, an EP titled ANSWER that combines the band’s past, present and future. Consisting of guitarist JUAN, bassist MARU and drummer GIVA. TRILL-DAN’s music often gets described as a fusion of rock & roll with punk and has a wild, fierce, fighting spirit with a tinge of unpredictability in their style. You can read our recent interview AVO Magazine had with the band. — Recommended by Francisca
RED in BLUE – ゲラゲラ (GERAGERA)
This year the Hiroshima-based rock band RED in BLUE will be celebrating their 10th anniversary with a show in December. But first, they will drop their first mini-album in three years this autumn. The title of this release is RED and as a taste-tester for this CD, they released the digital single GERAGERA. The four-piece group is renowned for their electrifying live performances. But also with the sharp melodies and one-of-a-kind song structures in their tracks. — Recommended by Francisca
NUL. – EVILA
Since the popular visual kei band D’espairsRay disbanded in 2011, the vocalist HIZUMI had stopped his activities in the music scene. For many years, it appeared as if he would never return and he started a design brand named UMBRELLA. In 2019, he asked Toshiyuki Kishi (of Abingdon Boys School) and MASATO (of Defspiral) to start a new band, NUL. became the return that many fans were waiting for. This weekend, the band released EVILA, their second album, on which numerous other well-known musicians appeared as guests. — Recommended by Francisca
BREIMEN – チャプター (Chapter)
Just two years ago, we brought a spotlight on the five-piece mix funk band BREIMEN to write about one of their music videos. Since then, they have published two albums, the most recent of which, FICTION, was released in July of this year. Each member of BREIMEN has experience working as a support musician for various acts, adding skills and a unique perspective to the music while maintaining a session-based sound that garners a lot of attention, including right here! — Recommended by Francisca
VintageAmps – 今宵はミリオンダラー (Koyoi wa Million Dollar)
“Welcome to the Vintage World.” We have arrived at the long-awaited third single of the Fukuoka-based band VintageAmps. The group, which was founded in May 2015 and is centred around vocalist Natsuyo Morita, has gone through a few lineup changes over the years, the pandemic didn’t made it easy for the band to perform, but is still active today, having released one mini-album and several singles. The songs are strongly filled with a retro and nostalgic influences but still created from a unique point of view. — 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.
