As I attempt to get this year’s incarnation of the ULL community project on board, I’m still awake when the clock rolls past midnight and despite better judgement decide to get my own thread started before I myself go to sleep; unless I pull an all-nighter which is entirely possible – I’ve done far more questionable life decisions, that much is for certain. There will probably be no Skyrim to distract me this time around, though it wasn’t that much of a problem the first time I did this thread. So let’s get this show on the road, yeah? Remember to sign up for the ULL here.
Seiko Oomori has been a musician I’ve been generally following for a bit now, the twenty-seven year old vocalist and songwriter has been compared to the likes of Mariko Goto (Usagi, Midori) and Shiina Ringo (Tokyo Jihen) due to her seemingly effortless merging of contemporary and abstract qualities of the Japanese mainstream whilst still standing out with her own identity that is unique to the artistic expression she creates. Tokarev is her sixth release since her full-length debut in 2013 and it continues what I’ve been liking since she released Sennou last year. Seiko Oomori’s backing band is called ‘The Pink Tokarev’ who share songwriting credits with the eclectic pop songstress and seem to add a bit of a cohesive quality to the pop-oriented alternative rock as in earlier releases Oomori was a bit directionless at times, perhaps it is here with this band that she found a sort of consistency. Do note this is my second listen to this record so perhaps I'm over-analyzing my thoughts needlessly here. Anyway, the Mariko/Shiina comparisons are pretty on point – Seiko has moments of emotional breakdowns where she becomes less focused on melody but rather using her voice as a musical instrument. It can be pretty spastic, and it is definitely exhausting in the same reasons I love the aforementioned musicians Seiko is likened to.
On this current date it is my favorite Japanese release of 2015.
Recommended for:dividesbyzero, Fans of Shiina Ringo.
It’s been six years since Built to Spill released There is No Enemy which was, for me, a collection of songs that I wasn’t really in love with and for someone introduced to the indie rock icons with You in Reverse I was sort of expecting to enjoy that record… which didn’t happen. Untethered Moon is the exact opposite of that feeling as I find myself absolutely loving songs such as “All Our Songs”, “Another Day”, and “Living Zoo”. In a way I think I could think of this record as a return to form, though it’s not like their previous album was a harrowing disappointment either; I’ve never disliked a Built to Spill record much like I haven’t disliked a Modest Mouse or Pixies record – they are these bands that are in a camp of “do no wrong” for me and I find myself enjoying them among my favorite bands of all time; but then again even the Beach Boys made records that offended me, so maybe they just haven’t quite jumped the shark for me yet. Anyway, this record is pretty much what you’d expect; noisy guitarwork, indie melodies, and Doug Martsch’s vocals that just make you nod your head during the whole thing in indie rock fashion.
People are calling it kind of a misstep but I don’t see it. Ignore the internet critics or whatever, it’s worth a look.
What we have here is a splendid alt-country record that ties back to singer/songwriter Jenny Lewis’ musical roots as she is accompanied by Chandra & Leigh Watson (who later released the excellent Pioneer Lane in 2013). At this point Jenny’s iconic collaboration as a member of Rilo Kiley had sailed creatively and this was perhaps the first sign that Jenny Lewis hadn’t quite given up musically but just surpassed her aspirations in Rilo Kiley. I would wager even with her other work past and present that Rabbit Fur Coat is her greatest musical achievement and there’s a lot I like in her discography and whilst she isn’t as consistent as Neko Case, her creative highs certainly are excellent and up there with some of the best alternative country songs in my honest opinion. My favorite songs would have to be “The Big Guns”, “The Charging Sky”, and “Born Secular”.
Often associated with Coheed & Cambria, I have a long history of thinking this is the better of the two “crossover prog” acts from New York State. Perhaps not as conceptual as the aforementioned band, Joey Eppard’s 3 has remained one of my favorite bands for over a decade which is something that cannot be on nostalgia alone. The riffwork on The Ghost You Gave to Me is fluid and I suppose will always be the most standout thing about the band’s work, even on this record; this is in part due to the fact Joey Eppard is one of the modern era’s most unsung creative guitarists – if you are not familiar here’s the kind of stuff that made me really impressed before I even picked up my first guitar. Anyway, this is a record that lifts 3 back on track given their previous album of revisions of past songs is what I would call “basically decent”. Of course, if you aren’t really a fan of these hard rock bands taking influenced from Spock’s Beard, Dredg, and Porcupine Tree then even 3’s best stuff probably won’t be up your alley; but for me, I do really enjoy it.
Recommended for:RockyRaccoon, Fans of Porcupine Tree or Spock's Beard.
Chatmonchy pretty much have created a blissful dynamic of especially driven power pop on this release, which is probably the one Chatmonchy record I spin the most. There’s a lot of changes that give the appearance of the recordings being rather bouncy which only attest to the masterful pop hooks alongside Eriko Hashimoto’s melodies. The guitar is rather jangly and is pretty fun to listen to. It’s a fun time.
One of my favorite “indie rock goes pop!” albums ever and if you know me a fair amount this comes as no surprise at all given my sort of my love of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese releases. This one is from Japan if you are unaware and honestly it’s one of the best power pop-influenced indie rock records I’ve ever heard and it really delights me that here in 2015 we are about to get a new Chatmonchy record in only a few weeks with a fuller more dynamic sound. Still, even with Chatmonchy’s evolution as a band this is probably my favorite record they’ve released— full of “guitar pop” riffs, contemporary Japanese melodies, and an instrumentation that cohesively jumps as the album really gets going. In a way it reminds me of a sort of Japanese Sleater-Kinney (though later Sleater-Kinney) and that is pretty high praise going in.
I like to call Teenage Bottlerocket the “second coming of Bad Religion; with a lot more Ramones influence” and I swear on that. Evolving from the skate punk culture of NOFX and their contemporaries, Teenage Bottlerocket exists somewhere between The Lillingtons and The Mr. T Experience as their only concern is making fun punk songs with bombastic pop hooks and harmonies. Originally, I thought They Came from the Shadows was a step down from their previous albums but looking back at it now there’s not a lot different and I guess it was just me being fed up with skate culture at the time because I was so determined to be a “real” and “true” punk even though I was hardly qualified for such punk rock elitism.
At least Henry Rollins or other aged punks had a reason to be disenfranchised; but me? I was just an angry young adult on the internet who refused to be in the same circle as the mall punk dweebs. Basically I was an asshole… what do you mean I’m still a jerk? Old habits die hard, but at least I can reflect on them in stride rather than going “HA HA HA YOU THINK GREEN DAY IS PUNK PUH-LEASE YOU PEDESTRIAN DWEEB LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT PUNK” well into my adult years. But moving on from that… reflection... right, this record is super fun and what I love about pop-punk. Don’t expect innovation here; I likened them to Bad Religion for a reason – a consistent punk band who use the same formula over and over and over. Though I personally think it’s a pretty wonderful formula.
Recommended for:benpaco, Fans of NOFX or Screeching Weasel.
Out of the whole fad of contemporary music with influences to americana/folk music I think Of Monsters & Men are my favorite and the only ones that have really “spoken” to me; I’ve seen them live, I refuse to get bored by their songs, and the airy indie pop sort of atmosphere they invoke gives me a warm feeling of content. Nanna Hilmarsdottir’s vocals are fantastic and the songwriting whilst not the most original are not of ill quality. At times I feel like they are a band I wouldn’t normally like, but somehow they evade that territory – perhaps it’s my fondness of The Decemberists, Feist, and similar acts that allows me to enjoy their work, but I genuinely do think their melodies are really enjoyable and are probably my pick for my favorite “crossover” indie pop act of 2011/2012.
I’ve been familiar with Matana Roberts for a little while now, but this record sort of snuck up on me and I kept telling myself “I’ll listen to it later” time after time throughout the year so far. This one is kind of perfect music for the early morning for me as Roberts’ sense of experimentation is very soothing and ambient. I listened to the previous Coin Coin records, but this one is simply in another time zone than the previous two records and perhaps it is a testament to the growth of Matana Roberts herself as a musician or maybe even my mood right now. The textures are really neat alongside this said atmospheric element and I don’t think I got bored during the whole thing. Easily deserving of the BEA praise I’ve seen it been getting.
So far this is the only thing I’ve liked from this group, though that’s not to say they have a huge discography just that the follow-up to this debut was really underwhelming and empty for me – which is the opposite of how I feel about this. There was something special on this record that I liked that existed somewhere between the dreary guitar lines and somber vocals from Romy Croft and Oliver Sim (though more the former than the latter). The Joy Division influence is at full play here and it comes together really well, I hope they get back on track when and if they decide to record a third full length album. Until then I will always have “VCR”.
Recommended for: Fans of Interpol and Joy Division.
A flurry of Japanese alternative rock conventions with classical/jazz piano bits, math rock riffwork, and noise rock flirtations most certainly sounds like a bit of a handful but somehow Enon Kawatani’s Gesu no Kiwami Otome pull it off exceptionally well. This 2014 release flew under my radar and I had been excited about these guys for one to two years prior to 2014, so when I finally got around to this it blew me away. With time and the right marketing these guys could become a tour de force in Japan’s alternative music scene and they certainly have contemporary appeal with strong melodies and smooth lines from pianist Chan Mari. The biggest standout is the aggressive yet fluid percussion work done by Hona Ikoka and the fluttering basslines by Kyujitsu Kacho; their sense of rhythm is awe-inspiring. I can’t promote this record enough.
Recommended for:meccalecca (maybe), Fans of Japanese Alternative.
How to Measure a Planet is The Gathering shedding their “gothic metal” beginnings in favor of becoming this sort of art rock band with influences they drew in from the alternative music scene of the time (dream pop, trip-hop) as well as some nods to the space rock concepts of old. It’s a very… strange album, but it wasn’t odd for metal bands of the late 90s to get “bored” and experiment with a new identity; Ulver is one example who succeeded and doing the same, but with different styles. This is probably the finest record featuring Anneke van Giersbergen who sort of defined the band perhaps in this direction (she was not a founding member) and musically in my opinion this is really dreamy and ethereal. I know Nech thinks it’s mostly long and boring, but I don’t get that feeling here – a lot of the time is well-used on the songwriting, mood, and tone.
Recommended for:CubaZed, Fans of Art Rock or Trip-Hop.
Deciding to take a break from the full length marathon and moving on to “one of those weird big Korean pop groups Gowi plays way too much in plug.dj” as sort of a five minute sugary release. I really like the melodies and the dance-pop synths are pretty cool.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t a temporary relief… haha, let’s see where this sugary pop stride takes me. Anyway, if you don’t like western dance-pop you probably won’t like the eurodance-flavored dance-pop of South Korea; but if you like either of those aforementioned things you might actually dig this synth-laden collection of pop songs. Kara is one of the bigger girl groups in South Korean (alongside After School, T-ARA, and Girls Generation/SNSD) and their melodies and their organizations choice of producer’s shows pretty much why. It’s pretty fun.
Recommended for:revolver (maybe?), Fans of Dance-Pop.
Still on that stride, so mostly see above since it’s basically the same damn thing haha... well mostly, this one has elements of contemporary R&B and pop-rap. But yeah, like the previous album I like the melodies, production, and synths fairly well enough. Though there was a time where I barely liked this but in the last year or two I’ve really fell in with Korean pop music so a lot of my perspective has changed.
Recommended for:revolver (maybe?), Fans of Dance-Pop.
Last edited by mickilennial on 05/03/2015 11:48; edited 23 times in total
Added to wishlist, I'll let u know my thoughts about it
Glad to hear it, after all me expressing my love in my own bubble is fascinating and all; but I like to express this sort of stuff so others might find new stuff they might’ve overlooked. Looking forward to your thoughts whenever you get to them.
Great stuff so far, thanks for bringing this back.
I was kind of hoping there was going to be something as good as that track on their second album… but I was sadly mistaken. Shame; I know they have it in them.
Yeah, I just wish I would’ve brought it back before the end of the fourth month of the year (what do you mean Keith did the same thing but with the third month?) because we could’ve gotten some interesting BYT-related logs I’m sure. Thanks for the look and the comment though, gets real lonely in my head sometimes.
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