J-Rock

[2leftears]

mukeikaku

A relatively new trio from Shibuya (Tokyo). I don't know when they started, info is a bit thin on this band but their first EP came out December 2023. Whilst they have a fairly typical Japanese indie-rock sound, they somehow set themselves apart a bit with their arrangements venturing into more shoegaze & EMO at times. A promising start from this band and they definitely deserve more than the 340 YT subscribers they currently have. A few songs from their EPs and singles (konami, Blue, and temperature):

mukeikaku - どく　Music Video


mukeikaku - 結局　Music Video


mukeikaku - 嘘つき


mukeikaku - 微熱


mukeikaku - dull


mukeikaku - 猫
​

 

[2leftears]

いろかにほへと (Irokani Hoheto)

A relatively new band from Osaka (2023 from the little info I could find). Ako on vocals & guitar, mimori on guitar, and ROM on bass. It isn't clear if this is a trio or quartet; the drummer may be support. The sound & visuals of this band remind me a bit of Gordon, but the drums have some MARKET SHOP STORE vibes to them also.

They only have 334 YT subscribers as I write this, and like many other less-well-known niche bands that avoid an overly polished sound, they can sound a little raw around the edges. But to me that is part of the charm and appeal of this type of music; it still has an artistic 'honesty' about it, for lack of a better terminology. They have one 3-track single out so far:

いろかにほへと - mirror［Official Music Video］


リベラリズム / いろかにほへと


いろかにほへと - 惑星空白論
​

 

[2leftears]

長嶋水徳 - serval DOG - (Minori Nagashima - serval DOG -)

Not to be confused with the keyboardist and arranger of the same name working with bands like Polkadot Stingray, “長嶋水徳 - serval DOG -” (“Minori Nagashima - serval DOG -“) is the solo music project of Minori Nagashima, a home-recording singer-songwriter from Shizuoka.

The project was started in 2019 whilst she was still performing with the rock band MINOR THIRD. She is one of those individual and highly expressive artists whose music is hard to categorize, and it will not appeal to everyone.

She writes, composes, arranges, records and mixes all of her own music in her home studio. The mix of rock, pop, EMO, beats, hip-hop, noise, experimental industrial music and expressive vocal style could easily result in a discordant mess, but the brilliant arrangements are in safe hands with this very talented young artist. At just over 1k YT subscribers this artist deserves far more recognition.

The 22 varied songs she has produced so far proved hard to whittle down to a representative smaller number. 10 songs is the minimum I could mange, but that still leaves an unsatisfactory overview. In reverse chronological order:

『夜明けの海』Music Video / 長嶋水徳 - serval DOG -


ラウドネス・ドント・イマジネーション


『Orange Hiss Noise』Music Video / 長嶋水徳 - serval DOG -


『不透明なままで』Music Video / 長嶋水徳 - serval DOG -


ジレンマはノイズと共に鳴る


NEVERLAND


『GOFLL』Music Video / 長嶋水徳 - serval DOG -


『少女乱反射』Music Video / 長嶋水徳 - serval DOG -


『生きてしまっている』LyricVideo / 長嶋水徳 - serval DOG -


『shibuya iggy pop』MusicVideo / 長嶋水徳 - serval DOG -
​

 

[2leftears]

MINOR THIRD

A 4-piece alternative/indie/pop-rock band formed in 2019 that unfortunately went on “indefinite hiatus” in August 2022. They released one 7-track EP “THE NEGA” in 2021, and a final short EP 「らなうぇい」(“RUN A WAY”) in 2022 of 4 songs they recorded before their hiatus.

Led by Minori Nagashima (vocals, guitar), who has gone on to continue her solo project Minori Nagashima - serval DOG - (see my previous post). Yaachan on keyboards, koudai on bass, Asuka Tanaka on drums.

It was a band with a unique at times somewhat more experimental sound, and one can only guess at where they would have ended up had they not ceased to be. As this band only released 11 songs in total, and they are not very easy to find on YT, I might as well put them all up here:

MINOR THIRD『 short/summer 』MusicVideo (unreleased, only on YouTube I think)


MINOR THIRD『 VOID IS ENOUGH 』MusicVideo


MINOR THIRD『 学級会 』Music Video


MINOR THIRD - ゴクラクチョウカ


MINOR THIRD - FUZZY


MINOR THIRD 『 もう何もかも暗がり 』MusicVideo


MINOR THIRD - セッションが苦手な僕でも


MINOR THIRD 『 THE NEGA 』 Music Video


MINOR THIRD『マテリアルカード』Music Video


MINOR THIRD - DISTORTION ON THE WRIST


MINOR THIRD - DOWNERSONG


MINOR THIRD - らなうぇい
​

 

[2leftears]

Re:O

This is a bit of an unusual one. The band is actually from Maidenhead in the UK, but it was founded as the solo project RiØ by singer/songwriter Rio Suyama in Japan. She changed the band name from RiØ to Re:O, and then recently moved to the UK where she recruited guitarist Jon Roberts, bassist James Wright and drummer James Stevens. So now the mixed Japanese/English band operates from Maidenhead. The style has been described as a mix of metal and dark pop, but also as J-core, with mixed English & Japanese lyrics. I discovered this band a few weeks ago and I wasn't sure if I should feature them here. But then Old Mr B also featured them on his reaction channel, and even did a 2 hour interview, just over an hour of which can be found on his YouTube channel. So I decided to include them here; they are an interesting & great band, and they deserve a bit more exposure. Only five songs have been released so far, in reverse chronological order:

Re:O - Ronin (Official Lyrics Video)


Re:O - Stains On My Soul (Official Lyrics Video)


失楽園 Feat. Tokyo Elvis (Lyrics Video)


Re:O - GUILD (Official Video)


Re:O 嘆きのシルエット (Sorrow's silhouette)


A Chat With RE:O (interview with the band from Old Mr B's reaction channel, 14-Sep-2024)
​

 

[2leftears]

Beachside talks

If you have followed my previous posts you may have noticed I have a soft-spot for dream pop. I am glad dream pop is officially recognised as a subgenre of alternative rock so I don’t have to feel guilty posting it here. The shoegaze/dream pop sound is something many Japanese bands have made their own, and if it is a sound you like (or miss from the 80's/90's), the Japanese shoegaze/dream pop scene is one definitely worth exploring.

Beachside talks was founded in 2017 in Tokyo. Their output has been slow and releases didn’t appear until 2022, but it is consistently of high quality. Ayaka Shibusawa on vocals & guitar, Ryo Fukushima on guitar and chorus, Yuga Ito on bass, and Ryo Ochiai on drums. Only 8 songs so far; the 5 listed below are in reverse chronological order, starting with "Big Sky" released last June, and ending with their self-titled debut song first released in August 2022:

Beachside talks - Big Sky


Beachside talks ｢Cassis｣ (Lyric Video)


Beachside talks - Take Me Down/Freedom


Beachside talks "Always" (Official Music Video)


Beachside talks "海辺の話" (Official Music Video)
​

 

[2leftears]

A Catch-Up with Mellows

Mellows have been releasing several "live" MVs over the last few weeks (not really live, but studio sound with footage from their live concert), here are just a few of them. These ladies have re-defined what kawaii-metal (cute metal) can sound like, being grown-up and serious about it. What makes a big difference I think is that they actually have two very talented guitarist (Sally & Gina) fronting the band, with Mio obviously showing her prior experience as a singer and performer in the pop-idol band PASSPO. Add songwriting that is rather sympathetic to the concept without any holding back on either cuteness or hard metal riffs, and it all works really well.

Death sentence/Mellows-official live video-2024.6.6 Cute Metal melted R666


Bad Player/Mellows-official live video-2024.6.6 Cute Metal melted R666
(not released yet; presumably this will be on their new album)


AddicChu/Mellows-official live video-2024.6.6 Cute Metal melted R666


Jumpink!//Mellows-official live video-2024.6.6 Cute Metal melted R666

​

 

[2leftears]

DENDENMUSHI

A four member band formed in 2022. Melodic hard-rock/power-metal combined with a traditional image and some subtle wagakki (traditional instrument) additions. Vocals by Pinoko, BURNING on bass, Ray & Kazuma both on guitars. Not quite my style of rock but they are good. Only three songs released so far, in chronological order:

DENDENMUSHI / Kimikazuku（伝々夢史 / キミカヅク) Music Video -official-


DENDENMUSHI / Ichirin no Ai（伝々夢史 / 一輪の哀) Music Video -official-


DENDENMUSHI / Izayoi (伝々夢史 / 十六夜) Music Video -official-
​

 

[2leftears]

揺れるは幽霊 (yureruwayurei)

A new band with only two tracks released so far. I really like their sound; not much information on them yet.

揺れるは幽霊 are:
Guitar & vocal : 佐古 (Sako)
Guitar : 日高 (Hidaka)
Bass : 功凌
Drums : ジャグラー

揺れるは幽霊 - "鯨骨群衆" (Official Music Video)


揺れるは幽霊 - fragment
​

 

[2leftears]

CARAMEL CANDiD

When you haven't exactly got an operatic singing voice but the urge to write rock music with attitude and groove, why not create (uhm... really not sure what to call this), kawaii cute alt-punk-pop-rock? This isn't a manufactured band; these girls write their own music and play their own instruments, with attitude; a fun band. OTO on vocals & guitar, SAYA on guitar, MABO on bass, and MOKO on drums. Four songs officially released so far, in reverse chronological order:

CARAMEL CANDiD「CARAMEL GiRLS」MV


CARAMEL CANDiD｢短編小説｣MV


CARAMEL CANDiD ｢ウィルス・バスター｣MV


CARAMEL CANDiD「ヘッドライト花火」MV


EDIT (12/12/2024): I added Howard's recent interview with their singer-songwriter Oto:

​

 

[2leftears]

The Floatings

A Tokyo-based alt-rock ("Tokyo Neo Gazer") band active since 2023, influenced by the 90's UK/US scene according to themselves. Another very promising new band flying under the radar with only 142 YouTube subscribers so far.

The Floatings 『きっと美しいままで』（OFFICIAL AUDIO）


The Floatings 『夏再来』（OFFICIAL AUDIO）


The Floatings 『The Girl and The Heron』（OFFICIAL AUDIO）


The Floatings 『monica』（OFFICIAL AUDIO）


The Floatings -『Lily』(demo)
​

 

[2leftears]

MoritaSaki in the pool

An alternative rock band from Kyoto active since 2022 (I think). Somewhat slower rock with hints of shoegaze but, unusual for this genre, with harmonising male & female vocals by both the vocalists.

MIRROR’S EDGE (mv)｜MoritaSaki in the pool


IKAROS


plasticsummertime


Ice box (mv)｜MoritaSaki in the pool


For Jules
​

 

[2leftears]

Hammer Head Shark

Active since 2018, this trio from Chiba create their own unique and unmistakable indie-rock sound with strong influences of shoegaze revival. The soaring vocal style of Hiyu may not be to everyones taste, but it fits the songs well IMO. Hiyu Nagai on vocals and guitar, Asahi Gotoh on bass, Haruhiko Fukuma on drums, and Eita Fujimoto extra support on guitar.

A few songs in chronological order:

Hammer Head Shark / echo ( Music Video )


点滅ヘッドライト - Hammer Head Shark ("Headlight")


月とおばけ ("Ghost Like a Moon")


Hammer Head Shark - レイクサイドグッドバイ【Music Video】("Lakeside Goodbye")


Hammer Head Shark - Dummy Flower【Music Video】


Hammer Head Shark - " Blurred Summer " (Official Music Video)


Hammer Head Shark - " 綺麗な骨 " (Official Music Video)


And an interview by ANGURA:
This Japanese Band's Gorgeous Sound Will Transport You Somewhere Else | Hammer Head Shark
​

 

[2leftears]

Some recent releases by bands I covered before on this thread: GLIM SPANKY, BAND-MAID, paranoid void, Rubens, CARAMEL CANDiD, Beachside talks, Halbie, Minori Nagashima - serval DOG -, and Wang Dang Doodle:

GLIM SPANKY –「赤い轍」Music Video ("Red Trails")


BAND-MAID - TAMAYA!


paranoid void - "Wanderlust"


リュべンス - ほがらかな呪い（Music Video）("Serene Curse")


CARAMEL CANDiD 「ワンルームのクリスマス」MV ("Oneroom no Christmas")


Beachside talks - Look Back!


Halbie - 「入道雲を溶かして」


長嶋水徳 - serval DOG - 「記憶と記録」


【MV】とっととおウチにかえりなさい！- Wang Dang Doodle × ようせいハム子
​

 

[2leftears]

Mary (Bassist in rubens)

Japan has many great bass players, but this is a shout-out to Mary, the bass player in the band rubens (リュベンス, featured early in this thread). Although the band is now finally getting a bit more recognition neither the band nor Mary are well-known yet, but she always brings some really tasteful and well-thought-out bass playing and phrasing to the songs. The band rubens is a good example of how in Japanese rock compared to western rock, the bass often plays a more prominent role in building the melody.

Mary, on her own channel, highlighting the bass part of their song "kaze wo tomenaide" (don't stop the wind):


The album version of the さめsong "kaze wo tomenaide":


Also the bass part in 「浮沈の朝」:
​