🎧️ Shibuya's Scrambled Sounds - Issue #31

Step off the plane into this week’s issue of Shibuya’s Scrambled Sounds !

Hi everyone, I hope you had a nice week. For those who may not have seen it on Instagram, I did an interview with my good friend at Tokyo Alleyways, a blog about all things Tokyo whether it’s where to find soccer pubs, how to enjoy izakaya’s, or even where to buy suitcases.

Click here to read the interview

This week’s episode includes:

• A Noise Rock album so repetitive you could probably call it Ambient

• An SS Sounds Music Theory lesson.

• One of the essential City Pop revival albums

• Banger singles and a super indie EP pick

🥧 Fresh Out The Oven Albums 🥧

Reviews of the best new albums that came out recently
*with some exceptions

HYPER GAL - After Image

Genre: Experimental Rock, Noise Rock, Minimal
Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Strap into your seats. This one’s a wild one. The low fuel light is blinking, over and over. Panic turns into discomfort, discomfort transforms into acceptance, acceptance becomes excitement.

HYPER GAL are a two piece from Osaka whose brand of minimal Noise Rock is unique. Just as Boredoms, Otoboke Beaver, and Haru Nemuri, this could be the next experimental band that the rest of the world will catch onto. It’s extremely minimal and repetitive, to the point that everything becomes hypnotic despite how loud the drums and samples are. Interestingly, even though their sound is aggressive and their walls of sounds are hazy, there are still melodies hidden throughout this album, such as the bass and keyboards intertwining on “Ghost”, or the singing on “Dot Dot Dot”.

While I’m not sure of the staying power this record will have, the beats mesmerize and there’s a sense of peace that can be felt from front to back. I can’t tell if this album is a novelty or not, but nonetheless, they achieved exactly what they were aiming for. Out of all of the new releases I’ve talked about in the past few weeks, this one is my favorite, I’m just not sure I can give it 3 or 4 pies based on the fact that I’m uncertain of it’s entertainment longevity. Will I come back a year or two later and still love it? Only time will tell. Do I love it now? Hell yeah.

Rating:🥧🥧 Oh that’s hot 

Favorite Tracks: Rush, Dot Dot Dot, Unrhymed, Flicker,

Guiba - こわれもの (Kowaremono)

Genre: Indie Pop
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Time for music theory class.

There are a few chord progressions that I would say are the ultimate guilty pleasure for me. One of those is IV-iii-ii-I

The roman numerals represent the numbers of the chords in the chord progression. For example, if we’re in the key of C, the I chord would be C and the ii chord would be D minor, etc.

So now let’s see how many songs where some variation of this chord progression appears on this album.

Number of songs - 6
*(I did count IV-iii-ii-iii as well)

That’s over half the album. This is a BONEFIDE GUILTY PLEASURE

Rating: 🥧 Pretty warm

Favorite Tracks: 1, 3, 8, 10

🍱Mystery Bento🍱

An older album you should check out

Hitomitoi - City Dive (2012)

Genre: City Pop Revival, Synthpop
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

If you’re familiar with the City Pop Revival scene that popped up in the late 2000’s, you’re most likely familiar with Hitomitoi and her impact on that scene. She got her start with her own solo albums, but she became more popular as the vocalist for Ryusenkei on their first and most popular album Tokyo Sniper. Since she didn’t appear on the next Ryusenkei album because it seems Cunimondo Takiguchi has a penchant for a rotating cast of female vocalists, it made sense for her to return to her solo career.

Which brings us to this record, the fifth album in her solo discography. Despite Takiguchi being in charge of the production of this album, the full band that was present on Tokyo Sniper are gone in favor of synthesizers and drum machines. If the first Ryusenkei album was an homage to late 70’s City Pop, this is the early 80’s sequel, featuring a silky smooth sheen throughout the entire album.

While there are definitely some funkier cuts on the album, most of the songs are more on the ballad side, portraying the aches of heartbreak as well as the pain of longing for love that’s just out of reach. Credit for the funkiest song goes to Track 4 (ハーバーライト), with a bedazzling drum break in the middle that begs for your attention. The most heart wrenching and beautiful track being “RAINBOW”, whose chorus is so gorgeous yet simultaneous full of sorrow.

If you’re a City Pop fan, I would say this is a must listen. This was chosen as the 5th best Japanese album of the 2010’s by Music Magazine, a high praise that shows how well the songs on this album have aged.

Favorite Tracks: 1, 2, 4, 6, 9

♨️ Steaming EPs ♨️ 

Some good EPs that recently came out

Geloomy - Saladbowl EP

Genre: Soul, Disco-inspired
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
*Honestly they are kind of a Suchmos ripoff, but there’s definitely potential here

🍵 Piping Hot Singles 🍵

Here’s where you find the newest hottest singles on the planet from Japan

Nagakumo - Sweet Space
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Genre: Jazz Pop

Shinichi Osawa, Nao Kawamura & Anne Futagami - Copy Me
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Genre: Electro, Electronic Dance Music
*Shinichi Osawa is an Electro legend in Japan (think Justice), this track goes HARD

Kazumichi Komatsu - Skin (feat. Dove & Le Makeup)
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Genre: Hazy Pop, Drumless Shoegaze-Trap?, Good Music

Young Kyun & PamBeats - あの日見た虫の名前を俺たちはまだ知らない。
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Genre: Experimental Hip-Hop

Neibiss & Pasocom Music Club - Flow Ya Mind
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Genre: Drum & Bass, Hip-Hop

❤️‍🔥 Thank you! ❤️‍🔥 

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See ya next time! Breakfast is ready.