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

Hi everyone, I hope you had a nice week. No new changes this week, but a new logo is in the works and on the way soon 🤭

This week’s episode includes:

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

Genre: Indie Rock, Jazz Pop
Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Loupx Garoux (Pronounced Lu Garu, not Loop x Garo x like I first thought 🤫) is the solo project of mariko nii and features members of Magic, Drums & Love as well as betcover!!. Even though this is their first album as a group, they already have a fully developed sound. Simultaneously, there’s a nostalgic and fresh approach to their music. Why does this sound like it could come out either in 2024 or 2004? I’m not sure, but it works.

Speaking of classic 2000’s Japanese pop/rock, the final track “PARALLEL” sounds like a Clammbon cover band, an impressive feat of it’s own. Another sign post for their penchant for 2000’s Rock is the ever angsty “Adult just don’t get it”, also featuring my favorite bass lines and tones of the album.

From here, it’s hard to tell if Loupx Garoux will be a new underground staple, or even the next big band that blows up on all the television screens in Shibuya (or maybe both). One thing I do know is that with such a strong debut album, the future is bright for mariko nii and the gang.

Rating: 🥧🥧 Oh that’s hot

Favorite Tracks: Anya, Adult’s just don’t get it, LILITH, PARALLEL

Genre: Experimental Electronic Music, Ambient, Shoegaze-influenced
Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Reach your hand into the goodie bag and never know what you’re gonna get! Could be a new PS5, could be your grandmother’s used socks, you’ll never know until you reach in.

That’s what Kazumichi Komatsu’s newest album feels like. But what’s impressive is his ability to remind you that it’s all from the same source. That source is his experimentation with sound palettes.

The perfect example of this is with the album opener “Good Problem”, which starts with a beautiful yet ominous guitar. But as soon as you get comfortable, he brings in a piercing distorted, perhaps digitalized guitar sound, keeping you on the edge of your seat.

What this album makes up for lacks in consistency is it’s ability to constantly keep you on your toes, transposing the equivalent of a haunted house experience into an album.

Rating: 🥧🥧 Oh that’s hot

Favorite Tracks: Good Problem, Damn Clean, AM3 Blackjack, Skin (feat. Dove & Le Makeup)

Genre: City Pop, Synth Pop, Dub
Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

This album actually came out in July, but it finally became available for streaming (at least Apple Music), so now I feel like I can talk about it. As much as I encourage all of you to buy music (or even better, buy merch) of your favorite artist, but in the year 2024, it’s kind of a tease to tell you about something and be like “oh but you gotta buy it to hear it”.

Either way, no one quite does City Pop revival like Natsu Summer. She channels the more synth-driven era of the genre, yet there is always a Dub/Reggae flavor ever present in her tracks. While this itself is unique, she really shines with her melodic and rhythmic choices. Every track really feels like it’s own world, or at least it’s own country of her somber yet funky version of her world.

If you’ve heard any of her other material, you know what to expect going into this. There’s no surprises here, but you will find are solid, memorable, silky smooth tracks from front to back. From the groovy bassline of “Hare, tokidoki my love”, to the soaring melodies of “ORANGE AIRMAIL”, Natsu Summer brings in another solid entry to ever growing discography.

Rating: 🥧🥧 Oh that’s hot

Favorite Tracks: 2025, Hare, tokidoki my love, AFTERGLOW, ORANGE AIRMAIL

An older album you should check out

Genre: City Pop, Soul, Singer-Songwriter
Spotify | Apple Music

You might know Minako Yoshida from a few different places; the back up vocals for a lot of classic Tatsuro Yamashita albums, songs like LIGHT’N UP appearing in the City Pop YouTube algorithm (so I’ve heard, I never went down that route), or her classic album Flapper featuring our boy Hosono on the bass (and song writing duties).

However you know her, or if you don’t know her, she has perhaps the best voice of the classic City Pop artists. Soulful, poetic, and powerful, she immediately takes control of the music. What’s interesting (yet kinda sad), is that unlike Tatsuro Yamashita who EVERYONE and their mother knows in Japan, she’s only known by the music nerds and old school freaks.

While Flapper is her most influential album and rightfully deserves it’s classic status, I’ve always perferred this album to that one. This one is sad, moody, and Jazzy. Was she going through a breakup? Feeling the stress of the glint of fame she had at the time? I’m not sure (I’m sure I could research and find out), but the beauty of this album is just feeling it.

You can tell from the 2nd track, the 8 minute long “Love”, that you’re in for a wild ride. With it’s ever-flowing crescendos and free-feeling minimal percussion, the main force pushing the song forward is Yoshida and her piano. Whether it’s the Gospel inspired “Melody”, the melancholic City Pop of “Shooting Star of Love”, or the or the Jazzy transformation that occurs at the end of “Twilight Zone”, the album always bedazzles despite the overall gloomy sound.

Favorite Tracks: Love, Runner, Shooting Star of Love, Uptown, Raspberry Slope, Twilight Zone,

Some good EPs that recently came out

Genre: Digital Hardcore, Post-Hardcore, Dance Punk
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
*Okay it’s like half-Japanese, but that’s fair game right? Am I right?

Genre: Hyper Pop, Pop Rap
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

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

For Spotify and Apple Music, check out the official playlists!

Playlist Links:
Spotify
Apple Music

ゆnovation - now growing
YouTube
Genre: Pop Rap, Chamber Pop (I know strange combination but trust me)

sucola - mocha
YouTube
Genre: Indie Pop

NEI - Aqua Surface (feat. Campanella)
YouTube
Genre: Experimental Hip-Hop

Naoki Asai - The Vacuum Girl
YouTube
Genre: Jangle Pop, Sounds like The Smiths

OWC - テレビみなきゃ！？ (TEREBI MINAKYA!?)
YouTube
Genre: Indie Pop, Sugary Pop

As always, thank you thank you sooooo much for reading this issue of Shibuya’s Scrambled Sounds! 🥹

See ya next time! Breakfast is ready.