Get ready to bust out your wallet and clear some room on your book shelf. The fifth full-length album 予襲復讐 ("Yoshu Fukushu") from Maximum the Hormone is due out July 31st. This is super exciting for fans, not only because it's their first album since 2007, but also because according to the CD Japan listing, it comes with a 156 page book that includes a five chapter manga! There is also commentary from guitarist/singer Ryo for each of the 15 songs. (It should be noted that the track list includes 4 songs from the two eps released since the last album, so this isn't entirely new material.) This is going to be a must-have for die hard fans (hello!), that's for sure.
7/24/2010 The Casbah - San Diego, CA 7/25/2010 Plush - Tucson, AZ 7/27/2010 The Loft @ Palladium Ballroom - Dallas, TX w/ Russian Circles 7/28/2010 The Mohawk - Austin, TX w/ Russian Circles 7/30/2010 Spanish Moon - Baton Rouge, LA w/ Russian Circles 7/31/2010 The Engine Room - Tallahassee, FL w/ Russian Circles 8/01/2010 The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA w/ Russian Circles 8/02/2010 Cat’s Cradle - Carrboro, NC w/ Russian Circles 8/03/2010 930 Club - Washington DC w/ Russian Circles 8/04/2010 Starlight Ballroom - Philadelphia, PA w/ Russian Circles 8/06/2010 Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY 8/07/2010 The Middle East - Cambridge, MA w/ Russian Circles, Cave In 8/08/2010 Le Tulipe - Montreal, QC w/ Russian Circles 8/09/2010 Lee’s Place - Toronto, ON w/ Russian Circles 8/10/2010 Magic Stick - Detroit, MI w/ Russian Circles 8/11/2010 Southgate House - Newport, KY w/ Russian Circles 8/13/2010 Metro - Chicago, IL w/ Russian Circles 8/14/2010 Firebird - St. Louis, MO w/ Russian Circles 8/15/2010 Granada Theatre - Lawrence, KS w/ Russian Circles 8/16/2010 Marquis Theater - Denver, CO w/ Red Sparrowes 8/17/2010 *TBA - Salt Lake City, UT w/ Red Sparowes 8/19/2010 Republik - Calgary, AB w/ Red Sparowes 8/20/2010 The Starlite - Edmonton, AB w/ Red Sparowes 8/22/2010 Rickshaw Theater - Vancouver, BC w/ Red Sparowes 8/23/2010 Neumo’s - Seattle, WA w/ Red Sparowes 8/24/2010 Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR w/ Red Sparowes 8/26/2010 Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA w/ Red Sparowes 8/27/2010 El Rey - Los Angeles, CA w/ Red Sparowes 8/28/2010 The Glass House - Pomona, CA w/ Red Sparowes 9/05/2010 Kutsher’s Country Club - Monticello, NY @ ATP Fest - “Altar set” w/ SUNNO))) 9/07/2010 Brooklyn Masonic Temple - Brooklyn, NY - “Altar set” w/ SUNNO)))
August 28 - September 18 Electric Eel Shock European Tour Summer 2010 Part 2
August 28th - Akkerpop Festival - Belgium August 29th - Dynamo Festival - Holland
(Other dates in mainland Europe will be announced shortly.)
UK & Ireland: September 7th - Portsmouth - DITC September 8th - Cheltenham - Night Owl September 9th - Manchester - Sound Control September 10th - Aberdeen - Drummonds September 11th - Glasgow - King Tut's September 12th - Leeds - The Well September 14th - Galway - Roisin Dubh September 16th - Dundalk - Spiritstore September 17th - Dublin - Ballroom of Romance September 18th - Clon Guitar Festival
ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES Curated by Pavement May 14 (FRI) 16(SUN) Butlin's Holiday Centre, Minehead (UK) Information: http://www.atpfestival.com/
Vivid Live festival Curated by Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson May 28 (FRI) Sydney Opera House (Australia) Information: http://vividlive.sydneyoperahouse.com/Default.aspx
ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES Curated by Jim Jarmusch September 5 (SUN) Kutsher's Country Club, Monticello, New York (USA) SUNN O))) and BORIS present ALTAR Information: http://www.atpfestival.com/newsview/1003251415.php
While most might think of Boris as a band of extremes, they are also a band of rather pure and simple work. "Loud" would be one facet of their sound. "Heavy" and "huge" a couple others. "Uncompromising, "unfashionable" and "unrelenting" even more. While they may be very experimental at times, they also limit themselves to a small pallet of sounds, sticking almost entirely to the traditional line up of guitars, drums and vocals.
While they occasionally fall into the stoner-rock sound, they are anything but dull and boring. Droning, yes, but at the same time their music is active and full of a sort of inevitable weight. Their album titles alone are a useful look into their sound: Amplifier Worship, Heavy Rocks, Dronevil, Megatone (with Merzbow!), Sun Baked Snow Cave (again, with Merzbow!), Pink. OK, that last one might be ironic. Anyway, think lots of lumbering guitar riffs, lumbering drums, etc etc.
But it's not all blissed-out guitar drone jams. Very far from it. Over the years their sound has slowly drifted into territory a bit more palatable to the hard rock masses. Their songs are more like songs and less like steaming rivers of slow-moving tar. Their latest album Smile ranges from all-out rockers to downright sentimental tunes. Of course there's also plenty of noise and obliterated instruments, but on the whole it's a solid, thundering, rock and roll album.
Albums: Absolutego (1996) Amplifier Worship (1998) Flood (2000) Heavy Rocks (2002) Akuma no Uta (2003) Boris at Last: -Feedbacker- (2003) The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked (2004) Dronevil (2005) Soundtrack from Film Mabuta no Ura (2005) Pink (2005) The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked 2 (2006) The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked 3 (2006) Vein (2006) Smile (2008)
The hard rockin' trio that is Detroit7 will be embarking on a world tour this month, hitting up SXSW and the Japan Nite tour in American, then stomping over to the rest of the world in April. Their appearance in the States is being heralded with the release of their self-titled album on the Daruma label.
Along with a host of mini albums and EPs, it's the band's third full-length album and shows the band in top form. They blast through their 10 songs in 30 minutes. From the starting shot of "In the Sunshine" to the head thumping closer "Lovers Fight," it's a solid block of swaggering guitars, raw drumming and Tomomi Nabana's signature smokey, gruff and non-nonsense vocal assault. While she's got the delivery of a biker-chick looking for a fight, she also sounds like she's smiling the entire time.
That's not to say they are an abrasive, middle-finger-wagging punk band. They've got a heart the pumps the blues, filtering it through their fuzzed out amps. The do take a breather on both "Down Beat" and "Torch Song," though it's a bit relative. They still bring their wall of sonic mayhem along, but they manage to keep it in check, at least for a few minutes. "Zelda" ramps things back up, providing the fuel for a long distance road trip through a sweltering desert.
For anyone looking for a handy tool to explode a massive sound system through sheer rock and roll mayhem, they need look to further than Detroit7. Look for it at their shows, buy it at Amazon, or at any record shop with an ounce of credibility and common sense.
Check out some videos of their previous US tour after the jump.
9mm Parabellum Bullet not only has a rather unique (aka typically Japanese) name, but their music is also a unique mix of straight up rock and totally twisted post punk. Formed around 2004, they very quickly rose to be a force to be reckoned with in the indie rock scene.
All of their guitar playing is extremely tight and usually frenetic, yet the songs are very melodic and almost listener friendly. On the one hand, their more melodic and tune-full slant may put them into Asian Kung-fu Generation territory, yet their spastic playing, crazy drumming and singing pushed to the bleeding edge is much more like Number Girl. There are even a few heavy metal riffs from time to time which show of their technical prowess. It's all presented at blinding speed ("Mr. Suicide" for example), so you'll need to listen to them many times to actually hear everything that's going on. Some of their most intense tracks would even give power metal band Dragonforce a run for their money.
The band has matured ever so slightly over the years, reigning in their more confrontational tendencies more often than not. This doesn't mean that their songs lack any of their trademark intensity, just that the band doesn't throw themselves face first into every song. They manage to separate the more intense moments from the more melodic, crafting songs that are better at luring in the listener, setting them up for the next blast of pummeling staccato riffs. Sugawara Takuro vocals have always been a bit shaky, easily the band's weakest link, but his rough and sometimes strained delivery fits just fine with the general air of down and dirty rebellion that surrounds the band like a warm glow.
11.11 (TUE) Canada Ottawa ON, Scotiabank Place w/ NINE INCH NAILS 11.12 (WED) Canada Montreal QC, Bell Centre w/ NINE INCH NAILS 11.13 (THU) Canada Toronto ON, Lees Palace w/ ORN 11.14 (FRI) Canada Hamilton ON, Copps Coliseum w/ NINE INCH NAILS
11.15 (SAT) Grand Rapids MI, Van Andel Arena w/ NINE INCH NAILS 11.16 (SUN) Cleveland OH, Grog Shop w/ BARONESS, COLISEUM, MINSK 11.17 (MON) Columbus OH, Schottenstein Center w/ NINE INCH NAILS 11.18 (TUE) Fort Wayne IN, Allen County Memorial w/ NINE INCH NAILS 11.20 (THU) Cedar Rapids IA, US Cellular Center w/ NINE INCH NAILS 11.21 (FRI) Columbia MO, Mizzou Arena w/ NINE INCH NAILS 11.22 (SAT) Tulsa OK, BOK Center w/ NINE INCH NAILS 11.24 (MON) Iowa City IA, The Picador w/ LOCAL 11.25 (TUE) Minneapolis MN, Target Center w/ NINE INCH NAILS 11.26 (WED) Council Bluffs IA, Mid-America Center w/ NINE INCH NAILS 11.28 (FRI) Minneapolis MN, Triple Rock Social Club w/ CLOUDS 11.29 (SAT) Chicago IL, Empty Bottle w/ CLOUDS 11.30 (SUN) Detroit MI, Magic Stick w/ CLOUDS 12.01 (MON) Buffalo NY, Soundlab w/ CLOUDS 12.03 (WED) Brooklyn NY, Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ GROWING, CLOUDS 12.04 (THU) Baltimore MD, Ottobar w/ GROWING, CLOUDS 12.05 (FRI) Danbury CT, Heirloom Arts Theatre w/ GROWING, CLOUDS 12.06 (SAT) Providence RI, Jerky’s w/ GROWING, CLOUDS
The three men in Mo'some Tonebender have been making their intense blend of noise rock and softer experimentalism since 1997. At first blush it may be easy to say that they are just a loud hard-rock band, but that would be selling them entirely too-short. While they do have everything turned up to eleven most of the time, they aren't afraid of strong melodies and softer, precious songs from time to time. Mo'some Tonebender is possibly the band that Nirvana would be, if they were still around. While their songs are certainly loud and angry at times, they also have a strong pop sensibility. Sometimes it'll be just an acoustic guitar and Kazuhiro Momo's raw but well tuned vocals, other times a trance-like electronic track, or a horn section, or a combination of just about everything. They aren't afraid to throw all tonality out the window one minute, only to settle back into pure pop bliss the next.
Every album takes a slightly different direction (though not nearly as wide as, say, Coaltar of the Deepers), while at the same time making perfect sense in the discography as a whole. This is particularly evident on the 2007 release C.O.W. (Check Out World) which has very prominent electronic elements, like drum machines and heavy use of synths. There are also several counterpoints to the more electronic tracks, keeping it from simply being their "experimental electronic album." They are a band that has slowly evolved over the years from a young punk band to a much more mature and well rounded rock band who isn't afraid to do whatever they want with their music.
Through it all is a welcome sense of humor and a very strong handle on the songwriting, making Mo'some Tonebender much more than your average screaming noise rock. They prove that silly pretty things can be just as loud as the serious ugly things, or the seriously pretty things and the silly ugly things. Well, you get the idea.
While the name Kamomekamome (literally "seagull seagull") may evoke romantic images of graceful birds gently floating over the sea for some people, those of use who live with the birds on a daily basis may have a slightly different interpretation. Sure, watching the animals drift over the water may be relaxing, we also know their darker, more basic scavenger nature. Also, their piercing shriek. Both of these images work well in describing the music of Kamomekamome.
On the one hand, singer Tatsuro Mukai's history as the singer of hardcore punk band Nunchaku provides the raw, scavenger edge, while the rest of the band brings the slightly more calming flight. Far from punk, the band is more of a progressive rock, or even metal, band. Certainly their elaborate guitar riffs and heavy syncopation brings the metal, and Mukai's restrained, almost conversational vocal delivery adds to the art-rock feel. Add the occasional electro beat and repetitious, almost trance-like section into the mix and the band evolves into much more than your average hard-rock project.
Co-founding member and drummer Masashi "MARCY" Shimada also brings in his experience playing for the very mainstream space-rock band Buddhistson. Joined by high-school friends Fumito Shirogane, Soichiro Oda and Kenzo Nakase, the band indeed sounds more like an art-school project than a band resigned to settling into a specific sound. Their first self-titled album is an exercise in genre jumping. Dark and sinuous, with several extend songs running near or over the ten minute mark, it nevertheless travels through plenty of lighter territory from time to time before diving back into the frothing waves.
Their second album Luger Seagull is a more tightly focused affair, with songs rarely topping three and a half minutes. Here, the riffs are much heavier and chug along in a straight line. In fact the album almost seems like a study based around a single uniform idea, something akin to a concept album. Perhaps this is their answer to their previous, slightly more rambling album. The beats are much more up-tempo and danceable, as are the guitar parts. Even Mukai's vocals are more rhythmic.
At this point it would seem that Kamomekamome is more than just another side-project for its already busy members. While Lugar Seagull is a bit less ambitious than their debut, it also has a stronger focus. Hopefully this is a reflection of the band's dedication to the project and we'll see more great stuff from them in the future.
Metalchicks is a two woman duo from Tokyo, Japan, formed by Sugar Yoshinaga of Buffalo Daughter and Yuka Yoshimura, formerly of DMBQ and OOIOO.
If you took Boom Boom Satellites and slowed them down, Tomoyasu Hotei and sped him up, and added in a heaping spoonful of Boris' sludgy stoner rock, you'd have something close to Metalchicks. There are a sort of electro trance metal. The rely heavily on looped electronic drums and Yuka's tribal drum patterns, while Sugar chugs along with thick guitar riffs and electronic manipulation. There are also occasionally vocals, either robotic and run through a vocoder or whispered behind the wall of noise. They are also a bit like Boris in that they often drag out a particular phrase over and over, again in a very tribal, trance-like way, slowly building on it through the drums and synths.
Their second album St. Wonder was the soundtrack for the 2006 live-action school-girl sentai film Waru Michael. This is a natural fit, as much of the Metalchick's music is already instrumental and very soundtrack friendly.
In a way, that's what makes their name a bit misleading. While they are fueled by heavy guitars, they certainly are far from metal. Hard rock definitely, stoner rock perhaps, but not metal.
If ever there was a band that was an enigma, it would be Maximum the Hormone. On the one hand, they are a brutally heavy hardcore punk band, full of blistering beats and Cookie Monster guttural screaming. On the other hand, they are just as poppy and melodic as your typical Musume idol. Almost every song walks the line...no, that's not right. They absolutely pummel the two genres together into a battered and bruised terror that destroys everything in its path, all while smiling and having a pretty good time of it. While they are at their core a hardcore punk band, they constantly mix things up with nu-metal riffs and candy-coated girly vocals from drummer Nawo. For every incoherent scream there is a pristinely melodic chorus or harmony.
Formed in 1998, MtH finalized its line-up in 2001. They are brother and sister Ryo on guitar and "singing" vocals and Nawo on drums and backing vocals, with Daisuke on the screaming vocals and Uehara on the Flea-inspirited bass. They have had a surprising amount of success on the Japanese charts. This is due entirely to their latest album Buiikikaesu, which contained the top ten single for "Koi no Megalover," and itself hit number five on the album charts. This, in turn, was largely do to the band having two singles in both the opening and ending to the incredibly popular anime series Death Note.
MtH will be hitting western shores for the first time as part of the Dropkick Murphys tour which kicks of at the end of February 2008 and runs into March. Check the calendar for more info. Do everything you can to get to one of those shows!
Just in case you haven't noticed those shiny, candy-like buttons over there on the right, ZB's A-Z is affiliated with Japanator.com. In fact that's where this blog was born, in a way. I'm a writer and editor for Japanator, and obviously I focus on Japanese music. Make sure to check out the site every day for much more music news as well as anime, manga, culture and everything else Japan related.
I'm also the host of Japanator Radio, a weekly podcast featuring all genres of music from Japan. I try and dig up the bands that you might not normally hear from, much like this blog. In a way, Japanator Radio is the audio version of ZB's A-Z of J-Music. It should go without saying, but if you like the blog, then you'll like the show.
Right now, there are a few ways to get the show. The best way is to just add Japantor to your RSS feeds. There's a new Japanator Radio every Monday morning (U.S. central time.) You can also bypass the rest of the site and add just the Japantor Radio RSS feed. Finally, you can visit the Japantor forums and look for a new post in the Japantor Radio forum. We are also looking into getting the show in iTunes, so I'll let you know when that is finalized as well.
I'm currently working on show number twelve, so if you haven't checked it out yet, then you have a lot of great new music to catch up on! Here's a link to all the previous posts.
J-Pop and J-Rock are only the beginning. The modern Japanese music scene is just as vibrant and varied as any other music scene in the world. I'm Zac Bentz, writer, musician, designer and all around Japanese music fanatic. Here I hope to share with you a comprehensive (!!) list of Japanese artists and bands (with a strong focus on underground and indie acts) that you may or may not have heard of, in the hopes of expanding our mutual awareness of Japanese music.
I don't mean to suggest that everything I listen to is great. Quite the contrary, I hope that you will take the time to recommend your own favorite artists in the comments so that we can all learn a bit more about the huge range of Japanese music that's out there.
"The best Japanese music blog in the world." - Door Slam "Definitely a must-visit for J-pop and J-rock fans!" -The Otaku "Zac Bentz loves music. A lot." -Japanator "Very cool!" -J-ENT "...one of the foremost blogs and information centers on all J-pop and J-rock...the top source for tour information on Japanese bands in the US..." -YankeeOtaku "Wer mehr darüber wissen will, der sollte sich mal hier umschauen, ein sehr gutes J-Music Blog übrigens." -CommandSheep "...very well-written, and there’s an excellent range of artists...a useful resource." -International Wota "не плохая энциклопедия японских исполнителей/групп" -Diary.ru "Great resource for Japanese music fans who want to explore today's J-rhythms beyond Johnny's Entertainment bishonen music and anime music. XD" -Kaishi "If you are a J-Rock fan, [ZB's A-Z] is a must see." -Crunchyroll community "Otaku USA magazine finally got wise and hired Zac Bentz as a J-music contributing editor."-Radicalpatriot "Reviews practically every Asian band that has ever created a recording."- Zallie "Gewährt spannende Einblicke in die japanische Musikszene." -Laut.de
