Music Reviews

Labels and artists interested in being featured here may contact Michael McCarthy at cinema365@gmail.com. Follow Michael on Twitter @Paris365.


	MISS A: TOUCH Following sold-out shows and major successes in China and Taiwan, the ever-popular K-Pop group Miss A is back with this new release, "The 4th Project: Touch." Read More >May 24, 2012 by Paris365
	ABCHO: 目をとじてギュッしよ "目をとじてギュッしよ" (Google translation: "Close Your Eyes Tightly") is the debut single from ABCHO, a duo consisting of Dream Morning Musume members Rika Ishikawa and Hitomi Yoshizawa. It was written by loco2kit and is the opening theme song for the anime series Sengoku Collection. Quite the genre-bending smash, it begins with some clobbering beats and quickly adds sparkling electroclash-style sounds, throbbing bass and even bursts of industrial-tinged flourishes. And then it starts stuttering, almost skipping a beat here and there. You never quite know what it is going to do next. Read More >May 24, 2012 by Paris365
	ANDO YUKO: KANCHIGAI Kanchigai is the sixth album by Ando Yuko, who's appropriately signed to Avex's Cutting Edge subdivision. I would consider her music J-Pop, using the term loosely, though I would say that she's pop in the avant garde sense, not unlike Tori Amos or Fiona Apple. (Or Olivia, if I had to name another Japanese artist.) And she definitely breaks the mold time and time again throughout this album. You never really know where she's going to take a song. Or where the song is going to take you. Take "すずむし" (Google: cricket) for example. Read More >May 23, 2012 by Paris365
	NEMLINO: 100 ORACION Nemlino were formed in Tokyo in 2007, but 100 Oracion [translation: 100 Prayers] is their first full-length album. And what a breath-taking debut it is. If you like dream pop and shoegaze then this one is for you. Even if you normally wouldn't listen to music that isn't in English, you simply must hear this one if you're a fan of either of those genres. These songs simply carry you away to a dreamy, swirly, magical place where the only language is music and the only emotion is euphoria. Read More >May 23, 2012 by Paris365
	KYARY PAMYU PAMYU: ぱみゅぱみゅレボリューション [PAMYU PAMYU REVOLUTION] Kyary began her career as a fashion blogger from Tokyo's Harajuku district. It wasn't long before she started modeling and became something of an overnight sensation, releasing her own brand of fake eyelashes and doing all sorts of fashion shows. But what she really wanted to do, it would seem, is make music. Highly addictive electro/pop/bubblegum/dance music. Read More >May 22, 2012 by Paris365
	MAON KUROSAKI: HELL:ium Maon Kurosaki is famous for doing anime theme songs and she's back with a new one, "鳴り響いた鼓動の中で、僕は静寂を聴く" (Google translate: "I Listen To The Silence"), the theme song for Real Onigokko 3/4/5. And it's one hell of a theme song. Loud, blazing metal guitars compliment Maon's crystal clear and powerful voice perfectly, resulting in the best song Evanescence never wrote. The production is fantastic, too, with subtle electro sounds giving the song added depth. Track two, "I'm Still Breathing..." is another expertly produced rocker and just as captivating. Read More >May 22, 2012 by Paris365
	ROOMIE: SUPER LOVER I know, I know, you're probably thinking, another day, another girl group. And you'd be right. Roomie is in fact a five member girl group. But they're not J-Pop. Or K-Pop. Nope. They're M-Pop. That's Mandarin pop, coming at you by way of Taiwan. And, in this case, it happens to be quite good. Better than good, actually. Read More >May 21, 2012 by Paris365
	TWENTY4-7: LAST MESSAGE twenty4-7 were formed by Osaka-based Mika, an MC, and singer Me in 2003. They made their major label debut in 2007. Earlier this year they announced that they were breaking up, though they would make one more album and do a few more concerts first. Last Message is that -- appropriately-titled -- final album. Read More >May 18, 2012 by Paris365
	FLiP: XX EMOTION FLiP are an all-female band formed in Okinawa during 2005 by singer/guitarist Sachiko, guitarist Yuko, bassist Sayaka and drummer Yuumi. XX Emotion is their second album, following last year's Michi Evolution. And, without even having heard their debut, I can safely tell you there's no sophomore slump happening here. Quite the contrary, as they deliver song after song -- thirteen, in fact -- of filler-free, raw, energetic rock/punk/pop hybrids. It all starts with "Cherry Bomb," a bouncy, blistering tune that'll have you wanting to jump up and down to its hammering beat. Read More >May 17, 2012 by Paris365
	SOICHIRO HOSHI: ONE SONGS From what I've been able to gather Soichiro Hoshi is a popular voice actor who's done dozens of anime films and games as well as songs for both of those mediums. This album, One Songs, has new versions of some songs he's done for anime, the original versions of some other songs he's done for anime, and several new songs that he's written and recorded specifically for this album. I can't really tell you which songs come from which anime because, well, things get kind of jumbled when I translate info. about him and the album using Google's translate feature. Read More >May 17, 2012 by Paris365
	YOHIO: REACH THE SKY Yohio was born in Sweden. He began playing piano at the age of six and guitar at the age of 11. Around the time he started playing guitar he became obsessed with Japanese visual kei bands. At 14 he started a visual kei band of his own, Seremedy, and thus began his career in Japan. Reach The Sky is his solo debut. Read More >May 16, 2012 by Paris365
	NUXX: LETTRE MOIS There isn't a whole lot I can tell you about Nuxx. I wasn't able to find a Wikipedia page on them and I can only understand bits and pieces of what Google translate comes up with when I feed it the product descriptions from Amazon Japan and Yesasia. But I can tell you that Nuxx is an electro-dance trio and Lettre Mois is their second album. Read More >May 15, 2012 by Paris365
	NOGIZAKA46: おいでシャンプー (TYPE A) First, a little backstory. Once upon a time producer Yasushi Akimoto created the world's largest pop group, the 64 member, all-girl AKB48. The group consisted of four teams with 16 members each. These teams could each have their own concerts, T.V. appearances, etc, so AKB48 could literally perform in four different locations at the same time. The group was so successful that it spawned smaller sub-groups including SKE48, SDN48 and JKT48, just to name a few. Then Akimoto had another idea: why not create a rival group to challenge AKB48? Read More >May 14, 2012 by Paris365
	MiChi: THERAPY Therapy is MiChi's often delayed and highly anticipated third album, although it's only her second for Sony Music Entertainment. (She released her debut independently.) It includes her four most recent singles, "Wonder Woman," "One," "Find Your Way" and the recently released "Tokyo Night." It also includes seven new songs, 8 if you count the intro, "MiChi MadNesS Vol. 3" Read More >May 10, 2012 by Paris365
	TAETISEO - TWINKLE Taetiseo are being dubbed the first Girls Generation "sub-unit" and the members are three of the group's most talented, Tae Yeon, Tiffany, and Seo Hyun, who are all still in Girls Generation as well. The name Taetiseo was conceived by taking the beginnings of each of their names and combining them. Read More >May 09, 2012 by Paris365
	AIKO OKUMURA: KAGI Aiko Okumura debuted in 2004 and gained notoriety for her distinctive sound, which is essentially a fusion of jazz and pop. Kagi (translation: Key) is her first album in five years and finds her once again blending a variety of musical styles with mostly pleasant results. Opener "たのしい迷路" (translation: Fun Maze) meshes uptempo piano jazz with a pop vibe and elements of electronica with assorted loops running throughout the track, giving it nuances and texture. "ナイフの男" (Google translation: Man Of Knife) starts off with surf guitars and quickly surrenders to drums that sound like tin cans. Read More >May 07, 2012 by Paris365
	MOUMOON: WILD CHILD moumoon's latest single, "Wild Child," is a pretty straightforward guitar-oriented pop rocker. But it's bursting with energy -- and catchy as hell -- so it's definitely worth checking it out. "Listen boys and girls," Yuka starts off singing, grabbing your full attention, though the rest of the song is entirely in Japanese. But, hey, moumoon speaks the universal language of pop and you don't need to understand the lyrics to grasp that. Just get up, dance around and hum along! Read More >May 05, 2012 by Paris365
	HARUNA LUNA: 空は高く風は歌う The album cover reads Haruna Luna but product descriptions for this single indicate that her name is Haruna Runa. My best guess is that her name is Haruna Runa but she's decided to go by Haruna Luna insofar as her music career is concerned. Regardless, this single is a very promising debut. In fact, she is currently a finalist in the anime theme song competition Anison Grand Prix, the title song here being the theme to Fate/Zero's second season. Read More >May 04, 2012 by Paris365
	YUKI: プレイボール / 坂道のメロディ Hot on the heels of her recently released compilation Powers Of Ten, Yuki is going to celebrate her ten years as a solo artist by performing at the Toyko Dome for the first time in over a decade. And just in time for that concert she's building even more momentum by releasing this double A-side single. Read More >May 03, 2012 by Paris365
	MOUMOON: NO LIGHT LAND moumoon -- they don't like capital letters, apparently -- is a Japanese pop duo comprised of vocalist and lyricist Yuka and composer Kōsuke Masaki. As with other pop duos where the male half is seldom seen, such as Goldfrapp and La Roux, Masaki is rarely if ever seen. It's the very beautiful Yuka who is pictured on all of their album covers. Their name is a combination of the French word "mou" and the English word "moon," the translation being "soft moon." Read More >May 02, 2012 by Paris365