[Single-paragraph descriptions of bands and artists from Japan.]
----------
acidman
well-prooned, well-crooned indie sparkles. rock music on its twinkle-toes.
andymori
unambitious but easily disgestible servings of sedate guitar-led indie. an audio cheese sandwich.
asian kung-fu generation
guitar rock by numbers, but at times they colour between the lines very neatly.
aus
largely electronic sounds begin to resemble something as natural as the weather. like sitting in a virtual forest.
the black mages
metal versions of final fantasy music, featuring the composer himself. street-cred sold seperately.
boris
every day, a new way to burn your house down. noise-spaked amplifier worship in a variety of flavours - a history of rock music on their own.
buffalo daughter
perennial jam-happy mooglings. guitars and electronics gel well, often maintaining a certain floatiness, even at louder volumes.
chatmonchy
cute vocals and the occasional neat hook just about add enough sugar to this all-girl rock trio's vanilla sponde cake.
citrus
a photograph of your favourite band, but everything's out of focus. hang onto it anyway - even the blurs have a certain something.
cokiyu
sonic pictures of dreams, composed while still half-asleep. so transparent they might not even exist.
cornelius
music, chopped up with the sharpest of scalpels. reassembled, but not in the same order.
daisuck & prostitute
no wave noise rock, melded to the sound of a saxophone's warranty being invalidated. either that or there's a wolf in the sheep pen.
de de mouse
bright and cheery electronica that's sometimes spoiled by a heavily processed, high-pitched vocal. created by mouse for mice.
downy
you've taken a wrong turn in a city you've never been to before. it's dark. misty guitars curl around derelict houses built from drums and bass.
envy
the sweetest post-rock flows into the sourest hardcore. when it works it's incredible drama, when it doesn't it's painful hollywood flash-bang schmaltz.
far france
"full steam ahead! any direction will do!" unsurprisingly, these guitar jams often get lost, but the journey can be fun.
group_inou
enthusiastic raps over video game bleeps from a teen duo that don't ever pretend to be doing anything other than having fun.
ikimono gakari
as unashamedly cinematic as a slushy rom-com. guitars, sweet vocals, even a harmonica - it's all in there.
kahimi karie
early morning in a deserted parisian cafe. the waitress leans in, whispers something into your ear.
kashiwa daisuke
a future re-envisioning of classical music from the past that has somehow ended up in the present.
ketchup mania
girl-fronted pop-punk that doesn't care about the concept of originality, just about playing fast and hard.
lillies and remains
less influenced by post-punk; more an attempted reincarnation. pleasingly hooky joy division reimaginings that would have brought a smile to ian curtis' face, if said face was ever capable of such a thing.
lite
carefully layered instrumentals with both mood and purpose. used to hang on dark street corners, but have lately floated off into synthey outer space.
macdonald duck eclair
fuzzy drums, blaring synths and pounding bass combine to form something unexpectedly smooth - so much so that even the bossa nova segues don't seem out of place.
mass of the fermenting dregs
typically sweet-voiced girl fronts rock trio with thick chords and an occasional sharp riff. not nearly mean enough to deserve their death-metal band name.
melt-banana
punk-rock laserbeams from outer-space. you can practically see the colours pouring out of the speakers.
midori
psychotic schoolgirl and friends turn jazz into a bloodbath. the songs don't always live up to the aesthetic, but that's ok. they provide enough entertainment by just existing.
mono
both the loudest and quietest band in the world. the music is about how to get between the two, and how far they can go when they get there.
mothercoat
of course, writing a normal electronically-tinged indie rock song would be boring. duel boy/girl vocals and raw noise are just two of the cherries placed on top.
motoro faam
the work of a blind artist: vivid colour but no structure. sonic sketches using strings, piano and more. even the element of water is recruited as an instrument.
mouse on the keys
piano-led post-rock with a dark undercurrent. last waltz at the end of the universe.
natsumen
take notes, throw them in the air and play them in whatever order they land. a jazz mess, delivered with the vigour of unfed sharks.
nhhmbase
a band for whom time signatures are merely toys to be played with. the meticulously arranged notes proceed as orderly as a cog in a clockwork watch.
nissennenmondai
straddling the fine line between mind-melting and just annoying. repetitive grooves shift like glaciers: slow-moving but relentless. toe-tap your way to RSI.
nuito
mathier than thou instrumentals - no time to enjoy it, it's already over. a spectacular feat of memory.
number girl
fiercely ambitious rock music that doesn't always get where it wants to be. soupy production clogs up the drain.
ogre you asshole
the plodding grooves and criss-crossing chimes of modest mouse, without the bells and whistles. often enjoyable, but the lack of isaac brock's vocal chords means a lack of menace.
ooioo
deep in the jungle, captured by the guitar savages. as they dance to their tribal rhythms, you wonder what will become of you.
piana
child nervously presses a key on a dusty piano found in the attic. the noise is much more enveloping than expected. half-asleep, reality begins to deconstruct.
plus-tech squeeze box
modern japanese pop culture on fast-forward, a million samples per minute. like watching all of the channels at once.
polysics
the quintessential "look! isn't japan weird!?" band. weird costumes, weirder music: devo-influenced video-game punk rock with energy to burn.
pupa
on a quiet fishing trip you receive warm, friendly advice from a trusted friend who's been there and done it all. collaboration between 6 stalwarts of the japanese musical world.
quomolangma tomato
the indieish-post-hardcore tunes show the occasional neat lick, but this band's dominated by the love/hate vocals. who needs talent when you've got enthusiasm?
rega
like holding your thumb over the hosepipe, notes spray in all directions. nevertheless, nothing ever - ever - gets in the way of the groove. guitar jams or death.
rovo
effects-laden slow burners. a stick of incense uncoiling over the course of a long night at the morroccan opium den.
school food punishment
electronically detailed pop-rock music that isn't quite as cutting-edge as advertised. the robots should ignore their programming and zoom on to the future!
shiina ringo
j-pop megastar decides she can do what she wants, releases bizarre album that references death, religion and the smell of semen. one of japan's uniques.
shugo tokumaru
tucked away in the garden shed, the music inventor builds his tinker-pop from nothing more than household objects and imagination.
sonic coaster pop
birthday party at the space station. glitter drifts in zero-gravity, we ride on shooting stars! a mixture of electronica and child-like glee.
sour
intricate and delicate music with a darker edge, by turns lurking deep or shallow in the background. the vocals have more cracks than a mosaic, but the pieces still shimmer in the sunlight.
相対性理論 (soutaiseiriron / theory of relativity)
the best treehouses: planned and plotted in relentless detail, but the finished work looks like it might've grown naturally out of the branches. a little girl swings her legs, singing softly from among the leaves.
special others
tags like "jazz" and "pock-rock" only complicate the simple reality of a talented band making attractive music. it's only occasionally that they touch on something more.
swarrrm
popular recipe from the grindcore cookbook. usp: the vocalist seems to be having a breakdown. a proper one, with full-on loss of both sanity and enunciation.
takako minekawa
the softly-sung, downbeat mood doesn't stop this from being hugely ambitious music. the liberal use of samples gives access to an sound palette that is possibly a little too large.
te'
pretentious song titles: the price you pay for music of such terrifying intent. at its worst, smartly structured post-rock; at its best, as captivating as anything in the genre.
toe
on paper - just another pretty instrumental guitar band. in practice - the best. perfect melodies, driven along by a drummer who contributes as much to the feeling of the songs as any guitarist.
tomoyo harada
a picture postcard from far away. it's been years. she still has that elegant handwriting.
tujiko noriko
in audio: the events just prior to the decision to give up. the straw that broke the camel's back. the loneliest solo artist in japan.
unchain
irrepressibly cheery summer guitar pop. it does get a bit bright, and some people will run for the shade. they should probably just lighten up.
unholy grave
vanilla-flavoured grindcore; it's probably been in the freezer for months. appropriately unhinged vocals from some sort of bovine zombie.
unkie
spiky, garage rock instrumentals. crying out for some sweaty sleazebag to pick up a mic and start yowling.
wienners
in a world where the frosted sugar bomb pop punk of polysics already exists, what do you do is your band sounds the same? easy, just play faster and jump around more.
yanokami
gentle pop/electronica collaboration between two old hands. perfectly pleasant, but nobody's socks are being blown off.
zazen boys
funk-everything-tinged rock veers wildly between enjoyable and self-indulgent. on vocals: crazy street preacher frothing at the mouth.
1000 travels of jawaharlal
hot snakes / hot cross / hot water music....like the toastiest americans, it's good to keep things simple. pleasingly loose and noisy.
3nd
confident rock instrumentals with a flair for the dramatic; they're stadium rockers in another universe. try and pretend the quiet songs don't exist.
54-71
stubborn grooves from a meandering bass, a discreet guitar and a stripped-down drumkit. tighter than an astronaut's seatbelt. fervent sermons aren't quite screamed, aren't quite rapped.
9mm parabellum bullet
try-hard vocals and a fondness for re-using metal stereotypes stop these rockers from being as good as their energy and invention probably deserve. somebody rip their jeans and steal their hairspray. they need a bit of rough.