J-Rock Fridays Vol. 75
July 13, 2012A new J-Rock Firdays for this rainy day.
oono yuuki- “Lotus”
On his first album, oono yuuki got tired of singing folk music and invited his friends over for a jam session. The resulting tracks were far and away the highlights of that album. He does the same on the first single off Tempestas, recruiting 8 of the brightest minds in Japan for this epic collaboration. If Yuuki would drop the solo act and form a real band with these guys they’d be a major force in the indie scene.
Sensation- “Sensation”
On the opposite end of the spectrum is a real instrumental band by the name of Sensation. Some of the synths remind me of what LITE is trying to do on their recent releases but it has more of a funk/80s vibe going in. If only mouse on the keys released a PV for their new EP we’d have an instrumental trifecta this week!
LLama- “Independence”
Here we have another Japanese band named LLama that actually spells the name right. Very creative video with a cute arts and crafts mouse roaming around whatever city this is. Kudos for dropping this on the 4th of July.
Klan Aileen- “Astroride”
It’s easy to mistake Klan Aileen for a UK band. Even with the Japanese girls in the video I assumed BounDEE uploaded another foreign artist and I had to look them up myself. Maybe this confusion is what it takes to make Japanese music expand in the west.
Heavenstamp- “Dreaming About You”
After several EPs + remixes, Sally Cinnamon and the gang finally had enough songs for a full album and two new singles. “Magic” is kind of awful, but “Dreaming” is up to standards with a creepy video to boot.
[Champagne]- Kill Me If You Can”
Champagne puts a bounty on their own heads and invites a bunch of white athletes to strut their stuff. Unfortunately there’s no showdown because they just rock too hard.
Arukara- “Fukanzen Na Kimi”
Whereas Champagne challenges, Arukara is lying defeated from the get go while leaves and drainage waste buries them. Not the most dignified position for these rockers but they take it in stride.
Mo’some Tonebender- “Shining”
After a best of compilation and solo album from Momo Kazuhiro I was assuming the worst. However, the Mo’some boys are back with a new album and a single that has as much vigor as their old singles.
She Talks Silence- “Holy Hands, Holy Voices”
Fuzzy guitars abound in new She Talks Silence who’s apparently a trio now but I only see the two girls. The woods are usually for pagans not Christians so who knows what god they’re praying to.
girugamesh- “Zecchou Bang!!”
Cheerleaders and anime ready J-rock? Looks like girugamesh are trying to shed their visual-kei image. They even got Takuya from Judy and Mary to produce this single.
DOIMOI- 「円群」
This week’s great animated video goes to DOIMOI who believe they’re from California and take cues from great American alternative rock music.
Kaisoku Tokyo- “Eleki
Kaisoku Tokyo reminds us of static as the rub paper on their heads and plug electrical cords into questionable body parts.
Band Links:
Heavenstamp: web, CD Japan, Play-Asia
Mo’some Tonebender: web, CD Japan
She Talks Silence: web
See new videos daily at J-Rock Explosion’s Tumblr!
J-Rock Explosion 
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