Winter break begin!  It’s been a long month but finals are over and I almost got straight A’s 🙂  The following are PV’s from albums I plan on reviewing in This Month In J-Rock: November 2008.  Hopefully that will be done around Christmas.  There’s a lot to review!

avengers in sci-fi- “Homosapiens Experience (Save Our Rock Episode.1)”

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Comments:  I love this song.  It’s so catchy.  “Save our rock, save our rock, save our rock, save our rock!”  It’s a great performance video.  It’s fascinating seeing these guys play guitars and synths at the same time.  The video follow the same “triangular” theme as the album cover.

http://www.myspace.com/avengersinscifi

dustbox- Spacewalk

Comments:  Random fat guy floating in a pool.  Not as creative as their last video (neurotic white family at dinner table eating) but does the job.  Dustbox reminds me of Ellegarden, with the English punk-rock and what not.  Another energetic song.

http://www.myspace.com/dustboxjp

hare-brained unity-ORANGE

Comments:  “ORANGE” is the latest video in hare-brain’s recent disco system.  With the help of masked power rangers and brilliant choreography, hare-brained brings the dance ROCK.  My favorite video this month.

http://www.myspace.com/harebrainedunity

Oceanlane- Look Inside the Mirror

Comments:  “Look Inside the Mirror” sounds like a British pop song.  Probably because half of their members are from Britain.  This a very delicate song.  Not very rocking at all.  The video uses stop animation and has the lyrics translated in kanji (LOL) scrolled on the right side of the screen.

http://www.myspace.com/oceanlaneofficial

reach up to the universe- S.T.A.R.S.

Comments:  A piano driven pop-punk band, similar to enie meenie.  This song is a little slower than the others on the album but still has some great synth lines.  The video is your standard band performance interspersed with animation of a girl running, reminescent of the album artwork.

http://www.myspace.com/ruttu

Spangle call Lilli line- Cast A Spell On Her

Comments:  SCLL is the ultimate chill band.  It’s easy to find yourself drifting in thought to Kana’s delicate vocals.  They decided to go the artsy way, again, for their new video.  It’s composed of still images of a girl on the beach.

http://www.myspace.com/spanglecalllilliline

Start of the Day- Space Eats the Earth

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Comments:  The best way to describe this band is a female version of Nature Living.  The synths are very heavy in this song with an 8bit quality.  It’s interesting they chose a song without screaming that highlights the singer’s J-pop voice.  This video is a backlit band performance with the members in silhoutte.

http://www.myspace.com/startoftheday

the telephones- Love & Disco

Comments: Not as “disco” as the name implies but another great pop song by the telephones.  This is an interesting video that meshes animation, a newscast, and the band’s performance.  The aerobic scene at the beginning is hilarious.

http://www.myspace.com/thetelephonesjapan