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Usotsuki Barbie

September 22, 2010

myspace band of the week

Usotsuki Barbie (嘘つきバービー) is a pretty cool rock band from Sasebo.  The 3-piece formed in 2002 but didn’t release their first mini-album until 2007.  They released their second mini-album the following year with a full-album release soon after.

The first two songs on their myspace come from their 2010 single Kagaku no Shinsaku and the last two come from their 2009 double A-side Babibube Igai Ningen / Neko single.  The vocalist 岩下優介 has a nice funky voice that sounds like he’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  Add in some funky guitars and we’ve got some catchy songs.  I even liked the “neko nyan” song.

The Barbie liars are probably best known for their eccentric videos and the vocalist’s Mick Jagger swagger.  Most of the songs on myspace can be seen in video format below.

http://www.myspace.com/usotsukibarbie

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envy- Worn heels and the hands we hold

September 22, 2010

Envy has a new album out and a video to go along with it.  “Worn heels and the hands we hold” begins with a two-minute instrumental, assuring us that this album will be no different than Insomniac Doze.  Unsurprisingly, Tetsuya Fukagawa bursts out with an explosion of screams that eventually turns into poetry reading.  The video follows a lanky girl who walks around a forest and occasionally the city.  On second thought, no different than the video I made for “an umbrella fallen into fiction,” (it even ends with a close up of a lake for @#$%’s sake) except maybe not as crappily made.

Recitation came out today in Japan.  Temporary Residence will release it stateside next month.  Catch them on tour in North America starting this weekend.

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Caroline on a boat

September 21, 2010

http://vimeo.com/13929135

Caroline recently performed “Bicycle” for Hennessy artistry’s Street Session series.  She is joined by rOry and her big sis, J-Pop sensation Olivia. “Bicycle” comes from her 2006 album Murmurs available from Temporary Residence.  Check out Hennessy artistry’s website for more exclusive performances.

It’s been a while since Caroline has put out any new material, but it looks like she’s become an unofficial member of the Mice Parade.  She sings several songs on their new album What It Means To Be Left Handed, which came out last week.  Below is the music video for “In Between Times,” one of Caroline’s songs.

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J-Rock Fridays Vol. 29

September 17, 2010

Posting this early for a change.  Hokkaido Fair next week!

Ashigaru Youth- “It’s so GOOD”

Nerdy guys in knickers.  My kind of band.

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Posted in all that jaz, Ashigaru Youth, bed, Bump of Chicken, Droog, J-Rock Fridays, Ken Yokoyama, Ledy Joe, Liaroid Cinema, Negoto, Pontiacs | Leave a Comment »

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The HARPY’S

September 15, 2010

myspace band of the week

“We are Japanese girls? Band!!”  Yeah, they’re a Japanese girl band.  I didn’t know if that was clear.  Maybe not.

Satomi and mAKi (Falsies on Heat) formed The HARPY’s in March 2009 and Tomo joined a month later.  They  had their first gig and released a  CD-R a few months later.  Musically they are in the garage/punk  genre.  Kind of like Shonen Knife.  But they don’t care about genre, as they want their music to be borderless.

So immediately when I started listening to their music I found something off about this “girl band.”  One of the vocalists definitely sounds like a dude.  A little digging and I find out Tomo is a  transvestite.  Makes sense.  No really, it’s amusing.  But kind of useless information unless you’re seeing them live (lucky for you there’s a clip below).  But back to the music, it’s fun rock and roll that’s mostly sung in English.  They released their first single “a Lost” from Due Records on 9/11.

The HARPY’s are touring America this week.  Check them out in Connecticut tonight and New York the next three.

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Apocalyptica x Kyo

September 11, 2010

Finnish-cello-metal-band Apocalyptica invited Kyo of Dir en grey to sing on “Bring Them To Light” during their co-headlining tour.  The song comes from Apocalyptica’s new album 7th Symphony.  Joseph Duplantier of Gojira provides vocals for the album version, but Kyo brings the appropriate “power” live despite being a foot or two shorter than everyone else on stage.  There’s still a couple dates left on this tour so check out their myspace.

Posted in Apocalyptica, Dir en grey | 1 Comment »

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bed

September 8, 2010

myspace band of the week

This band named themselves after something I haven’t seen enough of this week.  So before I wrap myself in the cold embraces of death my pillow, here is the band of the week.

Bed (originally Diary Tree?) formed in June 2005.  They were influenced by Fugazi and US indie bands.  Their first EP turn it off was released in February 2007 and their first album Response was released a year later.  Both were mastered by Chad Clark in America.  Earlier this year they signed to 3P3B and contributed a song to the Carry That Weight II compilation along with some other cool bands.  Their second album On Off came out in July.

Their myspace consists of old songs.  From the turn it off EP we have “otosomino,” an indie jam with loud, whiny vocals that slightly remind me of Sparta.  The Response material is tighter; almost math rock.  The whiny vocals persist in “uchiagaru” and “sosite” but they’re much more pleasant.   On the other hand you can barely hear the vocals in the “Sophisticated Man” demo.  If you’re into J-indie bands like Ogre You Asshole or lostage you’ll like bed.

New music videos from On Off are below and they sound awesome.  Order the album at CD Japan.

http://www.myspace.com/diarytree

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J-Rock Fridays Vol. 28

September 3, 2010

When there’s trouble you call DW.

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Posted in 88kasyo Junrei, Any, Country Yard, dustbox, J-Rock Fridays, KETTLES, Kimonos, Ogre You Asshole, Rega, SKY Raddish, sloppy joe | Leave a Comment »

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The Suzan on Virgin Mobile Live

September 2, 2010

The Suzan stopped by Virgin Mobile Live the other day for an acoustic set.  The sunshiny results are below.  The Suzan will be playing a free show on Labor Day for the NYC folks.  Pick up Golden Week for The Poco Poco Beat October 26!

“Home”

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Stuff To Look Forward To, September 2010

September 2, 2010

Let’s get dangerous.

world’s end girlfriend- Seven Idiots

What’s more exciting than a new world’s end girlfriend album?  A new post-rock label founded by none other than WEG himself!  But a new WEG album is awesome as well.  And this will be Virgin Babylon’s first release.  “Les Enfants du Paradis” was a little more upbeat/chipper than we’ve come to expect from WEG.  But I’m interested to hear what this “irregular pop album” is all about.  (myspace)

OGRE YOU ASSHOLE – Ukareteiru Hito

What’s more exciting than a new Ogre You Asshole mini-album?  An Ogre You Asshole North American Tour!  That’s right, OYA will be opening for Wolf Parade this November in the States (and Canada).  Hopefully an American label will release some of their material in the States.  Or at least pick up a few CDs at their show? (myspace)

Peelander-Z- PTV

Just when you thought Peelander-Z couldn’t get any crazier, they decided to release a children’s album.  No joke.  Chicken Ranch Records will release the album stateside with a bonus DVD of music videos and extras.  They’ll be touring America (and Canada) a lot this fall so check them out!  Human bowling!  Limbo!  (myspace)

Envy- Recitation

Envy’s fifth album is upon us.  Said to be their most epic yet.  Hopefully that doesn’t mean long, droning songs like on Insomniac Doze.  The two songs that were released remind me of old-school Envy, though.  If you can wait, Temporary Residence will release the album stateside in October on CD and vinyl.  They’ll also be touring America with a bunch of skramz bands this September-October!  (myspace)

Ling Tosite Sigure- still a Sigure virgin?

Ling blew us away with just A moment last year, but apparently we’ve heard NOTHING yet for we are still Sigure virgins.  Get ready for another nine tracks of virgin goodness.   (myspace) ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Other Stuff

avengers in sci-fi- Delight Slight Lightspeed:  Just one b-side for this single, but it comes with a DVD loaded with live videos. (myspace)

HALCALI- Roman Hiko: HALCALI remakes the classic 90s song from Kome Kome Club.  Features ska favorite Your Song Is Good as guest musicians. (myspace)

Rega- Lyrics: The title makes no sense they play post-rock.  (myspace)

RiLF- Ferris Wheel: Featuring members of Anoice and matryoshka.  (myspace)

sleepy.ac- LIVE @ Sapporo Kitara: Live sleepy.ab album?  I’m confused.  (myspace)

Start Of The Day- Love:  New album.  New band members. And no more of this StartOfTheDay crap.  (myspace)

VOLA & THE ORIENTAL MACHINE – PRINCIPLE:  A new Vola album?  Yesssssssssss.  (myspace)

Wagdug Futuristic Unity- R.A.M.: AA= released their new album earlier this year.  Time for this other Mad Capsule Markets spinoff that sounds exactly the same to release theirs.

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I was made to hit in America

We’ll be getting the new Peelander-Z and Envy albums in the US very soon, but there’s also a couple of older releases coming out.

Boom Boom Satellites- Over and Over

Boom Boom Satellites will be coming to America this fall and Sony decided to release a compilation album to celebrate.  Over and Over features 17 tracks from Exposed, ON, Umbra, Photon, Full of Elevating Pleasures, and Out Loud.  The only problem?  This is a CD-R release.  That’s right, Sony loves this band so much that the only physical release they plan on giving it is a burn-on-demand product from Amazon.com.  Disappointed.

Boredoms- 77 Boa Drum

Thrill Jockey will release this monumental DVD release from Boredoms.  77 Boa Drum documents a concert held at  the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, NY on July 7th, 2007 at 7:07pm.  77 drummers were asked to play as one in this live event.

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Posted in Anberlin, Avengers in Sci-Fi, Boom Boom Satellites, Boredoms, Envy, HALCALI, Lakes, Ling Tosite Sigure, Ogre You Asshole, Peelander-Z, Rega, RiLF, Sara Bareilles, sleepy.ab, Start Of The Day, Stuff To Look Forward To, VOLA & THE ORIENTAL MACHINE, Wagdug Futuristic Unity, world's end girlfriend | 6 Comments »

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