For this week’s post, I’ve chosen three new releases from artists I really like and have featured multiple times in this thread. It was a good opportunity for me to learn a bit more about these groups, in addition to posting three enjoyable tracks.
Plastic - FEMM (2018)
FEMM, which stands for Far East Mention Mannequins, was formed in 2013. The group only released a teaser video that year, however, putting out their first two full music videos, UFO and Astroboy, the next year. There are two members: LuLa aka W-Trouble (real name Todo Hiro) and RiRi aka Honey-B (Emily Kaiho). As the name suggests, the group’s schtick is that LuLa and RiRi, the girls who appear in the videos and on-stage, are mannequins who cannot speak. W-Trouble and Honey B are their “managers” who provide the voice for their “clients.” In reality, the two women just portray both sides of the group, selling their gimmick as needed. It’s a fun, silly premise that gives the group a great deal of panache and creative potential.
Plastic is their first original release since the album of 80s/90s JPOP covers they put out last year. It features the standard elements of their music: autotuned, catchy vocals with punchy synth and a trippy video. Sadly, I think it lacks oomph. It doesn’t quite go far enough in any way to match up to the great FEMM tracks I love. It’s still fun to listen to, sure, but it lacks their usual identity.
Let Me Know - Perfume (2018)
Perfume is a group that practically needs no introduction. They are known all over the world as one of the defining Japanese pop groups, particularly for electropop. Their career has spanned almost 20 years, and they have been wildly popular both in Japan and around the world for most of that time. The trio of Yuka Kashino (Kashiyuka), Ayaka Nishiwaki (A~chan), and Ayano Oomoto (Nocchi) is the established lineup, but there actually was another member named Yuka Kawashima in place of Ayano for the first year of the group. Their early sound was also quite different, often more pop than electronic. It took a few years of refinement and the hiring of Yasutaka Nakata, who has produced nearly every track the group has done since, to create the style we know them for today.
Let Me Know is Perfume’s latest release; the full video just dropped after a short teaser came out a few weeks back. It starts with an intriguing sound, mixing snaps and effects-tinged guitar strumming in a delightfully pleasant combination. Unfortunately, it loses this sound during the choruses, instead opting for a simpler production that trades creativity for loudness. It really hurts my enjoyment of an otherwise standout track.
The Bamboo Princess - Suiyoubi no Campanella (2018)
Suiyoubi no Campanella, also known as Wednesday Campanella outside of Japan, is made up of three members: vocalist/performer KOM_I (pronounced kom ai), songwriter/producer Kenmochi Hidefumi, and behind-the-scenes overseer Dir.F. They formed in 2012 when Kenmochi and Dir.F, who had met before, decided to form a new group. The two recruited KOM_I to provide vocals and the lineup was complete. Suiyoubi is a group that’s hard to define due to its mixing of pop, EDM, and hip-hop styles into a distinctive sound that is unlike anything else, especially thanks to the mix of Kenmochi’s tight productions and KOM_I’s atypical yet mesmerizing performances. KOM_I is also oftentimes the face of the group, appearing in the videos and giving interviews. She is almost uncomfortably vivacious yet unabashedly confident in everything she does, making her an easy artist to enjoy and love.
The Bamboo Princess is the group’s newest release for 2018. It has a very light, airy production that only kicks up the intensity during the choruses; even then, it remains rather subdued. KOM_I’s vocals are as strong as ever, matching the ethereal sound of the production. I particularly love the use of panning on her singing, as it nicely adds to feel of the song. I wouldn’t call this the group’s catchiest song, but it’s still incredibly distinctive and pleasant.
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