Wemibelle

Forgot to post about it last week, but I'm taking a break for a few weeks to a month because of the new year. In case you missed it, you can find my Top 10 list for 2021 HERE. Have a great start to your year, everyone!

I'll just link to mine, since it takes up a lot of space and looks a bit weird!

Wemibelle's GOTY 2021

A very quick post this week. Still busy pushing through the newest Final Fantasy XIV expansion and working on Top 10s for the end of the year. Look forward to them!

illumina - DEATHNYANN (2021)

A fascinatingly creative song that switches it up constantly, never letting you know where it’s going next. Worth checking out.

Lush Life - clammbon (2018)

This is a song I recently rediscovered and remember how fantastic it is–the tight beat and upbeat vocals work super well together and make it a song I have to bounce along to.

Virtual Freedom - CAPSULE (2021)

Another new Capsule release. I dig this one a bit more than the other, but it still doesn’t quite hit me in the same way as my favorites.

Got a few more songs, as usual. A bit late due to the hype for the new Final Fantasy XIV expansion, but here they are!

Spooky Glitch Night - YUC’e (2021)

YUC’e is a very talented music producer and vocalist with a focus on electronic pop songs, such as Spooky Glitch Night. There are a few fantastic production breakdowns throughout the song and her vocals are delightfully playful as well.

Outsider - Tokyo Gegegay (2021)

You don’t ever really know what you’re gonna get with a new Tokyo Gegegay release, which I love. Outsider is a track with a very catchy synth beat that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Japanese rhythm game song, and the vocals are tight and fun.

Moshimo inochi ga kaketara - Yoasobi (2021)

Yep, another Yoasobi track. But I can’t help sharing so many of them when they’re all so good! Moshimo inochi ga kaketara (roughly translated as “if I can draw life”) is a bit slower paced but has a superb flow that I find incredibly soothing.

Last post before Thanksgiving! Gonna do a quicker one this week, due to being a bit busy for the next few weeks, but I still have three songs to share. Enjoy and happy holidays, everyone!

Free Your Mind - Atarashii Gakko! (2021)

Free Your Mind is yet another hot Atarashii Gakko! track, one that sounds like it wouldn’t be out of place on some third-party extreme sports game soundtrack. This song just continues my obsession with this group, a fascination that has me actually watching interviews and behind-the-scenes videos for them which I almost never do for any group.

Odo - Ado (2021)

Odo is my first exposure to Ado, but it has me eager to listen to more of their work. It’s incredibly creative in its production, with crazy sound effects timed perfectly to the beat and vocals in fun ways as well as a catchy beat throughout. The vocals are tight and flow nicely too.

Candy Racer - Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (2021)

2021 has brought multiple solid Kyary releases, some of her best releases in quite some time in my opinion. Candy Racer is another fun track, with an almost “happy hardcore-lite” soundat times, due to its driving beat and intense distortion. It’s such a bizarrely amusing track and video and I enjoy it quite a bit.

Here’s another three songs for everyone to enjoy!

Yellow Card - No Buses (2021)

No Buses continues to be one of my absolute favorite indie bands in the Japanese scene right now. The group just has a knack for catchy hooks, and the vocalist’s style suits their sound so perfectly. Yellow Card is a touch on the mellower side, but it’s still one of those songs that I can’t help but nod along to as I hear it and one that sticks in my head for a long while afterwards. If you haven’t checked out No Buses yet, you’re missing out.

Alice - Suiyoubi no Campanella (2021)

The first tracks after KOM_I’s departure from Wednesday Campanella are here: Buckingham and Alice. Of the two, I prefer Alice’s style a bit more. Obviously, the production is just as fantastic as ever, with creative hooks and a tight sound. However, getting used to new vocalist Utaha is strange. She’s obviously talented, more technically talented than KOM_I probably, but I find her voice a bit plainer and less immediately striking. I’m still not sure how I feel about the change on the whole, but this is a solid track nonetheless.

Everything Needs Love feat. BoA (RE-NEW JP version) - Mondo Grosso (2021)

Everything Needs Love was originally released back in 2002 with “queen of KPOP” BoA, before she had hit it big in Korea and was actually more focused on success in Japan. The track was sung in English and sounded very late-90s into early-00s in its production style. The two came back this year to update the original song with fresh production and new vocals from BoA, now in Japanese, and it sounds amazing. The vocals from the more mature and talented BoA sound better than ever, and the production retains the original retro feel but also sounds more modern and layered.

Another week, another three songs!

Groggy Ghost - Daoko & TAAR (2021)

Daoko is back with another new release, this time pairing up with rising producer TAAR to create Groggy Ghost. This track feels a bit more reminiscent of Daoko’s early solo releases, a bit more mellow and less poppy overall. The production does a great job supporting her laid-back vocals and keeping a nicely subdued mood. Also, I LOVE Daoko’s aesthetic in this video--she looks so damn stylish!

Amsterdam - AmPm (2021)

I had never heard of AmPm until recently, despite reaching wide popularity on Spotify with their debut single in 2017. Amsterdam immediately caught my ear, though, with its tight production and driving beats. It’s a pretty simple song on the whole, with slightly dull vocals that don’t add much to the track for me, but it’s fun enough that I enjoy listening to it again and again.

Hula Hoop - Loona (2021)

Loona is a neat KPOP group that slowly released singles with each of its twelve members over the course of a year, building to the full group with each new member until the full group was together at the end. Hula Hoop is Loona’s first Japanese track and it’s pretty good! It’s a solid, catchy track that manages to both feel in tune with their typical Korean sound while also sounding not entirely out of place in Japanese.

Don’t have much free time this week, so another quick one!

Polygon Wave - Perfume (2021)

Another great new release from Perfume, Polygon Wave fits in nicely with the sounds of older Perfume tracks, such as those from the late 00s. The production is bopping and fun, and the vocals are as tight and gorgeous as ever.

When The Weak Go Marching In - Tatsuya Kitani (2021)

When The Weak Go Marching In immediately caught me with its driving beat and powerful vocals. There’s some clever production moments, and the whole song has a strong energy that I really enjoy.

Lemonade - Chilli Beans (2021)

Yet another tight release from a female-driven rock group, Lemonade is surprisingly catchy, especially during the chorus and its earwormy repetition. I just love the laid-back vibe to this track and have a lot of fun every time I hear it.

Time for more songs again! Got three really great ones for you this week!

Mitei - Chilldspot (2021)

Mitei has been constantly on repeat ever since I heard it a few weeks ago. The beat is super smooth and flows perfectly alongside the vocals. I love how tightly the singer bounces along during the verses and her shift into the beautiful choruses. There’s even some fantastic guitar work interspersed here and there. I adore this song, and it has quickly earned a spot on my end of year list.

Ginger - Tomoo (2021)

Ginger is the first song I’ve heard from Tomoo (to my recollection, at least), and I was instantly enthralled by her deep, unique voice. It’s unlike most voices you hear in Japanese music, and I love how well it suits this song. The little bits of piano are really nice too, giving the song a playful feel that makes me smile.

Pineapple Kryptonite - Atarashii Gakko! (2021)

Another new track from one of my newest favorite artists, Atarashii Gakko! Pineapple Kryptonite keeps up the trend of this group’s songs from 2021 by being very unique and experimental. The production goes in so many different directions, the pace and flow of the song shifts from bridge to chorus to verses, and it suddenly shifts into an atypically gorgeous vocal style during the “choruses.” It’s such a strange song and yet it works so well yet again, perfectly in vibe with Atarashii Gakko!’s striking style.

Seems like I accidentally missed a week. Forgot what week I was on, whoops!

Got a random assortment of three songs this week. Just what I’m feeling.

Fullmoon Lullaby - Porter Robinson & Wednesday Campanella (2021)

I figured with the recent news that Wednesday Campanella will be replacing KOM_I with a new singer upon her departure from the group, this would be a good time to share Fullmoon Lullaby, a bonus track only on the Japanese release of Porter Robinson’s nurture album. It’s a gorgeous collaboration and hearing the pairing of Robinson’s production with KOM_I’s ethereal vocals is an absolute treat and deserves to be experienced.

Party All Night - FAITH (2020)

I shared FAITH’s Caught Up In Time last year, and even included it on my Top 10 list for 2020. Party All Night is another track from the same album and I might be getting to a point where I like it even more. It’s got such a fun poppy sound and vocals that I can’t help but sing along with, especially the first verse which is my absolute favorite part. I just adore how happy it makes me when I listen to it, and I’ve been listening to it regularly on the way to work for just that reason.

Confession - Kolme (2015)

I’ve actually shared Confession before, back in 2016. The label had only put up a small snippet of the video and song, but I shared it anyway because I enjoyed it so much. I recently discovered that the full video finally got uploaded in the US at the end of 2018 and I’ve been listening to it again and remembering how amazing the production is. The weird contrast of traditional piano and bouncy synth works surprisingly well and makes for a very unique sounding song.