Another great alt rock band out of Japan is Owarikara, their new single came out in October. I can’t tell you what the names of these tracks are, but I really like them a lot, especially the way they use rhythm and the instrumental melodies. The lead singer definitely adds an edge that wraps the whole package up; now if only I could understand more than one word in three of the lyrics. Of course, I have that same problem with a lot of rock songs sung in English, too.
I recently featured the band Tommy Heavenly6, the punk offering from Tomoko “Tommy” Kawase, this time I am doing Tommy February6, still very rocking but leaning towards trance/electronica. The woman doing the vocals is amazing in any language, and she jumps back and forth between Japanese and English quite a bit. The first track is Runaway, and isn’t the song you were expecting by that title; the second tune is Sugar ♥ Me, while the third is Hot Chocolat.
The Pinballs are another excellent guitar based rock band from Japan. The first track is from their second album 100 Years On A Spaceship, and the second track, Ten Bear, is just as kick ass.
Another interesting Japanese band is The Flickers, the first track is White Heat from their 2011 mini-album Wonderground. The next track is Lovender from their new album released this past June. So is the final track, but I have not managed to figure out its name.
Yet again with a kick ass song and a great video, Avengers In Sci-Fi are an amazing group. This time around the songs start with Sonic Fireworks, and the visual storyline is every bit as good as the musical one. I wish every group did this well at presenting their creations. The next track is Yang 2, another world class piece of music coupled to another astounding video. This band is worth your time to check out, they have a bunch more music you will want to add to your collection.
I don’t really know how else to describe this group, The Neatbeats. The song is Twistin’ Time With You, and it sounds like what you would have heard when you hopped in your Tardis and bopped back to hear John, Paul, George, and Ringo play a gig in Tokyo in 1965. And it’s not like they didn’t know it, as the second video proves. Yet another proof that music in all its formats is universal.