The first band is Folca with a track from their 2nd mini-album Curtain Call. That just came out in September, and they are touring Japan in support of it now. Then we have Triceratops with their song Going To The Moon. They are a 3 piece band heavily influenced by British Invasion bands like the Beatles and Stones, hence the nice harmony work and quality guitar riffs. They have put out a dozen albums in the last 15 years and are still going strong, with their latest release being a live tour recording they put out in August. The third band is Supercar with a live version of their song Lucky. They played good basic rock from 1995 to 2005, releasing 5 studio albums and a handful of project recordings.
The first song is called Forever by Touming Magazine, and it is quite a treat to listen to. The video has its own story to tell. The second tune is Easy, the title track from the album of the same name by Upset Underworld. These don’t really count as J-Rock, since both bands are actually from Taiwan, but if you are looking at them from New York or London they look like they at least might be in the same neighborhood. The third track, from We Save Strawberries is J-Rock, though.
This is your Traditional Irish music, played by a band composed of Japanese Death Metal musicians with a Zydeco drummer. If they actually lived in the UK, they would have had a flat next door to the Pogues. That is the shortest way I could get across the idea of what their music is like, but you won’t really know until you listen to them yourself. And maybe not even then. The first track is Drunken Pirates, the second is Polka/Ill Weeds Grow Apace, and we finish with Rascal Trail.
Another kick butt J-Rock band is Chocolate Chip Cookies, with strong vocals and high energy guitar work. The first track is Your World, which came out earlier this year. After that is a song from 2012’s Rockin’ on Girl’s Door Vol.2, and the final entry is Fly A Skull from their 2011 album.
Electric Lunch has some amazing guitar work and powerful vocals. I don’t know what the song titles are, Google Translate kept chocking on the web page, and finally spit out The end of the world time he Ru current beast of silvery white to dredge the moonlit night heart. But I don’t need to be able to read the words to tell that the music is kick ass. Thanks to J-Rock Explosion for the heads up on this band.
An all girl rock band from Tokyo, Sugar’N’Spice definitely kicks butt. This is the title track from their most recent album The Hybrid Age, you can listen to a bunch more of their music on their Facebook page.