In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in what’s new in J-pop.
With that in mind, here’s where you come in: I’m one person with one set of musical preferences, so please embed any other new J-pop tracks you’ve enjoyed in the comments so we can get a fuller spectrum each week.
*And just like I do with my reviews, I’ll wait until full versions of songs are available before posting them in this round-up. This will mostly apply to Johnny’s groups, who still limit the majority of their YouTube uploads to shorter, edited versions.
2023 Index
2024 Index: Dec 24 – Jan 6 // Jan 7 – Jan 13 // Jan 14 – Jan 20 // Jan 21 – Jan 27 // Jan 28 – Feb 3 // Feb 4 – Feb 10 // Feb 11 – Feb 17 // Feb 18 – Feb 24 // Feb 25 – Mar 2 // Mar 3 – Mar 9 // Mar 10 – Mar 16 // Mar 17 – Mar 23 // Mar 24 – Mar 30 // Mar 31 – Apr 6 // Apr 7 – Apr 13 // Apr 14 – Apr 20 // Apr 21 – Apr 27 // Apr 28 – May 4 // May 5 – May 11 // May 12 – May 18 // May 19 – May 25 // May 26 – Jun 1 // Jun 2 – Jun 8 // Jun 9 – Jun 15 // Jun 16 – Jun 22 // Jun 23 – Jun 29 // Jun 30 – Jul 6 // Jul 7 – Jul 13 // Jul 14 – Jul 20 // Jul 21 – Jul 27 // Jul 28 – Aug 3 // Aug 4 – Aug 10 // Aug 11 – Aug 17 // Aug 18 – Aug 24 // Aug 25 – Aug 31 // Sep 1 – Sep 7 // Sep 8 – Sep 14 // Sep 15 – Sep 21 // Sep 22 – Sep 28
THIS WEEK: September 29 – October 5
ASP – TOTSUGEKI!!!!!
You’ve gotta take a song seriously when it has five exclamation marks. And honestly, this rocks. I love the heavy metal guitar riffs. And their first album is apparently called “Terminal Disease of ASP.” That’s kind of awesome, too.
ATEEZ – Birthday
I wrote about this here. I didn’t really care for it.
Creepy Nuts – Otonoke
This is okay.
Daichi Miura – Horizon Dreamer
This is more folksy than expected from him. It’s good but I’m not sure it’s what I want from his music.
Hironori Kusano – Brand New World
I like the peppiness of this.
Honest Boyz – ZUKUDANZUNBUNGUN (ft. Hannya Kanada)
This is silly but extremely addictive. That beat is great.
Kid Phenomenon – Unstoppable
This is okay but they’ve released far better tracks.
King & Prince – WOW
A bit more upbeat than their past stuff. The chorus is quite good, but this two-member version of the group still needs to find better material.
King Gnu – Mascara
I think I prefer this to the SixTONES version. The vocals are much more evocative. It’s interesting to hear how the original writer interprets the song.
Klang Ruler – Unbelievable
I really like this band. You know you’re gonna get something funky and upbeat.
LEEVELLES – Koufuku No Susume (song of the week!)
The breakneck pace of this is really addicting. I love the various vocal effects, too.
Masaki Sato – Kachou Fuugetsu Shunkashuutou
Very J-poppy in the way you’d expect.
Maximum The Hormone – Shimi (ft. ATARASHII GAKKO!)
I swear, Japan has the best band names. This isn’t my thing at all, but that name is killing me.
MAZZEL – Masquerade
Pretty dull.
MeseMoa. – Eyes On You
This is a bit rough around the edges but I love what it’s going for.
Nissy – Slave
Nissy! I need your music to be amazing again. He sounds great but this needs better melodies.
NMB48 – Ganbaranuwai
A burst of feel-good energy. That big brass is so fun.
NOA – Red Light
A satisfying synthwave track. His voice works well in this setting.
Official HIGE DANdism – Same Blue
Their best song in awhile, for sure. This is the sound I love for them – optimistic instrumentals and open-hearted vocals.
The Oral Cigarettes – Under And Over
Really great upbeat energy.
OWV – Frontier
This has some nice parts but doesn’t really come together for me.
Ryukku to Soine Gohan – Net Loser
A pleasant indie rock track.
Sakurazaka46 – Bokuha bokuwo sukininarenai (song of the week!)
This era of Sakurazaka46 is becoming one of their strongest. I Want Tomorrow To Come has quickly grown into one of my favorite J-pop tracks of the year. This one’s also fantastic and the music video is stunning.
Yoasobi – Monotone
This is best when it speeds up. The first verse is a slog but things improve from there.
Yuta – Off The Mask
I wrote about this here. I liked it!
&TEAM – Beat The Odds
I had forgotten the Trillion Game movie is coming out soon. Interesting that they got a HYBE act to record the theme. This is okay, but far from their best.
This week’s old favorite:
Megumi Hayashibara – Give A Reason (1996)
When you’re in the mood for it, there’s nothing better than a great mid-90’s J-pop banger.