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
THIS WEEK: Jan 14 – Jan 20
Asaka – WaYaWaYaWa−!
A fun little bop.
Boku ga Mitekatta Aozora – Kimi no Tame no Uta
I feel like this group hasn’t yet found the song to set them apart from their contemporaries. This is very enjoyable if not groundbreaking.
GARNiDELiA – Ten
I haven’t yet listened to GARNiDELiA’s new album, but I’ve liked what I’ve heard so far. This almost feels like an intro, and as the opening track I guess that makes sense!
Genic – Sayonara no Wake / I’ll Be There (song of the week!)
I wrote about Sayonara no Wake here and liked it a lot. Album track I’ll Be There was also released this week. It’s pretty standard J-OST fare, but I’ve been so starved for new upbeat Genic music that I’ll gladly take it!
iScream – Heart of Gold
I keep waiting for the iScream track that totally grabs me. I don’t think we’re there yet, but this is a fine mid-tempo.
The Jet Boy Bangerz – Photogenic
Still not feeling any of these new-gen Exile Tribe groups. It’s too close to (bad) K-pop.
JO1 x INI x DXTEEN – Love All Star (song of the week!)
A team-up of all the Lapone boy groups. Each have songs I love. This is perfectly upbeat but a little empty.
Kroi – Sesame
A little unhinged in a good way.
Mrs. Green Apple – Nachtmusik
A striking ballad.
OCTPATH – Octave
The latest in a long line of songs with a great beat but lousy hooks. Write a proper chorus, people!
One Love One Heart – Aise, Shigoku Sanzan na Bokura no Hi wo (song of the week!)
I wrote about this here and loved it. It honestly gets more addicting each time I hear it.
Psychic Fever – Just Like Dat (ft. JP The Wavy)
I wish we could get more songs like last year’s harmonic and melody-rich Baku Baku from them.
SennaRin – Nod
Very much a standard Hiroyuki Sawano production. That means it’s got a great chorus and rhythm, but there’s not a lot to make this stand out among similar efforts.
Sandal Telephone – Shangri-La
I like this even more than last week’s Sparkle. It’s got a great chugging beat.
Takane no Nadeshiko – Utsukushiku Ikiro
I mainly wanted to share this to mention how obsessed I’ve become with their 2023 single Kakumei No Jyoou. This one isn’t nearly as good, but I still like it.
Takanori Iwata – Just You And Me
Funky in places, too slow in others.
Unlame – Unlame
That group name! Seriously.
Also, this is pretty good.
This week’s old favorite:
Lazy Knack -Tomadowazu Furimawakazu (1996)
I imported a used copy of this album this week and have been obsessed with many of the songs. This is such a banger. Daisuke Asakura’s production strikes again!