writing
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Alacie Tullaugaq & Lucy Amarualik – “Katutjatut” review
Final verdict: 7/10 ★★★⋆˙⟡☆ One thing going over most of these fellow reviewers’ heads is the following; you need to go into listening to a project like this with an open mind, otherwise you’re just not going to Get It™. Most of us are familiar with music that was crafted following strictly European standards, and would be… Read more
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Yellow Magic Orchestra – “Technodelic” review
Final verdict: 10/10 ★★★★★ “This must be the ugliest piece of bread I’ve ever eaten” is the line that acts as an overture to this album, and honestly, it’s only fitting. Even if not the ugliest piece of bread you’ve ever eaten, “Technodelic” is still a pretty damn ugly one. I mean, picture this –… Read more
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Seiko Matsuda – “Squall” review
Final verdict: 10/10 ★★★★★ Here’s the thing with Seiko Matsuda – I love her beyond imagination and I am actually obsessed with her. I mean, I listen to her almost constantly (this is no phase, either, and if it is, it’s seriously overstaying its welcome – it’s been a fucking YEAR), and she is a fashion icon… Read more
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Yumi Arai – “ひこうき雲” review
Final verdict: 10/10 ★★★★★ Over the last couple of months, I’ve been in the process of going through Yumi Matsutoya’s (or Yumi Arai’s, or Yuming’s, as I’m going to call her from this point forward) admittedly intimidating discography. In the last month, I’ve also been slowly but determinedly getting through Taylor Swift’s catalogue. And I… Read more
1970s, 70s music, album review, blog, hell yeah, indie, japan, japanese music, jpop, music, Music review, review, reviews, rock, rock music, writing -
Hisami Sakurai – “万華鏡” review
Final verdict: 7/10 ★★★⋆˙⟡☆ Singer-songwriter Hisami Sakurai seemingly vanished from the music scene shortly after the release of her debut record, entitled “万華鏡” (or “Mangekyō”, for English speaking folk), in October 1973. She released one final standalone single the following year and then dipped, to take up a different gig as, as indicated by the… Read more
1970s, 70s music, album review, blog, indie, japan, japanese music, jpop, music, Music review, pop, pop music, review, reviews, rock, rock music, writing -
Namie Amuro – “Sweet 19 Blues” review
Final verdict: 2/10 ★☆☆☆☆ Backed by a series of infectious singles (such as “Body Feels Exit” and “Chase the Chance”, though the rest are pretty good too), you’d assume this album would be amazing, life-changing even. Except it’s not. In fact, it’s not even mediocre – this is downright terrible. “Sweet 19 Blues” is 19… Read more
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Yellow Magic Orchestra – “Solid State Survivor” review
Final verdict: 9/10 ★★★★⋆˙⟡ I fear it’s time to answer the question that has tormented humanity for ages – what does it mean to be a Solid State Survivor? From a clearly semantic point of view, this album’s title makes zero sense. So let’s try to make sense of it from another perspective. For there to be… Read more
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Yellow Magic Orchestra – “Naughty Boys” review
Final verdict: 3/10 ★⋆˙⟡☆☆☆ I reckon “Naughty Boys” has achieved cult classic status, but this kind of sucks ass, I’m sorry. I’ve given it so many tries, yet I cannot get into it at all. First time I listened to this tears formed in my eyes actually, and not for good reason. I was so… Read more
1980s, 80s music, album review, blog, indie, japan, japanese music, jpop, music, Music review, pop, pop music, review, reviews, writing -
Haruomi Hosono – “Philharmony” review
Final verdict: 6/10 ★★★☆☆ “Philharmony” is just a weird ass sampling experiment, with a couple of poppier songs thrown in there for good measure. To those who regarded Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “B-2 Unit” as pretentious… behold “Philharmony”. Because it’s nothing but 37 minutes of Hosono noodling around on synthesizers and samplers, an over-the-top display of his… Read more
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Akiko Yano – “ただいま.” review
Final verdict: 9/10 ★★★★⋆˙⟡ Sometime last year, I figured I’d give Akiko Yano a try, and this album specifically was recommended to me – it was touted her “weirdest” work, and I enjoy fucky music, and so you see, it was meant to be. And with my beloved YMO tackling the production, was there any… Read more
1980s, 80s music, album review, blog, hell yeah, indie, japan, japanese music, jpop, music, Music review, pop, pop music, review, reviews, rock, rock music, writing
