The J-Music Advance Party (July 2024)

Lighting it up with this month's new releases!

Why hello there! How was the trip over here? Happy to see you back again for this month’s J-Music Advance Party! If you’ve been to one of these, you already know where to check in your bags, so please go on ahead. BUT, if you’re new to the Party, do allow me to explain to you real quick ー

What is The J-Music Advance Party?

The J-Music Advance Party is a monthly publication where I quite simply talk about bands and artists that I personally plan on listening to this month (and subsequently recommend that you too as well) in advance of their upcoming albums and releases in the style of a an album “pre”-launch party of sorts.

These could be bands who have an album coming out that I’m excited for, or they could also be an artist whose discography I feel warrants further exploring starting with their new EP. Whatever the case may be, these are releases that I’m both looking forward to and that I hope to put on your guys’ radar if they weren’t there already.

Make sure to subscribe to the newsletter if you haven’t yet by hitting the button underneath and secure your invite!

Our number of regular attendees is growing by the month, and I’m genuinely excited to see how full we can make this room by the end of this year!

---

▸ a子 (Ako)

We’re starting off strong tonight with singer-songwriter on the rise, Ako.

Ako began her career in earnest in 2020; a year that saw her release three singles (Hai, Suihou, and drug) which in turn served as the backbone for her debut EP Senzai-teki MISTY coming out later that same year. These would be some of the world’s first introduction to her music style, which she describes in an interview with JaME World as “hip-hop-influenced alternative rock”, that is “also deeply influenced by indie R&B, electronica and J-pop”. This sound, combined with Ako’s wispy vocal work (a la Etsuko Yakushimaru) and her chosen avantgarde aesthetic bordering soft/Tumblr grunge, made for an interesting blend the likes of which we don’t really see a whole lot of it at all in the world of Japanese music specifically (at least in recent memory). Of course, being “different” doesn’t necessarily translate to clicks and views (I would argue even less so in Japan), though notably Ako’s first foray as an artist did end up causing a bit of a splash, thanks to her song CHAOS fortuitously showing up as an ad for YouTube listeners not just in Japan but the world over. While not what you would call an explosive start in that regard, it did put her in a lot of peoples’ consciousness in the years that followed.

Though she would begin to find success in succeeding singles thereafter (with songs like Joucho and Tenshi gaining a similar amount of traction), Ako’s unique brand of artistry wouldn’t fully come to a head until the release of her breakout single Atashi no Zenbu wo Aisenai in June 2023 (linked above). With its Jazz-y undertones accompanying the macabre (albeit more tongue in cheek) nature of its PV, the track very quickly skyrocketed in popularity as it made the rounds on social media, generating a surge of new fans finding out about her for the first time. Ako would parlay the mainstream success of Atashi no Zenbu wo Aisenai with two more singles (trank and racy) and an EP (Steal your heart), before then landing herself a major record label deal with PONY CANYON subsidiary IRORI Records.

This is where we find ourselves currently, with Ako now having released two new singles since being a signed artist, namely Wakusei and LAZY (linked above). Now, I was ecstatic about the news of Ako’s signing when it got announced as (1) I like seeing bands/artists who I’m a fan of succeed and (2) them succeeding means that they can continue making the music that made me a fan of theirs in the first place. However, as it sometimes happens, just because they *can* doesn’t mean that they most certainly will do just that.

In relation to that, one of the prevailing narratives regarding Ako’s signing is that the songs she has come out with recently are markedly different from the ones she was putting out prior to her record deal. Specifically, both Wakusei and LAZY came across as being more bright and vibrant than her work in the past, which in comparison was warmer and with darker undertones. I personally feel too that an intentional shift had been made to Ako’s overall approach, which now sounds much more vocal-centric with a clear emphasis on hooks; something that I theorize as being an attempt at having her compete with the likes of noa or Mulasaki Ima.

Whether or not that is truly the case will (hopefully) be answered by the release of Ako’s first full album GENE on July 10, 2024.

▸ toe

Our next featured act for tonight’s Party are Japanese Math Rock legends, toe.

This one’s a bit of an interesting feature in that I’m not too sure what to expect myself from this upcoming release of theirs. Outside of laying down a sick track for rappers ILL-BOSSTINO and 5lack to spit on, the last proper release we really had from toe, with the exception maybe of their DOKU​-​EN​-​KAI live recording would be roughly six or so years ago with EP Our Latest Number. Granted, toe themselves aren’t a terribly active band to begin with anyway, considering how their major releases come out three years apart on average (with the odd live recording spliced here and there in between) so I suppose that’s as good of a starting point as any. Though I say that, the aforementioned release, in many respects does lend itself to being more of a “continuation” rather than a start. This is specifically with regard to how toe’s music have been trending since their 2015 album HEAR YOU; itself already being quite the departure from the band’s earlier work with the markedly more subdued nature of the tracks found on it (at least when compared to songs from their 2012 album the book about my idle plot on a vague anxiety which comes across as more erratic and with a bit of an angst to it). In that sense, it’s within reason to believe that toe will continue to follow this trend moving forward.

Of course, toe are an experimental band at heart so they could always just show up sounding completely different. Going off of that we do at least have a couple of hints as to what direction the band are taking their music this time around.

The first is the song Loneliness Shines released as a 7-inch vinyl single in 2020, notably having the same sort of ambient acoustic guitar in line with toe’s more recent releases, but also seemingly sporting more aggressive-sounding drum work reminiscent of their old sound. Of note, the band’s upcoming album will have a track on it titled LONELINESS WILL SHINE which could imply a re-recording of the latter. The other hint that we have is the toe’s surprising venture into the world of anime by way of an insert song for the Summer 2021’s Sonny Boy. Sonny Boy - Rhapsody, much in the same vein as Loneliness Shines, feels to be at the crossroads of what you can consider to be “old” and “new” toe, where it has the same kind of overall vibe as Latest Number (the de-facto title track of their 2018 release linked above) mixed with the musical sensibilities of their earlier work.

Are we getting more of the “old” toe or the “new “ toe? Or possibly a bridging of the two sounds creating something “newer: altogether? Let’s all find out together on July 10, 2024 with the release of their fourth full length album NOW I SEE THE LIGHT.

▸ そこに鳴る (sokoninaru)

Up next; a band that’s very near and dear to my heart, sokoninaru.

I do consider myself lucky to have already started my Japanese music listening journey when sokoninaru came out with their debut single pirorhythm stabilizer 〜only your world〜 back in 2015, which does remain as one of my personal favorite debuts by a band because of how Suzuki Juko and Fujiwara Misaki come out swinging with their fingerstyle in just the first ten seconds of the song; almost as if they felt they only had as long of a time to try to get people’s attention and needed to make the most of it. Sure enough they did, though probably not in the manner one would initially think, as listeners at the time were instead quick to associate the band’s progressive rock sound as sounding derivative of Ling Tosite Sigure (myself included). To be fair, it should be noted that sokoninaru’s origins do in fact lie in them first starting out as being a “copy band” of Ling Tosite Sigure. Suzuki has also stated in interviews in the past that he himself is a fan and took inspiration from their music. A sentiment shared by the other members of sokoninaru which in turn served as the band’s unifying thread.

Despite what the notion might suggest however, fans still ultimately gravitated towards sokoninaru, as their technique simply proved to be undeniable (in hindsight, something that’s to be expected of someone even attempting to be a copy band of Ling Tosite Sigure in the first place) and over time the band would slowly establish their own identity.

sokoninaru’s now near decade-long career was not without its setbacks; notably losing their drummer shortly following their debut. Not to be deterred, the band would soldier on as a duo with the employ of a support drummer for the years that followed, that at its peak saw to the release of their breakout hit single in Tenohira de Odoru; which remains to this day as the band’s most popular song. Though the band came out with another standout track in Gou ni Moyu, the band would not be able to capitalize on the momentum they’d been able to garner to the fullest in light of the global pandemic that shortly followed. Like many other bands during this dark period, sokoninaru stayed active in their own way, even going so far as to record cover song sessions in their respective apartments. It was during this time that they would meet their new permanent drummer in Shoto Saito.

So far things appear to be looking up again for sokoninaru, who are now fresh off the heels of their anison debut as well with Soumonka being used as the opening theme for Winter 2024’s The Witch and the Beast, and are looking to follow it up with the release of their second full length album 開眼証明 (kaigan shoumei) on July 24, 2024.

▸ East Of Eden

The last one was a tough act to follow, but I’m willing to bet East Of Eden is more than up for the challenge.

Formed by renowned violinist-turned-voice actress Ayasa in 2023, East Of Eden is a veritable super group of talent, as she’s joined by four other women who, like her, have already had an extensive history in their respective fields: Minato Akane was a former founding member and sub-leader of the idol group predia known for her strong vocals; Wakazaemon was a member of the MAXIMUM THE HORMONE-franchised band Cottelee (コロナナモレモモ) and has played support bassist for other artists in the past; Guitarist Yuki founded the instrumental rock band D_drive; and MIZUKI was formerly a drummer for Shinku Horou. Suffice for it to say, they are all very much experienced and have an entire body of work to show for it respectively.

Of course, one also just need to hear the refinement in their techniques on display in songs like Judgment Syndrome here to understand that East Of Eden is not so much “just” a newly formed band of beginners as it is a gathering of seasoned veterans looking to make a run as a “world-class standard” Japanese rock band with their sights set on breaking into the international market.

It’s hard *not* to see them go far just based off of their respective résumés and what they bring to the table along with it. Though by that same token, much like how the best individual players don’t always make for the best teams, a band made up of individually talented members doesn’t automatically mean they’ll be as good when grouped together. Thankfully East Of Eden has so far proven that that’s not the case with them, as the continued showcase of their respective skills all but raise themselves and their standard up even higher with each release. Sky is most definitely the limit for this band and I do think it’s only a matter of time until they get their shot at cracking into the mainstream. I foresee an anime tie-up in their future sooner rather than later. Feels pretty pre-destined for me personally and if anything I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet already.

Forbidden Fruit -2nd piece- is going to be the second EP in the band’s still relatively young discography, and it comes out on July 24, 2024.

▸ NEK!

Speaking of young; not to be outdone is our final act for tonight’s party, NEK!.

Pronounced as “neki” (with the exclamation point actually being an inverted letter i), NEK! and its members aren’t nearly as credentialed as that of East Of Eden’s, but they most certainly have as much passion as any. I would like to think that it’s this spiritedness that they showed in their debut single Get Over that seemingly permeates through the screen that has gotten people interested in the young Girls Rock four-piece.

I wager that a lot of it is in how the band seemingly has taken cues from those that came before them. In particular, fans have noted the members’ collective admiration for BAND-MAID specifically, theorizing that the band may be trying to follow in their footsteps from a purely musical perspective. Aesthetically, I also see NEK! as being in the mold of Silent Siren instead and… I gotta be honest, NEK! potentially being a cross between those two bands is an exciting prospect.

As was the case with sokoninaru earlier, ideally they come into their own at some point during their career as well, but that’s also just something that comes with time; something that NEK! has a lot (and I mean A LOT) of still. The band only formed this year and already they’re firing on all cylinders with two singles and an EP roughly in the span of three-four months. I mean sure, things can always be in the works well in advance of when we’re actually seeing them, but even accounting for that this has still been quite the start nonetheless. I commend the gusto that the band and the the team behind them have been approaching this with thus far in that regard, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them slow it down a bit after this upcoming release and reassess some things first based on how its received. In as promising as NEK! is, I do think them to be rough around the edges still. More than anything I do want to hear a bit more in the way of range and dimension with this first EP which, granted, is asking a lot already but after hearing Reigen Shoujo it does feel like the band still looking for the style that best works for them.

At the very least, that’s what I’m looking forward to possibly finding in their debut EP EXCLAMAT!ON, which comes out on July 24, 2024.

---

That’s gonna do it for the J-Music Advance Party for July!

Here’s a quick recap of all the releases featured for this month:

Which release are you most excited for this month? Likewise, which bands and artists are you looking to listen these next couple of weeks? Let me know all of that down in the comments!

---

The next Advance Party is gonna be on August 4, 2024.
Are you looking forward to any releases next month?
Check back here to see if they get featured!

---

---