 Shiggy Jr. is a J-pop group who I've never heard of, but have been active since 2012. Despite this, they still have yet to release a full-length album. Shiggy Jr. released a couple of EPs on mona records before signing to UNIVERSAL SIGMA, where they have released only two singles. "Koishitara Baby" is the group's third single on UNIVERSAL SIGMA, and the striking cover art is the only reason I actually discovered this group in the first place. I hoped that the aesthetic on the cover would be reflected in the music, and I'm happy to report that it was a pretty safe bet.
Just how versatile is this group? "key of life" is the second B-side, which is a much more modern synthpop song. The slightly chippy, almost 8-bit synths sound less like a throwback and more like a Kyary Pamyu Pamyu piece. It's super catchy, but the charm of the single so far has been all in the nostalgia for me. I like this song but I find myself forgetting about it pretty quickly, it really would have been better suited to KPP herself in my opinion. The third and final B-side is "TOWN", which I'm happy to say is more of what I wanted. Pure golden age J-pop, complete with jazzy horns and funky beats. The bassline here is particularly thick. It's a charming and sweet little song brimming with nostalgia. "Koishitara Baby" Music VideoI'm glad I found Shiggy Jr. when I did. "Koishitara Baby" is exactly what I needed in my life, and maybe it can be the same for you. I'm in love with this cute nostalgia trip, and I can say with certainty that I'm looking forward to hearing what Shiggy Jr. puts out next! I hope you enjoy this find as much as I do. -Justin Shiggy Jr.Tomoko Ikeda (Vocals) Shigeyuki Harada (Guitar) Natsuhiko Mori (Bass) Moroishi Kazuma (Drums) WEBSITE  Meishi Smile is a local artist known for their unique brand of dreamy and introspective pop music, as well as heading the record label ZOOM LENS. Following up the release of last year's incredible "...Belong", "(reclamation)" is Meishi Smile's third official release. The six tracks here mark a shift in tone away from the beautifully crafted electronic pop of Meishi Smile's previous releases, instead focusing on a chaotic kind of ambiance. "(reclamation)" opens up with waves of distortion on the introductory track "ego". As it fades out, another kind of ambiance drifts in. "apathy" is like a thick haze, looming over the listener as a void of insurmountable emptiness.  "forever (yours)" opens up with beautiful and distant vocals which are immediately drowned out by pained screams about "flowers of death and blackened abuse", finally proclaiming "I hope you will judge me for living". The heavily digital, distorted screams hold an air of raw pain and convicition, harkening back to Meishi Smile's old project Yuko Imada. "bruise" is a gentle melody softly caressed by waves of reverb, while "flowers & may" is a wave of soft ambiance overtaken by a drowning feedback. 
baring themselves to the listener, exposing the deepest and most desperate thoughts within. -Justin (reclamation)Meishi Smile
 This band's name is Nerd Magnet. That's about all the introduction they need, but I'll give them just a little more. Nerd Magnet has been around a surprisingly long time , only releasing a few mini-albums and singles. "Crazy, Stupid, Love" is their first full-length album, as well as their major label debut. This brand of high-energy power pop has been making somewhat of a comeback here in the US, but Nerd Magnet is the first Japanese band I've heard giving it a go. "Crazy, Stupid, Love" opens up with the driving "Bokutachi no Shippai", a study in self-deprecating 90s pop punk. It's fantastic. "C.S.L." is one of the catchiest songs of the year thus far, which will fill your head with calls of "I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in crazy stupid love" for weeks to come. Check out the music video below, but be warned - you won't be able to get this Weezer-esque power pop out of your head. This whole album is setting out to accomplish absolutely nothing, sitting pretty in the realm of slacker pop inhabited by indie greats like Guided by Voices, Rozwell Kid, and even the aforementioned Weezer. Rarely do you see an album being praised for simply being comfortable, but Nerd Magnet has honed the art to near-perfection. The melodies are sweet and memorable, the production is punchy and crisp, it's all a very solid project. Songs like "BOTTLE ROCKET" and the lead single "Mixtape" (which came with one of the best music videos of all time, embedded below) keep us planted firmly in this very laid-back, seemingly effortless world of teenage crushes and sick leather jackets. There's a certain beauty in the proclamation of "we are infinite!", like they truly believe that they are. From the heartbroken choruses of "TRAGICOMEDY" to the triumphant love declaration of "YOU & I", this album just bleeds out sugar like the bluest of Blue Albums, the... pinkest(?) of Pinkertons??? It's the album Weezer wishes they could have made under a title as misleading as "Raditude", it's what Cheap Trick might have done had they been born a few decades later. The powerful overtones of youth and innocence meld in with the ultra-saccharine songwriting to create a perfect time capsule where Number Girl was stored only to emerge a decade later as Nerd Magnet. Let me be perfectly clear, if I haven't been up until now: I love this album. I love this band. There is honestly not a lot to say, because it's not like they're innovating in any way. They're not experimenting, they're not furthering the genre or making an impact in any visible way. Nerd Magnet are playing their hearts out to give you a glance into their little 90s-drenched souls, and they're doing a fantastic job of it. This is the kind of band who probably won't be inspiring generations to come, but still might inspire some kid to pick up a guitar and in turn belt out their own feelings to the world. I have nothing bad to say about "Crazy, Stupid, Love". It's not because the album is perfect or anything like that. Nerd Magnet is simply setting out to tell you all their feelings in the most honest and sincere way, and it makes for some great power pop. It's pure and unapologetic pop music. If they ever make it over to America, I'll be the one crying along to every song in the front row. -Justin  Nerd Magnet is...
 © Ken Kgami & Motoyuki Daifu When BiS disbanded in 2014, almost everybody rushed off to start their own idol groups or rock bands. Tentenko was the major exception. Forming her own record label "Tenten Records", this freelance DJ and solo musician has already had an incredibly prolific career in only two years. With a long string of albums, mini-albums, and singles, Tentenko is going strong and shows no signs of slowing down. Judging by her 80s-throwback, Jun Towaga-inspired alt pop, could this former idol take Togawa's crown as the Queen of the Underground?  © Ken Kgami & Motoyuki Daifu While Tentenko captured our hearts with her 2015 single "Good bye, Good girl.", that was hardly her first solo effort. It's difficult for an English speaker to discern just what Tentenko's first release was, but there's a ton of stuff out there. From her duology of Halmens cover albums, to her abstract instrumental album "Hibiya Kouen", to the minimalistic and bassy soft pop album "Tentenko no Seimei dai Yakushin", this ex-idol has been busy. Tentenko doesn't produce ALL of her own music, having a team of collaborators on most of the Tenten Records releases, but she's certainly proven to have musical talent outside of her signature voice. Even if sometimes that talent is used for a harsh deconstruction of musical concepts, such as this live appearance with the legendary Hijokaidan: Tentenko performs with Hijokaidan at HMV Record Shop The BiS crowd are no strangers to Hijokaidan; in the year before BiS disbanded, they release TWO collaboration/remix albums with the noise troupe, which included a fantastic noise-ridden cover of Jun Togawa's classic "Suki Suki Daisuki". Tentenko's fellow BiS-alum First Summer Uika has also played drums as a part of the noise band. Music video for the BiS Kaidan cover of "Suki Suki Daisuki" If noise isn't your thing (and for most people it rarely is), you may be interested in Tentenko's work as a time-traveling idol from the 80s. What else could she possibly be, based on her work on "Good bye, Good girl" and other similar releases? Hell, she even released a VHS tape to go along with that single. a VHS TAPE! How many people these days can even spell VHS?* *probably all of the people, if we're being honest here Music video for "Good bye, Good girl."
The VHS tape in question, which includes the above music video and a couple other videos. Can be purchased here: http://tentenko.theshop.jp/items/1954240 Tentenko is an incredibly prolific and talented artist, and this article could go on forever talking about each of her individual releases and why they should matter to you, a Curious Fan of Underground Music. Instead, I think it's best to let you browse her catalogue yourself, and find what may be your new favorite record in among Tentenko's glorious discography. I have a feeling she might just become this generation's Jun Togawa, and I for one will be avidly watching her career for each new release. -Justin Tentenko  © Ken Kgami & Motoyuki Daifu  Who? Kinoko Teikoku is an indie rock band who have been around for a decent number of years now. Spending their early days as a shoegaze group, they quickly started to evolve into the indie rock powerhouse they are today. Kinoko Teikoku consistently releases some of the most emotional, melancholic, and beautiful music in the genre. The band has released one album a year since 2013, with last year's "Neko to Allergy" being among my favorites of 2015, so let's hope they keep up that trend! While 2013's "eureka" was Kinoko Teikoku's debut full-length, they've been operating as a band together since 2007. What?Early in their career, Kinoko Teikoku won people over with their heartbreakingly gorgeous shoegaze and dream pop music. Songs like "WHIRLPOOL" and "FLOWER GIRL" are looked at as masterpieces by many of the band's fans, myself included. Essential listening from this period would include the EP "Long Goodbye", the mini-album "Uzu ni Naru", and the full-length album "eureka". Even then, Kinoko Teikoku was putting some incredibly catchy songs together, like "Girl Meets NUMBER GIRL" and "Spring and Shura". Everything they released was powerful and sweet in the best of ways. More recently, Kinoko Teikoku's style has started to shift a little more towards catchier indie rock and cleaner production. Their music is still dreamy, but maybe lost a bit of that sense of pure euphoria from their previous work. With singles like "Tokyo", they showed their ability to make cleaner and punchier rock music while keeping the nostalgic haze hovering overhead. "Telepathy/Overdrive", the closer to the band's second album "Fake World Wonderland", is one of the hardest rocking songs they've ever put together. The album also marked the release of "Chonostasis", a massive international hit for the group. They've gone on making some of the most standout indie rock in the world even after losing the shoegaze edge they once had, and I believe they have a lot of potential to make it outside of Japan. That's where you (yes you, the reader) come in. Listen to Kinoko Teikoku. Share their music with your friends. Love them as much as I do, and maybe they'll see the fanbase growing around the world every day. Maybe they'll visit a town near you (or me!) -Justin For Fans Of... That's a tough one, they don't really sound like anybody. If you're into Plastic Tree, The Pillows, or Number Girl, they might be up your alley. Kinoko Teikoku is... Chiaki Sato (vocals, guitar) A-chan (guitar) Shigeaki Taniguchi (bass) Kon Nishimura (drums) WEBSITE  It seems like only yesterday we published our write-up of the legendary Japanese metal band Boris. In fact, it WAS yesterday. This morning, the kings (and queen) of drone doom announced that they would be reissuing their seminal record “Pink” for the album’s 10th anniversary. In addition to the reissue, Boris will release an extra disc of unreleased content from that era, called “Forbidden Songs”. “Forbidden Songs” will feature, among others, the track “Are You Ready?” which can be heard below. Spoiler: it's HARD, it's HEAVY, it's classic Boris at their finest. To commemorate this incredible event, Boris will be touring in support of “Pink”, playing the album in full from front to back, similar to what they did with their latest full-length effort “Noise”. The reissue includes “long versions”of a couple songs, most notably “Farewell”. Read our Throwback Thursday article on “Pink” to know just how incredible this album is, and why this is an event which should not be missed.  Boris will embark on their tour in the summer, with support from fellow doom legends EARTH. The trio will be hitting up cities all over the US, so make sure you don’t miss out! The “Pink” reissue will be hitting shelves on July 8th as a 3x LP box set or a 2x CD set, or through digital download on most distributors, all on July 8th. Save that date! -Justin "Pink" Reissue Track List
"Forbidden Songs" Track List
Boris North American Summer Tour 2016 07-22 San Diego, CA - The Casbah * 07-23 Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom * 07-25 Dallas, TX - Trees * 07-26 Austin, TX - The Mohawk * 07-28 Ybor City, FL - The Orpheum * 07-29 Orlando, FL - The Social * 07-30 Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade * 07-31 Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel * 08-01 Nashville, TN - Third Man Records * 08-03 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle * 08-04 Washington, DC - 930 Club * 08-05 Brookln, NY - Warsaw * 08-06 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer * 08-07 New Haven, CT - College Street Music Hall * 08-09 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club * 08-10 Montreal, Quebec - Bar Le Ritz P.D.B. 08-11 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace 08-12 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop * 08-13 Grand Rapids, MI - Pyramid Scheme * 08-14 Chicago, IL - Metro * 08-16 Madison, WI - Majestic Theater * 08-17 Minneapolis, MN - Fineline Music Cafe * 08-18 Lawrence, KS - Granada Theatre * 08-19 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater * 08-20 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge * 08-22 Seattle, WA - Neumo's * 08-23 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom * 08-25 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore * 08-26 Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theater * 08-27 Las Vegas, NV - Hard Rock Hotel * * with Earth Boris is:
Boris by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016
On the night of May 7th, I had the opportunity to see the legendary metal band Boris live for the second time. The first time around, Boris was playing their recent album "Noise" in its entirety. This time around they were calling the tour a preview of "Memento Mori". "Memento Mori" is a song on their recent EP "Mr. Shortkill", but it's possible they plan to have a longer release in the future.
Arriving at The Glass House, the first opening band Ides of Gemini was just finishing up their set. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't all that into them. AUMA took the stage next, and I had a bit of the same reaction. Every once in a while they would devolve into instrumental noise which was a nice break from the otherwise basic metal. The real reason everyone was there was Boris, obviously. The audience went wild when the stage started to fill with fog and a loud drone could be heard from the sound system.
Boris by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016
Finally, at 10:00 on the dot, Boris emerged onto the stage in a thick veil of fog. Taking only a moment to take their places on stage, they launched into the new and unreleased piece called "The Power". An instrumental song lasting upwards of ten minutes, "The Power" is aptly-titled. It was, well, a powerful piece of droning and heavy music. At some point they switched to another unreleased drone called "Sanpo".
Boris by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016
The next song was "More", which I've reviewed previously for A-To-J. It sounds even better live! Boris was loud and enigmatic, shrouded in fog as they powered through these heavy songs as towering monoliths on the stage.
The next song was another new one, "Killmister". This was the focus of the "Mr. Shortkill" release, and a tribute to Motorhead's late vocalist Lemmy. The song includes "Many are called, but few get up" which is either a new composition or a Man cover, but mostly it's just heavy instrumental rock. 
Boris by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016
"Melody" was one of my favorite moments of the night. The opener to 2014's "Noise" has an unmistakable intro, and was among the best vocal performances of the night. Not THE best, but we'll get to that soon! "Melody" was INCREDIBLE, though.
Boris by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016
"Memento Mori" followed, a chaotic and pummeling heavy metal piece which is pure Boris. What followed was the previously-mentioned best performance. If you read our review of "Gensho", you know how I feel about the Boris song "Heavy Rain". It was my favorite song on "Noise", and was redone perfectly for "Gensho". When the first hit of feedback came up, I knew they would be playing "Heavy Rain". The thinly-picked guitars echoed throughout the venue, which had gone silent in anticipation. Wata's soothing voice softly let out the first line, and it was perfectly ethereal. Then the wall of unstoppable force that is Boris hit hard with those notes everybody was anticipating. This song was simultaneously the quietest and loudest that Boris got the entire night. It was the perfect moment in time, completely unforgettable.
Boris by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016
Boris ended their set with another unreleased song, "Down". One final drone to close out the night. "Down" lasted about ten minutes, during which drummer Atsuo descended from his kit and dove into the audience, crowd surfing while Wata and Takeshi continued their drone on-stage. As Atsuo returned to the stage, Boris concluded their final song, took turns thanking the audience, and they were gone. There was no encore.
Boris by Justin Ashby © A-To-J Connections, 2016
This was, so far, the best night of the year. Boris is incredible. They only played for about an hour, and they didn't play hits like "Pink" or "Taiyo no Baka" but those songs might not have fit in with the theme of the night. I do wish they had played "Farewell", which had been present on a couple other setlists from the tour. All-in-all, though, it was a fantastic show. I can't wait for the next time Boris comes around, and I'm sure it will be completely different!
-Justin Boris is:
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"Pink" opens with this MASSIVE, sprawling landscape of feedback-ridden drone doom known as "Farewell". It's a gorgeous soundscape at the best of times, which the band built upon for their recent Merzbow collaboration "Gensho". This is probably the closest Boris ever came to true shoegaze, though the squealing feedback later in the song owes more to No New York than to the Scene That Celebrates Itself. Either way, this song is beautiful, powerful, an unstoppable force of pure bliss.  The next song demolishes all of that. The title track, "Pink", lashes out at the beauty of the previous song with reckless abandon. Wild and chaotic, this song is the definition of heavy metal. As one of Boris' best-known and most well-loved songs, "Pink" has gone down in history as some of the best metal ever recorded. This song bleeds right into the pummeling "Woman on the Screen". This is another one of my favorite Boris tracks. The energy on this one is so intense, it's right on the edge of hardcore punk. I can only imagine how the sharp feedback near the end must have sounded live. Unfortunately, Boris doesn't play this song live very often. They don't play MOST of this album, in fact. "Nothing Special" is distorted and sludgy, with desperately screamed vocals breaking through the thick cloud of sludge. Over before you know it, this one leaves you in a stupor. Which good because a stupor is exactly what the next song sounds like. "Blackout" is doom metal as all hell, impossibly thick and rife with feedback. The mostly-instrumental beast leads into the shortest track on here, "Electric". "Electric" shares a lot of similarities with "Woman on the Screen" musically, but is actually instrumental. It's like a short break, if wildly chaotic guitars and drums are your idea of a break. "Pink" performed live on MTV Iggy "Pseudo-Bread" is another destructive romp through heavy metal territory, but then things start to change. "Afterburner" sounds almost improvised, twisting and turning all around in a totally unstructured way. "Six, Three Times" (get it? 666? because metal is satanic, you know) is a pretty monotonously droning piece of hardcore punk, with those soaring vocals we've become accustomed to over the course of the album. "My Machine" is a downtempo ambient piece which sounds like it's just some leftover resonance from the chaos that came before. It almost sounds like it intends to close the album. But no, that's next. The final song, something really over-the-top. "Just Abandoned Myself".
wailing lead guitar struggles to break free. There's still some small hint of vocals 9 minutes in, but they're losing strength. All this fades slowly into a drone. A pure and simple wall of noise. This is what My Bloody Valentine fans refer to as the "holocaust" during that band's live sets, but for Boris it's just... Boris. The purest form of noise, seeming almost endless. Earplugs were invented for this, for those who value their hearing. It's not until almost 12 minutes in that we start to hear some very thin lead guitar struggling to crawl free. Improvised little strums here and there, fighting past the harsh wall of horror in their path. You keep rooting for those little notes, you keep hoping they'll succeed, but they never do. The crunch becomes a buzz, then a whirr, a whistle, and the noise subsides. The album is over. "Pink" is one of the most intense metal listening experiences I've ever had. The title track, "Woman on the Screen"... Songs like that are incredible bouts of fury from a band who might have discovered the formula for perfection. "Farewell" is such a beautiful piece, and "Just Abandoned Myself"... I've never listened to that song all the way through until it was time to write this review. Sure I've HEARD it, and sure I've skipped around to pick up bits and pieces, but I've never experienced the full extend of power Boris expressed in that 18-minute time frame. A lot of musicians try to do what Boris did there, they think a 20-minute feedback drone is just high volume and monotonous noise. Boris shows that it's an emotional journey, they're almost telling a story just through their feedback and distortion. Boris might have inspired hundreds if not thousands, of noise musicians across the world, but nobody does it better than them. "Pink" is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I hope it can be yours as well. And hey, if you're not into the noise? There's still a whole album of awesome and pummeling heavy metal to get you sorted out. -Justin Boris will be playing the Glass House Concert Hall in Pomona, California, on Saturday May 7th. TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED HERE Pink
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