 On Tuesday night, beloved indie rockers Kinoko Teikoku dropped a surprise digital single on iTunes, "Cry Baby". It's one song without a b-side, physical release, or even any context. I imagine it will be included on the band's next full-length album, whenever that might be. The release of "Cry Baby" follows the news that Kinoko Teikoku will be composing and performing "The Future of Love" as the theme song to the upcoming film "Burning Love Enough to Boil Water".
 Suiyoubi no Campanella (better known to Western fans as Wednesday Campanella) has the distinction of being the very first group I've ever reviewed which I've heard on the radio. Doing some late-night shopping at Daiso, the group's single "Chupacabra" came on to set the perfect mood. In fact, the entirety of 'UMA', the group's latest release, serves to set the perfect mood. It goes down smooth like the soundtrack to a midnight stroll down a busy city street.
Check out this list of Japanese artists coming to the USA in July! Maybe you’ll find your favorite artist on the list! July sees BABYMETAL, Tomoyasu Hotei, and lots more visiting the states, some for the very first time! Full list under the cut.
 Loneliness, self-hatred, depression and lost love are just a small selection of the emotional themes found on Mitski Miyawaki's latest album 'Puberty 2'. With the opening track "Happy", Mitski pleads to happiness itself "when you go, take this heart / I'll make no more use of it when there's no more you". The rapid thumping percussion of the intro is almost like a wild heartbeat, pounding away at the arrival of the long-awaited happiness. Happiness isn't there to stay, as it "comes inside" of Mitski and leaves when she isn't looking. Musically, the song builds layer upon layer, climaxing with a downright cheerful horn section which contrasts heavily with the lyrical themes. It's almost like happiness is mocking Mitski here, as she begged it to either stay or to take out her heart itself to prevent her from having to experience life devoid of happiness. Instead happiness uses her to get off and discard her when it's done, leaving her to clean up the mess. Her cynicism implies this isn't the first time. Speaking very openly, Mitski herself described this song with the simple line "happiness fucks you".
Last month, heavy metal band BORIS announced a reissue of their seminal LP 'Pink', along with an album's worth of unreleased tracks ('Forbidden Songs') from the 'Pink' sessions, and a US tour to top it all off. With the announcement, BORIS also dropped the previously-unreleased "Are You Ready?". Now, a month later, BORIS have graced the internet with another cut off of 'Forbidden Songs', titled "SOFUN". Listen to it here, or embedded below:
 Popular J-pop/rock band Sekai no Owari have announced that they will be making their North American live debut this August, with shows in Los Angeles and New York. It's not QUITE a tour, but it's a good start! Last year the band sold out the massive Nissan Stadium in Japan to over 70,000 guests, so playing in clubs like The Roxy and the Bowery Ballroom will probably be a big shift for them. Let's make sure they get the love and support they deserve, and maybe they can even plan a full US tour in the future! Mr.Heartache Music VideoSekai no Owari are known for extremely varied and unique musical performances, and can't possibly be lumped into a genre. It's easiest to call them a "pop" group, but every release of theirs is different! From the electro dance-pop of "Mr.Heartache" (above, a collaboration with the US artist OWLCITY), to the chilled-out hip-hop of ANTI-HERO (which was used as the theme song to the Attack On Titan live action adaptation), you never know what to expect from Sekai no Owari. Now they're ready to take their incredible talents to an international artist, so we at A-To-J will be doing everything in our power to ensure they're welcomed in the US with open arms! -Justin ANTI-HERO Music VideoSekai no Owari US Dates:August 17 - Los Angeles, CA - THE ROXY [Tickets] August 23 - New York, NY - THE BOWERY BALLROOM [Tickets] Sekai no Owari is...Nakajin (Leader, Producer, Guitarist) Fukase (Vocalist) Saori (Pianist) DJ LOVE (DJ)  Dragon Night Music Video
There is literally no information available online for Western readers looking into Youth Dream in the Room. From what I gather, they're a Japanese emo band who have been playing shows for a few years, and "After the fire" is their debut release. That's all I got! With that said, I guess the music is just gonna have to stand on its own here.
"After the fire" opens with the track "Sorekara", rife with thick power chords and strained, emotional vocals. It's a little bit messy, but there's a lot of passion and energy to be found here. "Rattoman" have a little bit of a mellow pop punk vibe, but the vocals remind me more of The Pillows in their earlier days.
The third track, "Umbrella", opens up with a somber beat and crooning vocals. The longest song on the EP, "Umbrella" twists between gentler verses and heavy choruses. There's a hint of Number Girl in this one, which actually permeates the entire release to be honest. The sense of melody, passion, and energy all overtake the messy production and technical skill. Youth Dream in the Room sound like a true garage band, and in all honesty they probably are.
"Thursday" is probably the cleanest song on the record. It also has my favorite hook on the tracklist, so that's a plus. If the last song reminded me of Number Girl just a bit, this song SCREAMS Number Girl, or even a very early ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION demo??? It's really strong overall, I do wish the production was cleaner but I bet this song kills in a live environment. By the time the bridge comes along, we get an INCREDIBLY Dinosaur Jr.-esque solo. This band wears their influences on their sleeve quite proudly.
The closer is "Green Gay Boruso", which is pretty similar to the opener in terms of composition and tone. It's not particularly memorable for me, but I have to admit that it's probably the production. I can imagine it being great live, though, and it does have a lot of energy. I would love to hear more from Youth Dream in the Room! There's not much to go by here, and I'm honestly confused as to whether or not they're even an active band right now (while this release was put on Bandcamp just this weekend, the band's official Twitter has no posts after 2014). Here's hoping they keep it up and bring something even stronger to the table next time! -Justin Listen/PurchaseJapanese-American Ska Band KEMURI Embark on World Tour with Streetlight Manifesto, Less Than Jake6/6/2016  Japanese ska punk band KEMURI will be touring the world once again starting this July, with a string of dates supporting Streetlight Manifesto in the US and Less Than Jake in the UK. Originally from Oxnard, California, KEMURI had a successful run throughout the 90s and 2000s until they announced their breakup in 2007. Now based in Tokyo, the band reformed in 2012 and has been active ever since. Four albums deep into their reunion, KEMURI has also announced their first single in over 13 years. The as-yet-untitled single will be released on June 22nd via avex.  KEMURI TOUR DATES:US tour (with STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO) 7/15 Denver, Colorado Ogden Theatre 7/16 Las Vegas, NV Vinyl @ Hard Rock Hotel 7/17 Tempe, Arizona Marquee Theatre 7/18 Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia 7/19 San Diego, California House of Blues 7/20 Santa Ana, CA Observatory 7/21 San Francisco, CA Regency Ballroom 7/22 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom 7/23 Seattle, WA Showbox TICKETS UK tour (with LESS THAN JAKE) 10/3 Bristol, O2 Academy 10/4 Sheffield, O2 Academy 10/5 Birmingham, O2 Academy 10/6 London, O2 Academy Brixton TICKETS KEMURI: I've always said that Kinoko Teikoku should be scoring movies with their melancholic take on indie rock. The band have just announced via Twitter that they'll be recording the theme song to "Burning Love Enough To Boil Water", the upcoming sophomore film by director Ryota Nakano (who previously directed "Capturing Dad" in 2012). The song will be titled "The Future of Love". "Burning Love Enough To Boil Water" is set to be released October 29th in Japan. There probably won't be an overseas release as it's pretty indie, but it sounds pretty interesting so I'll be trying to watch it one way or another. In "Burning Love Enough To Boil Water", Rie Miyazawa (Pieta in the Toilet, Pale Moon) plays Futaba, a mother who discovers she has two months left to live. In the time she has left, Futaba decides to locate her missing husband, teach her daughter Azumi to fend for herself, and find Azumi a proper boyfriend, all while keeping her condition a secret from those around her. Aside from Rie Miyazawa, the film also stars Hana Sugisaki, Yukiko Shinohara, Taro Suruga, Tori Matsuzaka, and Joe Odagiri. Below you can watch the trailer, and listen to Kinoko Teikoku's 2013 single "The Sea and the Bouquet". -Justin
Kinoko TeikokuBurning Love Enough To Boil Hot Water |
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