1, 2 no 3 de - Mizoguchi Ryoko (download from JapanFiles.com)

One of the main reasons a lot of people get into Japanese music is that it often sounds vastly different to what's being made by Western bands (of course, a lot of people also just get into Japanese music because they think it automatically makes them cool, but that's a rant for another day). Unfortunately though, this sometimes leads to bands who end up sounding the same when trying to be different. For example, thanks to Melt-Banana there are numerous bands who have welded frantic guitar noise, apocalyptic sound effects and tortured chipmunk vocals. Some are good, but a lot of them just plain suck. Fortunately, there are also artists like Mizoguchi Ryoko who strike out on their own path rather than choosing between the two roads signposted 'Polysics wannabe' and 'Shonen Knife wannabe.'

Mizoguchi's mini-album 1, 2 no 3 de is short, but then my five foot two inch tall mother always told me that the best things come in small packages, and after listening to this record over and over for the past few days I'm starting to think she may have been right all along. Armed mainly with a piano and a voice pitched somewhere between Kate Bush and Cerys Matthews, Mizoguchi has crafted a collection of songs that burrow themselves deeply within your subconscious, then keep bringing you back to them even when you know you ought to be listening to other things.

Try staying away from the Kate Bush/Ben Folds sound clash and fantastic 80's style soaring chorus of opening track "Suki ni Nachetta" for a couple of days. See if you can expel the sampled cicada chatter and pitter-pattering piano of "Semi no Isshuukan" or the vocal acrobatics during "Furueru Mune", Mizoguchi's very own torch song – it's nigh on impossible. Even if you do manage to do this, I guarantee you that "Ii Deshou" will be with you long after you first listen to this album. It opens with a loosely-strung bass-line, sparsely played guitar and simple tub-thumping drumbeat that wouldn't be out of place on the first Velvet Underground album. After about twenty seconds Mizoguchi's vocals kick in and the song takes on a hypnotic, almost tribal aspect as she chants rather than sings. Another minute or so later the bass strings seem to get even looser and Mizoguchi's voice, now bathed in static, appears to being beamed in from somewhere just past Pluto. None of this prepares you for the bridge of the song though, which sounds like it was recorded in the studio next door to The Beatles during the Revolver sessions, taking its cues from the swirling instrumentation of "Tomorrow Never Knows". The song briefly dips back into the semi-tribal chants of earlier, before closing with Mizoguchi's multitracked voice ululating over a disintegrating rhythm section.

Paradoxically, the quality of "Ii Deshou" is also this record's only real weakness. To me the song is the obvious choice with which to close the album, but it's stuck in here at track five. This ends up making the final three songs sound a lot more ordinary than they actually are. "Kei no Stage e" might have lived up to its dramatic piano if it had made an appearance earlier on, but after "Ii Deshou" it sounds like it's trying a little too hard. "Birthday Song" fares slightly better, throwing together mariachi style trumpets and a keyboard hook that would probably have Ray Manzarek speed-dialling his lawyers if he was ever to stumble upon this album.

"La La La Song" is the track that does close the album and normally I'd say it was more than worthy of this role. Mizoguchi divests her vocals of any discernible language and sets them adrift over an elegiac piano track that Moby could well steal and use in an advertisement for whichever car company offers him the most cash. As good as it is, I was still left thinking that it had usurped "Ii Deshou" from it's rightful place. Thankfully in this age of iTunes and the like you can resolve this by rearranging the album yourself. Then again, Mizoguchi probably meant the album to run in this order, and who am I to argue?

New Band On JapanFiles

Tokyo Pinsalocks, a three-piece 'electronic rock band' (that's what the press release said anyway) now have a five track E.P available for download on JapanFiles. I'll try and get a review up in the next few days, assuming I can resist the wiles of the Mizoguchi record.

Mrs. Tanaka Album and a blog

It's finally going to hit the shops this Sunday, just in time for Mother's Day. Have a listen to the songs on the good lady's MySpace page and tell me you don't want to buy the album.

Tokyo Gig Guide is probably the best source of info for live music in Tokyo, and they now also have a blog containing reviews of said music. It's well worth a look.

Limited Express (has come back?)

It may just be scurrilous rumour but apparently Limted Express (has gone?) may not have gone at all. Nothing to confirm at the moment but who knows, they may be shreking their way around the livehouses of Tokyo once again in the near future.

Shift presents "applechair&bananadesk", Club Goodman, Akihabara, May 1st

Most of the concerts I go to in Tokyo are fairly sparsely attended. If there are five bands on the bill there will usually be around thirty or forty people there. It seems that each band brings five or six friends and family members who have no choice but to go. Add in the small number of people who are there because they want to see the bands, and the obligatory blog writing gaijin and that's pretty much it.

Tuesday night at Club Goodman was the exception to the vague rule that I just made up. Despite this being Shift's event most of the audience were there to see Tokyo luminaries (or 'it bands' if you wanted to be unkind) nhhmbase and Melt-Banana. First up was CLISMS. Like all the bands on tonight's bill apart from Shift, this was the first time I'd seen them. Taking their on-stage moves from The Who (without the instrument annihilation), they played a lean twenty five minute set that any fan of the Nuggets series would appreciate.

nhhmbase were one of the first bands I heard about when I started this blog - various people told me that I had to check them out. I bought their first mini-album and while it certainly wasn't bad, it didn't seem that special. I was then told that I had to see them live, that the CD hadn't really captured them at their best. I've been told this kind of thing before and sometimes it's little more than a way to cover up the fact that a band aren't actually that great. With nhhmbase it IS true though - played live, their songs are have more space in which to meander and expand without ever drifting off into muso-wank-noodling territory. One downside to the band could be the fact that apparently they've been playing much the same set for the last two years - do they have any more songs in there or have they shot their bolt too quickly? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Sometimes you go to a concert where you only know one or two bands on the bill, but one of the unknown acts turns out to be the best thing you see all night and you spend the next couple of days raving to all your friends about how good they were. Unfortunately ヨルズイノザスカイ (Yolz In The Sky) were away over on the other side of the spectrum. I looked back at my notes under I've underlined the words "utter pish" in the same way a bitter cuckold might highlight his cheating ex-wife's name in the phonebook. Musically, their stew of relentless guitar noise and frantic rhythm works well, but their vocalist fucks the whole thing up. He looks like Bruce Lee and sounds similar too, as he yelps his way through every song like a loop tape of every fight scene in Enter The Dragon. It has me scrambling for the beer machine outside in the hallway for much needed oral and aural respite. One final point before we leave the whole sorry episode behind - to the bloke who stood next to me giving the sign of the beast all the way through their set, this band is not Satanic, just diabolical (before any smart arse goes to write a comment about the meaning of 'diabolical', look here).

According to Wikipedia, Melt-Banana singer Yasuko Onuki's vocal style has been described as "a rabid poodle on speed". After their set (this was the first time I'd actually heard any of their music - am I allowed to write a blog on Japanese music after such a confession?) I was trying to figure out what to say about them when my girlfriend trumped both my half-arsed notes and the anonymous critic cited on Wikipedia - "The music was OK but she sounds like Alvin and The Chipmunks going through teenage angst." 'Nuff said.

Shift were last on and came out to a slightly depleted audience (even if it is your event perhaps playing last after nhhmbase and Melt-Banana isn't the best idea). This was the first time I'd seen them since their show at Shibuya O-nest last year, and they seem to have left behind some of the more melodic parts of their sound. Yuki Funayama's vocals stand out above Alvin and Bruce Lee, but the band's sound wasn't as distinctive as before. Then again, maybe it was just the songs they played that night, or maybe the beer I'd downed deperately during Yolz In The Sky's set was playing havoc with my ears. Either way, Shift remain a band that everyone should see live if they have the chance.

Japanese CDs from JapanFiles

Downloading MP3 files is all well and good in terms of convenience, but personally I'd still rather buy the CD and then bung the tracks onto my PC (I guess I'm showing my age now). For anyone else who feels the same and needs a fix of Japanese music, JapanFiles has just released two new CDs which are available here. One, Fresh Cuts From Japan: Volume 2, is a compilation culled from the JapanFiles archives, including tracks by mothercoat, Budo Grape and my current favourites, advantage Lucy. I guess you could call the other CD a 'Rough Guide to LiN Clover'. Called Slumber, it contains 10 tracks chosen by the band themselves which cover their three Japanese releases. There should be reviews here soon (ah, but you've all heard that before, haven't you?).

Golden Age/Clap Hands

This is just one reason why the DVD/live album I mentioned in my previous post has to be released.

And About Hers Live Event, Shinjuku JAM, April 29th

The title pretty much says it all. Ian Martin (from Call and Response Records) will be one of the DJs, along with Yashiro from Saladabar. And About Hers make the kind of female fronted Japanese indie pop that you either love or loathe - there tends to be no middle ground. The other bands playing are Overleaf (quote - "a fairly straight rock band" - I listened to the songs on their MySpace page and they sounded pretty good), Totos (who also have a MySpace page - they reminded me a little of Pygmy With Bitter Ends) and Pencil Acrobat (who seem to be something of an indie supergroup, with members of Swarm's Arm and Saladabar). Tickets are 1800 yen, doors open at 6.30 and the music starts at 7.

Swinging Popsicle in the States

SWINGING POPSICLE ADDS SHOW IN NYC – JUNE 19

Japanese rock band Swinging Popsicle returns to the USA June 15-17, 2007 for Anime Mid-Atlantic in Richmond, VA.

The trio has just added a special show in New York City on June 19 at The Knitting Factory. The concert is a small, intimate show and is expected to sell out early. This will mark the band's first-ever appearance in New York City.

They will be performing songs from their upcoming CD release "Go On," as well as hits like "I Just Wanna Kiss You" from their best-selling 2004 CD "Transit." They will also be signing autographs for fans after the show.

Show info:

June 19, 2007

Knitting Factory – NYC

74 Leonard St, New York, 10013

Doors 7 PM

$12

All Ages

Tickets for the NYC show are available now at www.myspace.com/swingingpopsicle or at www.knittingfactory.com.

Miaou, Shibuya O-Nest, April 22nd

I've never been to the opera but I occasionally watch the cultural programmes on NHK on a Sunday evening and the music gets me in that place where you can't explain it but the audience inevitably brings me back to Earth and reminds me that I know nothing about this kind of music and that they will take great pleasure in reminding me of this at every possible moment. I love instrumental music - give me Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, Tortoise et al and I'm a happy man. Unfortunately, these bands seem to attract a similar audience to those cunts who claim they are opera lovers but go there for no other reason than to lord it over anyone who has the misfortune not to be as well versed in the intricate history of the music being played as they are. People like the bint who told my friend to 'shhh' at the show tonight in Shibuya. He's not the quietest of people but it was a fucking concert. It was between songs, not during one - stop being so fucking precious, get over yourself and accept the fact that people may talk to each other at a concert - it's just what they do.

Right, rant over. Miaou were fantastic. Swirls of blissful music made by people who were lost within what they were doing but never lost control and never allowed themselves to slip into the wankery that so often bedevils concerts of this type. Their music sounds and looks like it's great fun to play. They will never be huge but they deserve the kind of cult following that much more undeserving bands earn. If there is any kind if justice in the world people will get over Shonen Knife, see them for the dull shrieky bores that they are, and swoon at the majestic feet of bands like Miaou. It's not going to happen but we are allowed to dream - isn't that what keeps us going?

miaou - tiger note

Just in case you can't be arsed going to YouTube yourself.

Miaou on YouTube

They are playing Shibuya tonight (O-Nest), but if you can't make it they have their own channel on YouTube with some clips of them playing live. This internet thing can actually be quite useful at times.

Stereo Japan

Stereo, a new venue partly owned by Mani from Primal Scream, recently opened in Roppongi. A friend of mine is DJ-ing there tomorrow night from seven to nine - entry is free and apparently the music will be 'tech/house and a little downbeat'. Going by the pictures on the Stereo website it's a bit more plush than the venues I usually frequent, so it'll either be a welcome change of scenery or a complete shock to the system.

Beck, Budokan, April 16th

I have spent almost a week trying intermittently to write a review of this concert. I have two unfinished drafts in which I waffle on about Live at The Budokan and stuff and in neither of them can I get passed the second paragraph. So, here's the short version - Beck at the Budokan will be the greatest live album/DVD if his record company have the good sense to release it. The Rolling Stones labour under the impression that a hugely elaborate stage set is the only way a band can shake up the concert-goer's experience, but Beck pissed on that theory from a great height in coming up with his own way of doing things. Firstly, put together a backing band of multi-instrumentalist who can flit between guitars, bass, drums, maracas, synthesisers, a bank of Macs and tableware with enviable ease. Secondly, perform the best songs from each record you've released thereby creating the perfect live album set-list. Thirdly, do away with the usual big screen and camera set-up for those fans who can't see what's happening on stage. In its place recreate the band's performance live using puppets and film that instead, making sure that each puppet is wearing exactly the same clothes as its human counterpart. Finally, make the inevitable encore infinitely more interesting than usual by using the time when the band are off-stage to show a short film starring the puppets in which Beck puppet dreams that he is 'Beckzilla' rampaging through the streets of Tokyo.

There you have it, the perfect live DVD and album. Unfortunately the Budokan has the sternest looking security guards I've seen at a Japanese venue, so the only photos I have of the show are the one above that was taken outside before the show, and the ones below of the puppets which my friend took from the programme she bought. Just keep your fingers crossed and hope that the DVD comes out - then it'll all make sense.

Two in a day?

Just remembered, a friend of mine has a couple of tickets for Beck's upcoming Tokyo shows, on for April 6th at Ebisu Liquid Room, and one for April 16th at the Budokan. Both are 7500 yen (the face value) - if anyone's interested email me at toyko.music.blog@gmail.com. Off to lie down now.

Two in a week?

No, it isn't an April Fool, this is my second post in the space of a couple of days. Not much of an accomplishment really, but given my recent form it's got to count for something. Anyway, a couple of updates from JapanFiles - new downloads available on the website and some tour dates that make me wish that getting into the US on my non-machine readable British passport wasn't akin to getting into the inner sanctum of the Vatican.

First up, a bunch of advantage Lucy songs are now available on the JapanFiles website. Click here for an interview with the band, and here to splurge your hard-earned pennies on the songs. Secondly, LiN Clover have added another show to their debut tour of the States. Showing that they don't give a fuck about Western superstition they will be playing the Claron Lounge, Santa Clara, CA on Friday the 13th of April. For more info have a look at the Shibuya Airwaves MySpace page.

I'd better go and sit down - two posts in three days is too much for this hack.

No excuses, and some updates

I'm not even going to try and make an excuse for the lack of posts recently, so here's some information instead. There is an event tonight in Tokyo, organised by Ian Martin:

2007 3/29 (Thu)
Shibuya O-NEST
「マスビーニューニュー(MUST BE NEW-NEW!）Vol.4」
w/ SKOOTER, ゆやゆよん, ウサギスパイラルアー, SHOOT MY DISCO,UMIBACHI
【DJ】IAN MARTIN（Call And Response）
開場18:30／開演19:00
● 前売￥2,000／当日￥2,300 ●ドリンク別

Someone's a Lot Busier Than Me...

Judging by the number of emailed press releases that are pinging up in my inbox, the JapanFiles staff are readying for a major Tet-like offensive. Firstly, songs by "trippy techno pioneers" Deavid Soul are now available for download on the JapanFiles website, as are the "high energy avante-garde pop stylings of Nagoya based Budo Grape. Finally, for anyone lucky enough to be at the South By Southwest festival this week (and if you are you probably won't be reading this poxy blog), Japanese band Mothercoat are playing at the following times:

Mar. 14

SXSW - Latitude 30

512 San Jacinto St.

Austin, TX

11:45 PM

Mar. 18

Sam's Burger Joint (w/Peelander Z)

www.samsburgerjoint.com

San Antonio, TX

6:00 PM

LiN CLOVER live in the US

For any Stateside readers:

JAPANESE ROCK BAND LiN CLOVER TO PLAY ADDITIONAL USA DATES!

Las Vegas, NV – February 28, 2007 – The powerful, dark Japanese rock band LiN CLOVER will make its USA debut at Sakura-Con 2007 in Seattle, WA, April 6-8, 2007.

Now the band has partnered with California-based promoters Shibuya Airwaves to add shows at Slim's in San Francisco (April 11) with additional venues TBA in Las Vegas, NV (April 10) and San Jose, CA (April 12).

Fans of LiN CLOVER and their founding members Ren & Nao (formerly of GacktJOB) will have their first chance to see this amazing, high-energy performance in America. Live performance video has been added to the band's official MySpace page ( www.myspace.com/linclover).

LiN CLOVER received a nomination for Best Japanese Rock Band in this year's Shojo Beat Music Awards.

LiN CLOVER appears courtesy of JapanFiles.com.

Thanks to Dave at JapanFiles for this. You know it makes sense - download the songs, buy the tickets, brighten up your day.

Still Freaky

"Do you want to go and see J Mascis?" my friend asked me. "It's a solo set and it's 2500 yen." J Mascis. The man who was in the band that were responsible for one of my top three mardy teenage anthems. The man who seemed guitar solos seem like a decent idea. J Mascis. In Tokyo. At a tiny venue. For only two thousand five hundred yen. What do you think?

Fast forward to the night of the show and things have changed a little. The demand for tickets has been overwhelming so the show has been moved downstairs to the Liquid Room's main hall. Goodbye intimate venue. Still, it's J Mascis. Maybe he'll play Freak Scene and all of this won't seem so bad.

The lights dim and the MC comes on stage. I get the main gist of what he says: it's eighteen years since the classic Dinosaur Jr line-up separated. Now they've got back together and have recorded a new album of original material which is called Beyond. Tonight, we are going to be the first people in Japan to hear this new album. Suddenly two and half grand seems like an insanely low price for this show. Not only are we going to hear the first new Dinosaur Jr album in almost twenty years (one guy near me tells his friend that he was only two when the band split), we're going to hear played by J Mascis himself. The lights go all the way down, the audience falss silent... and somewhere off stage a CD player clicks on and everything becomes clear. We are indeed going to hear the new Dinosaur Jr album, but on CD.

The new songs sound fantastic - the perfect fusion of both sides of Dinosaur Jr: the SST days of J, Lou and Murph, and the later era of Start Choppin' and Feel The Pain. I barely give a fuck though. Two thousand five hundred yen for this? Where's J Mascis? Is he going to come on at the end and strum a couple of songs before heading back to his hotel? I'm starting to get the feeling that we've all been had and this is nothing more than a glorified in-store appearance.

I need to do something about this. I want the promoters, the venue owners, Mascis himself, to know that they can't get away with this kind of shite. I have two small plastic cups and a half-full bladder. My options are limited but it's better than mute acceptance.

The album comes to an end. Just under an hour ago this venue was buzzing with expectation, but now the audience shuffles around, not able to muster anything like the same level of enthusiasm. The MC comes back on stage and launches into another spiel. "Wasn't the album great?" "Don't the band sound fantastic?" "Let's have a look at what you could have won." OK, I made that last one up but you get the picture. I decide that drastic measures need to be taken and hand the two plastic cups to my girlfriend. As I fumble about in the semi-darkness the MC says something about J Mascis and the crowd seem to be re-energised. The MC buggers off.

Grey haired and looking how a sane Daniel Johnston might, J Mascis shambles onto the stage and proceeds to play one of the best shows I have ever seen. Clouds part, the cups tumble to the floor and all thoughts of starting a riot disappear from my mind. Mascis seems to be a little confused about the running order of the evening, as he tells that he won't be playing anything from the new album since we're going to hear it all soon anyway. It doesn't matter, it just seems like the kind of thing he would say.

About halfway through what is basically a greatest hits set he plays Freak Scene. I am transported back to my teenage years and beyond, into that realm where a song is much more than just chords, melody and lyrics. Instead, it becomes a force that resonates through to the very core of your being and leads you to write overblown and overlong sentences like these in a vain attempt to convey just how good it is. I don't stop smiling for the rest of the evening and the only place I piss is in the toilet.