medorē #25 – ASOBOiSM, Ave Mujica, tricot (and more!)
Hello and welcome back to another installment of medorē!
In case you're not familiar with what this is, it's pretty simple: this is a segment (formally called the 'Infrequent J-Song Roundup') where I essentially gather up a bunch of Japanese songs that I've been listening to and enjoying, and give my brief thoughts on them. Not only does this give me the opportunity to show my appreciation for some of the stuff I've come across lately, but it'd be neat if this also helped you find something new to listen to. I love suggesting music to whoever will listen (lol) and hopefully I'm able to do that with this fun little segment I do here on the blog.
That said, no theme this time around (although I have a specific topic I've been wanting to do for a future post, stay tuned) so this'll just be a random collection of tracks that have been on repeat. And I want to emphasize the word 'random', cause... this really did end up being the music equivalent of a Halloween candy variety pack 😅
No matter though, variety is good and I'm sure that'll increase your guys' chances of finding, at least, one song out of this pile that's enjoyable to you. So let's jump right in!
♫ 「Dancin' in the rain (2023)」 MALIYA
First heard about MALIYA when I recently stumbled upon, arguably, her most popular song in "Breakfast in Bed" featuring Tokyo-based rapper Ryohu (also was produced by the one-and-only STUTS, interestingly enough!). And while that song just had a pure 90s American R&B sound to it, the one we're talking about today, "Dancin' in the rain", is awesome in its own right.
This is actually a new rendition of a previously released song of MALIYA's, which was on her first EP back in 2016. And with the original having a nice composition with the acoustic guitar, simple backing beat and super deep synths bringing everything together... this newer and more acoustic-focused version is pretty phenomenal. Sure, you sort of lose that sweet 'R&B' vibe from the original track, but as someone who absolutely adores the more acoustic and almost raw/unplugged style of general guitar playing, I think MALIYA absolutely nails that here, especially when mixed with her gorgeous vocals.
♫ 「TOTSUKA (feat. Cypress Ueno)」 ASOBOiSM
Alright I'm just gonna cut to the chase with this one: this sounds like an O'CHAWANZ song (lol).
Japanese hip-hop and rap being on the heavy rotation these past few months has given me the opportunity to find some really solid artists who fall under that unconventional genre within J-music. Sure, Japanese rap will never be as good or well-known as the stuff heard here in the United States. But I have to give some credit to these particular artists, since I believe that they actually do appreciate hip-hop music and its culture, just like everyone else, and simply want to show off their personal take on the Western genre.
That said, it's hard to talk about "TOTSUKA" from ASOBOiSM and Cypress Ueno without mentioning how... cheesy and 'parody-ish' it sounds. Like I said, I was immediately reminded of another rap-based group in O'CHAWANZ, as the old-timey and 'hippity hop' vibes that are shown with both kinda make them feel outdated, compared to the more modern and intricate styles of hip-hop today. But at the same time... it's low-key a bop. It's on the chill side, the lively piano adds a really nice contrast to that simple beat, and while the bars from ASOBOiSM and Cypress Ueno can seem a tad bit stereotypical, it definitely follows many of the rapping styles we've heard in past Japanese hip-hop songs, so I don't think it's intended to poke fun at anyone or anything like that. I especially liked ASOBOiSM's singing during the chorus, she's got a really nice voice.
On a, sort of, related note, i found out that ASOBOiSM wrote and composed "Omatsuri sawagi", an amazing track from the BATTEN GIRLS idol group. It's definitely more evident if you listen to ASOBOiSM's newer songs but that was neat to find out.
♫ 「Let you know!」 i☆Ris
Well, this song feature does sting a bit, considering that I didn't even know i☆Ris was giving out autographs for this new single on Limista, and thus, I completely whiffed on the chance of getting something signed by Miyu... sigh.
For the past few years now, it seems like the seiyuu idol group i☆Ris has been experimenting with a lot of new genres and styles when it comes to their newer music. Their last album included a very electronic-based song in "One Kiss" and an electro swing-esque track with "Spending", as well as them exerting a more mature nature in "Queens Bluff" (as it was also an tie-in track with the Kakegurui Twin anime). As you can probably tell, it's pretty evident that they are far removed from their past themes of cutesy and magical girl-appropriate music, with "Let you know!" being another example of that drastic change.
Even when considering that the illustrious TeddyLoid produced this song, everything about "Let you know!" is so new, at least to someone like me who has been an i☆Ris fan for nearly four years now. That funky bassline, the cool rhythm, the smooth raps from each member, the instantly catchy chorus... honestly never expected i☆Ris to release a song like this but it ended up being a pretty cool release.
♫ 「Omowase Burikko」 ≠ME
To continue my recent ramblings and obsessions over Sashihara Rino's idol groups, I figured I would talk about a song that's been trending lately; it being ≠ME's "Omowase Burikko".
This song is nice. If you've read my review on the recent IKONOIJOY concert and/or watched said concert, you would know that Noimii actually surprised everyone in the audience by debuting this exact song during the event, which was pretty neat to experience live. It's a fun, bubbly, super catchy and obviously cute idol song that certainly didn't take long for me to enjoy. Not only because of its upbeat tune but I think I gotta give the idols most of the credit here. You get a really great glimpse of how everyone sounds, ranging from the peppiness of Sakurai Momo's voice to Tomita Nanaka's noticeably deeper vocals. No matter the vocal register, I think everyone sounded fantastic and fit really well in this overly cutesy-sounding song.
And on top of that, this pretty much convinced me that centers in idol songs are most certainly beneficial for both the idols themselves, as well as for the fans. I can imagine that the Suzuki Hitomi oshis were ecstatic to see their favorite be the main focus for this track, but for a more amateur ≠ME fan like myself, this helped me get to know Hiichan better and I definitely came to appreciate her a lot more after watching its adorable MV (fun fact: she's also half Thai!). Think it's also interesting to mention that "Omowase Burikko" is currently trending on TikTok but I guess that's not too much of a surprise, given their track record with trendy TikTok sounds and dances.
♫ 「Namae wa Kataomoi」 indigo la End
Speaking of recently popular TikTok sounds, here's another one!
If I were to only come up with two out of the many things that Kawatani Enon is good at, it would be 1) finding absolutely fantastic talents to collaborate with, and 2) creating pretty sad songs about love. In regards to the latter, at least, that's what I always notice whenever I listen to an indigo la End track. Being scarred by how heartbreaking the music video for "Hitomi ni Utaranai" was, or "Aoito" expressing the idea that one can end up falling in love when they're at their worst; it seems like Kawatani's really great at showing a more melancholic side of romance, especially within the majority of indigo la End's discography.
Their most recent hit in "Namae wa Kataomoi" is yet another example of that. And yes, while I will reiterate the fact that this song has been used in almost 20,000 TikToks (as of this post's publishing), the song itself is super good. It has a very youthful energy to it, and while it does sound somewhat upbeat on the surface, it does get a little sad when it comes to the subject matter. Having to go through the uncertainty and pain when it comes to unrequited love or one-sided relationships; I definitely feel a sense of sympathy whenever I listen to these kinds of songs/narratives and I think indigo la End does a great job expressing that idea here in a very heartfelt way.
♫ 「Kuro no Birthday」 Ave Mujica
To say that the newest BanG Dream anime series, titled MyGO!!!!!, has been a wild rollercoaster ride might be a big understatement (lol). I won't spoil anything narrative-wise from that show but it being the very first Bandori anime I've ever experienced (excluding the fun spin-off in Garupa Pico), its more dramatic approach definitely felt new to me, especially when compared to the more fun and light-hearted rock band anime I've seen in the past like Bocchi the Rock or K-On!. That said, while the titular band of MyGO!!!!! has released some solid songs over the past few months, I would like to talk about the franchise's other newest group; them being Ave Mujica. And honestly... hearing this band (and song) for the first time was both surprising and quickly after, unsurprising.
For one, it's nuts to hear a song like "Kuro no Birthday" within a series like BanG Dream. I don't think I've gotten over that fact, simply because when I think of Bandori, I'm immediately reminded of the super fun tracks from Poppin' Party or the more traditional J-Rock sound of Afterglow. And sure, you could definitely make the argument that Roselia also conveys a more dark and mysterious style of music, but Ave Mujica is literally metal. Super hard hitting and authentic-sounding rock with an added Latin theme to it... maybe I just haven't dove deep enough into the Bandori discography but Ave Mujica's whole style seems like something that's significantly new to the franchise, which is great to see.
But at the same time, Ave Mujica sounding like a band that you could hear in the normal Japanese music/rock scene is nothing new. As I have said in the past, as well as my friend Leap when he reviewed RAISE A SUILEN's album ERA, Bandori does such a good job of producing 'real' rock music, to the point where you could play an Ave Mujica or a RAS song for a random rock fan and they may not even know that it came from a fictional multimedia franchise. It's such a weird and impressive concept to think about when it comes to the music from BanG Dream and obviously, it feels like Ave Mujica is headed towards being another exceptional instance of that. That said, "Kuro no Birthday" is a banger and I am certainly looking forward to their next releases.
♫ 「Oyasumi」 tricot
While I included this song to *partially* promote a recent post of mine, I WILL ADMIT... I really liked this song even before I started working on that write-up 😋
I've listened to tricot on and off over the years, ranging from enjoying their obvious hit in "potage", appreciating the super smooth transitions between songs in their Repeat EP, and even loving Ikkyu's involvement with composing one of the ending themes for the ever-so-popular Bocchi the Rock anime. Similar to indigo la End and Bandori: maybe I just don't listen to this band enough but they are really solid, from what I've heard.
Another thing I will admit is that I became interested in "Oyasumi" just because I saw Ikkyu holding a baseball bat in the music video's thumbnail. But thankfully that specific interest led me to a fantastic song that was on repeat a couple months ago. Its got that usual tricot sound with the off-time signatures and sweet guitar riffs, and the way it leads into a resounding chorus felt super satisfying. I know "Oyasumi" is on the older side but I guess this is time working its odd ways, as it just decided to lead me to this song pretty much ten years after its original release date. Nonetheless, great song.
...oh yeah, also go check out the post I wrote about some instances where baseball and Japanese idols collided (lol). It's a fun one!
Aaaaand that's all I got for you today!
Hope you enjoyed that small roundup; I know it was kinda all over the place but if you found at least one track you liked out of that musical mish-mash, then I'm satisfied :P
With that said, I'd love to hear which songs hit with you, and any other related remarks you have, so feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!
Thanks for reading!! :D
-al