My Music of 2023

I only found this album this year? wow.

World's End Girlfriend did released a new 2.5 hour(!!) album this year, but I didn't like that as much. I do enjoy some experimentation, but I prefer my music to make melodic sense, to be kindda pop. The new album's sounds are a bit too harsh for me, but there are some great sections in the album, I like the ending section starting from Ave Maria for example.

This 2007 album still throws a lot of weird sounds at you, but still feels very orchestral, it's at a very nice sweet spot for me. 10/10 highly recommend.

I've did listened to Parannoul last year, but I didn't really appreciate until I re-listened to it again this year, and oh man is it good.

The first four tracks, from Beautiful World, to Excuse, to Analog Sentimental, then to White Ceiling, is just absolutely wonderful. It deserves to be listened to in full.

Parannoul did released a new album After the Magic this year, and from what I've read, a lot of people liked that a lot, but I somehow didn't feel as moved by that one as I did with this 2021 album. Maybe I'll enjoy it more when I revisit the new album few months later.

I've been listening to lot more shoegaze stuff this year. I do enjoy heavier shoegaze stuff, Tokyo Shoegazer is really good for example, but if I have to make a choice, I prefer to listen to stuff that are bit lighter, something that's easy to listen but still retains the heavy fuzzy shoegaze sounds, like this SPOOL album.

Again, I find myself enjoying trying out different experimental stuff, but at the end of the day, I want to listen to stuff that's more standard pop/rock.

Just some western styled(?) indie rock that I've been listening to a bit this year.

My album of 2022, hitsujibungaku is still my most listened-to artist this year.

Unfortunately, I'm not too big of a fan of their new album 12 hugs (like butterflies), which just came out December this year. I thought it's way more pop than their previous stuff. I really didn't like that stupid male shouting vocals on M6 countdown, or the surround sound / processed (?) vocals on M8 honestly. I do like the heavier stuff on the album, like M3 Addiction and M11 つづく, but overall, didn't really enjoy the new album.

It's such a shame that Alien Liberty International was rocked by scandal at the top of their popularity, and seems like they're still living in its shadow after two whole years(?). Their first album (finally!) definitely deserves the spotlight of being one of the best albums this year.

Like, in my ideal universe, ALI would be one of the Japanese names that goes international, together with names like Yoasobi and Vaundy. They're not exactly doing terribly at the moment, but here we are.

I kindda overlooked NOMELON NOLEMON last year, when they debuted with POP. I just preferred other "yakousei" bands, namely Zutomayo and Tsukuyomi.

Their second album to me feels a lot more refined, it touches on different jpop genres with citypop-like M10 Bad Love, or yoasobi-like M3 透明水曜日, but somehow the album still feels focused and very bombastic. A banger of an album.

I've been listening to Kuhakugokko for a while now, and tbh my favourite two songs from the album are still M10 Kamisama and M12 Sanctuary, which were released in the same single last year.

But they didn't release an album until this year, and I do enjoy the rest of the album, I quite like M5 Irokoi for example, so I'm putting the album on my list here.

yutori was an indie high school band that went semi-viral back in 2021. I really loved their first 3 songs, but their songs last year were quite disappointing for me. It's hard for me to write down what changed in their music (I'm still bad at describing music), but I really didn't like キミニアワナイ and スイミー.

And so it's quite suprising when I picked up their new album 夜間逃避行, few months after the album was released, and find myself really enjoying it. They have definitely changed, their songs are still different from those first 3 gloomy songs, and they're mixing in some newer pop styles into M5 ヒメイドディストーション and M6 もしも, but I somehow just really like this new yutori album.

I do recommend checking out this album for both old and new fans yutori.

Don't have much to say about this one, just more j-rock that I listen to.

Me? Idols? Apparently yes, if they manage to line up sooo many great shoegaze dudes to make songs for them.

They somehow got: ishikawa of My Dead Girlfriend, Natsubot of April Blue (rip For Tracy Hyde), 青木ロビン of downy, ケンゴマツモト of THE NOVEMBERS, and more! It's like half of Japan's alt rock / shoegaze scene right here, in an idol album. It's craaaaazy.

Camellia is their third and best album yet, check it out.

kinoue64 have been pumping out music this year. Dude makes great vocaloid shoegaze sounds, got a mild popularity boost last year with his album Space, Circumstance, Time and Events.

Dude released 3 EPs this year. Although I don't really like After School Art Club, I was bit mild on the latest 終末エンドロール but I'm enjoying it more the past few weeks, but I do really like あなただけに聴いてほしい, even more so than last year's hit actually.

A very pop style of shoegaze, aka dream pop I think, idk I don't know genres don't ask me.

The very sweet female voice in the mixed duet vocals, matches really well with the fuzzy guitars, it's very very nice to listen to. Definitely my best indie find this year.

Best song is M3 そしてチャイナブルー (And China Blue), highly recommend checking it out.

My album of the year.

I don't really go out of my way to try new sounds tbh, mostly just listening to whatever rock, so I don't really know how to describe Mao Sasagawa's sound. It's like pop with a weird, off-putting kind of vibe, I guess?

But in this album, the songs are mixed with pop-er sounds compared to Mao's previous works. It's just the perfect if experimental and pop mix for me, simultaneously being interesting enough for me to keep listening for more, and still pop enough for me to keep coming back.