Tag Archives: japanese music

Boris – Heavy Rocks

Posted on by
Reply

In part three of my three part review of the May 2011 album releases by Boris, I talk about the album Heavy Rocks. In part one, I discussed New Album, and in part two, I discussed Attention Please. Be sure to check out those posts if you haven’t read them yet.

The aptly titled Boris album Heavy Rocks is exactly that. Unlike the other two Boris albums released in May 2011, this album features many more guitar and prog-rock elements.

While this album is heavier, it is also more somber. The other two albums—Attention Please and New Album—had a pop-rock format, but Heavy Rocks is less like that.

Instead, the album takes your ears on epic journeys. Continue reading →

Boris – Attention Please

Posted on by
Reply

For part two of three on Boris’s May 2011 three-album release, today’s focus is Attention Please.

Last week, I wrote about Boris’s New Album and how it was much more shoegaze than typical for Boris. Not to imply that Boris has a set sound, but they generally stay in rock territory, bordering on progressive with drone tendencies.

The first two tracks on Attention Please remind me of many other modern Japanese rock bands. The third track, Party Boy, brings the bass-heavy rock back that I’ve come to know and love from Boris. Continue reading →

Boris – New Album

Posted on by
2

Boris is a band I’ve been into for the better half of last decade and now into this one. The band keeps my attention by not sticking to one style.

Their music is largely rock-based, going between drone metal, psychedelic rock, and noise rock. But they also have a pop album.

They frequently collaborate with other musicians. Sun Baked Snow Cave with Merzbow is probably my favorite experimental track of all time. It plays for 62 minutes, and is the ultimate approach to that style of music. The build up and the intensity work. It truly wowed me. They also have collaborations with classics like Keiji Haino and Sunn O))). Continue reading →

Spotlight on Retro Japanese Music, Pt. II: New Wave & Punk

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve always found New Wave and Punk sort of interesting. I wasn’t old enough to remember when this type of music was fresh, so now that I’m older it’s fun to hear the kind of music adults were listening to in the decade I was born.

American New Wave is generally kind of oddball, but Japanese New Wave is its own special brand. Some of it is far more electronic than rock influenced, and I have a feeling most of it was made on Amigas but don’t quote me on that. Continue reading →

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Spotlight on Retro Japanese Music, Pt. I: Pop

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve had a growing fascination with older Japanese music over the last couple years. Up until recently, I had only listened to acts like Zard. Even then, I only heard their newer contributions.

I came across a video from Rebecca, whose YouTube description was “wacky 80s Japanese video.” As a fan of Japanese music since 2001, I highly doubted that anything would put a twitch in my eye.

It wasn’t the strangest music I’ve ever encountered, but it opened a door. I found out about a website called Idollica that documents a large number of Silver Age Jpop. As I perused the site, I kept thinking to myself: “I had no idea these bands existed!” Continue reading →

Pages: 1 2 3