We update with 10 new J-Pop songs once each month, on the day first day of each month.
毎月1日に、新たに10曲紹介します。
RSS feed for our song reviews can be found at: https://jtop10.mymti.org/category/j-pop-song-reviews/feed
1. aiko – 愛した日 (Ai Shita Hi)
Recca’s thoughts: Adds a little rock to aiko’s usual jazzy sound. However, the instrumentation feels quite unbalanced at the outset. There’s a bit too much going on for me and I feel like aiko’s voice is drowned out a little in parts. Still a nice number, but I’ve seen better from aiko. 6/10
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/%E6%84%9B%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F%E6%97%A5-single/1455190412
2. ヒトリエ (Hitorie) – SLEEPWALK
Recca’s thoughts: This song is the kind of freewheeling jaunt between various cool segments that I haven’t seen since “STEP UP LOVE” by DAOKO. It starts out great with a funky beat, launches into a catchy hook, gives us Hitorie’s unique vocals, drops in some chiptune splashes here and there, and holds my interest the whole way through. Quite the interesting toe-tapper. 9/10
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sleepwalk-single/1450654599
3. Motohiro Hata- 仰げば青空
Recca’s thoughts: I very much prefer Motohiro Hata’s more “challenging” songs like “Q&A”. This has that classic “big J-pop ballad” sound that I find pretty boring no matter who’s offering it. I really wish Hata-boh had offered us something a bit more original this time. 5/10
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/id1454444398?app=itunes
4. KANA-BOON – ハグルマ (Haguruma)
Recca’s thoughts: It opens like a classic visual kei shredder, but the vocals are all modern. As a sometimes-X-JAPAN-fan, I quite appreciate the retro hard rock flourishes. It veers into generic “Big J-pop” territory at points with some strings, but keeps its unique feel. 7/10
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/%E3%83%8F%E3%82%B0%E3%83%AB%E3%83%9E-single/1449706630
5. BUMP OF CHICKEN- Aurora
Recca’s thoughts: It has a cross-genre appeal and recalls “Butterflies” from a few years back. However, I think that cross-genre appeal that brings in a lot of listeners is also this song’s weakness. It sounds like several things and also a bit like nothing. The middle section which drops the piano has a stronger sound in my opinion. 6/10
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/aurora-single/1455322276
6. SEKAI NO OWARI- 蜜の月 -for the film
Recca’s thoughts: I’m digging the chill electronic vibe of this one – not typical SEKAI NO OWARI fare. I would love to see some more tunes like this from them in the future. It has a more unique sound among today’s big J-pop names, which is always much appreciated. 7/10
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/mitsunotsuki-for-the-film-single/1455327258?l=en
7. AKKOGORILLA – Over the Border
Recca’s thoughts: This instantly grabbed me with its retro-funk-boogie and AKKOGORILLA’S husky delivery. Her flow is as effortless as her prancing through the town in the music video. Something about her reminds me of a bit of Awkafina. The verses are so strong that the chorus falls a little flat, but this is a fun retro-infused J-hip-hop number that will get you dancing. 8/10
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/grrrlism/1442013218
8. John Natsuki – ぼくはシモべくん-呪縛からの解放- (feat. Kaz Skellington) (Boku wa Shimobekun -Jubaku Kara no Kaihou-)
Recca’s thoughts: ***caution – video contains NSFW lyrics*** And here’s the weirdo selection this time. A lot of people don’t like music that makes them uncomfortable and rhythmic music they can’t dance to, but it always piques my interest. I will say, however, that the singer’s voice starts to grate on my ears after the first minute, and not in the fun way, but I get pulled back in when the rap verses come up. 7/10
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/theatre-of-strange-ep/1456608601
9. ガールズフィスト!!!! (Girls Fist!!!!) – 青春ガール (Seishun Girl)
Recca’s thoughts: Not bad as far as anime girl rock goes. Girls Fist!!!! is no SCANDAL but they are easier to listen to than a lot of other recent fictional anime girl group stuff. This comes off better if I view it as idol music with rock instruments instead of a real rock band. So, I suppose the verdict is that this is just fine overall. 5/10
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/artist/%E3%82%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%82%BA%E3%83%95%E3%82%A3%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88/1444572002
10. Suchmos – In the Zoo
Recca’s thoughts: I’m not a big fan of slow songs, and I love Suchmos more in their “funk” mode, so I was expecting to dislike this song, but to my surprise, I rather enjoyed it. Suchmos exudes a kind of haunting uneasiness unusual in mainstream pop. This song is like the best parts of “VOLT-AGE” but so much better executed. This song is rather experimental and veers into a Beatles-esque concept album feel in parts (likely thanks to the use of a Mellotron). 8/10
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/in-the-zoo-single/1453858174