May 2013
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escalator records, Tokyo (2000)
When is a label compilation like a game of soccer? I have no idea, but this mix is definitely scoring big points in my book. Featuring 5 artists, this album is a surprisingly cohesive mix of dreamy, groovy, and danceable electronic pop that is pretty much the essence of late nights in a dark fashionable Japanese bar. Hell, it’s Saturday night and I’m at home listening to this and I...
October 2012
4 posts
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The EPs: Michiro, Get The Help! (1985)
Well, what can you expect from something titled Odyssey-1985-Sex really? Abrasive, yelly, new wave-ish punk culminating in screams and a fairly unbearable chanting of ‘1985’ and ‘SEX’. Side B, repeats the same song but with a sultry girl singing instead, which improves the song greatly, if not turning it into a bit of a porn soundtrack at times. I suppose punishing alley...
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The EPs: Johnny Okura (1976)
I couldn’t decide if this would be absolutely horrible or surprisingly awesome. Turns out it’s neither. After a brief second of intro indicating some terrible 80s metal was coming, it turned into a decent garagey track. Side B is a bit more bluesy, lamenting the return to Kawasaki, and sounding like there are a few things he’d rather not revisit. Overall, not bad, completely...
September 2012
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The EPs: Miki Nakasone (1961)
This sounds just like it looks and this makes me happy. Two songs that make me want to spend endless hours in a dark Asian tiki lounge in the 60s drinking fantastically strong fruity cocktails while talking to glamourous men smoking too many cigarettes. It’s a little bit dangerous and entirely sultry. In other words, perfect.
August 2012
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War Songs (Year Unknown)
Sometimes you know exactly what you’re getting but just don’t care. I found this gem in an amazing junk shop in Akizuki and immediately fell in love. Maybe it would even surprise me, I thought. Wishful thinking. The album starts and finishes with a couple of pretty tracks that wouldn’t be entirely out of place on some of the 60s Cantonese records I’ve bought (well,...
June 2012
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Hideki Kaji (2000)
I suppose it’s a testament to how catchy and enjoyable this album is that I’ve been listening to it for over a week now and completely forgetting to post about it. Despite being released in 2000, it still feels really current. Not quite as challenging as say Cornelius, it’s got all the sunny happiness of your standard Japanese pop, but with more interesting arrangements and...
Grading the Top 10 Songs in Japan →
I don’t normally post links, but since I’m in China and can’t get to my record player, I thought I’d share this list rating the current top 10 hits in Japan, which is in a very similar style. Enjoy!
May 2012
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Yukadan (1981)
Enticing me into thinking it should be some kind of sailor-era Modest Mouse album, the only thing nautical about this is the somewhat beachy feel to some of the tracks and there are few aggressive or yelpy vocals to speak of. Jazz and blues blended with a Hawaiian element and rounded out with some 50s rock stylings, you get an inoffensive album that’s catchy and easy to listen to, but one...
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The Street Sliders (1983)
It’s been a long, rainy Monday. What better to end the day than a nice relaxing evening with a cup of tea and popping on a new record. Even if that record turns out to be mildly abrasive punk rock. One part Rolling Stones, one part a tightened up Sex Pistols, this is catchy punk rock for a bigger audience. That said, there’s still enough genuine swagger and roughness that you can...
April 2012
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UA (1998)
There’s something about this album that is very 1998. I was in early university then and I can clearly imagine listening to and loving this then. It conjures up vivid memories of open mike nights at my local dirty English pub, warm nights sitting by the beach, and discovering Morcheeba and vegan food. This EP showcases two tracks, each one followed immediately by an instrumental version of...
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Itsuro Shimoda (1973)
One look at this and I was smitten. Hoping for something along the lines of Leonard Cohen, I instead got a great classic folk rock album that would fit right in with any of the popular American counterparts we know and love. An album of simple songs of mostly acoustic guitar and drums, it’s a bit more upbeat than I was expecting, but still sets my hippie tendencies aflutter. With guest...
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Cornelius (1996)
I almost left this album in the shop. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’d heard a couple Cornelius tracks before and liked them but wasn’t sure if a whole album was worth investing in. That would’ve been the wrong decision. Everyone compares Cornelius to Beck, and fair enough, there are definitely some elements on here that could easily fit on a Beck record: strange...
March 2012
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Takashi Omori (1982)
As joyous as arm wrestling someone at gun point can be, it’s all fun and games until you realize that the person being hijacked is you.This happy schoolboy cowboy is a sly 3-timer on Japanese Sleeves; seems this prolific artist was also formerly in Southern All Stars and Tabo’s Project, both of which I’ve reviewed earlier on this blog in not so favourable terms. Of the three...
February 2012
6 posts
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Chiharu Matsuyama (1981)
Good to see that narcissism isn’t just a problem of the Internet age. Conveniently, in this case, it doesn’t translate too much to the music hidden behind this sleeve. This charmer belts out radio-ready romantic tracks with a big voice and a European influence that are surprisingly less self-indulgent than you might expect. At the same time, if I found myself seduced by a suave man...
Apologies for the terrible recording. Not all...
6 tags
Earthshaker (1983)
I don’t like hair bands. I know I don’t. Which begs the question why I bought this. I blame the androgynous long-haired Japanese men so brazenly covering both sides of the LP with their cock rock confidence and tight pants. And yet, it’s pretty damn good. Classic rock progressions, aggressive guitar and drums, and just the right amount of wail. I’m clearly not the only...
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Amii Ozaki (1983)
I’m not sure how it’s taken so long to find a slightly oddball female pop star in Japan. In a country full of curious and futuristic visions of all sorts, the pop stars are surprisingly tame and standard. Not to say that Amii Ozaki is quite the Cyndi Lauper of Japan like the cover might suggest, but the girl has a pretty expansive discography ranging from the late 1970s up to 2006 so...
January 2012
8 posts
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Karaoke ... Hitsuto (Year Unknown)
I think I’ve spent more time trying to figure out how to read the title and artist of this album as I have actually listening to it. Which I can honestly say is a fair deal. After giving up on some of the kanji, I decipher this to be some kind of karaoke hits album about searching for lost happiness and love. The latter I believe, but the former seems questionable. An album full of...
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Native Son (1978)
Every time I look at this album it makes me so happy I can’t even tell you. Never have I seen a cover capture so much genuine joy, I’m tempted to blow this up and put it on my wall. That said, I wouldn’t have guessed that this was a jazz fusion record. A little slick for my tastes and no actual beachy or joyous vibe, but it does chill out with a few trippy and funky turns in...
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Takashi Sato (1985)
I wanted so bad for this to be something it’s not. I was pretty excited to pop on an album of Japanese-sung dark and moody French lounge music. It’s not bad, but instead of a new take on French music, I mostly got a collection of classic 80s power ballads, some of which wouldn’t be out of place during the final sequence of a rom-com. The second side tries to intensify the mood...
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Tokyo $kunx (1991)
Yeeehaww! This record called to me for so many reasons, as you can obviously imagine. On top of their studly attire, when the list of instruments on the back includes banjo, penny whistle, kazoo, jaw harp, and washboard, you’ve sold me right there. It’s pretty much what it shows on the package: Old-timey country gone haywire. The opening track is like listening to a drunk Japanese...
December 2011
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PANTA (1981)
Merry Christmas everyone! Because Christmas is the season of love in Japan, what more appropriate than an album called Kiss, complete with song titles written as a red heart on the back. Sure, the kiss may be creepy, borderline stalkerish even, but hey, who am I to judge their love? Thankfully, the album is pretty straight up happy pop, and nothing your friends would probably be calling an...
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TsuShiMaMiRe (2008)
What a way to come back after a holiday. This is great stuff. This blissed out giraffe had me worried quite a bit that I had some solid J-pop on my hands but the spunky, visceral and hard rocking chicks that came out of the speakers are nothing of the sort. Cutesy at times, sure, but in no way cheesy. There’s something about bands that have a real desperation to their sound that really...
After a short hiatus for some much needed holiday and a brief flirtation with some Tibetan rap, Japanese Sleeves is back! The shelves have been restocked and some (hopefully) good stuff coming your way soon!
November 2011
6 posts
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Gundam, Very Last Shooting! (1982)
And here’s where I show some supreme Japanese ignorance. I’ve been aware of Gundam robots in general, but if I’m being honest, I know very little about it as a series and all its related franchise offshoots. But my cultural immersion would barely start if I didn’t at least try. This record appears to be the soundtrack to an animated film or tv program and, whatever you...
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Yasuaki Honda (1983)
Well, it was bound to happen at some point. This album is just terrible. The best things about it are that it’s only 3 songs a side and the graphic design of the label is fairly eye catching. Not being at all what I expected, which I suppose was something approximating a Japanese WHAM! or Culture Club, this album tries to blend hard rock guitars, some island beats, a bit of 80s synth and...
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A Tribute to New Rote'ka (2004)
No one can resist a creepy clown. Love em or hate em, we’re all strangely compelled by them. And so it was I was drawn to this record. I wasn’t sure what New Rote’ka was, a genre? a band? But it didn’t matter. Turns out, it’s a band. A punk band dating from as far back as 1984, seemingly now reunited, and fronted by a crazy clown. Alright, I can dig it. This album...
