An a-MAY-zing month of Japanese music!

Nailed it. *ehem* Yes! Hi, and welcome! Welcome back, I should say, to the one and only Monthly Recommendation Roundup! If you’re already well aware of what we do around here, which I’m sure quite a lot of you already are, feel free to skip all the preamble and head straight for the music. However, if this is actually your first time stumbling across the series, regardless of however you happened to find it, please allow me a moment to explain.

At the end of each month, I put together a post featuring Japanese music that I’ve listened to and want to recommend to you all. Keep in mind, these songs don’t necessarily have to be recent releases. Some might be tracks I’ve just discovered, while others could be longtime favorites that I’m excited to share on a whim.

The songs I feature will all come from YouTube links to their respective PVs, which means there are some limitations on what I can include. However, I find that sticking to one platform ensures the most accessibility for everyone (and there are easy workarounds for region restrictions). This also allows me to create a playlist of all the songs featured in each Roundup, which I update and share at the end of every post

I’m VERY excited to share this month’s offerings with you guys, so without further ado;

Let’s get to it!

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sagittarius
by kurayamisaka
Man I love them so much

Starting things off for us this month is a band whose praises I genuinely could not sing enough of last year; none other than kurayamisaka. To those of you who followed the Roundup Awards, you might recall that their incredible album Kurayamisaka yori ao wo komete ultimately walked away with my award for Favorite Album of the Year. Suffice it to say, my expectations for anything they do these days are pretty much through the roof. This time around they’re bringing us a song that may already sound familiar to some of you. More specifically; if you happen to keep up with the alternative idol scene, you may recognize sagittarius as a song previously performed by RAY. Even then though, when RAY’s version first came out, I remember it being immediately apparent to longtime kurayamisaka listeners whose fingerprints were all over the composition. The melodic sensibilities, the guitar work, the emotional undercurrent running through the song; it very much felt like a kurayamisaka song regardless of who happened to be performing it. Now we finally get to hear the band tackle it themselves. And while I genuinely do love RAY’s rendition; probably more than a little, if I’m being honest; hearing kurayamisaka perform sagittarius serves as a reminder of what it is about this band that resonates with me so deeply. A large part of that comes from vocalist Naito Sachi. Compared to the airy, fleeting quality that RAY brought to the track, Naito’s singing feels remarkably transparent. Her voice doesn’t so much float above the arrangement as it does move through it; allowing the emotions embedded within the instrumentation to come across more directly.

I try
by tiny yawn
Actually just so beautiful

Next up we have the return of tiny yawn; arriving fresh off the release of their brand new EP into the blue., which came out just a couple of weeks ago. If you’ve been keeping up with the J-Music Advance Party, you might remember us talking about it there as well; definitely give that issue a look if you haven’t yet already. Back in March’s Roundup, we found ourselves speculating a little bit about where the band might go next stylistically. More specifically; whether or not they would end up revisiting some of the math rock tendencies that were much more prominent in their earlier work. That conversation came about largely because of nine lives, which felt like a notable step back in that direction despite the band’s apparent inclination over the past few years to broaden their sound beyond those roots. And honestly; I think we were at least half right. Whether I’d go as far as calling into the blue. a full return to form is another discussion altogether, but there is definitely a renewed emphasis on rhythm and melody throughout the release compared to the more atmospheric approach that characterized much of their previous EP. Personally, that’s always been where tiny yawn shine the brightest. One thing I was particularly happy to hear make a return was their use of vocal layering. It’s something the band utilized quite a bit in the past, and I try puts it front and center. The effect works wonderfully here, not least because vocalist Takahashi Megumi possesses the exact kind of voice that lends itself to that approach.

ライトソング/light song
by CRAZY BLUES
Their big break can’t come soon enough

A band I’m genuinely happy to see on the rise is Kyoto-based three-piece CRAZY BLUES; who return this month with their brand new single Light Song. If you happen to recall, we first featured the band back in 2024 with Natsuyo no Kioku; a track that immediately showcased their innate knack for shoegaze and dream pop. At the time, I remember jokingly lampshading the fact that they were entering a scene that was already beginning to feel a little crowded with similarly minded bands. Even then though, what stood out to me wasn’t necessarily the style itself, but rather how well they were executing it. More than anything else, I came away from that first impression feeling that CRAZY BLUES were remarkably polished for a band at their stage of development. Their understanding of dynamics, texture, and arrangement felt far beyond what I would’ve expected given their tenure. To me, that suggested a group that was simply very technically sound. And when a young band possesses that kind of foundation, it opens up a lot of possibilities. Based on their releases over the past year, it seems they’ve gradually settled into a warmer, more homey alternative rock sound. While traces of those shoegaze and dream pop roots remain present, the emphasis now feels much more centered around songwriting and melody. In that regard, I couldn’t help but be reminded of bands like Hitsujibungaku. Personally, I think CRAZY BLUES have landed on the right approach here.

シャツ/shirt
by 皆川溺 (minagawa obore)
Ayy it’s my guy

Filling my monthly quota for male vocals (lol) is none other than Minagawa Obore; who makes his first appearance this year in the opening half of the Roundup with his latest single, Shirt. At this point, I feel like one of the things I enjoy most about Minagawa Obore’s music is the very specific sense of nostalgia it evokes whenever I listen to it. Now, to be fair, that’s probably par for the course when your sound is so heavily informed by 90s and early-2000s indie and alternative rock. Add in the retro-themed visual presentation that often accompanies his releases, and it’s not exactly difficult to see where that feeling comes from. As a result, the nostalgia never feels forced; it just naturally emerges as part of the listening experience. Of course, a huge part of that comes from the band he’s assembled around his solo project. One thing that has consistently impressed me since discovering his music is how well everyone involved seems to understand the assignment. There’s a strong sense of cohesion throughout the arrangement. The guitars in particular continue to be the standout element for me. They carry much of the emotional weight of Shirt; alternating between melodic flourishes and textured passages that give the track its character. It’s the kind of guitar work that immediately catches my attention; not because it’s overly flashy, but because it’s so effective at establishing mood and atmosphere.

SUNNY DEAD YOUTH
by MoritaSaki in the pool
Just a rad album overall

On the subject of nostalgia trips; driving the entire bus this month is twin-vocal alternative rock band MoritaSaki in the pool, who return with material from their second full-length album KIDCORE SCULPTURE; which, in my own personal and admittedly biased opinion, is one of the best albums to come out in May. Back when I featured it in this month’s Advance Party, I remember spending a decent amount of time trying to figure out what exactly “kidcore” was supposed to mean in this context. Knowing the band’s sound, my working theory was that it referred to the distinctly late-90s and early-2000s alternative rock influences that run throughout their music; perhaps even a nod to the kinds of songs and bands the members themselves grew up listening to when they were younger. Hence; “kid”-core. Sure enough, that’s pretty much exactly what we got; and then some, with SUNNY DEAD YOUTH is one of the strongest examples of that approach. One particularly fun bit of trivia surrounding the track comes from vocalist and composer Ishihara Riku, who noted that the song originated from him singing Michael Fortunati’s Give Me Up to the melody of DJ OZMA’s Age Age Every Night of all things. Neither song is remotely alternative rock, of course, but they are exactly the sort of songs that many people of a certain generation would’ve grown up hearing. In a weird way, that anecdote perfectly encapsulates what MoritaSaki in the pool are doing here; taking fragments of memory, nostalgia, and youthful experiences and reshaping them into something new.

Ukiyo
by appi
Underrated is an understatement

If the back half of this month’s Roundup hasn’t clued you in already; I’ve just been in a particularly alternative rock kind of mood lately. And honestly, how could I not be when you’ve got artists like appi coming out with releases like Red Comb? I keep bringing up this month’s Advance Party issue, but that’s only because the releases featured there ended up delivering in a big way. In appi’s case though, the album wasn’t even originally part of the lineup. It actually snuck in as a last-minute addition after I happened upon it by chance while scrolling through my feed during the first week of May. I picked it up almost completely blind; and within a few songs I already knew I had to find room for it. The project is headed by Hisana (whom some of you may recognize as the guitarist for the band nim). Under the appi name, Hisana describes the music as a crossover between shoegaze, dream pop, post-rock, and emo. That’s a combination that’s naturally going to catch my attention, but more importantly; it’s one that actually comes through in the music itself. You can get a feel for that immediately with Ukiyo. There’s a dreamlike quality to the arrangement that feels very shoegaze and dream pop in spirit, while the emotional weight and melodic sensibilities lean more toward post-rock and emo. The result is a track that gently washes over you in a haze of melody and texture. It’s the kind of song that invites you to slow down for a few minutes and get lost in its atmosphere.

上京/joukyou
by 海風邪 (umikaze)
Keep an eye out

Earlier we were talking about a release from a twin-vocal band being one of my favorites from this past month. Something must be in the water because these next few features tucked away here in the back half of the Roundup all seem to be arriving with a similar setup; perhaps none more notable than Koenji-based five-piece umikaze, who are coming to us fresh off the release of their highly anticipated debut EP Watashi no yume wo miteitene. As you’ll hear in Joukyou, the band primarily operates within the shoegaze and dream pop sphere, though I think it’d be a little inaccurate to leave it at that. Compared to many of their contemporaries, umikaze’s music carries a noticeably brighter disposition. If I were forced to put a label on it, my best approximation would probably be something closer to jangle pop. Of course, all of that genre talk aside, more than anything else, umikaze are simply a pleasant band to listen to. Interestingly enough, the band’s name literally translates to “sea cold”; as in the common cold you catch. While I haven’t come across an explanation as to why they chose it, I can’t help but feel like I understand it a little whenever I listen to their music. There’s a sort of feverish warmth present throughout their songs. Not the uncomfortable kind associated with actually being sick, but rather that oddly nostalgic sensation of overextending yourself on a perfect day. Like spending far too long at the beach; staying out well after you probably should have; and then carrying that lingering warmth home with you afterward.

weird world
by Spit lulu’s
That chorus is soooo good

Though the male vocals sit a little further back in the mix here for one to truly call them a traditional twin-vocal band, I would still count Tokyo-based four-piece Spit lulu’s among them. The reason is that the secondary vocals contribute far more than simple harmonization. They’re an integral part of the band’s overall sound; functioning almost as an additional instrument within the arrangement. That’s especially apparent on weird world, where those vocals help cut through the dense wall of sound while simultaneously creating separation from the female lead vocal. As a result, the song develops this wonderfully rich and condensed soundscape. Layers upon layers of guitars, melodies, and textures are constantly moving around one another, yet it never feels cluttered. Instead, the vocals act almost like a guide rope through the song; allowing you to freely wander through all that instrumentation while ensuring you never lose sight of the melody. What I find most impressive about weird world though is its length in that it’s considerably longer than what most bands would realistically attempt in the streaming era. Yet somehow, every time I listen to it, I reach the end and immediately realize I wasn’t paying attention to the clock at all. I’ve found over the years that longer tracks tend to serve as something of a personal litmus test for me. Once a song starts creeping past the three-and-a-half or four-minute mark, it needs to justify that extra runtime somehow. Not necessarily by being more complex or more ambitious; but by remaining engaging enough that you’re not actively aware of how long you’ve been listening. That’s exactly what Spit lulu’s accomplish here.

lungfish
by noema
Yeah, no, 0.01 seconds in I was already a fan

Closing out this month’s completely unplanned twin-vocal special feature is perhaps my favorite new discovery of the bunch; Tokyo-based four-piece noema. I’ll be honest; I wasn’t able to find out a whole lot about the band while preparing for this month’s Roundup beyond the fact that they appear to have started activities toward the end of 2021 and the handful of releases they’ve put out since then. Sometimes that’s just how it goes with younger bands operating a little further below the radar. That said; hearing lungfish for the first time pretty much told me everything I needed to know. Namely; that I enjoy this band’s sound a great deal. If I were to broadly characterize noema’s music, I’d say they occupy a fairly wide rock/pop rock lane. Depending on the song, they can drift closer toward pop sensibilities or lean more heavily into guitar-driven arrangements. Interestingly enough, lungfish actually feels like something of an outlier within their existing catalog. At least based on my admittedly pedestrian assessment after spending some time with their discography, the track carries a little more bite than some of their other releases; embracing a slightly more aggressive alternative rock approach. Not that I’m complaining of course. Even then though, what ultimately puts the band over the edge for me is vocalist Takami. If you’ve spent any amount of time reading these Roundups over the years, you’ve probably already figured out that I have a particular weakness when it comes to female vocalists with a deeper register. It’s one of those things that consistently catches my attention no matter the genre. Takami’s voice falls squarely into that category; possessing a richness and fullness that immediately stands out against the backdrop of the band’s instrumentation.

dead leaves
by elsie sue
New beginnings indeed

Our final feature for this month’s Roundup comes to us by way of indie dream pop and bedroom pop outfit elsie sue; who are returning from a hiatus that has lasted roughly four years. What’s particularly interesting about dead leaves is that it exists in something of a transitional space for the band. Supposedly, this was the final song recorded by the original lineup before activities came to a halt. With the band set to formally resume operations next month alongside a newly announced lineup, the track now serves as both a closing chapter and a bridge toward whatever comes next. I’ve always found situations like this fascinating. Whenever a band returns after an extended absence, one of the first questions that inevitably comes to mind is whether they’ll even sound like the same group anymore. Ultimately, I imagine a lot of that depends on who was steering the creative direction in the first place. If that’s the case here, then I’m very much looking forward to hearing more from elsie sue. Because if dead leaves is any indication, they still possess a wonderful grasp of dreamy atmosphere. The song has this lovely glow to it; shimmering softly from beginning to end without ever becoming overly dense or overwhelming. Everything feels light and weightless, drifting along at its own pace while maintaining a strong melodic core It’s exactly the kind of dream pop that I find myself gravitating toward.

MUST LISTEN:
“SUNNY DEAD YOUTH” by MoritaSaki in the pool and “lungfish” by noema
Pretty clear-cut picks this time around. I’ve already spent a fair amount of time gushing about KIDCORE SCULPTURE throughout this feature, so I’ll spare you from having to sit through me doing it all over again (for now). That said; I really cannot recommend the album enough. SUNNY DEAD YOUTH is a fantastic song in its own right, but more than that, it serves as an excellent snapshot of what MoritaSaki in the pool are trying to accomplish across the record as a whole. If you’re anything like me and have a soft spot for that late-90s and early-2000s alternative rock sound, there’s a very good chance this album is going to click with you. On the other side of things; we have noema with lungfish, which ended up being one of my favorite discoveries from this entire batch of songs. Sometimes a band only needs one song to make a strong first impression, and that was very much the case here. Between the band’s alternative rock sensibilities and Takami’s deeper vocal register that immediately caught my attention, lungfish was the kind of track that had me searching for more as soon as it ended. I’m genuinely hoping we get to hear more from noema moving forward. They made a really strong account of themselves with this release, and if this ends up being representative of the kind of music they intend to keep making, then I have a feeling they’ll fit very comfortably within the corner of the music world that I’ve found myself spending more and more time in lately.

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The YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music playlists have ALL now been updated with this month’s featured tracks. Make sure to follow them on your preferred listening service if you haven’t yet!

If you’re still looking for even more songs to check out after all that, the Roundup Extended Playlist for May 2026 is now live! For those of you who might be new to the series, these Extended Playlists (or EPs) highlight additional tracks I enjoyed throughout the month but didn’t quite have room to feature in the main article.

As always, there’s plenty of good stuff waiting for you there, so be sure to give it a look once you’re done here.

What did you guys think of this month’s Roundup? Let me know down in the comments! Likewise, if you’ve got your own recommendations from the past month, feel free to share those too. One of my favorite parts about doing this series has always been finding out what everyone else has been listening to, so don’t be shy about showing off a favorite song, album, band, or artist you’ve come across recently. I’d love to hear what’s been on your playlist!

I was raving about them the entire time, but I really can’t stress enough just how well the albums featured on last month’s J-Music Advance Party ended up delivering. appi, tiny yawn, Ako, MoritaSaki in the pool, and Mimi wo Kou Mono Me wo Kakusu all brought their A-game with their respective releases, making all that anticipation completely worthwhile. For those who might be unfamiliar, the J-Music Advance Party is my separate Substack newsletter where I spotlight upcoming Japanese album releases that I’m personally most excited about each month. Think of it as the pre-game show to the Roundup; a place where we get to talk about what’s on the horizon before it officially arrives. If that sounds like your kind of thing, consider subscribing! It’s completely free, and you’ll get notified whenever a new issue goes live. You’ll also gain access to all of the previous installments, which can make for some pretty fun backreading whenever you’re in discovery mode and looking for something new to listen to. The next Advance Party is scheduled for June 7, 2026. Hope to see you there!

Also making its return this month is the J-Music Exchange/Rate and, would you look at that, the series officially celebrated its sixth anniversary this month! To mark the occasion, Al and I decided to do something a little different and put together an extra special pair of reviews. Rather than tackling brand new albums, we each went back and revisited records that we had rated fairly low the first time around to see whether time, experience, and a fresh set of ears might change our perspectives. Over at the Omunibasu Substack, Al gave girls like girls by yonige another shot. If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend giving his review a read. As for me, I revisited JUNCTION by Hayami Saori. Whether my thoughts about it changed or not, you’ll have to read the review to find out You can catch my review of it here!

And that’s pretty much it! Thank you all so, so much for stopping by whenever you do. Whether you’ve been following the Roundup for years or only just recently found your way here, it genuinely means a lot to me that you’d spend a little bit of your time talking about and listening to Japanese music alongside me. As always, I hope the Roundup, and everything else we do here on the blog, is just as fun for you to read as it is for me to write and put together.

Until next time; Happy Listening!

We’re running it back!

What’s up, all you fine Japanese music fans! Welcome back to the J-Music Exchange/Rate! If you thought we forgot all about you guys this month, well think again! We’ve got you covered for your monthly album review fix in a surprise, extra-special edition of the series, as we’ve once again arrived at our anniversary month. Before we get into all of that though, if this is actually your first time here and you’re not entirely sure what this series is all about, please give the following primer a quick read—

The Exchange/Rate is a tandem album review series conducted every month by yours truly alongside my good friend and fellow Japanese music fan Al (from Omunibasu). Each month we decide on a specific theme with which our reviews would revolve around. We then pick out albums from our respective libraries which we think best coincides with that theme. We will then give the album we chose to the other person and vice versa (exchange), after which we then listen to and subsequently review the album we were given (rate). This project has not only allowed us to explore music beyond our libraries, but it provides an opportunity for us to see our favorite albums from a different point of view. It is our hope that this series is able to do the same for you and that you either find a new artist to try out and/or we offer you a fresh take on one of *your* favorite albums 

Though the series originally began back in June 2018 (geez louise), the Exchange/Rate didn’t actually become a regular monthly publication until May 2020, which makes this month our sixth anniversary of doing the darn thing! First and foremost, a huge shoutout of course goes to my brother-in-arms Al. Without him, this series quite literally would not exist; not just as it exists today, but conceptually as well. So, from me and hopefully all of you reading this too, massive thanks to my guy for joining me on this shared journey of musical discovery these past six years. With that said, after more than half a decade of handing each other albums every single month, we figured now would be as good a time as any to look back on the road we’ve travelled to get here. More specifically, we’re revisiting some of the albums that didn’t quite fare so well the first time around; releases that, for one reason or another, ended up receiving some of the lower scores in Exchange/Rate history. After all, six years is a long time. Tastes change, perspectives shift, and sometimes an album that didn’t click with you the first time finds a way to connect years later. So for this anniversary edition, we’re giving a pair of those albums a second chance and seeing whether time has changed our minds.

Just for fun, Al and I actually didn’t tell each other beforehand which albums we’d be picking from our past reviews, so he’s finding out what my choice is at pretty much the exact same time as all of you guys!

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Hayami Saori (早見沙織) is a renowned seiyuu, having lent her voice to a multitide of notable roles for anime over the years such as Oregairu’s Yukinoshita Yukino, Oreimo’s Aragaki Ayase, Mahouka’s Shiba Miyuki, Anohana’s Tsurumi Chiriko, just to name a few. She has since debuted as an artist with her debut single “Yasashii Kibou” in 2015, which was used as the opening theme for the anime Akagami no Shirayukihime, to which she also provided a voice for in the titular Shirayuki.

＜ＪＵＮＣＴＩＯＮ＞
(Spotify link to the full album here)

CDJapan Affiliate Link(s):
N/A

＜T ｒａｃｋｌｉｓｔ＞

０１・Let me hear
０２・メトロナイト/metoronaito 
０３・夏目と寂寥/natsume to sekiryou 
０４・夢の果てまで/yume no hate made 
０５・白い部屋/shiroi heya
０６・祝福/shukufuku 
０７・interlude: forgiveness
０８・SUNNY SIDE TERRACE
０９・Bleu Noir
１０・little forest
１１・Jewelry
１２・Bye Bye
１３・新しい朝/atarashii ashita 
１４・温かな赦し/atataka na yurushi

When Al first brought up the idea for this month’s theme; revisiting albums that we had previously rated on the lower side here on the Exchange/Rate; there were honestly a couple of different directions I could’ve gone with it. However, after digging through some of my older reviews, the album that immediately stood out to me was none other than Hayami Saori’s JUNCTION. Now, to be clear, when I say “low-rated,” it’s very much relative to how I’ve historically scored albums on this series. This wasn’t a case where I outright disliked the album or anything like that. In fact, what actually prompted me to revisit JUNCTION in the first place was that I distinctly remembered praising it quite a bit in my original review back in September of 2020. So imagine my surprise when I went back and saw the actual score I gave it at the time (lol). It genuinely made me stop and wonder: wait… why DID I rate it that way again?

That curiosity only grew the more I thought about the context surrounding that review. As I’ve mentioned a few times now in past Exchange/Rate entries, a lot of those early reviews came from a very different period of my life as both a writer and as a listener. A non-insignificant amount of time has passed since then, and over the course of these past several years I’ve listened to a lot more Japanese music across all sorts of genres and styles. More importantly, I think my perspective on what I personally value in an album has also changed quite a bit. There are things now that I find myself appreciating more than I probably did back then; atmosphere, replayability, cohesion of mood, subtle vocal performances, the idea of an album simply being enjoyable rather than needing to constantly impress me with every track. Especially within the realm of seiyuu music and more pop-oriented releases, I think my standards and expectations have become… maybe not looser necessarily, but at the very least different.

And lastly, revisiting JUNCTION like this also gives me the opportunity to approach the album from a completely different angle structurally. Given the usual format of these reviews where I only spotlight four tracks at a time, there’s always the possibility that certain aspects of an album get unintentionally left behind in favor of the particular narrative I ended up building around it during that specific moment in time. Coming back to it now means I get the chance to highlight songs and ideas that I may not have previously given enough attention to the first time around.

So with all that said; let’s head back to the junction once more.

＜Ｓｏｎｇｓ　ｏｆ　Ｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔ＞

０５・白い部屋/shiroi heya
To peel back the curtain a little bit more here; seeing as this particular installment of the Exchange/Rate naturally lends itself to some introspection, one thing I realized while revisiting my older reviews is that I’m actually fairly guilty of choosing which songs to highlight based less on whether they’re my favorites and more on whether they best support the overall point I’m trying to make about the album. That is to say, when I structure these reviews, I’m usually trying to build toward a central idea or narrative regarding my listening experience, and the songs I pick out are often in service of illustrating that point. Because of that, there have definitely been occasions where I ended up passing over songs that I might’ve personally enjoyed more simply because they didn’t fit neatly into the discussion I was trying to frame at the time. And honestly, I think my original review of JUNCTION is a pretty good example of that. Back then, I heavily focused on the idea of the album being this varied assortment of musical styles, tying it directly into the literal meaning of the word “junction” itself.

As a result, I intentionally chose tracks that sounded very distinct from one another in order to reinforce that reading of the album. In the process though, I ended up overlooking songs like Shiroi heya. What’s interesting about this track in hindsight is that it’s actually the first in a sequence of songs on the album where Hayami Saori leans into a much more subdued vocal approach. The arrangement is calmer, more intricate, and gives considerably more space for the emotionality of her voice to settle in naturally. And honestly? Revisiting it now, I think it’s one of the most beautiful moments on the entire album. At its core, the song is a fairly straightforward pop ballad, but what really elevates it for me is the way it builds emotionally over time, gradually layering its instrumentation until it reaches this genuinely gorgeous crescendo near the end. It’s the kind of track that I think I probably would’ve appreciated a lot more now than I did back in 2020, largely because I’ve become much more receptive over the years to albums and songs that prioritize atmosphere and emotional pacing.

０６・祝福/shukufuku 
When I was first deciding on which album to pick for this installment of the Exchange/Rate, I actually made a mental note to myself not to highlight the same songs I talked about in my original review. I figured; might as well use this as an opportunity to shine a light on some of the tracks I didn’t get to discuss as extensively the first time around. And yet somehow, despite all that, I still ended up circling right back to Shukufuku. I honestly couldn’t help myself here because even now, years later, the song still stands out to me for the kind of track it is and for how convincingly Hayami Saori manages to pull it off. Something I do want to note here though is that, while I originally labeled Shukufuku as shoegaze in my older review, I think I’d like to retract that assessment a bit now with the benefit of hindsight and, frankly, several more years of listening to shoegaze afterwards (lol). I can absolutely understand where I was coming from at the time. The song does carry certain elements that people commonly associate with shoegaze; the layered guitars, the hazier atmosphere, the way the instrumentation sort of swells around the vocals. But revisiting it now six years removed from making that observation, I don’t actually think the song fully commits to that style in the way a true shoegaze track typically would.

More than anything else, Shukufuku really leans toward a broader alternative rock approach. The structure is much cleaner and more deliberate than what you’d usually expect from shoegaze, and the emotional progression of the song feels far more grounded than immersive in the genre-specific sense. If anything, I think I was subconsciously trying to concretize my overall thoughts on the album at the time by assigning clearer genre identities to individual tracks than perhaps they actually warranted. Which, honestly, is probably inevitable whenever you’re trying to write about an album that intentionally jumps between so many different styles and moods. Of course, none of that is to say the song is any better or worse for not being shoegaze. If anything, I still find it both incredibly enjoyable and genuinely impressive on Hayami Saori’s part. The thing that continues to stick with me most is how naturally she adapts herself to this kind of denser alternative rock instrumentation despite primarily being known for softer, more delicate vocal performances. And honestly, maybe that lingering ambiguity surrounding Shukufuku is part of why it’s remained so memorable to me all these years later. It’s a song I clearly understood enough to latch onto immediately back then, but not quite enough to fully articulate yet. Revisiting it now feels less like correcting an old opinion and more like finally understanding why the song stayed with me in the first place.

０９・Bleu Noir
On the subject of highlighting songs that I didn’t get to talk about in my initial review, Bleu Noir is probably one of the bigger omissions in hindsight. Part of that is because it finds itself in a section of the album where a lot of the attention naturally gravitates toward some of the more stylistically adventurous tracks, but listening back to it now, there’s something to be said for a song that simply executes its chosen sound exceptionally well. From the smooth basslines that carry the song forward to the tasteful wah guitar accents sprinkled throughout the arrangement, everything about Bleu Noir feels effortlessly jazzy and cool. Helping matters immensely is the song’s hook, which remains one of the catchier moments on the album despite being attached to a comparatively laid-back arrangement. Of course, a large part of why that works comes down to Hayami Saori herself.

Throughout JUNCTION, one of the more fascinating aspects of the album is hearing her adapt to so many different styles, and Bleu Noir gives us perhaps the strongest showcase of her more mature vocal qualities. Her performance here is noticeably sultrier than what listeners might typically associate with her, with a smoky and velvety texture to her delivery that fits the song’s late-night jazz club atmosphere remarkably well. Rather than overpowering the arrangement, she moves through it almost like another instrument, weaving in and out of the bass and piano lines with an ease that makes the whole thing feel wonderfully natural. And just when the song has fully settled into its groove, the arrangement opens up to give the piano room to shine, resulting in one of my favorite moments on the entire album in its instrumental break. The piano melody is lovely on its own, but it’s the addition of Hayami’s vocal ad-libs floating around it that really elevates the section. It’s a small touch, but one that adds so much character to the track.

１０・little forest
If there’s one song on JUNCTION that benefitted the most from this revisit for me personally, it would probably be little forest. One of the unexpected joys of returning to albums years later is discovering that the songs you end up gravitating toward aren’t always the same ones that originally caught your attention. That was very much my experience with this song. What struck me immediately upon revisiting it was just how deceptively simple it is. The track opens with little more than Hayami Saori’s voice accompanied by an electric guitar, and there’s something incredibly effective about that restraint. The arrangement feels spacious, almost wide open and vast, akin to something I’ve talked about in the past with songs by artists like Kamishiraishi Mone and bands like Suzuki Mikiko-zu, where they create almost like expanse for the vocals and the instrumentation to fill and thrive in.

The addition of the backing vocals is also absolutely gorgeous, lending the song a warmth that wasn’t immediately apparent from the opening moments. Soon after comes the trumpet accompaniment, which I had somehow completely forgotten about over the years despite it being one of the track’s defining features. The way it drifts in and out of the arrangement adds so much character to the song, transforming what initially feels like an intimate acoustic performance into something that almost resembles a late-night jazz club session. That jazz influence is really what ended up winning me over this time around. Not because the song is overtly jazzy in the traditional sense, but because it captures the same feeling I often associate with some of my favorite jazz performances in that sense of spontaneity. There’s an organic quality to everything happening here, from the gentle interplay between the instruments to Hayami’s vocal delivery. In particular her singing here feels remarkably unguarded on this track. Not unpolished, of course, but raw in a way. Listening to it again now, I find myself appreciating that quality more than I ever did. And honestly, that’s probably the biggest surprise of this entire revisit. Going back into JUNCTION, I expected to gain a deeper understanding of the songs I already loved. What I didn’t expect was to walk away with an entirely new favorite.

＜Ｗｈａｔ　Ｉ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｏｆ　ＪＵＮＣＴＩＯＮ＞

In my original review of JUNCTION, and as I mentioned earlier at the start of this revisit, I largely centered my thoughts around the sheer variety of musical styles present throughout the album and how they collectively served as a showcase for Hayami Saori’s versatility as a performer. And to be fair, I still think that’s true. Even now, years later, one of the most impressive things about JUNCTION remains how comfortably Hayami is able to navigate so many different musical spaces. Whether it’s the understated balladry of Shiroi Heya, the alternative rock leanings of Shukufuku, the cool jazz atmosphere of Bleu Noir, or the intimate lounge-like presentation of little forest, she rarely if ever sounds out of place. If anything, revisiting the album only reinforced how adaptable she really is as a vocalist.

What surprised me though was remembering the conclusion I had originally arrived at. Back then, one of my primary takeaways was that hearing her execute so many different styles so convincingly almost made me wish she had simply committed to one of them. The logic was fairly straightforward; if she sounds this good doing all of these different things, imagine how much stronger the album could have been had it fully focused on the particular style that suited her best.

Looking back now, I don’t necessarily disagree with that thought. What I do think, however, is that I was perhaps missing part of the bigger picture. The thing I neglected to account for, likely due to both inexperience and simply having listened to far less music at the time, is that not every style is going to resonate with every listener equally at every point in their life. Some genres, arrangements, and approaches simply require time for an appreciation of them to develop. In revisiting JUNCTION, I found myself connecting with songs that barely registered with me the first time around, while simultaneously gaining a deeper appreciation for tracks I already enjoyed. The album itself hadn’t changed; my relationship with Japanese music as a whole had.

Thinking about it that way completely reframes how I view JUNCTION, and perhaps even albums like it in general. Rather than seeing them as mere “grab bags” assembled to demonstrate versatility, I now find myself appreciating them as something closer to all-ages releases. Albums where listeners, regardless of where they happen to be in their musical journey, can find something that speaks to them. Maybe the jazz track catches your attention. Maybe it’s the alternative rock song. Maybe it’s the ballad. Maybe it’s something else entirely. The point isn’t necessarily that every song appeals equally to every person, but rather that there’s enough here for different listeners to find their own point of entry.

And in that regard, JUNCTION succeeds remarkably well. More than anything, what this revisit taught me is that sometimes an album isn’t waiting for you to understand it all at once. Sometimes it’s content to meet you wherever you happen to be at that particular moment in your life and offer something different each time you return. Five years ago, I heard an album showcasing Hayami Saori’s versatility. Today, I hear an album that trusts its audience to discover what resonates with them in their own time. Honestly, I think I like that interpretation a lot more.

＜Ｍｙ　Ｒａｔｉｎｇ＞


４.２５ ｏｕｔ ｏｆ ５

＆

８.５ ｏｕｔ ｏｆ １０

My original rating for JUNCTION back when I first reviewed it was a 3.5 out of 5.0 and a 7.0 out of 10.0. Now, granted, these ratings have always been fairly loose and arbitrary to begin with. If you’ve been following the Exchange/Rate for long enough, you’ve probably already figured out that the number itself is usually less important than the thoughts surrounding it.　That being said, what I would like to emphasize here is that I genuinely did enjoy JUNCTION more during this second go-around. Not dramatically so. It’s not as though revisiting the album completely shattered my original assessment of it or caused me to discover some hidden masterpiece that I had somehow overlooked all those years ago. Rather, what changed was my appreciation for many of the things the album was already doing. Songs that I previously glossed over ended up becoming some of my favorite moments on the album. Certain stylistic choices that I once viewed primarily as showcases of versatility now feel more purposeful. More importantly, I think I’ve simply become more receptive to the kinds of music that JUNCTION was presenting in the first place. Perhaps that’s the biggest takeaway from this entire exercise. Revisiting an album years later isn’t always about determining whether you were right or wrong the first time around. Sometimes it’s simply an opportunity to measure how much you’ve changed as a listener. In that regard, JUNCTION ended up being the perfect album for this month’s theme.

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What are your guys’ thoughts on Hayami Saori’s JUNCTION? When was the last time you listened to this album? Have your thoughts on it changed since then? Likewise, what are some albums you’ve been thinking about revisiting lately? Let us know down in the comments; we’d love to hear about them!

Before I let you guys go, don’t forget to check out which album Al ended up revisiting for this month’s J-Music Exchange/Rate over at the Omunibasu Substack if you haven’t yet already. Given that we deliberately kept our picks a secret from one another this time around, I’m just as curious to see how his revisit turned out as you probably are (lol).

Happy listening!

I mean hey, better late than never am I righ-

Hello, hello! And, welcome back once again to the Monthly Recommendation Roundup! Coming to you at a bit of a delay due to scheduling mishap, but so long as we’re all here now I see no problem If you’ve been following the Roundup for some time, then you should already know what you’re here for, BUT if you’re new and you’re actually not that all sure what this is all about, please give the following a quick read:

At the end of each month, I put together a post featuring Japanese music that I’ve listened to and want to recommend to you all. Keep in mind, these songs don’t necessarily have to be recent releases. Some might be tracks I’ve just discovered, while others could be longtime favorites that I’m excited to share on a whim.

The songs I feature will all come from YouTube links to their respective PVs, which means there are some limitations on what I can include. However, I find that sticking to one platform ensures the most accessibility for everyone (and there are easy workarounds for region restrictions). This also allows me to create a playlist of all the songs featured in each Roundup, which I update and share at the end of every post

I’m low key toying with the idea of changing up how (or rather when) I publish the Roundups when they come and having it be on a similar-ish schedule to my other publication in committing it to a set day of the week rather than affixing it to the last day of the month whichever day it falls on. We’ll see what I ultimately decide on in the next Roundup.

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Good Luck, Have Fun
by muque
Seems to be the mantra moving forward

Kicking things off this month; we’ve got none other than muque taking up the headliner spot here. Fresh off the release of their second full album GLHF earlier this month (which, if you’ve been keeping up with the Advance Party, you’ll know was one of the featured releases in April; go check that out if you haven’t yet!), it felt only right to start things here. Now, there’s a bit of context surrounding this track (and really, the album as a whole0 that’s hard to ignore. As mentioned previously, this is muque operating without longtime bassist Lenon following his departure from the band. That absence is immediately noticeable on Good Luck, Have Fun, though maybe not in the way you’d expect. Rather than trying to replicate a traditional bassline, the band leans into something a bit more electronic, with Takachi stepping in to fill that space through a drum and bass-inspired approach. I do find myself wondering what this track would sound like with a proper bassline back in the mix, and yeah, I’m still very much in the camp of hoping they’re able to fill that spot sooner rather than later.

BRING YOU BACK TO LIGHT
by ん・フェニ (“N-FENI”)
Absolute deliverance

Speaking of this month’s publications; this next feature comes to us by way of N-FENI’s debut full-length album tiered skirt, which dropped just last month. If you’ve been keeping up with the J-Music Exchange/Rate, you might’ve already seen Al’s review of it over on the Omunibasu Substack; definitely give that a read if you haven’t yet. At this point; I feel like I’ve talked about N-FENI enough across the Roundups for you to already have a pretty good idea of just how much of a fan I am of hers, and more specifically, the direction she’s taken her music in over the past couple of years. And as I’ve mentioned before; it’s honestly fascinating just how stark that shift has been. There’s a very clear before-and-after with her discography; particularly once she fully embraced that dreamgaze sound. tiered skirt as an album is very much reflective of that; and in a lot of ways; BRING YOU BACK TO LIGHT feels like a perfect encapsulation of that journey. There’s something almost symbolic about it, not just in its title, but in how it presents her sound now compared to where she started. The guitars here are a big part of that. Those riffs carry a certain warm graininess to it, and paired with that hazy atmosphere it creates this nostalgic glow that just lingers throughout the track. On top of that; her airy vocal delivery fits seamlessly into the mix, becoming part of that overall texture. Very excited to see where she takes things next.

芽吹くとき/mebuku toki
by yonige
Eyy, long time no see!

Back in the Roundup for what feels like quite a minute is rock duo yonige; and honestly, seeing their name pop up again here brought a bit of a smile to my face. They’re one of those bands I’d consider an original staple of the series; one of the first few I found myself coming back to regularly back when I was just getting my footing listening to Japanese music. And they’ve picked a pretty big moment to return with. Mebuku toki marks what is arguably their biggest break yet; landing their first anime tie-in with the song serving as the opening theme for Kamiina Botan, Yoeru Sugata wa Yuri no Hana. On top of that, this release also comes with the band signing under Sony Music Labels following their period of independence after parting ways with Warner Music Japan. There’s definitely a lot to unpack there, but before getting into any of that, I think more than anything I’m just really happy to see yonige still doing their thing. And to their credit, it’s not like they’re coasting off that longevity either. They’ve managed to maintain a solid sound throughout their run. That said, there is a noticeable difference with Mebuku toki. Whether it’s the result of being back under a major label or simply the nature of it being an anime tie-in, the track carries a more radio-friendly sound to it than what I’m used to hearing from them. It does make me curious as to whether this is a sign of where they might be heading moving forward. But for now, more than anything else, I’m just glad to see them getting this kind of opportunity.

もういらない/mou iranai
by ブランデー戦記 (brandy senki)
Oh yeah, now we’re just having fun

Back from what was arguably their best year to date is the ever-promising Brandy Senki, returning after about nine months of silence with Mou iranai. And yeah, if you’ve been following along with me over the past year, you’ll know they were very much in the conversation for my favorite album of 2025 with their self-titled debut. Even now I still think that record holds up incredibly well. Their absence from the Roundup since then really just comes down to the fact that they hadn’t released anything new up until this point. And honestly, given the run they were on leading into their major label signing, starting from 2024 and building into a full tour, they more than earned a bit of time to rest. If anything, it sounds like that time away did them a lot of good. Mou iranai feels like a bit of a reset in more ways than one. The most immediate difference is in the sound itself, where the band seems to have stepped away from the retro-leaning aesthetic that defined much of their output last year. In its place is something that feels more contemporary, more in line with where they are now rather than where they were drawing from before. What stands out though isn’t just the shift in style, but the feeling that comes with it. There’s a sense of release embedded in the song, something that comes through in both the instrumentation and the overall tone. It’s hard to say exactly where that comes from, whether it’s the result of that intense stretch they went through or just a change in perspective along the way, but it’s definitely there. And I think that’s what makes this track hit the way it does. For a band that leaned quite heavily into that angsty, 90s rock sensibility before, hearing something that feels a bit more uplifting, a bit more positive, is a really nice change of pace.

STUDY
by LAURELS
No questioning the potential of this band

Talking now about bands who feel a bit overdue for a break of their own, we’ve got three-piece alternative rock outfit LAURELS making their return here. We saw them a couple of times on the Roundup last year, right around when they were starting to build some momentum off back-to-back releases like GIANT KILLER and HYPER BLEACH, both of which I remember finding at the very least intriguing. GIANT KILLER in particular did manage to pick up some traction, largely thanks to the YouTube algorithm doing its thing, but as is often the case, that kind of window can be fleeting. The band weren’t quite able to capitalize on that moment quickly enough to keep that momentum rolling, and so things settled back down not long after. That said, STUDY is another reminder that there’s definitely something here worth talking about. If I had to point to what sets them apart, it’s those grunge-leaning tendencies in their sound. It’s not something you hear all that often from all-female three-piece bands in the current landscape, which already gives them a bit of an identity to work with. At the same time, they’re not just leaning entirely into that aesthetic. There’s a touch of modernity woven into the track as well, most notably in that breakdown around the 1:27 mark, which caught me off guard in a good way. It adds a bit of contrast to the song and keeps things from feeling too one-note. One thing to note here though, and this adds an extra layer of context to the track, is that vocalist and guitarist Amy will have departed from the band by the time this goes live. The remaining members have stated they’ll continue on and look for someone to fill that spot, so it does leave you wondering what LAURELS will look and sound like the next time we see them.

月光/gekkou
by Blurred City Lights
Just let the sound wash over you

Kicking off the back half of this month’s Roundup is, in a lot of ways, a long overdue feature of Nagoya-based dreamgaze three-piece Blurred City Lights. I say that because the band already headlined an installment of the J-Music Advance Party last year during the release of their split album Utopia/Dystopia. In the lead-up to that release, I found myself getting more and more pulled into their soundscapes, all of which revolve around their mantra that “the blurred city lights will surely shine on you.”. Gekkou builds on that identity, though interestingly, it also feels a bit more raw and unabashed compared to what we’ve come to expect from them. There’s a slight edge to it, a bit more presence in the instrumentation that gives the track a different kind of weight. And as it turns out, there’s a reason for that. For this song, bassist/vocalist Kamiya and guitarist Megumi actually swapped instruments. While both are clearly more than capable of handling each other’s roles, it does feel like their instincts as players carried over regardless of what they were holding. The guitar feels more pronounced, more assertive, while the bass takes on a more restrained role in the mix. That shift ends up opening up space for drummer Ohashi to step in and fill things out with more intricate drum work than we’re typically used to hearing from him; which adds another layer to the overall arrangement. What you end up with is a track that still feels unmistakably like Blurred City Lights, but with just enough of a twist to make things interesting. It comes across like a fun experiment for the band, one that ultimately results in a really striking arrangement.

流星群のあと/ryuuseigun no ato
by musbime
I heard you like guitars

On the subject of long overdue entries here on the Roundup, we’ve got Tokyo-based five-piece musbime finally making their debut on the blog. And I do mean long overdue, because while this might be their first proper feature here, the band has actually been popping up fairly often on my 和式オルタナ playlist over the past few months. The band describe their sound as drawing from 90s Midwest emo and 2010s Japanese alternative rock, all brought together through twin female vocals and a triple-guitar setup. Everything you’d hope to hear from that description is on full display in Ryuuseigun no ato here. The melodies are beautiful, there’s a strong sense of emotion carried through the vocals, and the guitars are layered in a way that gives the track both depth and movement. With three guitars in the mix, it would be easy for things to feel overcrowded but instead, each part feels purposeful, contributing to a larger, cohesive sound. The twin vocal approach also adds a lot to the song’s identity. There’s a nice interplay between the two voices, sometimes blending together, other times separating just enough to give certain lines a bit more emphasis. It complements the instrumentation well, especially when everything comes together during the bigger moments of the track. All of this arrives alongside the release of their debut EP Brave the blinding which just dropped this week. If Ryuuseigun no ato is anything to go by, it’s definitely a release worth checking out, and one that I’d highly recommend you give a listen.

晩夏/banka
by くらげ計画 (kuragekeikaku)
That’s a beautiful sway this song has going on

A lot of the same can be said for Tokyo-based four-piece Kuragekeikaku, another band that feels right at home in this stretch of the Roundup. While they haven’t appeared quite as frequently on the 和式オルタナ playlist as some of the others here, they’ve more than made a case for themselves this month with the release of their second full-length album Neither Fish nor Fowl. What makes that release stand out even more is the context surrounding it. This marks their first full album in eight years, with their debut dating all the way back to 2018. That kind of gap can go a lot of different ways for a band but here, it feels like they’ve returned with a very clear sense of identity. The band describe their sound as “Waltz-Alternative”, which is an interesting way of framing it, but one that starts to make more sense the moment you hear Banka. Their music draws from dream pop and shoegaze influences, but rather than just layering textures, they place a lot of emphasis on movement, specifically through shifts in tempo that play between slower and faster passages. You can hear that in practice throughout the track. There’s a gentle sway to the melody that really does feel waltz-like, almost as if the song is guiding you through a series of turns with those rhythmic stops and gos adding a sense of motion to the whole thing. It gives the track a kind of push-and-pull dynamic, one that mirrors that contrast between light and darkness they mention in their description. It’s a beautiful listen; and one that really highlights what makes Kuragekeikaku stand out within this space.

だって眩しくて/datte mabushikute
by Sundae May Club
Much deserved

On the subject of long-awaited big breaks, we’ve got another band hitting a major milestone this month in Sundae May Club. The group has officially made their major debut under Bandai Namco Music Live’s subsidiary label MoooD Records, which is a really exciting development for them. Now, I’ll admit, my attachment to the band has always been a little bit roundabout. I first came across frontwoman and singer-songwriter Ura Koyuki through her solo work before realizing she was also part of a band. But even with that shared voice at the center, the two projects feel distinct enough that I’ve come to appreciate them separately. Where her solo material leans more into that busking background, often centered around acoustic guitar and a more stripped-down presentation, Sundae May Club gives her a different space to operate in. Here, she’s backed by a full band, and that shift opens up a lot more room for the music to take on a brighter, more energetic form. The band themselves describe their sound as “ultra super pop” and honestly, Datte mabushikute does a great job of living up to that label. It’s a go-getter kind of track right from the start, driven in large part by Ura’s infectiously uplifting vocals. I also really liked how the guitars come in early and make their presence known with some nice riffs; adding just enough bite to balance out the otherwise bright and colorful tone of the track. I can very easily see them landing tie-ins down the line, whether that’s for a slice-of-life anime or a lighthearted drama. And now that they’re under a label that can help facilitate those opportunities, it really does feel like things are lining up nicely for them.

翡翠/hisui feat. 宮本由来 (miyamoto yuki; “yuki”)
by hanare
Talk about a surprise out of nowhere

Last but certainly not the least on this month’s special feature slot is hanare, the newly debuted project of producer Tanoue Mamoru, also known as “momo.” Some of you might recognize the name from his work across various anime and game titles like Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! and Assault Lily, and now he’s bringing that experience into a project of his own. With the tagline “To you, standing all alone in this world.”, hanare sets out to explore themes of solitude and longing, pairing those ideas with a rotating lineup of guest vocalists over a sound rooted in shoegaze and dream pop. We got our first proper look into that world through the quietly released mini EP Trip to Theater earlier this month which, for the most part, delivers exactly what you’d expect given that description. Leading things off is Hisui, featuring vocalist Miyamoto Yuki (or “yuki”), who actually ended up being the reason this project came onto my radar in the first place. I follow her on Spotify, saw her name pop up on a new release, and the rest kind of followed from there. And I’m really glad it did, because this track left a strong impression right away. Tanoue’s grasp of that dreamgaze aesthetic is evident throughout; the way the guitars and textures are layered, the atmosphere he’s able to build; it all comes together in a way that feels very cohesive. At the same time, his ear for vocalists is just as noteworthy, bringing in someone like yuki whose voice fits perfectly within that soundscape. Not for nothing, but I’m very excited to see where hanare goes from here. If this is the starting point, it’s hard not to feel like there’s a lot to look forward to. For me personally, this easily stands as one of my favorite discoveries this month.

MUST LISTEN
“Mou iranai” by Brandy Senki and “Hisui” by hanare
We are so back, and so are Brandy Senki. As much as I genuinely enjoyed their self-titled debut album, there was always this lingering feeling that by the time it dropped, the band had already shown a lot of what they were working with. Not in a bad way necessarily, more so that their image and the themes they were leaning into felt like they were building toward something that had already begun to resolve itself. Which is why Mou iranai feels so refreshing. There’s a sense here that they’ve turned the page, stepping away from that previous framing into something that feels more natural, more reflective of where they are now rather than what they were building up toward before. It almost comes across like a clean slate for the band, and with that comes a lot of curiosity on my end as to where they choose to go from here. On the other side of things, there was no way I wasn’t giving this spot to hanare after the way I wrapped up their feature earlier. The project really does remind me of what Fullkawa Honpo was doing back in the day; that idea of bringing in different vocalists to explore a central artistic vision, but here framed through a Japanese alternative rock and dreamgaze lens. It’s a concept that already feels rich with possibility; and Hisui is a great introduction to that. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend checking out Trip to Theater after this.

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The YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music playlists have ALL now been updated with this month’s featured tracks. Make sure to follow them on your preferred listening service if you haven’t yet!

Make sure to save them on your preferred listening service if you haven’t yet already, so you always have access to the Roundup

If you’re still clamoring for more, the Roundup Extended Playlist for April 2025 is now up! For those new to the series, these Extended Playlists (or EPs) highlight additional tracks I enjoyed this month but didn’t get a chance to feature here.

What did you guys think of this month’s Roundup? Let me know in the comments! Likewise, if you’ve got your own recommendations from the past month, feel free to drop them down below as well! I’d love to hear what you’ve been listening to too!

The J-Music Advance Party took place at our usual spot this month over at my Substack newsletter, where we got to showcase some absolutely amazing releases. My personal favorite among then has got to be Empty old City’s Strings in Owl, which just blew me away with its arrangements.  For those who might be unaware, the Advance Party is a separate publication where I spotlight upcoming Japanese album releases I’m personally most excited about each month. Think of it as the pre-game show to the Roundup, a place where we talk about what’s on the horizon before it officially drops. If that sounds like your kind of thing, consider subscribing! It’s completely free, and you’ll get notified every time a new issue goes live. You’ll also unlock access to all past issues, which makes for some fun backtracking of albums that might’ve slipped past your radar. The next Advance Party is scheduled for May 10, 2026. Hope to see you there!

Spring is in full bloom and so is this month’s set of J-Music Exchange/Rate album reviews! For those who might be newer around here, the Exchange/Rate is my monthly tandem album review series with my good friend and fellow Japanese music enthusiast Al from Omunibasu. Each month, we decide on a theme and assign each other albums to review within that framework. It was my turn to pick out a theme for the month so I figured, since we’re now well within “the season of new beginnings” as they call it, it’d be nice if we could go over albums that come to mind when we think of the word “rebirth” or “renewal”. For this, I went and gave Al N-FENI’s tiered skirt for him to listen to. Check out his review over at the Omunibasu Substack! Al, in turn, had me go over Yuki Moeko’s Innocent Moon. You can catch my review of it here!

And that’s about it! Thank you all so so much for dropping by whenever you do, it genuinely means a lot to me. As always, I hope the Roundup (and everything else we do here on the blog) is just as fun for you to read as it is for me to write and put together

Happy Listening!

It’s the season of new beginnings, as they say

Hello! Welcome back to the J-Music Exchange/Rate, and would you look at that, it’s springtime! I’ll let you guys know what that’s relevant in just a second (though the astute Exchange/Rate enjoyer would have probably already pieced it together by now just sayin-), BUT if this is your first time encountering this series and you’re not too sure what this is all aboutー

The Exchange/Rate is a tandem album review series conducted every month by yours truly alongside my good friend and fellow Japanese music fan Al (from Omunibasu). Each month we decide on a specific theme with which our reviews would revolve around. We then pick out albums from our respective libraries which we think best coincides with that theme. We will then give the album we chose to the other person and vice versa (exchange), after which we then listen to and subsequently review the album we were given (rate). This project has not only allowed us to explore music beyond our libraries, but it provides an opportunity for us to see our favorite albums from a different point of view. It is our hope that this series is able to do the same for you and that you either find a new artist to try out and/or we offer you a fresh take on one of *your* favorite albums 

Al and I take turns deciding on the theme for each month’s reviews, and as fate would have it, it’s once again my turn to take the reins here. Now, as some of you might have already guessed, this month’s theme ties directly into the season we find ourselves in right now; spring. More specifically, I wanted to focus on the idea of “new beginnings.” It’s a pretty broad concept when you think about it, but for the purposes of this review, I decided to frame it around the idea of new life, or rebirth. As such, I thought it would be fitting for us to talk about albums that come to mind when we think of the word “rebirth”.

With that in mind, I went ahead and had Al check out tiered skirt by N-FENI (be sure to catch his thoughts on it over at the Omunibasu Substack!). I, in turn, was given the EP Innocent Moon to talk about with you guys today.

Let’s run it!

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Yuki Moeko (結城萌子) is a Japanese voice actress and singer, perhaps best known for her role as Ichinose Rei in the IDOLY PRIDE series. Prior to performing under her current name, she was active in the music scene as Wata Megumi（綿めぐみ） from 2014 to 2017, during which she released one mini album, Blind Man (2016), and one full-length album, Sainandawa (2016).

＜Ｉｎｎｏｃｅｎｔ　Ｍｏｏｎ＞
(＊Spotify link to the full album)

CDJapan Affiliate Link(s):
innocent moon / Moeko Yuki

＜T ｒａｃｋｌｉｓｔ＞

０１・さよなら私の青春/sayonara watashi no seishun
０２・散々花嫁/sanzan hanayome
０３・幸福雨/koufuku ame
０４・元恋人よ/moto koibito yo

Ａｌ：It’s a tad bit strange to talk about the renewal and revival of an artist when I wasn’t there for their early upbringings. That is exactly how I’ve viewed Yuki Moeko and her now-lengthy music career, as I first found her portraying a fictional idol in a multimedia franchise and initially being oblivious to the fact that she previously had a fascinating run as a singer/artist under a completely different alias. No doubt was I intrigued when I stumbled upon Wata Megumi’s first and only full-length album many years ago; being able to listen to the differences between the aspiring, young and angsty singer she once was, compared to her performing brighter and summer-y idol songs in an anime/video game setting… it admittedly did come as a bit of a ‘reverse shock’—jarring, even—but you can tell that she expresses and maintains a signature coolness within each expression of herself.

In between these two chapters of her life, though, was an attempt to get back into the solo music business. And who else to call upon for help but none other than the big man himself: Kawatani Enon.

I’ll cut to the chase here: this entire EP just oozes with the Kawatani flair, and there is no hiding it. If you’ve listened to and/or enjoyed his music, then you can absolutely tell his fingerprints are all over this thing, with the added (and expected) benefit of a handful of his trusty bandmates being involved in its production; namely CHANMARI providing keyboards and even composing one of the tracks, as well as the entirety of DADARAY being featured on “Sayonara Watashi No Seishun”. And to be quite frank, I can see how this could’ve been a bit detrimental to Yuki Moeko as an artist. Of course, I imagine she had some sort of input on what these songs sounded like, but it honestly gives off the notion that she simply provided the vocals for some normal Kawatani tracks, and little of anything else.

But on the flip side, Kawatani has always had a keen eye for vocal talent and how to beautifully display these various voices he encounters, which I do still feel like is the case here. While generally higher-pitched in nature, Moemoe exerts a certain deepness in her voice that helps convey the moods and cadences often seen in Kawatani’s works (such as melancholy or franticism), making her performance here pretty impressive and it almost feels like her vocals naturally fit, in my opinion.

Fast-forward to 2026, and it does feel unfortunate that Moemoe has not released a single solo song, album, or EP since then. But I’d like to imagine that this was a decent step towards where she is now, as I think it’s clear proof that she’s always had great talent & potential when it comes to singing.

＜Ｓｏｎｇｓ　ｏｆ　Ｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔ＞

０１・さよなら私の青春/sayonara watashi no seishun
Before we formally get into things, something I do want to point out real quick; as you guys probably already know, I typically pick out at least four songs from an album to highlight here on the Exchange/Rate. However, on the rare occasion that the album in question only has four tracks… well, yeah, we’re going through the whole thing this time (lol). So with that, kicking things off with the opening track of Innocent Moon, we’re immediately met with something that feels… a bit grander than expected. Right from the jump, the song leans heavily into this sweeping orchestral arrangement, and it’s hard not to attribute that to the involvement of Kanno Yoko, whose fingerprints are pretty unmistakable in how expansive everything sounds. Pair that with Kawatani Enon on the compositional side and you get this really interesting foundation to start the album on.

What makes it click for me though is how that scale contrasts with Yuki Moeko’s vocals. Her delivery here is light, almost delicate, and instead of trying to match the weight of the instrumentation, she kind of floats over it. That push and pull ends up giving the song a curious identity; it’s polished and orchestral on one end, but still very much rooted in a more contemporary pop sensibility on the other. If anything, the closest point of reference I kept coming back to while listening was nornir by Yakushimaru Etsuko Metro Orchestra. There’s a similar balance there between classical instrumentation and a distinctly modern vocal approach, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that track served as some sort of template here; or at the very least, if Yakushimaru’s style informed how they chose to frame Yuki Moeko’s vocals within a setting like this.

０２・散々花嫁/sanzan hanayome
On the subject of templates, this next track, Sanzan Hanayome, is another one where I couldn’t help but feel like there was a very clear sonic direction being aimed for. Where the opener leaned more toward that Yakushimaru Etsuko-esque orchestral pop space, this one immediately brought to mind a different reference point for me; specifically the kind of arrangements you’d hear from Sakurai Kenta, particularly in his work with Maison book girl or Kaneko Rie. It’s something about the way the strings and percussion are handled here. Of course, as stacked as the list of contributors already is for this project, Sakurai Kenta himself isn’t actually credited on this track. And to be fair, it’s not like Kawatani Enon wouldn’t be capable of channeling or deriving from that kind of sound on his own.

What is interesting to note though is that both Kawatani and Sakurai share a connection through DALLJUB STEP CLUB drummer GOTO, which at the very least suggests some level of overlap in terms of creative circles. Whether that translates to direct influence, shared ideas, or even just a general awareness of each other’s work is hard to say, but it does make the resemblance feel a little less coincidental. And if we want to take that line of thinking even further, depending on how closely they’ve worked within those circles, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that certain production elements, even down to something like drum stems or stylistic references, could have been indirectly carried over or echoed here. That said, I don’t think it’s just about pinpointing influence for the sake of it. If anything, what stands out to me with Sanzan Hanayome is how it reinforces the idea that this project seems very intentional in how it constructs its sound. I’ll get into this a bit more later when I talk about the EP as a whole, but even at this early point, it does feel like there’s a broader approach at play here in how these songs are being put together.

０３・幸福雨/koufuku ame
Some of you have probably already started to pick up on the pattern here, and yeah… you’d be right on the money (lol). Koufuku ame continues that same throughline, except this time it’s arguably the most on-the-nose example of it yet; because instead of pointing outward, this one circles right back to Kawatani Enon’s own signature style. And honestly, the moment I saw that longtime collaborator and keyboardist ChanMARI was involved in the production of this track, a lot of things immediately clicked into place for me. There’s a familiarity to how everything is laid out here; the phrasing of the melodies, the interplay between the keys and the rhythm section, even down to how the song builds into its hooks. It’s the kind of structure that, if you’ve spent any amount of time with Kawatani’s work across his various projects, you can pretty much recognize on instinct.

What actually caught me off guard though was that this is really the only track on the EP where that influence comes across this directly. Going into this release, knowing that Kawatani was handling composition duties alongside Kanno Yoko, I was half-expecting a much more uniform sound across the board; something closer to what you’d typically associate with his catalog where his musical fingerprint tends to show up regardless of who’s performing the song. But that’s not quite what happens here. If anything, Koufuku ame ends up feeling like the exception rather than the rule, which in turn makes it stand out a bit more within the EP’s overall flow. And just to be clear; as much as I’ve poked at Kawatani’s tendency to imprint his style onto other artists’ work in past discussions, that’s never really been me saying I don’t enjoy it. If anything, it’s more of a “here we go again” kind of reaction (lol). Because the truth of the matter is, when it works, it really does work; and Koufuku ame is a pretty good example of that. It’s polished, it’s catchy, and yeah… I ended up liking it quite a bit, begrudgingly or otherwise (xD).

０４・元恋人よ/moto koibito yo
And just like that, we arrive at the closing stretch of the EP with Moto Koibito yo; a track that, interestingly enough, feels the hardest to neatly categorize out of everything we’ve heard so far. Not because it’s doing something wildly different or unfamiliar; if anything, it’s the exact opposite. This is about as straight-down-the-middle as you can get with a pop ballad. Now, I know describing something as a “textbook pop ballad” can come off as a bit backhanded depending on how you read it, but I don’t really mean that in a negative sense. Especially not here. I’ve always been pretty open about my on-and-off relationship with pop-leaning tracks, but at the end of the day, when something is done well, it’s done well; and I do think Moto Koibito yo lands on the right side of that.

A big part of that comes down to Moeko’s performance. I thought she handled this song really nicely, all things considered. There’s usually this expectation that once you bring in these sweeping, orchestral arrangements, you’d need a similarly commanding vocal presence to match it; something that can cut through all that instrumentation without getting lost. But as we’ve seen time and time again, that’s not the only way to approach it. Acts like Isekaijoucho have shown that a lighter, more delicate voice can exist within that kind of space and still feel right at home, and Moto Koibito yo taps into that same idea pretty effectively. Moeko doesn’t try to overpower the arrangement; she lets it carry her where it needs to, and the result ends up feeling more cohesive because of it I also really like how the track leans fully into its instrumentation. If there’s one thing this EP has been consistently strong with, it’s the musical backing, and this song might be the clearest showcase of that.

＜Ｗｈａｔ　Ｉ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｏｆ　Ｉｎｎｏｃｅｎｔ　Ｍｏｏｎ＞

Going into this one, I actually made it a point to revisit my review of Sainandawa from back when Yuki Moeko was still performing under the name Wata Megumi. And one thing that immediately stood out to me upon revisiting that was how she talked about singing at the time; that it was more of a means to an end, specifically in service of her goal of becoming a voice actress. Fast forward to now, and she’s more or less realized that path through her involvement in the IDOLY PRIDE project, which, funnily enough, still had her doing quite a bit of singing anyway. So seeing her come out with a proper artist debut EP in Innocent Moon is… interesting, to say the least. Not necessarily because it’s unexpected, but more so because it raises the question of how they would go about presenting her in this context.

And that’s really where my curiosity with this release lies. Not so much in what pushed her to pursue this side of things further; I’d imagine that’s largely a management decision more than anything else; but in the approach that was taken in shaping her as an artist here. We talk a lot on the Exchange/Rate about the idea of “grab bag” albums, or projects that showcase an artist’s versatility by having them try on a bunch of different styles, and on the surface, Innocent Moon kind of looks like one of those. You’ve got an orchestral pop opener, a more structured alt idol-leaning arrangements, a Kawatani-esque track, and then a straight-up ballad to close things out.

But the more I sat with it, the more I started to feel like that “grab bag” effect is less the intent and more the result of something else. Because in a lot of ways, Moeko exists here in this interesting space where she’s both a “ready-made” artist and a “blank canvas” at the same time. On one hand, she already has experience in the industry; she’s performed before, she knows how to carry herself vocally, and there’s a baseline level of polish to her delivery. But on the other hand, she hasn’t really been boxed into a specific musical identity yet nor is she necessarily interested in crafting one for herself, which gives the people behind the scenes a lot of room to experiment with how she’s presented. And that’s where the involvement of Kanno Yoko and Kawatani Enon becomes really important. Because what this EP essentially does is place Moeko into a series of different “molds,” each shaped by the sensibilities of two very distinct composers, to see what sticks. Whether those styles were chosen specifically based on her vocal qualities, or because they resemble frameworks that have already worked for other artists before, is hard to say; but the end result is what we hear across these four tracks.

Whether or not that approach ultimately lands is going to depend on what you value in a debut like this. But for me, at the very least, it makes for a pretty interesting listen, if not for what it definitively says about Moeko as an artist right now, then for what it suggests she could (or could have) become down the line.

＜Ｍｙ　Ｒａｔｉｎｇ＞


４.２５ ｏｕｔ ｏｆ ５

＆

８.５ ｏｕｔ ｏｆ １０

All things considered, I think Innocent Moon ends up being a pretty strong showing from Yuki Moeko, even with everything we’ve talked about regarding her relationship with singing as a whole. Because yeah; if we go back to that idea of her not necessarily approaching music as her primary calling, at least historically, you wouldn’t really be able to tell just from listening to these four tracks. If anything, she carries herself here like someone who’s been doing this for a long time. And I think that’s what stood out to me the most by the time I got to the end of the EP. Regardless of what her motivations might be outside of this release, Moeko makes a really solid account of herself throughout. She adapts well to the different styles presented to her, whether it’s the more orchestral, arrangement-heavy tracks or distinct styles like that of Kawatani’s, and never once feels out of place in any of them. If anything, it leaves you with this lingering “what if” more than anything else. What if she did choose to lean into one of these styles more fully? What if this wasn’t just a one-off exploration, but the starting point of something more defined? Because based on what we hear here, the potential is definitely there.

ーー

What are your guys’ thoughts on Yuki Moeko’s Innocent Moon? Let us know down in the comments! Likewise, feel free to share which albums come to mind for you when you think of the word “rebirth”; we’d love to hear what you come up with

Before I let you guys go, don’t forget to check out Al’s review of tiered skirt by N-FENI over at the Omunibasu Substack if you haven’t yet already

Happy listening!

Blossoming with new music!

Why hello! And welcome back! It’s springtime once again here at the Monthly Recommendation Roundup, and I would be honored to usher in the season of new beginnings as they call with you all, the only way we know how around these parts, and that’s of course to kick back and listen to the month’s latest tracks! If you’ve been following the Roundup for some time, then you should already have a pretty good idea what to expect, BUT if you’re new and you’re actually not that all sure what this is all about, please give the following a quick read:

At the end of each month, I put together a post featuring Japanese music that I’ve listened to and want to recommend to you all. Keep in mind, these songs don’t necessarily have to be recent releases. Some might be tracks I’ve just discovered, while others could be longtime favorites that I’m excited to share on a whim.

The songs I feature will all come from YouTube links to their respective PVs, which means there are some limitations on what I can include. However, I find that sticking to one platform ensures the most accessibility for everyone (and there are easy workarounds for region restrictions). This also allows me to create a playlist of all the songs featured in each Roundup, which I update and share at the end of every post

Without further delay, let’s get to it!

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千鳥/chidori
by ヨルシカ (yorushika)
Truly liberating

I wasn’t expecting to be featuring Yorushika on the Roundup this month, but here we are; and in a way, Chidori kind of caught me off guard in the same way their latest album Nininshou did when I first talked about it over on the Advance Party. What struck me immediately with this one is just how… carefree it sounds. Not in the sense that Yorushika have suddenly turned into a bright, bubbly pop act or anything like that, but rather in how much lighter everything feels compared to what we’re used to hearing from them. There’s usually this emotional gravity that follows their songs around; that lingering sense of longing, regret, or quiet introspection that n-buna and suis have made their calling card over the years. Chidori, by comparison, feels like it’s just… weightless. A big part of that comes from n-buna leaning more heavily into jazz here. It’s not a full-on genre pivot, but the way the song kind of flows rather than builds all give it this breezy, almost improvisational quality. In a way, it almost feels like a glimpse into another side of Yorushika that we don’t get to hear too often. Not a reinvention necessarily, but more like a reminder that they’re capable of this kind of looseness when they want to be; and honestly, I think that’s what makes Chidori stand out as much as it does here.

ゴースト/ghost
by tayori
I’m not crying, you’re cryin-

It’s been a while since we last saw tayori here on the Roundup, which honestly feels a bit strange given how clearly they left an impression the last time they showed up. I remember pointing out back then just how reminiscent their music felt to Yorushika who we just had on, with their same kind of “yakousei” melodic sensibility. And now, somehow, that resemblance has extended beyond just the music. The PV for Ghost featuring a dog running through a springtime setting had me doing a bit of a double take (lol). I am, of course, referring to Yorushika’s Haru dorobo which is a song that I hold very near and dear to my heart. But in all seriousness, what really separates tayori becomes more apparent the longer the song plays out. A lot of that comes down to composer raku and the way he approaches arrangement. There’s a noticeable breadth to the instrumentation here, and in particular, his use of brass adds a dimension that gives Ghost its own identity (though funnily enough Yorushika also did incorporate a great deal of brass in their most recent outing too). Where the initial comparison point might suggest something more restrained, this instead feels fuller, more expansive, and just a bit more textured overall. That added color ends up shaping the emotional core of the track too.

Merry -band ver-
by ん・フェニ (N-FENI)
Will never not be impressed

I said it before and I’ll say it again; N-FENI is just too good. At this point it almost feels redundant to keep repeating it, but every time she drops something new, she somehow finds a way to reinforce that sentiment. What makes this release particularly special is that it comes as part of a long-awaited album in tiered skirt which comes to us following her growing fascination with shoegaze and dream pop; something I’ve been keeping an eye on ever since she first started leaning in that direction. I don’t think I’ve seen an artist commit to such a complete shift in trajectory quite like this. It really does feel like a full 180; from her earlier work into something that is now fully immersed in the textures and atmosphere of shoegaze, as fully evidenced now by this new rendition of one of her earlier works. And the craziest part is just how well it works. The instrumentation carries that hazy, layered quality you’d expect; guitars blending together into a wash of sound that feels both expansive and intimate at the same time. And then there’s her voice. The airy and breathy singing style she’s adopted for this direction has been something I’ve praised before, but here, it really feels like she’s perfected it.

dance now!
by chilldspot
They’re not messing around

I think it’s pretty safe to say at this point, having followed chilldspot for the better part of four years now, that they simply do not miss. It’s something that has come up time and time again across their releases, not just in terms of maintaining a high level of quality, but in how confidently they operate within their own sound. There’s a clear sense of identity there, one that continues to sharpen with each new song they put out. dance now adds an interesting wrinkle to that identity. The band leans into a more aggressive tone here. The instrumentation carries a bit more bite; the overall feel is just a touch more forceful than what we might usually associate with them. Even so, they never stray too far from what makes them recognizable in the first place. That groove is still very much present; those basslines continue to be a defining feature of their sound. They give the track its sense of motion and keep everything feeling connected even as the band pushes into slightly rougher territory. It’s that balance between control and looseness that chilldspot have always handled so well. And of course, Hiyune remains at the center of it all. Her vocal performance here is as captivating as ever, moving through the song with a level of control and versatility that feels uniquely hers.

nine lives
by tiny yawn
Sublime

I do find it a little funny that the last time I featured tiny yawn here on the Roundup, I went on a whole tangent about how they’re much more than just a math rock band; how a track like YOUTH pointed more toward a fuller, band-oriented sound that didn’t quite fit neatly into that label. And now, here they are with nine lives, going right back into math rock in a way that almost feels like a playful rebuttal to that entire discussion (lol). That said, even as they lean into the genre more directly here, it still doesn’t feel like they’re simply conforming to expectations. The guitars carry that signature math rock complexity, weaving through these winding, almost hypnotic patterns that feel trippy without becoming too disorienting. What really stands out to me though is the vocal delivery by Takahashi Megumi. There’s an ethereal quality to it that softens the edges of the instrumentation, creating a contrast that feels very intentional. In that regard, it actually reminds me quite a bit of Gestalt Girl, who we’ve also featured here before, that same balance between airy vocals and densely arranged guitar work. In the broader context of what I’ve come to appreciate about tiny yawn across their appearances here over the years, nine lives feels less like a contradiction and more like a reaffirmation of their versatility.

アネモネ/anemone
by 吉凶わからず、 (yoshiashi wakarazu)
That riff, oh man

Fair warning, this might be the most indie-inclined the back half of a Roundup has ever been. A lot of that comes down to my continued curation of the 和式オルタナ playlist, where, funnily enough, every band you’re about to see from here on out has been featured at some point over the past month. And that includes this next act; Yoshiashi wakarazu. The band describe their music as “nostalgic indie pop”, and honestly, I can see exactly why they would frame it that way. There’s a distinctly retro feel to their sound, one that immediately brought to mind artists like suneohair with how the melodies and textures come together. A big part of that comes from the guitars. There’s this hazy, summery quality to them. It gives anemone a very specific atmosphere, one that leans into that feeling of nostalgia without overplaying it. It also ties nicely into something we talked about quite a bit over the past year, that idea of retro-theming and how bands can use it effectively without sounding derivative. We saw that done really well with acts like Kuni and Trooper Salute, and in a similar way, Yoshiashi wakarazu are able to channel that same spirit here.

青い春/aoi haru
by gl1tch.bby
That is definitely a name

We can honestly say a lot of the same things we just went over with the previous track here, because Aoi Haru operates in a very similar space sonically in that there’s that same hazy, dream-like atmosphere present. What makes this particularly interesting though is how much of a departure it is from their debut single. That first release leaned far more into an alt-electronic direction with a glitchcore-adjacent sound. By comparison, Aoi Haru feels almost like the other end of that spectrum. Despite that though, when you take a step back and look at the project as a whole, it still makes sense. According to their artist description, gl1tch.bby is built around the keywords “angel, glitch, and low temperature” with the goal of creating a “distinctive and immersive worldview”. That idea is further reinforced by the structure of the unit itself, with composer UTERO handling the music and manaco overseeing the art direction. It comes across less like a traditional band and more like a curated artistic venture, something not too dissimilar from Bungei Tengoku.

燃え殻/moegara
by ささくれ (sasakure)
Now that’s some good midwest emo

In keeping with that thread of retro-theming and early 2000s sensibilities is Sasakure with Moegara; a track that feels very much in conversation with the sounds we’ve been circling around throughout this back half of the Roundup. This one arrives fresh off the release of their first full album Wasuretai koto, which I highly recommend you check out if you haven’t already. According to the band themselves, their music is centered on the idea of “resonating with the delicate cracks in the human spirit”, something they aim to express through “introspective lyricism paired with emotive soundscapes”. It’s a lofty concept on paper, but in practice; it comes across in a way that feels very grounded and sincere. Musically, Moegara brings together a blend of shoegaze, dream pop, and midwest emo, three styles that naturally lend themselves to that kind of emotional framing. The guitars carry that familiar wash of texture while still retaining enough definition to give the song shape. There’s a gentle push and pull between clarity and haze, which mirrors the introspective tone they’re aiming for. What stands out to me is how cohesive it all feels. Rather than pulling from these influences in a way that feels piecemeal, Sasakure weave them together beautifully.

ゆれる/yureru
by サヨナカ (sayonaka)
Well you don’t see that often

Continuing this alternative rock stretch of the Roundup is a band with a fairly unique setup in the space; Sayonaka, who feature twin female vocals at the forefront of their sound. It’s not something you come across all that often, or at the very least not in this particular lane of Japanese alternative. The last time I remember encountering a similar configuration was with fuyusuruneko from a few years back, which in itself makes Sayonaka stand out almost immediately. That said, the way Yureru comes together actually reminds me more of Split end than anything else. There’s a comparable emotional tone to the song, where the instrumentation builds atmosphere while the vocals carry the emotional weight of the track. The dual vocal approach adds an interesting layer to that dynamic. The two voices complement each other, sometimes blending together, other times separating just enough to create a sense of depth. It gives the song a slightly different texture compared to the more traditional single-vocal setup, and it’s something that helps distinguish Sayonaka within an already crowded field.

tsubomi
by nous
04:10~ That’s the stuff

Rounding out this run of Japanese alternative rock features is four-piece nous with their latest track tsubomi, and yes, your obligatory male vocal slot for the month has officially been fulfilled (JK). One thing that immediately stood out to me here is the presence of a familiar name, UTERO, who we already heard earlier in the Roundup through their work with gl1tch.bby. This time around, UTERO is responsible for some of the guitar work and arrangement on tsubomi, and you can very much hear that throughline between the two tracks. The guitars here carry that same kind of beautiful melodic quality, steeped in a sense of nostalgia that feels very much in line with the broader trends we’ve been seeing across the scene. There’s an atmospheric quality to the way everything is layered, giving the song a sense of space without losing its melodic core. Another highlight for me comes from bassist Mero’s backing vocals, which add a really nice texture to the track. There’s something about the way those harmonies come in that reminded me a bit of CRUNCH from a couple of years back.

MUST LISTEN:
“Chidori” by Yorushika and “Moegara” by Sasakure
I think it’s fair to say that Chidori really renewed my appreciation for Yorushika, and that’s coming from someone who has been following their music pretty much since the inception of the Roundup. Over the years, I’ve always respected the depth and intentionality behind their work, but this latest release hit me in a way I wasn’t quite expecting. To that end, I’m actually going to extend this spotlight beyond just the track itself and toward the entirety of Nininshou. Taken as a whole, I genuinely think this stands among Yorushika’s best work to date. There’s a lightness to it, a sense of openness that makes it feel more approachable compared to some of their earlier releases, while still retaining that signature musicality that defines them. On the other hand, if you know anything about me and my preferences, you already know I’m an absolute sucker for midwest emo. We’ve had plenty of great guitar work across this month’s Roundup, but Sasakura really stood out with their more post rock kind of approach with Moegara.

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The YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music playlists have ALL now been updated with this month’s featured tracks. Make sure to follow them on your preferred listening service if you haven’t yet!

Make sure to save them on your preferred listening service if you haven’t yet already, so you always have access to the Roundup

If you’re hurting for even more songs to check out, the Roundup Extended Playlist for March 2025 is now up! For those new to the series, these Extended Playlists (or EPs) highlight additional tracks I enjoyed this month but didn’t get a chance to feature here.

What did you guys think of this month’s Roundup? Let me know in the comments! Likewise, if you’ve got your own recommendations from the past month, feel free to drop them down below as well! I’d love to hear what you’ve been listening to too!

We held the J-Music Advance Party again this month, where we ended up featuring some bangers as per usual (trust, JK). One of the biggest standouts from what I talked about in this month’s feature is, of course, the album that I’ve yet to put down in Yorushika’s Nininshou which you’ve just seen me praise to high heaven. For those who might be unaware, the Advance Party is my separate Substack newsletter where I spotlight upcoming Japanese album releases I’m personally most excited about each month. Think of it as the pre-game show to the Roundup, a place where we talk about what’s on the horizon before it officially drops. If that sounds like your kind of thing, consider subscribing! It’s completely free, and you’ll get notified every time a new issue goes live. You’ll also unlock access to all past issues, which makes for some fun backtracking if you’re ever in discovery mode. The next Advance Party is scheduled for April 5, 2026. Hope to see you there!

Also back to bring in some color to your guys’ Japanese music listening lives with a brand new pair of album reviews is the one and only J-Music Exchange/Rate! For those who might be newer around here, the Exchange/Rate is my monthly tandem album review series with my good friend and fellow Japanese music enthusiast Al from Omunibasu. Each month, we decide on a theme and assign each other albums to review within that framework. This month’s theme was albums with a certain/prominent color wherein we each spun for one another a color on a color wheel (yes, LOL), for the other person to base their album picks on. Al spun the color “green” for me, which prompted me to send what else but Furui Riho’s Green Light his way. Check out Al’s review of it at the Omubinasu Substack if you haven’t yet already! I spun “orange” on my end, which gave Al the idea to toss over SIRUP’s OWARI DIARY for me to give a couple of spins to. You can check out my review of it here!

And that’s pretty much it! Thank you all so so much for dropping by whenever you do, it genuinely means a lot to me. As always, I hope the Roundup (and everything else we do here on the blog) is just as fun for you to read as it is for me to write and put together

Happy Listening!