A grandiose and energetic Hard Rock album. Though I quite enjoy the run from Great King Rat to The Night Comes Down, many of the songs here are simply okay. Certainly, you can feel the potential that Queen would come to realize, but it is very rough at times, especially towards the end. Definitely looking forward to their upcoming work.

Favorite Song: Great King Rat

Although not nearly as hypnotizing as Music for 18 Musicians, I think this is the superior Steve Reich work because it's just so interesting. Different Trains' use of chopped up interview clips, train station sounds, and sirens evokes this tense, suspenseful atmosphere that fits the nature of World War II. Electric Counterpoint is simply beautiful, captivating minimalism, among Reich's best work. A phenomenal experience.

Favorite Song: Electric Counterpoint: III. Fast

A gentle, relaxing Smooth Jazz/Jazz Fusion album. Yokokura explores some subtly different moods here, from the calm Colors of the Wind and the cheery Living Inside Of Your Love to the almost suspenseful Night Wave. While it's an interesting choice, it makes the sound less cohesive, and with some filler here too, it's not as tight or captivating as Love Light. It's still nice smooth jazz, but Love Light continues to stand as Yokokura's best work.

Favorite Song: Night Wave

A lush, uplifting City Pop album that feels like a reassuring smile. It's an interesting mix between the sunnier energy of Yamashita's early 80s work and the soothing sound of Pocket Music. Though I find the bottom half to be rather languid compared to the top half, it's still a pleasant experience.

Favorite Song: The Girl in White

A soft, mellow City Pop/Jazz Pop album. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this album is the fact that Onuki is really returning to her roots here: there's practically no synths here to dilute the gentle jazz instrumentation. Besides that though, it's rather sleepy. It's a pleasant enough listen, but it's not very stimulating.

Favorite Song: Tema Purissima (Cool Sax Version)

A lush, urban New Wave album. Soda Stereo epitomizes the darker new wave sound in this album, which has more of a big city sound compared to Signos. There's a good split between slower, thoughtful songs like En la Ciudad de la Furia or Corazón Delator and energetic songs like En el Borde and the title track. Though it's not really a step up over Signos, this is a great album, and Soda Stereo show that they can still put out excellent new wave.

Favorite Song: Corazón ... read more

Miki Matsubara's final album, and it's a pretty fun City Pop/Synth Funk piece. The A-side is probably some of Matsubara's best synth funk-styled work, but the B-side borders on garishness that hasn't been seen since Cupid. While it's perhaps not the best note to end on, it's still a very enjoyable album.

Favorite Song: IN THE ROOM

A rather dry and acerbic Singer-Songwriter/Sophisti-Pop album from Cohen. It's quite interesting to hear Cohen with this kind of instrumentation because I'm not totally sure he fits here. Still, the deadpan humor works quite well regardless, so I understand why this is so well-received. There's a bit too many slow spots for me to really get into this one, but I definitely understand the appeal.

Favorite Song: Everybody Knows

This may just be EP of the year. A diverse, experimental K-Pop/Alt-Pop release from NMIXX, and it's a stunner. Aside from Golden Recipe, which has a rather "Bop It! Twist It!" sort of lyricism, every song here is amazing. From the slower High Horse and Ocean to the energetic KNOW ABOUT ME and Papillon, there's a lot to enjoy here. In the past, this variety has led to a fractious or weaker sound, but essentially none of those flaws are present here. Definitely looking forward ... read more

A step down after Fe3O4: Break, which I chalk up to a messy foray into pop rap. I struggle to describe 별별별 and SICKUHH as anything but cringy pop rap, and Red light sign and Moving On and Love Is Lonely are rather generic K-pop songs. Red light sign and BEAT BEAT are really fun electropop songs though, and the definite highlights of this EP. It's a little disappointing to see after Fe3O4: Break, but I'm looking forward to their next one.

Favorite Song: Red light sign, but we go

The first NMIXX EP as far as I can tell, and it's rather inconsistent. I think Young, Dumb, Stupid is cute, but it's not a great track. Just Did it and HOME are rather weak as well, but the rest of the EP is solid. I especially enjoy the energetic simplicity of Love Me Like This. Though this isn't the strongest, you can definitely hear hints of the potential that would be realized in FE3O4: Break.

Favorite Song: Love Me Like This

A stunning, melancholic Ambient/Minimalism album. I do think 40 minutes just disappeared from my life, like I put this on and then when I looked back, there were only 10 minutes left. It's certainly a beautiful, ethereal piece, but I'm frankly more impressed by its ability to move time than its sound.

Although this is a very good compilation of Indian Pop/Synth Funk Kollywood songs, it's a bit too reminiscent of the movies my parents watch, so it was a little difficult to just focus on the music. On top of that, the melodrama of Kollywood movies is very evident at times, to the point where I was just laughing out loud. Still, this is a very good collection of songs, and I can see why Ilaiyaraaja is such an acclaimed composer.

Favorite Song: Solla Solla

A lovely, soothing City Pop album that perfectly evokes the cover. Rather surprisingly, Onuki sheds much of the synthpop sound that characterized her 80s albums and balances it with graceful jazz sound that's reminiscent of her earliest works, at least for the top half. The bottom half turns up the synthpop influences, which I felt undercut the previously established atmosphere to a degree, but it's still a beautiful album the whole way through.

Favorite Song: 恋人たちの時刻

As you may have guessed, this album is driven primarily by drumming and other percussion instruments, though the piccolo and some vocals are audible as well. Though not as captivating as Music for 18 Musicians, the repetition and subtle transformations are quite nice. Very solid minimalism all around.

Favorite Song: Part II (Beginning)

A cold, melancholic Art/Prog Rock album. Though I definitely understand the complaints about the cheap 80s synths and weak lyricism, the instrumentation here is much more interesting than The Final Cut. Signs of Life is a delicate ambient opener to the album that's rather reminiscent of Echoes, and Sorrow is a strong, somber closer to the album. The album certainly can't be considered one of their best works, but it's a good step up after The Final Cut, which is reassuring to ... read more

A somber, elegant performance of some of Onuki's previously released songs, going back all the way to Mignonne. I wasn't sure how this was going to sound since most of Onuki's 80s songs were distinctly synthpop, but the crisp instrumentation provides a beautiful backdrop to Onuki's clear vocals. Altogether, it's a surprisingly strong live album.

Favorite Song: 黒のクレール

A uniquely horrible experience. Piano Phase is pleasant enough, essentially what I come to Steve Reich for but it's not on the level of his other works. Everything else here is just not enjoyable. Clapping Music is interesting for perhaps the first minute, at which point it quickly stales. Come Out is a grating, repetitive loop while It's Gonna Rain begins as simply numbing before giving me a headache by the end. Certainly not a work I will be revisiting.

Favorite Song: Piano Phase

A primarily instrumental Art Pop/Synthpop soundtrack from Onuki that was apparently inspired by her trip to Kenya. While there are cute moments that are reminiscent of her children's songs, it's largely a bland synthetic slog. A decent enough mood piece, but it's not really notable in any way.

Favorite Song: お天気いい日

An energetic, passionate New Wave/Big Music album. Soda Stereo really just get better and better with every album, it seems. The greater focus on the new wave sound mixed with the grandiosity of big music just makes for a really fun sound, and there are many excellent songs here, like No Existes and the title track. At this rate, I can't wait to see how they continue from here.

Favorite Song: Persiana Americana