iTunes Japan has once again announced their picks for 2011. I was curious. I hadn't heard of most of these bands so I decided to dig and check out the songs featured on the iTunes sampler.
Disclaimer: My views are based off of a first listen basis. I have been known to completely do a 180° on bands and artists as I listen to them more. And that goes both ways; good and bad. So, take my views with a grain of salt, listen for yourself and draw your own conclusions. All good artists deserve a chance and I may be overlooking some of them.
So ends my lecture on objectivity and so begins the list:
1 | androp - MirrorDance
Comment: Excellent dynamics. Good vocal contrast in verses and chorus. Good mixing and use of effects. Just the right amount of synthetics. I will definitely be checking these guys this year. A great song to start off the sampler.
Conclusion: The most for your money.
2 | cinema staff - Gate
Comment: BORING! Everyone else on this sampler makes them sound bad.
Conclusion: Next song, please.
3 | [Champagne!] - Rocknrolla!
Comment: This is, in my opinion, the best song on the sampler. It has a nice post-rock vibe and above average English lyrics which may give them an edge on the International music scene.
Conclusion: The best there ever was.
4 | 世界の終り - 天使と悪魔 tr: [Sekai no Owari (End of the World) - Angels and Demons]
Comment: This band has always kind of freaked me out. Instead of a drummer, they have a DJ with a clown mask. I KNOW I've heard that strings riff somewhere. Either in a TV show or commercial. I cannot put my finger on it. (This happens to me all the time!) Or maybe they just ripped it off some other American artist I've heard recently.
Conclusion: Sure, why not. Only because the drumming sounds way better than on their last album.
5 | sonodaband - Soul River_2010
Comment: My first thoughts were, is this a male version of Vanilla Mood or something? I also liked how they magically transformed that micro-grand piano into a Yamaha MO6. Hopefully they can make enough money to get a MOTIF or something. But I guess the MO6 is working for 'em.
Conclusion: I like.
6 | Sonomi Tameoka - Faith
Comment: I found an album preview on her site. One of them is Faith. It's your responsibility to figure out which.
Conclusion: It's jazztronitastic! I think.
7 | TEE - Denwade Dakishimete (Radio Edit)
Comment: He sure likes him some auto-tune! And this is just the radio edit! In the full version, I wonder if he has some kind of epic auto-tune/vocoder-esque solo...
Conclusion: No.
8 | NIKIIE - 春夏秋冬 tr: [The Four Seasons]
Comment: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.....Oh pretty piano and strings! <3
Conclusion: Give her some slack, she's new.
9 | Violent is Savanna - awairosakuraichiru
Comment: I'm sorry, but with the words "violent" and "savanna" in the band name, I was expecting something akin to African death metal! Sounds reminiscent of Ikimonogakari and Supercell, albeit not as good. They have potential. I also think I read somewhere they are playing at SXSW this year, so there is a very minute chance I'll go see them live.
Please note that no one is playing acoustic guitar, which further supports my claim that they sound like Ikimonogakari by continuing the tradtion of having phantom instruments.
Conclusion: They have potential.
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10 | Back Number - Shiawase
No embeddable media available. Click here for the iTunes preview.
Comment & Conclusion: This band was hard to track down! Not much to go with. Sounds like generic J-pop. If in the future I listen again and they sound amazing I'll post a follow up and retract my comment. Maybe.
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