New chart, haven't been here in forever but whatever, school keeps one busy.
Quickspace - Death of Quickspace
Really fun album with tinges of melancholy. Great songwriting and instrumentation. Stupid catchy at points, too. Crazy how little I see this album on this board, it's just a blast.
Keiji Haino - Watashi Dake?
Haino's debut isn't anything crazy, but it shows him in a great stage of improvisational skill. Instruments are wildly varied, with each different track coming as something fresh. Nothing too insane, however, pretty basic Haino. Would be a great intro to anyone getting into Haino's usual solo fare.
Pale Cocoon - Cocoon
Strangely cozy and very spacey. Tracks range from pleasant to eerie, and the range of sounds the band puts forth is pretty impressive. Electronics mesh with acoustic instruments quite well, and the melodies are great as well. It is a tad long for it's content, in my opinion. FLALORM is particularly gorgeous.
Fela Kuti and Co. - Expensive Shit
Great use of twenty minutes, so much fun. Makes you want to dance. Awesome brass section, and Fela puts forth some great lyrics. Not much else to say. I wish it was a bit longer, but there is plenty of other Fela to fix that issue.
Izumi Macra - 愛ならば知っている
Cozy Japanese hip hop featuring a girl with a really cool voice. Izumi has a vocal range in the lower registers for a Japanese girl, and her flow compliments it well. Beats are nice, and the hooks are catchy as well. However, at about halfway I feel like turning it off. Not enough variation or interesting production. Good for background music, though.
Kinoko Teikoku - 愛のゆくえ
This band follows up last year's mediocre j-pop effort with more of the same, plus two token shoegaze tracks. It's really disappointed to see two great returns to form with a bunch of boredom in the middle, as the intro and outro are fantastic. Worth a listen for the beginning and end, but everything else is just too bubblegum.