Friends Recommends #3: Emergency Calls and a Grand Sense of Hope
Our guest writers highlight the year's new drops of battle weary rock, epic chamber pop, ska-inflected punk-pop and friendship R&B
It’s only been two months into 2025, and so when I asked my friends below for their recommendations, I allowed them to pitch any songs from last year as well to open up their options. It turns out the year in Japanese music has been so kind to already give us a wealth of new releases to get excited about because my writers here all hit me back with choices picked from 2025, each hailing from different spheres of music, too. And now I cede the floor to my guests in this third edition of Friends Recommends:
K recommends…
“Koe” by Hitsujibungaku [F.C.L.S.]
Hitsujibungaku entered 2025 at a well-deserved career high. As a fan of theirs since 2018, it’s been an absolute joy watching this hard-working band finally win mainstream acclaim by playing to their strengths, skillfully incorporating the raw, emotional core of works like Oshi No Ko into their established sound and worldview.
The band’s latest digital single, “Koe” (voice), is certainly no exception. Although they switch things up a bit in the arrangement, using acoustic guitar for added tenderness, they deliver another satisfyingly cathartic rock tune. In signature Hitsujibungaku style, the emotional lyrics feature a battle weary yet hopeful message that feels courageous rather than naive: “You’re calling me, I hear your voice / Though terrified, I call back, over and over, in my own,” goes the chorus in this fittingly touching theme song for a drama about fire dispatchers answering emergency calls.
Special mention goes to MV director Tai Nakazawa, who clearly understood the assignment and came up with a beautifully understated music video. I love the symbolism of the car, which frontwoman Moeka is never shown actively driving, as a metaphor for feeling powerless against one’s fate. All in all, the song leaves me incredibly excited for Hitsujibungaku’s next move in 2025. —K
Listen to it on Spotify.
K translates Japanese lyrics into English on her website. You can also find her on X and BlueSky.
CJ recommends…
”Effulgence (Zircon)” by matryoshka [Virgin Babylon]
After 12 years, the band matryoshka have made their long-awaited return with brand new single “Effulgence.” With a decent-sized cult following, many, including myself, wondered if we’d ever get new material from the band. So much time had passed, it started to feel hopeless; it’s still hard to believe we finally have a new release in hand. Now that it’s here, I knew I just had to shine a spotlight on it. After all, with how enigmatic this band is, it’s hard to tell if I’ll ever get that chance again.
“Effulgence” is split into two different versions, Zircon and Onyx, both essentially the same song except Onyx strips back the instrumentation to just the piano and strings. Despite being so similar, the added percussion in Zircon changes the tone drastically. Instead of the slight feeling of melancholy found in Onyx, Zircon evokes the listeners a grand sense of hope they wouldn’t have felt before. I have to give props to composer Sen for making such a small difference give way to two entirely different experiences.
This song also hits the way it does thanks to vocalist Calu. Her signature airy and almost whisper-like singing doesn’t overpower the beautiful instrumental, instead blending into it to become another crucial part. As her lovely, soothing voice weaves throughout the song, she amplifies all the emotions the song hits you with. And as the song reaches its crescendo, I can’t help but be moved every time. It’s a truly majestic thing to witness in action. —CJ
Effulgence is out now. Listen to it on Spotify/Bandcamp.
You can find CJ active on X, the r/Kamitsubaki subreddit, or the Kamitsubaki English community Discord always sharing music.
Dave recommends…
“Okazaki Kyoko No Ano Ko Ni Naritakatta” by TOKYO SYOKI SYODO [Cherry Virgin Records]
TOKYO SYOKI SYODO are a thrilling punk-pop group—their debut from 2019 gives a sense of a raucous live band that can veer from power-pop into riot grrrl scream-alongs on a dime, all displaying an impeccable pedigree of influences without sounding derivative. Their newer material across their two pink EPs is more polished but no less accomplished; their latest single, from pink II, is a driving, ska-inflected rocker that sounds readymade for a constant loop in a global reboot of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. The song invokes Kyoko Okazaki’s groundbreaking manga, but at a generational remove from which the band can casually point out a towering inspiration and then go about their business without making a big fuss about it, like Olivia Rodrigo bringing along the Breeders on tour with a savvy shrug. The resulting music sounds better this way, too—an effortless series of bangers and bonbons, with as much snarl or sweetness as they care to apply. It's refreshingly weightless even when things get heavy, which is to say it all sounds fun. —Dave
pink II EP is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
Dave shares weekly playlists and writes about music from all over the world over in his newsletters, The Other Dave Moore. You can find him on Bluesky.
Al recommends…
“Old Friends” by YonYon ft. SIRUP & Shin Sakiura [Peace Tree]
For the past couple of years, I started following what I would consider an unofficial collective of indie singers, rappers and producers who are all more than down to collaborate with one another. Whether it’s a beat-maker creating songs for a specific artist (the fantastic pairing of Kota Matsukawa and R&B singer reina) or a bunch of vocalists performing on an artist’s multi-track release (bilingual talents like Wez Atlas and Sagiri Sól on Sam is Ohm’s Chaos engineering EP), not only is it amazing to get some great music as a result, but it’s also neat to see genuine camaraderie and respect between these insanely talented people.
2025 has just started, and we’ve already got another great example of what I just described in “Old Friends,” a song by Seoul-born, Tokyo-raised singer-songwriter YonYon that features a couple of her pals SIRUP and Shin Sakiura. Sakiura infuses cool hip-hop beats with peaceful ambience especially with the usage of gospel vocals and a fitting trumpet performance from Terakubo Reiya. All the while YonYon’s soft vocals and SIRUP’s signature blend of rapping and singing bring everything together for a fun and warm song to listen to. It’s a beautiful combination of everyone’s musical abilities.
Only recently have I learned that these three had any sort of connection with each other, but through the song’s lyrics, it’s easy to tell how much of a tight bond this trio has developed over the years thanks to the power of music. They reminisce about their shared experiences: when they first met in 2018 as a group of aspiring artists, when they held a performance together in Korea, just simply hanging out and having a drink one night. They compare life to climbing a mountain, and as these three take the difficult trek upwards, their individual journeys inspire one another to do even better things in hopes to eventually meet up again at the top of that “summit.” Despite all of them now following different paths in their respective careers, YonYon, SIRUP and Shin Sakiura continue to find value and gratification in this long-time friendship. —Al
Listen to it on Spotify.
al casually writes about Japanese media on the omunibasu newsletter, ranging from music, movies/TV dramas, anime and more. You can also find him gushing about his favorite idols & seiyuu on X.
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