Idol Watch #5: September & October 2020
Rounding up the best idol songs from the past months by Last Idol, Yumegiwa Last Girl, Meme Tokyo and more
Hi! Welcome to Idol Watch, a bi-monthly companion to This Side of Japan that’s all about Japanese idols! You can check out previous installments from this year here: January & February / March & April / May & June / July & August
Kamiyado has been going through a huge creative makeover in the past year, adopting the kind of edgy dance-pop that before seemed to be a clear stylistic opposite for the idol group. Last summer, the five were being chased by a grizzly bear to the tune of a twinkling synth beat; that same winter, they sang “we are platinum” over a serious hip-hop beat but not before trying out a rap cadence in the pre-chorus. While the group’s success as well as their overall compatibility with their new style is another discussion entirely, what’s been more interesting to observe is how the visible divide of old vs. new Kamiyado presents a good study of what defines the Japanese idol sound and what lies as a product of an outside influence.
The most obvious attempt this year from Kamiyado to adopt outside influence was this summer’s “Brush!!” The five’s newly dyed hair already suggested that they eyed K-pop groups as an inspiration, and the music followed relatively common procedures of a seasonal K-pop single. The hip-hop beat remains breezy but still fizzes with light kitchen-sink details. The highlight, and the song’s most direct lift from K-pop, is its abrupt turn into the rap section. The beat folds inside out, revealing the hard-hitting bass line to the forefront, with the husky, percussive rap vocals of Mei Hashima contrasting the main singers as a twist to the song’s trajectory.
Even without much familiarity with K-pop, one can recognize the stylistic difference between “Brush!!” and, say, sweeter-than-sweet pop of “Conversation Fancy.” The trap-influenced drums as well as the breakdown of “Irumonoshirazu” also stick out as tropes outside of Kamiyado’s toolkit before 2019. The latter doesn’t specifically look to K-pop, though the music still invites comparisons to pop familiar as a product of the West—a musical influence that K-pop also largely courts and complicates. The kind of Japanese idol-pop that people describe as “Western” or “like K-pop” perhaps sounds like these new Kamiyado songs, pointing to its direct hip-hop influence for the former description and how it re-arrange those influences into more jarring, twisted structures for the latter.
The stylistic breakdown is fun, but I’m also interested in what those terms also imply about the idol-pop wearing those influences. Often, idol-pop—and J-pop in general—with more overt Western influence get talked about as though it carries more taste, sophistication or at the very least a sense of cool than their traditional counterparts. Whether any of that is true is subjective, but I’m more concerned about why one would reach those conclusions based on the music alone.
That last quality of cool, the possession of and the lack of, perhaps links to the first two. Kamiyado’s songs before this year like “Harukaze Ambitious” or “KMYD” may be catchy and memorable in their own ways, but stylistically, they hardly register as “cool” music. Not to say that K-pop doesn’t release silly novelty records either, but when people point to the influence of K-pop or the West in Japanese idol music, it’s often the bits and piece that define “cool” from those source styles. And the inverse is sometimes true, with people pointing at cutesy, sugary novelty sounds as influences of Japanese idol pop in music from other scenes. There’s something inherently uncool about Japanese idols at its core no matter how hard they try to adopt the markers of cool from abroad.
That lack of care for cool is also something to be missed from Kamiyado as they continue to explore outside influences to define a new personality. As much as I enjoy some of the new songs in their new album, The Life of Idol, the picture feels incomplete partly because I know what kind of music they used to perform. The hope is that they can also incorporate their old sensibilities with these new influences to create an exciting mix. It’s already happening with J-pop created by K-pop companies, with the acts exploring a new middle between the musical personalities of idols in Japan and South Korea. Maybe Kamiyado can present the other side of an J-pop act incorporating K-pop to create something wholly new.
***
Just a heads up, this will be the last Idol Watch issue of the year because… The next one in December will be dedicated to the year-end special feature! I’ve been listening and re-listening to this year’s idol song favorites in the past couple months to decide on my personal top 100, so hope you will be excited for that. Here was last year’s top 100 if you are curious.
Here are 10 great idol singles from September and October. Happy listening!
“Jupiter” by Kaede [T-Palette]
Kaede already released an amazing album at the top of the year, and not to mention that her and her Negicco mates put out a fantastic single in August, but she decides to spoil anyway with the new Stardust in Blue EP. Her January album was a collection of quiet, country-side folk, yearning to unite with her one and only; Stardust in Blue is the lovely celebration of that reunion. “Jupiter, let’s even travel to outer space one day / a world where there’s no one else / just us two,” the idol delightfully sings over starry, delicate jazz-pop. The band softly builds her excitement via a jamming of busy beats and twinkling piano chords, all wonderfully cuing her infatuation.
Stardust in Blue is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Inuke! Midnight” by Nao
“Sky Wah Wah” by Nani’n’Nerun? [You’ll]
For the past few months, You’ll Melt More! have put attention on the group’s two new members, Nani and Nerun, and their recently formed duo project Nani’n’Nerun? The two have been given some cheap, tinny synth-pop to work with as if they’re a pair of truly indie newcomers. Somehow someway, though, they’ve managed to embrace that rough quality as a charmingly chaotic personality. The duo is self-aware of the cheapness of “Sky Wah Wah,” all the way down to its green-screen music video, but along the way, they find goofy, low-stakes fun and some sticky hooks—the title, for instance, makes for some catchy gibberish.
Listen to the single on Spotify.
See also: “Shooting Star” by Marble Marble
“Don’t Stop the Dance” by The Dance for Philosophy [gr8!]
It’s honestly a bit surprising it took five years since their debut for The Dance for Philosophy to graduate as an indie group, but the time has never been more right for the four-piece to step into the majors with “Don’t Stop the Dance.” The title of their first full-length album from back in 2016, Retro But Chic, described their funk-pop sound to a T, and that phrase also sums up what’s trendy in today’s pop right now too. The group simply hones in on what they’ve been always doing, strengthening their robust, glamorous funk music as well as their vocals, while fittingly adding some self-love cheers to pep talk themselves as they move up to the bigger leagues.
Listen to the single on Spotify.
See also: “Gold” by Farewell, My L.U.V.
“Suicide Borderless” by Meme Tokyo [Toy’s Factory]
The origin of Meme Tokyo as Dempagumi Jr. cast a shadow on their debut single with their colorful dance-pop inheriting some of the quirkiness of their senior group. While the added hip-hop edge to “Moratorium Aquarium” couldn’t shake it completely, its attached B-side, “Suicide Borderless,” finds the group carving out their own separate niche. The siren raid of a synth riff already leaves hell of a mark on the music, going off like a machine-gun round, but it’s the equally overwhelming, rapid flow of their verses that define the song. I recommend watching the music video for the full experience: the pop use of its self-serious lyrics emphasizes its speed, cadence and lyrical density as it full-on recreates the listening experience.
Moratorium Aquarium is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Ookami Shonen” by Honey Bee
“Daiyuusei” by Yumegiwa Last Girl [Sainantan Tracks]
From Sainantan Tracks, the same label as Yureru Landscape’s, comes another new idol trio Yumegiwa Last Girl. A few of their tracks so far suggest a more dramatic, rock-leaning group than their siblings, and “Daiyuusei” from their four-track Escape from Reality EP is one ambitious highlight. While the sharp math-rock-adjacent riffs provide a thrilling edge and physicality to the song, how it pairs with the dreamy synths makes it memorable as the combination creates a world of its own. How it all soars calls to mind the math-rock fantasia of the now-defunct Sora Tob Sakana. “I gave up, thinking it was an illusion / If I could leave a trace behind / I’d laugh,” they sing in the chorus. Despite what they think, they’ve left quite an impression already, and they’re just getting started.
Escape from Reality EP is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Finder” by Sway Emotions Slightly; “Filament” by Yanakoto Sotto Mute”
“Vatican Playstyle” by Kindan No Tasuketsu [Office Kindan]
With this and their August single, “Don’t Cry Baby,” Kindan No Tasuketsu lately have been sending me off on a breezy, much-needed mental vacation. The synths on “Vatican Playstyle” sound flashier and more pronounced than what came before, though the song is just as easy-going. “Spread love by the end of today per the request,” they begin the song as though the idols themselves are also motivated to take listeners to that better place. Watching them enjoy the sea in the music video is already a wonderful start.
Listen to the single on Spotify.
See also: “Happy” by Batten Shoujotai
“Koudenatsu Hankou Shoujo” by Shuhatsumachi Underground [Vandalism]
Shuhatsumachi Underground bring back rockabilly for their new song, riding along a similar rugged jangle as the jams by Melon Batake A Go Go but without the “idols from outer space” silliness. While the outlaw guitars already project a personality onto the three as lone rangers, the trio sing a story of melodrama where they aimlessly search for love and attention in the loneliest of hours in the city—their concept is after all being shuhatsumachi, or “waiting for the first depature,” in Shibuya because they missed the last train. “Listen, don’t break my heart,” they call out as they wander around late at night, like they’re already in the middle of picking up the pieces.
See also: “Ima” by Mameshiba No Taigun; “Kumabachi No Dokuhaku” by PIGGS
“re;star” by Iginari Tohokusan [Stardust Promotion]
Iginari Tohokusan shows up in “re;star” with the most unexpected glow-up among the other junior acts of Stardust this year. They’ve been sticking to a similar style as their peers in the company, charging forward with high-octane energy backed by a peppy mix of synths and pop-punk guitars. The chorus of “re;star” is equally spirited as the rest, but they also present a new sophistication in the music with math-rock-adjacent guitar scrawls and a piano riff that rapidly slides through the scales. Iginari Tohokusan aren’t just kids getting by on loudness anymore.
See also: “Metamorphose” by Amefurashi; “Shizuku” by @onefive
“Hatsukoi Pedal” by Nuance [Minima Light]
After a detour through adventurous styles in their great new Brownie EP, from quick turns into rap to serious rock-band moves, Nuance pivots back to the breezy, light funk pop to sing about the rush of first love. While the sweet horn riff wouldn’t be out of place supporting Ukka’s ode to a spring crush, the old-school, everyday metaphor and the open melody unpacked in the chorus calls to mind the tricks from the AKB playbooks: “if I push on the first-love pedal, even my hair would start to flow,” they sing about the heart-fluttering feeling that they can hardly contain.
Brownie is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Ashita, Kimi Ni Mata Aeru” by Kamiyado; “Haru No Fuusoku, Cho Ga Yurete” by Tiptoe.
“Ayafuya” by Last Idol/Yarakashi Busters [Universal Music Japan]
Last Idol returned with a new single, “Nanibitomo.” While the main song is fine and good—that music video! Swords!—like every other Last Idol release, the other fun has been sifting through the B-sides. “Ayafuya” with the subunit Yarakashi Busters has been the best so far, with a slick garage-rock riff opening a one melodramatic track. “Let’s drop any expectations / I don’t want to be disappointed later on,” they sigh as they preemptively give up on the game of love before it starts as a means of self-defense. The idols commit cruel emotional torture upon themselves which just becomes self-fulfilling prophecy, and it’s maddening how such a fatalist point of view is accompanied by one silly music video.
See also: “Ginga Kousoku Jyutaichu” by Last Idol/Star Amruuz; “Ame Ni Utaeba” by Up Up Girls (2)
The next issue of This Side of Japan is out November 11. You can check out previous issues here. You can check out previous installments of Idol Watch from this year here: January & February / March & April / May & June / July & August