Monthly Listening: July 2022
This month's round-up of great new Japanese releases from Asunojokei, Perfume, Young Coco and more
Hi! This is July’s Monthly Listening list, a quick rundown of new Japanese albums I checked out this month that I enjoyed. You can browse past Monthly Listenings in the archives.
A group that’s been slowly returning to my rotation has been Kinki Kids. While the duo dropped a new single, TV programs have been more eager to spotlight their 25th anniversary since their debut and their run of classic singles, usually focusing on the more early stretch of their career that contains songs like “Glass No Shonen,” “Zenbu Dakishimete” and “Flower.” It honestly made me realize how many hits they have, and it gave me a good excuse to dive a bit more into their catalog. Like, have you put on “Aisareruyori Aishitai” lately? So, so good.
Here are the new albums I enjoyed during July. And here is this month’s Spotify playlist of top favorite new releases.
ECHO CHAMBER EP by AAAMYYY
pop / R&B | ► “That Smile” ft. Ano
Island by Asunojokei
black metal | ► “Chimera”
WORLD’S ROT by BRAVE OUT
hardcore punk | ► “World’s Rot”
SAKANA EP by downt
indie rock / emo | ► “minamisenju”
It’s a small world by harmoe
pop | ► “HAPPY CANDY MARCH”
SHUNKA RYOUGEN by HARU NEMURI
rock / punk | ► “Ikiru”
hoboyume by Kabanagu
pop / hyperpop | ► “itsumoyori”
Limre by Limre
indie rock | ► “Rokinon Sunset”
Overture by Midnight Grand Orchestra
electro pop / EDM | ► “SOS”
Midori 2 by midori
folk | ► “A Shade of Color”
Demo by OOPS
punk / post punk | ► “Abekobe Forest”
PLASMA by Perfume
electro pop | ► “Polygon Wave”
Delirium by Sedai
indie rock / emo | ► “tomoran”
The Truth of the Myth by Seimei
EDM / drum ‘n’ bass | ► “Formation 1992”
Be Corny by without
indie rock / emo | ► “Sundown”
The quiet before the storm by Young Coco
rap | ► “Feta!”
“Young Coco returns with a deft grasp of his voice, not only bending it into alien shapes in his verses but also crowding warped ad libs in between an already-noisy space. Paired with a series of bit-crushed production, the rapper lays out one psychedelic experience in his latest album.” —Read more about the album on issue #54.
S!CK LOV3 by Yung sticky wom
rap | ► “S!CK LOV3”
This Side of Japan has a Ko-Fi as a tip jar if you want to show appreciation. A subscription to This Side of Japan is free, and you don’t have to pay money to access any published content. I appreciate any form of support, but if you want to, you can buy a Coffee to show thanks.
Next issue of This Side of Japan is out August 17. You can check out previous issues of the newsletter here.
Need to contact? You can find me on Twitter or reach me at thissideofjapan@gmail.com