This Side of Japan's 50 Favorite Albums
The newsletter's favorite records from Japan featuring 4s4ki, Tricot, Ai Furihata and more
Hi! Welcome to This Side of Japan, a newsletter about Japanese music, new and old. You can check out previous issues here.
I used up most of my writing energy on the songs portion of my year-end lists, so this albums list unfortunately won’t have accompanying blurbs. Most of these artists, however, appear on the two songs lists if you are interested in reading more about them. I also attached links to past issues that feature the records as an Album of the Week.
This list isn’t really ranked in a traditional sense, but it does have an organization method in mind. Each row features a record with similar sounds, styles and vibes as the album on the first column; each column loosely represents a tier according to how much I liked the album in that row. So you can say the seven albums on the first column is my top 7 albums of the year. The breakdown of titles and the categories are below.
For an accompanying playlist, I’ll link again to the best songs list: 100 Favorite Songs / 100 Favorite Idol Songs
Happy new years, and happy listening! I hope you discovered some cool new music from This Side of Japan this year!
ONE (1A - 1G)
4s4ki: Hyper Angry Cat
Reol: Kinjitou
Yackle: 2020
Haruru Inu Love Dog Tenshi: Lonely EP (featured in issue #10)
kZm: Distortion (featured in issue #10)
Neibiss: Hello Neibiss (featured in issue #13)
(sic)boy & KM: (sic)’s sense EP
TWO (2A - 2G)
Ging Nang Boyz: Nee Minna Daisuki Dayo (featured in issue #23)
Japanese Baseball: Japanese Baseball EP
Yanakoto Sotto Mute: Beyond the Blue
B.O.L.T.: POP
Toricago: Neko Ga Naiteru
Kudaranai1nichi: Kudaranai1nichi
THREE (3A - 3G)
eill: Love/Like/Hate EP
Ako: Misty Experience
Zombie-Chang: Take Me Away from Tokyo
Ibuki Takai: Kaleidoscope EP
Kaede: Ima No Watashi Wa Kawari Tsuzukete Ano Koro No Watashi De Irareru
FOUR (4A - 4G)
Kaede: Stardust in Blue
Anna Takeuchi: Matoustic/ at FOUR EP (featured in issue #22)
Ayami Muto: Ano Koro, Kimi Ni Watashita Playlist Wo Ima Demo Boku Wa Kuchizusamu EP
Kitri: Kitrist
Ryusenkei & Hitomi Toi: Talio
Ai Furihata: Moonrise EP
FIVE (5A - 5G)
Envy: The Fallen Crimson (featured in issue #4)
Asunojokei: Wishes EP
Haru Nemuri: LOVETHEISM (featured in issue #7)
RAY: Pink
Sway Emotions Slightly: Empathies
Melon Batake A Go Go: To IDOLS, To US, To YOU
RilisReverse: Juvenile EP
SIX (6A - 6G)
Yonige: Kenzen Na Shakai (featured in issue #12)
Laura Day Romance: Farewell Your Town
Ayutthaya: I Know, Right? EP
Mele: Yume Atau Kagiri EP
Lovely Summer-chan: The Third Summer of Love (featured in issue #20)
Regal Lily: Bedtime Story
Pearl Center: Humor EP
SEVEN (7A - 7G)
SAKA-SAMA: Kimi Ga Ichiban Kakkoiijan!
Dempagumi.inc: Ai Ga Chikyuu Sukuunsa! Datte Dempagumi.inc Wa Family Desho (featured in issue #9)
EMPiRE: SUPER COOL EP
Migma Shelter: Alice
963: Tick Tock
Caeca: Hanauta
Dai Dai Dai: ∅
The next issue of This Side of Japan is out January 13. You can check out previous issues here. You can check out the newsletter’s best of 2020 features here: 100 Favorite Songs / 100 Favorite Idol Songs
Need to contact? You can find me on Twitter or reach me at ryomiyauchi9@gmail.com