Smerz – “Half life” [2017]

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Very Warm

Medusa is in the club and she’s ready to fuck you up.

Along with SASSY 009, Smerz was one of my favorite new groups from 2017. Their brand of dizzying, uncanny electronic pop is so unique and infectious. It makes me feel like I have a medusa-like stare, rendering anyone in my path to stone. Not that I wish that upon anyone, it’s just incredibly cool music. The ability to create something so catchy and hard-hitting while using ugly, distorted sounds is another one of my favorite things and Smerz match this in spades with this track. Cannot wait for a full-length from them.

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Momoko Kikuchi – “Adventure” [1986]

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Very Warm

Some more city pop coming at ya – one of my all time favorite albums in the genre.

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De Lux – “Keyboards Cause We’re Black And White” [2018]

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Very Warm

Another great song from 2018. Disclaimer – I’m currently promoting this album to college radio stations, but I’ll be danged if I can’t say this is a good song on my own blog.

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Nami Shimada – “Sunshower” [2004]

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Very Warm

More pop from Japan, this time from Nami Shimada and the techno stylings of Soichi Terada, who is most known for his work on the Ape Escape soundtracks (in my mind, anyway). This song rips and will definitely get you moving in your step aerobics class.

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Miharu Koshi – “Ryugujyo no Koibito” [1984]

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Very Warm

Realizing that a lot of these posts for February are going to be about Japanese pop music from the 80s, primarily labeled as “city pop.” This is the intro track to one of my favorite pop albums of the era, Miharu Koshi’s Parallelisme from 1984 – most notably mixed and produced by Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Haruomi Hosono. It’s a fantastic record overall, but this opener is by far the best track in my opinion.

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Lou Rebecca – “Neverending” [2018]

Posted on February 4, 2018 by Very Warm

Another entry to great 2018 tracks, from Holodeck Record’s Lou Rebecca. Intoxicating synth pop with serious Glass Candy feels added in there. Lou Rebecca’s new self-titled EP is solid – I’m very likely going to feature it on my albums of January post.

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Lane 8 – “No Captain (ft. Poliça)” [2018]

Posted on February 3, 2018 by Very Warm

Another early 2018 standout track comes from CO-based electronic vibeman Lane 8, featuring Channy from Poliça. I wouldn’t say I’m always a huge fan of this type of music, but this song really hits. I’ll give most of the props to Channy’s vocals and the flickering, accelerating synth in the background of the track. Well arranged and something that would definitely go over super well live. I can see a bunch of folks in snowboarder jackets totally vibing out to this.

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The Supreme Jubilees – “It’ll All Be Over” [1980/2015]

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Very Warm

I’m going to try and post something every day during the month of February, usually consisting of either brand new music or folks that I’ve never posted about before. Yesterday I posted about the brand new Negative Gemini EP, so today I’m indulging in something older.

I recently rediscovered this album by The Supreme Jubilees and decided to put their 1979 album (reissued by Light In The Attic in 2015) on my phone for the week, especially since it’s a very cold Friday and I need a bit of comfort. This did the trick and warmed me up during my frigid commute to work this morning. The story of the band is heartwarming and another story to add to the collection of labels like Light In The Attic or Numero resuscitating old, forgotten records to the present day. Read the whole story below and enjoy.

Continue reading →

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Negative Gemini – “Infin Path” [2018]

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Very Warm

First 2018-related post is a dang good one. I was a big fan of Negative Gemini’s 2016 album Body Work, so I was jazzed to find out that this new EP, Bad Baby, builds upon the sweaty rave stab into dream pop that was set up on the last record. “Infin Path” is the first track on the record and it gets things started off well, priming the listener for what’s to come. A bleary smear of electronics, drum samples (unsure what the exact name of that pattern would be – it’s not breakbeat / drum & bass right?). Either way – it’s a mess of styles coherently blended together in a satisfying package. Listen to the rest of the EP and maybe even buy it HERE.

ALSO – I’m going to try and do a post every day this month (February 2018). If I fail, flay me alive in the town square!

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Sun Araw – “Holodeck Blues” [2010]

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Very Warm

I would write papers during my final year of college to Sun Araw, one of my favorite psychedelic artists. It would put me in some sort of primal trance, not allowing any confounding thoughts to interrupt my process. I previously had trouble with things distracting me while doing big projects, likely to reduce the stress that I was putting upon my brain. This music allowed me to amply distribute said stress into other areas of my brain while still utilizing its maximum efficiency. Or something like that. Either way, I finished college with a minor in Spanish after taking four upper-level Spanish classes at once, so I definitely have this man to thank, at least partially.

This song specifically is the climactic conclusion to his 2010 album On Patrol (Not Not Fun). It isn’t the best track off the record, but it’s definitely one of the most memorable. Since it was the longest it meant I had the most uninterrupted time to get through the jam and get my work done. The final bit (I’ll let you get to it naturally without me spoiling it) really throws this song over the edge for me. The trance is a real thing and this track will show you.

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