A lot of great music was released in 2016. Here’s my top 15 albums of the year. Lists!
15. Haru Nemuri - Sayonara Youthphobia
Haru Nemuri quickly become one of the artists I was most excited about in the latter half of the year after seeing video of her fantastic BAYCAMP2016 performance. My love was cemented when I saw she applied for a cover contest Shinsei Kamattechan did around the release of their most recent mini album.
Comparisons can certainly be drawn to someone like Daoko, who also used to be part of the Low High Who? label, but Haru Nemuri does enough to differentiate herself. As she says herself, the genre is hip hop and her heart is rock ‘n’ roll. There’s an intense and aggressive vulnerability in her flow that just melts my heart. She also seems to produce most of the tracks herself. I’ve watched the BAYCAMP performance so many times that I almost prefer it over the studio recordings of the tracks, but the album is still great. Super excited to see what she follows this album up with next year.
14. Japanese Breakfast - Psychopomp
I swear I didn’t try to have one of the few non Japanese albums on this list to be by somebody called Japanese Breakfast. This album is a great and brief collection of varied and emotional songs all backed up by beautiful and powerful lyrics. There’s such a strong sense of personality that runs through this album.
Japanese Breakfast - Everybody Wants To Love You
Japanese Breakfast - Jane Cum
Japanese Breakfast - In Heaven
The major debut by REOL (consisting of Reol, Giga and Okiku) is at times more straightforward than their previous album No Title, but it’s still impeccably produced and just plain fun to listen to. Everything about this album is so Maximum at all times, to the extent it can sometimes be exhausting.
Giga is one of those guys who astounds me time after time. There’s a real depth and variety to the tracks here, with subtleties I’m still discovering. Reol herself, is pretty much flawless throughout.She just does a lot of fun stuff with her voice. Special shoutout to the rap bridge on 404 not found which is the most hype shit.
REOL - 宵々古今 / YoiYoi Kokon
REOL - ギミアブレスタッナウ/ Give me a break Stop now
12. Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition
Pure insanity on all fronts, but at the same time extremely enticing. A lot of the beats here doesn’t sound like anything you would even remotely associate with hip hop. Danny Brown, with his singular flow and delivery, makes it all work somehow. The opening track Downward Spiral is such a perfect and appropriate way to start and sum up this truly unique album.
Danny Brown - When It Rain
11. Have a Nice Day! - Anthem for Living Dead Floor
The first of the billion albums Have a Nice Day! released this year and my favorite. It might be cheating since it’s basically a greatest hits collection of rerecorded tracks, but it’s what made me really appreciate them. There’s something so intriguing about this mix of not great, but endearing vocals and kinda simple instrumentals that are full of heart. The great energy (and dance moves) that frontman Hokuto Asami bring to their lives along with their ever excitable crowd is also a huge part of what makes them so special. Just watch one of their countless live videos on youtube. At the very least Asami knows how to make a song that will get stuck in your head forever. (..forever young forever young forever young)
Have a Nice Day! - Blood on the mosh pit - note the 1 second long Beyoncé sample that repeats through the entire song
Have a Nice Day!「フォーエバーヤング」LIVE 2015.7.10
Have a Nice Day!「ロックンロールの恋人」
10. BiSH - KiLLER BiSH (and Fake Metal Jacket)
This year I started to appreciate BiSH for what they are and stopped comparing them to their predecessors.This also lead to me falling in love with them in a huge way. Say what you will about Matsukuma Kenta and his unstoppable music factory, but the guy knows how to make memorable and fun songs with just enough of a punch to them.
Both albums they released this year were great, but I’d give a slight edge to their major debut KiLLER BiSH (though I miss the dynamic Hug Mii’s voice brought to the songs). Aina is probably the most talented singer from both BiS and BiSH, but my heart lies with liNG liNG and her parts are always my favorite.(thank you for Am I FRENZY??)
9. BPM15Q - BPM15Q ALL SONGS
I don’t think any other album with as many certified bangers as BPM15Q’s ALL SONGS was released in 2016. I don’t see how you could possibly not enjoy this If you have any interest in modern Japanese electronic music and are not stubbornly anti idol. Yunomi is just a great future bass producer (if a bit samey) and Rinahamu and Nicamoq complement each other so well. It will be interesting to see what’s in store for now renamed CY8ER with new members and without Nicamoq.
8. Shinsei Kamattechan - Natsu. Install
The bias is strong. The mini album Natsu. Install marks an improvement production-wise to 2014′s Eiyuu Syndrome. On the other hand I feel like the track list as a whole is the weakest among their releases. 4 of the 8 songs are studio versions of ancient demos I’ve already listened to countless times. This is something that will probably only bother the most hardcore fan, but hey, that’s me.
With that being said, this is without a doubt one the albums I’ve listened to the most this year. After years of being a fan of them, I’ve still not found anything that evokes the same emotions in me like Noko’s music does. Romance is one of my favorite Kamattechan tracks in years.
7. GOMESS - Joukei -Kouhen-
The second half of GOMESS’ Joukei project quickly became my favorite release by him. At this point I feel like he has really found his own unique style of emotional hip hop and spoken word. All the features on this album (and there are a lot of them) are great and at times they go beyond features to being the sole focus of the track. The instrumentals are all beautiful and just smooth as hell and are a big part of conveying the emotion of the tracks.This feels like an album’s album with a real consideration to pacing where every track flows well into each other.
GOMESS - sore eyes with Haru Nemuri
6. Togawa Jun with Vampillia - Watashi ga Nakou Hototogisu
For some reason my expectations for this weren’t particularly high, even though I love both Togawa Jun and Vampillia. Maybe the potential of it just sounded too good. Well, there’s not a whole lot I can say other than it ended up being a fucking amazing release for both Togawa Jun and Vampillia. At my first listen I teared up at the pure force of Men’s Junan. The new song is just beautiful and already feels like an old classic.
戸川純 with Vampillia - 赤い戦車
戸川純 with Vampillia - Men’s Junan
戸川純 with Vampillia - わたしが鳴こうホトトギス
5. Yukueshirezutsurezure - Post Katastrophe
At this point there’s nothing particularly novel about mixing idol with noisy music and an edgy aesthetic. Yukueshirezutsurezure just does it way better than everybody else. Since the release of their first music video, my hopes for this group have been sky high. And with the help of some truly great and punchy songwriting they keep meeting and exceeding these expectations.
Post Katastrophe is one of those albums I can listen to on repeat for a whole day without getting bored. Even the softer and more experimental tracks like Indie Skin and Word flood Moment bring with them a sense of exhilaration and that particular Tsurezure feeling, It’s not the most sophisticated or multifaceted music you can listen to, but it goes for something specific and goes for it full force. Pure enjoyment from start to finish.
Shidare is my idol MVP of the year.
4. Bellring Shoujo Heart - BEYOND
Bellring Shoujo Heart’s Beyond was released almost at the beginning of the year and I’ve kept returning to it time after time. In the overcrowded chika idol scene it’s hard to stand out as truly unique, but Beruha somehow managed it. Everything from the psychedelic production to the shaky singing and their whole image just comes together to form something that feels fresh, without being off-putting.
It’s also pretty impressive to put together a 16 tracks, 62 minutes long idol album that doesn’t just feel like a senseless compilation, but an actual cohesive album. While I have my favorites, there’s not a song on here I don’t like. Chappie is definitely one of my top 3 songs of the year and a great farewell gift from Goto Mariko who exited the music industry once again this year.
BELLRING少女ハート - すなっちゃん・なっぽー
BELLRING少女ハート - ROOM 24-7
3. ZOMBIE-CHANG - ZOMBIE-CHANGE
It’s not often you see an artist completely change their style and be so successful at it. I was a big fan of Zombie-Chang’s aggressive folk EP from 2013, but you won’t find many traces of it on this album. The change to minimal and danceable electronic beats with catchy hooks is so well done and made the album one my biggest surprises of the year. The album also excels at delivering real emotion through tracks like SEMETE KANASHII TOKINIWA and KOREDE OWARI?. There are just so many great little touches sprinkled throughout the album that makes the album extremely fun to listen to.
According to last.fm, PMS is my listened to song of the year and I can’t say I am surprised.
SEMETE KANASHII TOKINIWA / ZOMBIE-CHANG
GOODBYE MY LOVE AND TURN AROUND / ZOMBIE-CHANG
2. Death Grips - Bottomless Pit
What can I say, they keep delivering year after year. It was immensely refreshing to get a pretty much straight forward album release after the constant hype and anticipation for their previous album, Jenny Death. The almost regular album release didn’t take away anything from the excitement I felt for Bottomless Pit though. This is Death Grips at the top of their game while at the same time it also feels like they are just having a lot of fun. Whether it’s the insane spectacle of Hot Head or the triumphant energy of Bottomless Pit (the song), the album is fucking explosive throughout. There’s still nobody who does it like Death Grips. ‘Cause this pit’s bottomless.
Death Grips - Three Bedrooms in a Good Neighborhood
Death Grips - Bottomless Pit
1. Oomori Seiko - TOKYO BLACK HOLE
You know when you keep waiting and waiting and waiting for an album and finally it’s here and… it actually lives up to the insane hype you have been creating for yourself. It’s rare, but sometimes it happens. TOKYO BLACK HOLE is one of those.
While Seiko has moved almost entirely away from her acoustic guitar roots on her recent studio albums, she has done it in such an immensely successful way that I don’t think there are many complainers. TOKYO BLACK HOLE continues and builds on the style of her major debut album Sennou amazingly. Even after almost a year since the first single release from the album it still managed to feel incredibly fresh and cohesive.
Almost every track here can be described as a highlight. Magic Mirror is so expertly crafted in every way. Gekiteki JOY! Before After is a true joy with maybe my favorite chorus from her ever. Album closer Shoujo Manga Shounen Manga just destroys me every single time.
Pop music doesn’t get much better than this.
Oomori Seiko - Magic Mirror
Oomori Seiko - TOKYO BLACK HOLE
Oomori Seiko - Shoujo Manga Shounen Manga
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