2022 august listening

[adevyish]

So I finally got sick with That Thing D: I was doing so well with my streak there. Louis Tomlinson’s new single came out today at 6 am my time, and due to everything going on I didn’t listen to it until several hours later and also missed a bunch of cool merch D: D: But the single didn’t come out in August so it’s going in the September post.

As usual, faves are ★’d.

• Mass of the Fermenting Dregs / Just
  • MOTFD and X Japan are the only two bands that could make me listen to prog rock. (It’s some very sparkly prog rock.)
• Alvvays / Easy On Your Own?
  • Some good ol’ shoegaze dream pop.
• GLIM SPANKY / Signal wa Iranai (cw: flashing)
  • This vaguely sounds like an anime opening circa 2006 by a band trying to move away from the visual kei label.
• Kaneyorimasaru / I was
  • An angry ode to summer endings.
• Louis Tomlinson / Lucky Again ★
  • Instant late 90s alt rock classic. This isn’t officially out yet so I won’t link to it ;)
• Beachside talks / Umibe no Hanashi
  • Some more shoegaze dream pop.
• Homecomings / Shadow Boxer ★
  • This song cycles through daily ennui to cheerful melancholy, a prayer for hope and catharsis.
• Hurts / Only You
  • As a massive Hurts fan c. 2011–2013, I had a bit of a texting meltdown when I figured out that three songs on Louis’ upcoming sophomore album are cowritten by Theo Hutchcraft of Hurts. And another one when a song on this month’s Louis leak (read: unofficial Lucky Again EP) showed obvious Hurts influences.
• HAMELN / Yūnagi Friends
  • Most neo-city pop is rose-tinted nostalgia, but Hameln’s latest EP leans more towards technological pessimism of the late city pop era. Tokyo Babylon revivalists take note.
• Wakita Monari / La Shangri La
  • Like some 80s J-pop snuck into an acid house track.
• RYUTist / Uragirimono ★
  • This is Katamari soundtrack-level weird — something that could almost be a pop melody on top of jazz runs.
• ako / Taiyou
  • A softer funk pop song.
• 9m88 / Love Is So Cruel
  • One thing I admire about 9m88 is her commitment to her sound — rare for a mainstream Mandopop act.