memory of the future

I spent a lot more time this year revisiting albums from last year and previous than listening to new stuff. The lack of pressure was nice? Nonetheless, I did find some new LPs & EPs to like (slash hyperfocus on) this year.

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It might be an early autumn here, but this post is still floating along in summer.

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I checked out yahyel last year because “TAO” popped up on my feed, but since its music video is psychological horror with very unsettling implications I noped the hell out. Because of this I didn’t check the rest of their discography out until this month and they’re not on my 2018 albums list, but Human is incredible. I’m obsessed with “Pale” and “Hypnosis”.

Another album I missed last year was cali≠gari’s 14, but it’s disappointing for a cali≠gari album. However, 2017’s 13 is cali≠gari in top form, up there with Dai 6 and Dai 7 in jazz rock and post-punk messiness along with the regular eroguro dissonance. I also missed a XA-VAT EP last year (közi of Malice Mizer fame & cali≠gari’s Shuuji being fashion), but it was limited release so good luck I’ll ever hear any of that.

As for this year, my top albums are shaping up to be CHAI, Sakanaction, and Tempalay. EPs currently only Gozensanji to Taikutsu. Also, because this is Japan and several CDs are unavailable unless I buy a physical CD possibly at a physical concert, I’m trying to get my hands on: mol-74, mol-74; Gomess, Teru; cali≠gari, 0; and Hector, Heisei Kyounen EP (Metronome’s Sharaku and cali≠gari’s Ao are involved; it’s a reboot of Cuckoo).

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I am back on the Ben Whishaw wagon like I never left summer 2012. It’s a good chance for me to watch all those TV shows I meant to watch seven years ago; I still haven’t finished The Hour. I think the last English TV show I watched prior to this bout of frenzy was either The Thick of It, In The Flesh s1, or possibly No Heroics. Maybe Grandma’s House or the first episode of London Spy? Anyway, Whishaw and Peter Capaldi will reunited in Armando Iannucci’s David Copperfield, starring Dev Patel and out later this year. That’s something to look forward to that won’t be a complete shitshow like Bond 25—even Phoebe Waller-Bridge can’t save that.

(Speaking of reunifications, I’d missed that Ben did another cameo in another Years & Years video, mostly because Palo Santo bored me as a concept and an album. Also Hugh Grant really seems to like working with Ben these days.)

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RIP KyoAni staff. Hearing that some of them were in their twenties and had just started working in April….