Review: When Tatsuro Yamashita first released 'Christmas Eve' in 1983, it didn't receive a huge amount of attention. It was only when the track was picked up for an advert in the late 80s that it caught on became a seasonal favourite in Japan, going on to become one of Yamashita's biggest hits. Now it's being repressed in this 40th anniversary commemorative edition right in time for the impending festive season, featuring a bonus version of the B-side version of 'White Christmas' recorded for the Happy Xmas Show. If you want a quintessential ingredient for the Japanese Christmas experience, look no further.
Review: South London singer Lola Young shares the sixth single from her second studio album This Wasn't Meant For You Anyway (2024) on limiited 7" coloured vinyl. A viral moment on TikTok spurred the popularity of this plaintive single, billed by the artist as an "ADHD anthem" and reproof of her last relationship; the lyrics track Young's misgivings about a romance gone sour, critiquing the many contradictory "too"s used to justify a given lover's impropriety: "I'm too messy, I'm too clean... I'm too clever, I'm too dumb... I'm too perfect till I show you that I'm not..." The song is brow-beaten and bluesy, bearing the emotive scars of a fraught time, and perfectly capturing the indie minimality of pop in its ideal incarnation in 2025.
Review: London's singer and songwriter Lola Young (who you may know covered 'Together in Electric Dreams' for the 2021 John Lewis Christmas advert) is back with a limited edition 7" featuring two tracks from her last album This Wasn't Meant For You Anyway back in 2024. First up is 'Conceited' which has a slow motion groove and dumpy kicks with Lola's acrobatic vocals shapeshifting throughout next to bleeping synth sounds. 'Crush' is another stylish vocal delivery with languid indie guitars that bring some sleaze over live drums that build to a raw crescendo before falling away again to reveal Lola's vulnerability lyrics.
When We Die (Can We Still Get High?) (feat Lil Yachty) (5:05)
When We Die (Can We Still Get High?) (acoustic) (4:29)
Review: YUNGBLUD's hook-up with Lil Yachty is renowned amongst fans for its trippy production and tight, evocative, mind-melting bars. It has never before been on vinyl but this year's Record Store Day rights that wrong while serving it up with a superb, exclusive, introspective in-studio acoustic performance of the track. 'When We Die (Can We Still Get High?)' was first released on January 26, 2024 by Locomotion Recordings and Geffen Records and is a new school mix of alternative rock, psychedelia and hip-hop that explores themes of mortality and escapism with production by YUNGBLUD plus Matt Schwartz and Paul Meany. It's an introspective gem.
Review: Tatsuro Yamashita's It's a Poppin' Time is one of the many albums of his that are being reissued right now as part of a campaign focussing don his work for RCA. It arrives on nice heavy 180g vinyl and is the first of two live albums he put out. This one came in 1978 and an expanded remaster came in 2002. At the time he was an already established Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer who had very much helped to define the early city-pop sound that has endured to this day. He dropped a wealth of studio albums from the seventies onwards and as this one shows had more than enough skill to carry that magic over to the live arena.
Review: Music On Vinyl are our new best friends. With a wide range of music being reissued as of late, Yello's 1987 One Second is just spoiling us. Never being fully acclaimed when it was originally released, this is one album which really spans the full circle in terms of artistic ideas sonic experimentations. While being tagged primarily as a pop work, it's really more of a lesson in synth manipulations and nutty beat-making. "The Rhythm Divine" has to be out top track but do check the whole thing, it's magnificent...
Review: The tide of (hyper)pop has ebbed into increasingly emo and indie directions and the frothiest edge of this fluid movement is perhaps best represented by the latest album from Yeule (Nat Cmiel). Softscars follows up Yeule's 2022 album Glitch Princess and continues the trend of ultra-glossy, CD-reflective, knife-edge sounds packed into the blueprint of downtempo dream pop, in which said gloss reflects Cmiel's own personal experience of healing from trauma. The likes of 'ghost', 'dazies' and 'sulky baby' are giving glitchy alternate-reality Green Day in their Boulevard Of Broken Dreams era, with a dash of ejector-jewel-cased lyrics and a sprinkling of George Clinton-esque production flavour.
Review: The third full-length studio album from Singaporean singer-songwriter-producer Nat Cmiel (aka yeule) released to rave reviews earlier this September, following an ethereal rollout with singles 'dazies', 'ghosts' and 'inferno' showcasing exactly what yeule excels at: worldbuilding. 'softscars' is now the 3rd instalment in one of the most exciting album runs in modern alt-pop, shifting away from the glitchy, electronic ambience of predecessor 'Glitch Princess', moving in a more rock-centric, brighter direction. This isn't to say the album doesn't have its soul-crushing moments, opening track 'x w x' closes with a defiant scream of frustration, whilst the drums, guitar and synths fight each other for dominance - bottoming out into a gentle outro sequence. The calm after the storm. We could go on about this album for hours, as a yeule fan it feels so fresh but so perfect with it's oscillating directness in delivery. Whereas 'Glitch Princess' felt like travelling through a clastrophobia-inducing tunnel at time, 'softscars' is that moment you burst out of the tunnel and are hit with a huge green vista. It's my album of the year but, hey, what do I know?
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
The tide of (hyper)pop has ebbed into increasingly emo and indie directions and the frothiest edge of this fluid movement is perhaps best represented by the latest album from Yeule (Nat Cmiel). Softscars follows up Yeule's 2022 album Glitch Princess and continues the trend of ultra-glossy, CD-reflective, knife-edge sounds packed into the blueprint of downtempo dream pop, in which said gloss reflects Cmiel's own personal experience of healing from trauma. The likes of 'ghost', 'dazies' and 'sulky baby' are giving glitchy alternate-reality Green Day in their Boulevard Of Broken Dreams era, with a dash of ejector-jewel-cased lyrics and a sprinkling of George Clinton-esque production flavour.
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