Monthly Archive: May 2022

Power Flowers

Tsubaki Factory – “Adrenaline Dame” Sometimes changes creep up on you, almost imperceptibly, masked by the greater familiarity of presence until one day you look up and say “hey, when did that happen?” Other times, changes are immediate and jolting. The changes of Tsubaki Factory’s image from awkward teens to somewhat insecure young ladies to, by last year, confident young...

Fool’s Golden Era

Morning Musume ’22 – “Dai惻Jinsei Never Been Better!” The second song from Morning Musume ’22’s forthcoming 71st single is a bit of a disappointment for me for a number of reasons, but what makes it worse is that its formula is one that I’m usually a sucker for. Upbeat buoyant pop with a hopeful and cheery vibe that channels the...

WHAT?!

Morning Musume ’22 – “Chu Chu Chu Bokura no Mirai” The title of this post is a short, sharp line from the song at hand, delivered with authority by Mei Yamazaki in the second verse. It’s also the reaction of a solid majority of a particular sub-section of the online H!P fandom to the song and its video. I’m not...

Lost In Frustration

Juice=Juice – terzo Juice=Juice’s third album, terzo, continues the double-CD album-plus-singles-collection format established with their first two albums and copied by Angerme on Rinnetenshou ~ANGERME Past, Present & Future~ in 2019. It’s a formula that makes the best of H!P’s frugal release schedule and brings the best of both worlds into a single release, combining a proper new album with...

Solo Flight of the Sayubee

Sayuki – “Diamond” Former Juice=Juice utahime Sayuki Takagi has returned from her 14-month exile from the music industry with a new stage name and a new mission. Her stated mission is to provide a company where former idols can continue their careers unburdened by the rigid rules of the Japanese idol industry, rules which ended her membership in the Hello!...

Genki de SKA

ANGERME – “Aisubeki Beki Human Life” The third and final track from ANGERME’s soon to be released 30th single is live on YouTube, and it’s genki as fuck. “Aisubeki Beki Human Life” is pure upbeat fun in a way Anju hasn’t been since 2018’s “46okunen LOVE.” Unlike “Koi wa Accha Accha” or “Hakkiri Shiyou ze” there’s no overarching theme here...