葛生千夏 - The City In The Sea

this album is . . . a masterpiece. it's become a regular (daily) listen for me. it's such a completely magical and majestic album. when i finally heard this album after playing her St. Agnes' Eve EP perhaps too many times (which of course is bullshit; i fully intend to continue to listen to that wonderful, wonderful, wonderful album), it was like a revelation. it was a breath of the purest air.

while the songs on the aforementioned EP are beautiful, there was always something lacking there for me. on The City In The Sea, the songs go beyond the two minute mark, and this gives them room to reach their full potential. i suppose i always thought to myself (about St. Agnes' Eve) that the songs would sound much better if only she had allowed them to breath! and on this album she does just that. in fact, the entire reason this album is so beautiful to me is the way each song builds up to the climax.

the highest point for me would most certainly be the luscious "The City In The Sea §1". the lyrics (taken from an E. A. Poe poem) speak of a watery realm inhabited by the dead, and presided over by Death himself. this song sums up the entire album for me. after a melancholic instrumental interlude, the song really begins, and starts to rise and rise to the beautiful ending of the song. the things this song does to me are indescribable. really, the whole album sounds like an ancient kingdom that has long been lost to the waves.

1. The May Queen
2. Nature Rewards Me
3. A Recent Letter
4. Fairy-Land
5. The City In The Sea §1
6. The City In The Sea §2
7. The Voyage
8. Since I Left You (Sonnet 113)
9. Eldorado
10. Eulalie - A Song
11. 真珠

ENJOY

マサ子さん - つちのこ男爵

okay, so here's another album by the always wonderful マサ子さん. this is probably my favorite album by them, as is the most concise and consistent in sound and quality. it's a beautiful masterpiece of kawaii~ chaos. this is the album that really defines マサ子さん for me, and was the very first album i ever heard by them, annnnnnd it's the album that solidified them as my favorite nagomu related band. they are the perfect combination of punk, pop, and new wave, and i don't know why i haven't spoken more about them, to be honest.

this album is fantastic from beginning to end, but the tracks that i replay the most would have to be "雨にヌレテモいーや", which is a really strange "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" homage, and "PSYNOMEY" which is just a really fucking catchy song. it kinda sound sinister, but not in a really threatening way. more in a cute way? i dunno, it's hard to explain.

anyways! grab this album ASAP, because it's one of my favorites.


0. マサ子さんのテーマ
1. LOVE:LOVE SONG
2. 花梨(リーフォア)
3. DEVO
4. Nonsense Song
5. 雨にヌレテモいーや
6. PSYNOMEY
7. 知らぬ世界
8. PUNK 花梨
9. フルーツ オレ ヨーグルト
10. 夜の都会(まち)に眠れ
11. 車からみてね


ENJOY

浜田朱里 - よろしく、朱里。

so, i'm finally updating this stupid fucking blog because i'm a stupid fucking idiot who has too many stupid fucking papers to write, etc. anyways, you get the point: stupid fucking finally updating. and this is a stupid fucking brilliant gem of an album that i'm handing over to you now, i might mention. 浜田朱里 has become my own personal goddess. she's . . . cute, she's mysterious, she's gravure . . . i can't stop praising her. she's that great.

my favorite song on this album is likely the second track "あなたに熱中". it's gorgeous. but also, all of the tracks are gorgeous, so what am i even talking about. her voice is so genki. the music that accompanies her is, too. it's catchy, upbeat, and absolutely fun to listen to.

a second favorite (it's more likely on par with the first "favorite" that i mentioned) would be the title track (of sorts) which is first glimpsed at on the weird opening track.

it's . . . i dunno, i really just can't explain how much i love her. she's pure magic.



1. INTRODUCTION -YOROSHIKU-
2. あなたに熱中
3. わたしだけのコイビト
4. ほほえみ乾杯
5. 恋のレッスン2
6. さよならしたくない
7. さよなら好き
8. 処女航海
9. 冬色のガラス
10. 秋のシルエット
11. よろしく


ENJOY

Exmortes - Fuckin' Nightmare

Exmortes was a dutch one-man project who recorded from 1988 to 1990. essentially, it could be argued that this dude really began the blacknoise genre. his style of black metal was raw as raw can be. the sound seems to be coming from deep underwater.

the vocals, i should mention, are not particularly black metal. he kinda sounds like Atrax Morgue, actually; trying to speak english with a broken accent. it's really fantastic, though.


1. Fear For Hate
2. Boiling Blood
3. No Sanctuary In Death
4. Destroyed Land


ENJOY