Released in 1983, Fuuyuu Kuukan is an album ahead of its time. Yes, it’s got its moments of era-appropriate city pop, but other times, it sounds like it could have been made in 2024.
Chappell Roan, The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess
The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess was released in September 2023, but it didn’t really take off till 2024. Part of me really wants to include this album in the Favorite Edition 2024 list, but I will abide by the letter of the law and call it one of the best catalog finds of the year.
Onitsuka Chihiro, UN AMNESIAC GIRL -First Code 2000-2003-
The music in this boxed set is thoroughly vetted, and I’ve even come around to THIS ARMOR, which I didn’t actually like at the time of release.
John Zorn, Simulacrum
John Zorn doesn’t usually talk to the press, but he did speak to Rolling Stone years back about how his ensembles have influenced heavy metal and vice versa. Zorn pushes his collaborators to do things they can’t picture themselves doing, and the resulting performances brim with nervous energy that always sounds confident. All that is on display with Simulacrum.
Yellow Magic Orchestra, Naughty Boys
The path from Kraftwerk and Roxy Music to the Human League and Duran Duran runs through Yellow Magic Orchestra.
Princess Goes, Come of Age
Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum has truncated their name, and on this second album, the songwriting has gotten tighter. The band’s debut THANKS FOR COMING felt a bit scattered, but on this outing, they’ve created an album that holds together from start to finish.
SZA, CTRL
Yes, yes, I’m a late-comer to SZA, which all you all have known about for the past seven years. (I gave SOS a shot on the streaming services, but I never gave it a second listen. Maybe I should.) The remarkable thing here is that I bought a used copy of the vinyl record. It’s harder to find recent hit albums like this one as used CDs.
Shannon, Let the Music Play
The title track of this album is a classic, but it cast such a long shadow that the album from which it came gets overlooked. No, the remaining tracks aren’t as strong as “Let the Music Play,” but they aren’t complete filler either.
Xenakis Minor, XM1
There is some ferocious piano playing on this sprawling three-track EP, which clocks in at 41 minutes. (I’m not making the rules here. That’s what they call it.) And it’s prog rock. Actually prog rock on a piano, no guitars. Sit with that for a while.
I have no clue why city pop became such a niche interest in 2024, but I support any trend that gets Nakamori Akina’s early albums into more ears. Aran Tomoko was an impulse purchase because someone had sold a vinyl reissue to Sonic Boom Records, and I bought it because … hey, it’s Japan!
It’s become one of my most-played albums of 2024. This album is so much more than city pop. It bends genres and indulges in experiments, all the while hewing to the confines of Japanese pop music. It predates the adventurousness of Shiina Ringo by two decades.
Beyoncé, Act II: Cowboy Carter
My immediate reaction after hearing Cowboy Carter for the first time was: “This is the closest an American artist has come to making a Shiina Ringo album.” If Renaissance felt symphonic, Cowboy Carter is operatic. (It helps that Beyonce quotes Tomasso Giordani on “Daughter.”) I’m not even going to get into whether this album is “country” — country is far too restrictive a genre to encompass the ambition on this album. To make a comparison only long-time readers might understand, Cowboy Carter operates on the level of Shousou Strip.
Shiina Ringo, Hojoya
It does seem Shiina has been releasing albums just to compile the last half dozen of singles, but Hojoya is something different. Perhaps borrowing from Beyoncé, Shiina announced the album just days before its release. Half the tracks feature collaborations with female singers, and Shiina sounds positively energized by it.
Nocchi from Perfume sounds unrecognizable without Nakata Yasutaka drowning her voice in effects, but she more than holds her own on “Ui K.O. Kachi.” Ai’s husky voice makes for a great contrast with Shiina on “Shuusha no Koushin.”
Not since Tokyo Jihen’s Sports has a Shiina Ringo album sounded so focused. It’s her best writing in years.
Haim, Women in Music, Pt. III
If I had to judge a band by their press photos, I would have pegged Haim as being an indie folk outfit. So I was surprised to hear they’re way more pop.
La Bouche, Sweet Dreams
Sweet Dreams was a huge hit in my last years of college, but I was too busy trying to get imports of John Zorn’s Masada to pay attention. The title track is indeed a banger, but the rest of the album is no slouch.
Yellow Magic Orchestra, Naughty Boys
This album is my first encounter with Yellow Magic Orchestra. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long.
Brian Fennell, Safety Songs
Before there was SYML or Barcelona, there was an album with a fresh-faced Brian Fennell going by his own name. Safety Songs is essentially a proto-Barcelona album. Even at this early stage, Fennell’s writing chops already feel well-honed.
![[Onitsuka Chihiro - UN AMNESIAC GIRL -First Code 2000-2003-]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/UnAmnesiacGirlFir324874_f.jpg)
![[Aran Tomoko - Fuyuu Kuukan]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2022333105HAO8_f.jpg)
![[Donna Summer - Bad Girls]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DonnaSummerBadGirls2018330349_b.jpg)