Brandy Senki, Uchudan | Coast Is Clear

Brandy Senki «Nightmarish» – OK, today there are two of my songs of the year on the blog, if only so that they don't get lost in the future annual chart posting in a few months. The first one is the extremely promising young Japanese indie rock band Brandy Senki, who already produced one of my hits of the year last year (“Kids”).

Now they're back with their second EP, which is once again very good. The current single was a bit of a shock for me at first, as it's more city pop-like and comes across as very fluffy and candy-colored – and thus deviates significantly from their usual sound. But I was quickly convinced, as the great melody and the (typically Japanese) constantly changing elements in the song make it a real hit.

For comparison, her previous single, «A box of Stockholm»which is completely different, but again features the catchy melodies that are so typical for the band.

Uchudan «Public Bathhouse» – this band, which I only discovered recently but which has been active for a few years, sounds even more Japanese. Their sound is difficult to describe – sometimes indie rock, sometimes pop, sometimes something like in their brilliant new single. I have no idea what category to put the song in, other than “great” :-).