[Kacku]

2017 is almost over, and now it's a perfect time to look back on the year and discuss the best things to come out of it. Share and discuss your favourite albums, singles, songs, music videos, or whatever!

I enjoyed this year in Japanese music, especially when it comes to albums. Last year, I was having a hard time pulling together a top 5 albums list, but this year, I had enough albums I liked that making a top 10 was easy. However, I had less stand-out songs that I really loved and learned by heart, but I still loved lots of songs. As always, many artists I've loved for a long time really disappointed me (Thelma Aoyama, Perfume, Do As Infinity), but several more positively surprised me (Taichi Mukai, Negoto), and I discovered new ones to like (MONDO GROSSO, HARUHI).

My own personal top lists for Japanese music (since I only really follow the Japanese scene):

Top 20 songs

Spoiler:

20. ame_no_parade - free
This is a lovely mellow alt-rock tune which ame_no_parade excels at. The simple synth hook somehow gets me every time.

19. Chihiro Onitsuka - Hi no Tori
This gentle acoustic-guitar-driven little ballad is the highlight of Chihiro's newest album for me. The instrumentation is rich and warm, and Chihiro herself sounds very warm and comforting. The song sounds almost happy by Chihiro's standards, but I'm certain that if I read the lyrics, I'd find that it's actually terribly sad.

18. Aimer - ONE
A triumphant, uplifting pop-rock anthem - a surprising style from Aimer, but it works well! I love the climactic high notes at the end of the chorus, and the bridge is amazing. However, this song runs a little long - having heard the radio edit first, I feel like the song works better when cut shorter.

17. GLAY - Xyz
A great upbeat feel-good rock song. Nothing too original, but awesome!

16. Negoto - Kimi no Yume
In the beginning, a lovely dreamscape of twinkling synths and sparse vocals; in the middle, intense and frantic but still fantastical and thrilling; in the end, calming down again. This song's shifts in dynamic are great, and I love every part.

15. FLOWER FLOWER - Mannequin
I love it when FLOWER FLOWER gets their dark rock on, and this song is no exception. The driving beat of the song and shout-along 'whoa's in the chorus are awesome.

14. HARUHI - Nightmare
The standout track from HARUHI's debut album. The sound is great, the build-up in the song is perfect, and the whole song is just wonderfully creepy.

13. Suiyoubi no Campanella - Picasso
While I liked SUPERMAN, no song on the album hit me as hard as this one did. Somehow Suiyoubi no Campanella's slower songs always get me even though they are kinda better at making the weird rap-dance songs. But I love this track with its chill vibe and KOM_I's restrained rap-singing, it's catchy, mellow and lovely.

12. Miliyah Kato - Shoujo Jidai
Miliyah's slow, gloomy rapping is amazing, and the pretty chorus goes with the verses so well. This style really suits Miliyah, I'd love to hear more songs like this.

11. INSHOW-HA - Lemon
This song is just amazingly energetic and electrifying, and the main guitar riff is addictive and never leaving my head.

10. Every Little Thing - RIDE IT OUT
A quiet, stealthily addictive little soft rock tune where Kaori Mochida sounds better than ever.

9. Ai Otsuka - HONEY
This song is so dreamy and mysterious, and Ai's whisper-like vocals are gorgeous.

8. Namie Amuro - Finally
A magnificent epic ballad, a worthy swan song for an iconic artist.

7. Nana Kitade - Saddest Song
I could pick a number of other songs from VIOLET BLAZE for this spot, but I'm going with Saddest Song, the first song from the album to stick with me. It's a wonderful electronic ballad where the arrangement really seems to be going for as mournful as possible while Nana sounds wistful and gorgeous.

6. NakamuraEmi - Rebirth
Again, I could pick a number of songs from the album, but this one is extra special. It's a great album opener, a fun, energetic NakamuraEmi-acoustic-guitar-hip-hop song that goes to unexpected places and hooks you in tightly.

5. Taichi Mukai - BLUE
I love Taichi Mukai's ballads, and the title track of his first full album is one of his best. It's smooth, sweet, fresh, emotional, and the chorus hits hard.

4. iri - Watashi
iri's hip hop-dance jam is probably her catchiest song yet, and so good.

3. Lily on the FielD - Forever no End
Tomoyuki Nakazawa shows his signature and strengths in a great fashion on his swan song with I've, and Riho (under a weird pseudonym) gives an amazing vocal performance. The airy production with light synth flourishes gives room to Riho's gorgeous vocals and she's so good, especially in the chorus when she's hitting the higher notes and giving passion and joy; together, they make this song about endings positive and comforting.

2. Eiko Shimamiya - Chikyuu
This song was released by two artists this year. The song is all about the transience of life and the importance living now, and both artists give very different interpretations. Takeshi Saitou, the original composer, lyricist and producer of the song, sings it with all the angst and passion of someone who has only recently realised the transience of life; Eiko Shimamiya gives the song a gentler interpretation. Her voice carries wisdom and life experience: she sounds like someone who's well familiar with how unexpected life can be and come to terms with it and is here to offer comfort. And she brings a wide palette of emotions and impressions out of the song: melancholy, sweetness, warmth, passion, bitterness, longing... I love this song.

1. MONDO GROSSO - Labyrinth
Beautiful, hypnotizing, immersive, otherworldly, magical, soothing...



Hikari Mitsushima's alluring vocals, Shinichi Osawa's haunting arrangement, the little piano twinkles... This song is everything.

Top 10 albums

Spoiler:

10. Awesome City Club - Awesome City Tracks 4
Awesome City Club has a great, colorful and sparkly style of city pop-rock, and this mini-album is a solid showcase of it.

9. fox capture plan - FRAGILE
I usually have a hard time getting into instrumental-only music, but this album get me. I'm not sure what it is about it that I like so much, but this album is a really nice listen and it keeps me coming back.

8. INSHOW-HA - INSHOW-HA wa Kimi ni Toikakeru / ?
This album is weird and electrifying and packed with fun tracks. However, towards the end, the album slows down, and this duo impresses me even further by proving that they can also do well with slower songs and serve some nice Kaori Mochida impressions.

7. Haruka to Miyuki - Tameiki no Danmenzu
Haruka and Miyuki's third full album is their most consistent one yet. They serve drama, angst, fun, and energy, and they do it all excellently.

6. Negoto - ETERNALBEAT
Negoto's previous albums have always left me a little cold, but this time they brought in some more synths and some of their catchiest and most memorable songs ever, and I love it.

5. HARUHI - INSIDE OUT
HARUHI's debut album is really impressive. She has a distinct mellow, atmospheric style of rock, and the album is very cohesive and solid throughout and features some fantastic stand-out tracks.

4. Taichi Mukai - BLUE
This album is a smooth mix of pop, r'n'b, electronic and funky music and it's all consistently high quality. The second half of the album is a little weaker than the first, but the album is still a joy to listen to.

3. MONDO GROSSO - Nandodemo Atarashiku Umareru / Reborn Again And Always Starting New
A wonderfully varied album with amazing sounds and a bunch of fantastic tracks. Shinichi Osawa serves many different styles, and while not all of them do it for me, the ones that get me are mind-blowingly amazing and keep me coming back.

2. Nana Kitade - VIOLET BLAZE
Nana Kitade's new style works for her really well: it's very different from her past work but still sounds uniquely her. This album is full of beautiful electro-pop songs conveying a range of emotions; Nana said she wanted the listeners to feel both despair and hope, and I think she succeeded.

1. NakamuraEmi - NIPPONNO ONNAWO UTAU Vol. 4
This album is so much fun, and it really showcases NakamuraEmi's talents and broadens her scope in ways that fit seamlessly with her established style. She goes for pop, intensely emotional balladry, coffee lounge realness, something fun and weird, and finishes it all off with a love letter to hip hop in a style that is just the pure essence of NakamuraEmi. A great collection of songs and an amazingly fun album to listen to over and over again.

Honorable mentions

Spoiler:

BoA - Spring Rain
A beautiful, moody electro-pop ballad (which I far preferred over CAMO). BoA has such a gorgeous voice, and this song shows it off so well.

Chihiro Onitsuka - Tiny Screams
My self-imposed restrictions kept me from putting this on the best albums list, but this is certainly one of my favourite releases to come out this year. The tracklist is great, the acoustic live arrangements are chillingly beautiful, and Chihiro's voice is divine.

alan - Thought in a Decade
A gorgeous album that really shows off how alan has evolved as an artist. On par with her first Japanese album and home to many gems.

MISIA - Kimi no Soba ni Iru yo
This single is just so nice to listen to, the title track is so good and cute and I love listening to even the instrumental tracks.

Ai Otsuka - Watashi
Two amazing tracks and a quirky b-side - singles like this really make me miss J-pop maxi singles, which I feel are getting rarer.