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Japanese Girls Do It Best

Japan may or may not have the best music scene in the world but the conjecture that the best roster of female bands comes from Japan is nearly irrefutable. It started in the 80's with bands like Shonen Knife (still active) and 5.6.7.8's but female bands really hit their stride in '00-10 led by MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS, Go!Go!7188, Bleach, nisennenmondai, and to date the most important and influential Japanese female band Chatmonchy.

Championing the next wave of great female bands and currently sitting at the apex are Akai Koen and tricot.

No country produces more quality female rock bands than Japan.

So... who are the up & coming female bands that are killing it now?

Here are my top ten with the first seven in no particluar order:

ゆゆん

ゆゆん (yuyun) arose in 2013 from the ashes of スカートの中 (Skirt no Naka), 日本マドンナ (Nihon Madonna), アイマイミー and The alps. Bassist/vocalist Yurie is the frontwoman. She is a huge Akai Koen fan and is still choked I backpedalled from bringing her previous band (Skirt no Naka) to NMFT vol 4. In casual conversation she has no filter and says whatever she wants with no discretion.

me: Hey Yurie. That performance kicked ass and you look really nice today.

Yurie: Steve! I noticed you in the crowd right away because you've put on so much weight!

me: Gee... thanks.

Yurie: no problem! *talking to me while sucking her nostrils in the whole time as if she's punking me*

ゆゆん have an emo-side that evokes an early-Weezer vibe but overall their music is too garage-punk for my taste. However, they play live with an impressive amount of energy and power that becomes more potent each time I see them. Although a bit of a longshot they're a candidate for a future NMFT simply for the fact it would be crazy fun hanging out with Yurie and experiencing a tour's worth of her zany antics.

and check out my clips of them: 1st 2nd

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paranoid void

paranoid void hail from Osaka and were also formed in 2013.

Not by coincidence, paranoid void's earliest songs bear a heavy MotFD influence:

Their more recent stuff cops a style closer to tricot

In October 2015 paranoid void played a few shows in Malaysia

If a hybrid of MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS and tricot (albeit with a more mainstream feel) is right up your alley then keep your eyes and ears primed for paranoid void.

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Falsettos

First off, their home page ends not in dotcom nor dotjp but dotbeer!!!! F*ck to the Yeah.

Kinoko Teikoku's sound engineer Hiromi first recommended this band to me as one of the illest acts around. So I researched them on Youtube and found this clip which I found about as exciting as stale onigiri (riceball).

But my friend Ian also mentioned Falsettos being his favorite band at the moment so I figured my opinion of them shouldn't be prejudiced by a single, early youtube clip.

I still haven't seen them live but their most recent Youtube clips look much more promising:

What the fuuhhh? This is totally different from the first clip I peeped. Also much nicer.

Their homepage has a bunch of videos and some soundcloud recordings so check them out here if you fancy. Their lyrics (found here) are also type insane.

example:

Johnny has lost his front teeth

He went to see a doctor but there was nothing they could do

So we sucked his brain out

Wash those fuckin’ nightmares away

Wash those fuckin’ nightmares away

Johnny has lost his front teeth

Make this chunk of ev*an and brain

Make these flowers blossom in his mouth

They describe themselves as making Raw&Romantic PUNK ROCK MUSIC.

Realistically they're also a bit too garage for my tastes but I am interested in seeing them play live.

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指先ノハク

指先ノハク (Yubisaki no Haku) originally called RADITZ have been around since 2008 and they use Shimokitazawa ERA as their homebase of operations.

They play straightforward alt-indie for the most part with occasional bursts of post-punk/HC. Yubisaki sound a bit like Akai Koen but with slap-bass.

（edit & note: they took down the old video I had embedded so I put this brand spanking new one up. Holy shieeet!! I've been to 4 or 5 of their shows but this is the best I've ever seen them. Maybe I need to rethink my ranking.)

To be brutally honest their studio recordings have some trite filler but they surprise with some really great songs and their live performance is exceptionally polished, confident and energetic.

If there's lots of interest from readers I would consider them for NMFT but they're sort of on the fringe like ゆゆん.

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絶景クジラ

Zekkei Kujira are a very young band from Osaka that started up in 2013 and sound like the lovechild of 指先ノハク and ねごと.

Their music is too mainstream pop for my tastes but they have a quirkiness to them that's reasonably cool.

These girls are very talented for their age but probably too pop and lacking in edge to consider NMFT material but they do have a quirky, 'impromptu freakout' side to them that is intriguing.

I only saw them play a portion of their set last year and haven't listened to any of their albums so I only have a rudimentary impression of them. Out of the ten bands listed they have the most mainstream appeal and potential for success.

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Su凸ko D凹koi

Suttoko Dokkoi are known for their crass song lyrics chock full of sexual innuendos. Don't quote me on this but I presume the 凸 and 凹 symbolize anatomical parts in the nether regions.

This Tokyo-based trio won't be impressing many people with their musical chops. But they play a fun and melodic style of punk akin to the Ramones, that is if the Ramones were sex-obsessed.

What did impress me though was reading their band profile and finding out guitarist Rina's musical influences include J Dilla and MF Doom

..

..

WhaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???!!!!

Are you f*cking SERIOUS?!!! That is INSANE! Girl after my own underground hip hop loving heart. Musical taste that sublime equates to wifey material. Personally my faves are Binary Star , Slug and J-Zone with much love for some mainstream ATCQ, Beatnuts and Heiro Imperial (Souls, Deltron, Casual). Did I mention Slug?! (couldn't decide betwen the two clips!) :)

Rina has unequivocally dope taste in music.... (wait scratch that.. she also inexplicably lists Chris Brown. Grounds for divorce.)

Su凸ko D凹koi are a fun band that play simple, melodic pop-punk and perform a lot of hilarious sketches/skits in between songs when performing live. Unfortunately they're too much of a joke band to be a serious contender for NMFT but if you visit Tokyo they're worth seeing live ...

...

for the chance to talk underground hip hop with Rina.

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虎の子ラミー

Toranoko-rammy (tiger cub rammy) are super young at around 19-20 years of age. Which is surprising because their live show exudes an unbelievably high degree of energy, charisma and stage presence that would make James Brown and Mick Jagger yell "Goddamn! These girls tear it up!" Seriously. There's no way they've been doing shows sporadically for more than a couple years but they rock the house like they've been honing their performance and craft for over a decade. They're like natural born rock stars that came together by coincidence.

Hope you sell enough CDs to afford some footwear by then you f*cking hippies! LOL j/k

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And now it's time for my three favorite female bands not named tricot or Akai Koen.

I think what sets these three bands apart from those above is that their music is much more earnest and soulful in comparison.

They're not just messing around trying to be rock stars and there is sincerity and emotional honesty in their songcraft.

3. 硝子越しの暴走

Garasugoshi no Bousou means... well... I'm not exactly sure to tell you the truth.

硝子 = glass, pane 越し = across, over 暴走 = rampage, run wildly out of control

Google Translate says: Runaway through the glass

An image of someone crashing through a plate glass window comes to mind. So maybe that's what it means. Either that or 'running wildly over the glass.' Maybe I should ask them...

..

why they chose a name that would be such a b*tch to explain or promote to a Canadian audience.

Interestingly, a guy named Seth emailed me last year and recommended this band to me.

I had actually seen their name around a bit when looking at concert schedules in Tokyo but never really took notice of them. I followed Seth' suggestion and looked up youtube clips of Garasugosho no Bousou (henceforth abbreviated GGnB) and what I found was kind of.... 'meh' and more meh

It wasn't terrible by any means but it didn't have me jumping out of my seat or... running wildly through a plate glass window that's for sure.

But then I had a chance to see them play live at Shinjuku Motion which happens to be my favorite venue in all of Japan. Not only that but it turns out that Shinjuku Motion is their homebase.

They sounded way better live than in any of the footage I had seen on Youtube prior to the show.

The song 「梅里中央公園」especially kicked my ass through ten plate glass windows.

And the live version of 「Musiqua」is way more intense than the 'meh' video I linked above:

GGnB's music is folk and blues tinged rock with occasional outbursts of punk/HC fury. It's soulful and honest and their live performance is both dynamic and passionately engaging.

However, their music is a bit simple from a technical standpoint and the chord progressions and melodies seem familiar if not trite on occasion.

Although I wish GGnB would broaden the scope and complexity of their music by being more creative and willing to experiment you'd be hard pressed to find a female band that plays with more heart, soul and integrity.

The chances of seeing 硝子越しの暴走 on the NMFT8 roster are pretty damn high.

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2. リーガルリリー

Regal Lily consists of 3 girls from Tachikawa (Western suburb of Tokyo) who are still in high school. The prodigal talent behind this band is Honoka Takahashi who only started playing guitar and writing songs in grade ten. In the introduction I wrote that Chatmonchy is the most influential and important Japanese female band to date but Honoka's songwriting prowess might allow Regal Lily to surpass their infuential sempais one day.

Regal Lily's music is simple, graceful, highly melodic, clean and emotionally charged at its core but it's sprinkled with intense bursts of raw power. There is great use of harmonics, zippy arpeggios, atypical chords/intervals and the stark contrast between clean and peaceful crescendoing unexpectedly into jawcrushing shoegaze gives their songs memorable impact.

Honoka is only 17 but she has an 'old soul' and a genious level knack for elegant, powerful songwriting.

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1. 午前3時と退屈

Gozen Sanji to Taikutsu (3am and bored) consists of four girls who graduated from high school just last year. They are also from Tachikawa like Akai Koen and Regal Lily above. (What the hell do they spike the drinking water with in Tachikawa since three of the best female bands in the world are from this tiny Tokyo suburb?!)

Whereas Regal Lily are the closest thing to old-school Chatmonchy in their emo-shoegaze prime, Gozen Sanji are the closest thing to old-school Akai Koen back when they kicked ass like THIS.

Akai Koen are great because they don't stick to a formula or style. Each song has its unique vibe to the point it seems like a completely different band is playing from one song to the next. Gozen Sanji emulate this approach and seem to create each song using completely new ingredients in an effort to keep things varied and fresh.

From a technical standpoint Gozen Sanji aren't as precociously talented as Akai Koen but drummer Riichan has a profound flair for creative beatmaking and Anisonin is fantastic on both vocals and keyboards.

Unfortunately guitarist Mikkyun recently left the band for health and personal reasons which forced Gozen Sanji to switch things up as a 3-piece. It was a huge setback having to rewrite song arrangements and perform shorthanded but it gave fans the opportunity to hear old songs in a new light as well as new songs they've never heard before.

I love the vocal harmonies in this clip and how Riichan's drumming evolves in complexity throughout the entire song.

But in the last 2 weeks Gozen Sanji have recruited Kosei of the cosmodolls to play support guitar. Having a male band member definitely changes the atmosphere of the band but at least now Gozen Sanji can play their songs at full strength.

Looks like they're still getting used to performing with Kosei bc they usually sound much tighter. But Riichan's drumming!!! So sweet. And notice the HUGE difference in style between the two clips. That's the great variety I was talking about in their music.

I am crossing my fingers hoping Mikkyun miraculously comes back to play guitar but no matter what happens with their line-up Gozen Sanji to Taikutsu are officially part of the NMFT8 tour.

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