The Pillows have been having a big year, with 2019 being their 30th anniversary. The band are celebrating in style, as Sawao Yamanaka wrote for a feature film, Osama ni Nare, featuring a wide variety of Japanese alt-rock greats. The pillows also released an album to tie in with the film, but they're not resting on their laurels just yet. Today they released Happy Go Ducky, the OP for the new TV basketball anime Ahiru no Sora, only a week after the show itself started. Shockingly, the song is also on US Spotify, which is a good sign that maybe more of their music will be released on there soon with time. The single itself is a very solid upbeat track. It certainly reminds me of the sounds they were going for on their 2016 album Stroll and Roll, my candidate for the best album they've worked on this decade. I'm even more interested in the B-side, Night owl. This one is a little more laid-back, with a catchy hook. You know I'm all for the pillows doing laid-back songs like 1989 or That House, or at least you would if I actually tried covering them on here. I will someday, promise.
JYOCHO released a new 4-song EP, Kirei na Sankaku, Asahi Ningen (A Perfect Triangle, Rising Sun Human,) almost a year after releasing their full-length debut album. As I have noticed with every Jyocho release so far, I don't really have a favorite picked out from early listenings. It's all about the experience of listening to a Jyocho EP, taking it in and being wrapped up in it as a whole before I start picking out any particular noteworthy tracks. It's not as standout as my initial impressions of the full album and earlier EPs were, but I still really enjoyed it.
To round off the list, NMB48 has released full music videos for their 22nd single, Hatsukoi Shijou Shugi (First Love Supremacy Rule) and one of the coupling songs, Acting tough. Hatsukoi Shijou Shugi is pleasant enough with a decent hook. I haven't been crazy about any of the NMB A-sides this year, but they've never been too bad. This is another case where I'm more interested in a B-side than an A-side, because Acting tough is GREAT. This is Ota Yuuri's graduation single, and this was a great sendoff for her. The string section in this song really helps bring out the emotion. The MV is really good too, continuing where the Hatsukoi Shijou Shugi one left off, as Yuuri rides off on a bus all by herself. It's a strong mood piece that creates an atmosphere equal parts comfy and deeply sad. I'm really sad to see Yuuri go, she was my favorite NMB member with Sayanee gone, but at least she got to leave on a high note.
