Make Believe Melodies For Nov. 9, 2026

Maegami Pattsun Shonen — POP FACE

Quartet Maegami Pattsun Shonen label itself as a “neo music unit,” expanding in the project’s bio to include the phrase “NEO J-POP” and “new generation music unit.” It’s pretty clear what adjective they want to emphasize, further emphasized in widely spread descriptions like how they boast an “average age of 18.”

Listening to debut album POP FACE I mostly hear an intersection of two lines of internet-influenced Japanese music crossing, influences clear but mixed in a novel way. This isn’t a total departure from what came before towards some unseen sound, but rather a different perspective on what has been brewing in the nation over the last six year, delivered with spunk.

POP FACE serves as an overlapping moment for the decade’s dominant mutations on web-centric sound. On one corner is the part descended from netlabels such as Maltine Records, early online outposts reveling in genre freedom while also maintaining a heavy IRL community.

There’s many children of this era, though for our purposes let’s zero in on the particularly thrilling and fun PAS TASTA. Maegami frequently sounds indebted to them, to the point this feels like the first time that supergroup has really shaped a younger project. There’s an interest in pushing pop to its limits on the rave rumble of “Chobibibit!” and sample splatter galore on the otherwise chipper synth hopscotch of “POP U Ism.” Other songs feature heavily manipulated vocals and shuffling club beats turned daytime bright, with “meroneid” covered in a layer of familiar smoke. I mean hell, the title is POP FACE, not far from the GOOD and GRAND variety.

The other story of the 2020s comes from the children of Vocaloid. A generation who didn’t see Hatsune Miku as a weird-Japan development but rather just a part of their musical lives stepped onto the J-pop stage, most prominently captured by YOASOBI and Ado. Yet in the case of Maegami, it’s better to focus on the more rock-oriented (and, critically, semi-mysterious, as Maegami also kind of hide their identities) likes of Zutomayo and Yorushika. Sometimes on POP FACE the internet wonk drops away to reveal a deceptively melodic project clearly inspired by those two projects1, with the lead vocalists delivery helping a lot (women only appear as guests in PAS TASTA’s sound, whereas here it’s foundational).

When those two lines collide, POP FACE becomes a blast to listen to and a vital entry in explaining the evolution of J-pop as the back half of the 2020s settles in. “Desk Pop!” starts as sputtering electro-pop, but then the chorus reveals a kind of sleekness of a Zutomayo (before promptly going haywire again). That’s true of the hook on “POP U Ism” and “IT FACE,” while there’s a whole side route to note about the Shibuya-kei-accent of “Purapurizumu.”2

POP FACE isn’t “new” in the purest definition of that word…you can hear how this quartet came to this point, and how the 2020s guided them towards this moment. At it’s best though, it’s a sign of how these developments have mixed and evolved, revealing thrilling new combinations that were always there but now present. “New” eventually just turns into “now,” though, and here’s an album capturing 2026. Listen above.

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Tatsuya Kitani — PURE

A somewhat similar combination was already underway thanks to Tatsuya Kitani, a creator emerging from the Vocaloid scene (so…also a possible influence on the above, though I do think he has a bit more of a rock edge to him) and one who has worked with PAS TASTA before. Newest album PURE largely collects previously released singles and anime tie-ups, showcasing both his frantic guitar-centric side (“Kasuka Na Hana” with BABYMETAL) and more reflective approach (personal fave “Levitating,” which also has one of the best videos of the year). There’s a similar blurring of digital and livehouse lines, though Kitani stands out for a more ironic approach to his words, with wedding-cake-sounding cuts like “Wanna Live and Die with You!” concealing pretty venom-laced lyrics. Listen above.

Stones Taro — Luminous Alluvium

Kyoto’s Stones Taro is a master of classification. Despite releasing…I don’t know, nearly a hundred tracks over the last ten years, he’s only released two “albums” in the sense of putting out conceptual works tied together by themes. Luminous Alluvium serves as the follow-up to 2024’s magnificent Dwellers Of The Seabed, a set drawing from the depths of the ocean in its creation. Alluvium moves up to the edge of the water, featuring brighter tones reflecting the more lit area.

There’s definitely conceptual heft here, with more ambient passages helping to set the tone and create a more united work…but like Seabed, the songs here can’t help but groove in a way that would make isopods get loose. Stones Taro is just too good at crafting club heat, whether through the garage splashes of “Prismatic Surface” or the blurred house of the incredibly named “Tolerant Biotope.” His strengths always come through, however it is presented. Get it here, or listen above.

Yuri — “Ureshi Sabun”

There’s certainly still something off-kilter about Yuri’s interpretation of pop on “Ureshi Sabun,” both via the textures deployed in its more squiggly moments and lyrics that strongly suggest this is about a…robot or AI or just like an iBook falling in love with a human. Yet it’s also one of the most relaxed songs her and go-to producer Sasuke Haraguchi have ever put together, letting the odder details exist around the edges while letting the melody take it. Listen above.

Sasuke Haraguchi And Tukumoya — Physsical 1

Though if you do want the weirder side of Haraguchi, he’s got you covered with this short EP of Kasane-Teto-heavy experiments. Here he links up with drummer Tukumoya to add some…physical drumming to his singing-synthesizer powered sketches, giving some muscle to music that is usually near liquid. Though don’t worry, even with this type of percussion, the weird ways he deploys Teto still comes through, almost blurring reality lines. Listen above.

wood pure luvhear And Yoyou — “Heiki”

Always up for songs that sound like they are bleary-eyed, going on like two hours of sleep by Wednesday. Both artists here bring the head-spinning feel to this short number. Listen above.

Various Artists — Sonzaishinai Supermarket No Soundtrack!!!

One of the biggest threats AI poses for art at large is an erasure of charming jankiness. Generative AI tends to create something very…bland and familiar, at least when it isn’t creating food the Cenobites might eat. The biggest problem I find with AI stuff is how, despite being this paradigm-shifting technology that will ruin the entire world or save it, none of it has any tension or character! What we lose are shitty hand drawn menus, silly commercials made on a shoestring budget, or in-store music full of amateur shine. It’s too smooth.

So salute to the folks behind this compilation featuring imagined supermarket music. There’s been a lot of experiments in this space before — 20-year anniversary of MUSIC FOR SUPERMARKET in 2027 — but I’ve long tied those to a mix of vaporwave glee or city-pop-ish nostalgia experiments. While that certainly creeps into this one, I’d give this collection the nod of first to make me start thinking about the place of silly BGM in an AI world, where something far more polished but less interesting than the chunky keyboard melodies and MIDI interpretations of rock imagined here thrive. Bonus points for Vocaloid, an antithesis to AI-generation and a nice touch. Get it here, or listen above.

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Oricon Trail For The Week Of Oct. 26, 2026 To Nov. 1, 2026

Back in the day, the Oricon Music Charts were the go-to path to music stardom in Japan. Acts of all sorts traversed these lands, trying to sell as many CDs as possible in order to land a good ranking on a chart choosing to only count physical sales, even as the Internet came to be and the number of versions offered for sale got ridiculous. Today, with the country finally in on digital, these roads are more barren and only looked at by the most fanatic of supporters needing something to celebrate. Yet every week, a new song sells enough plastic to take the top spot. So let’s take a trip down…the Oricon Trail.

NGT48 — “Kaze No Kataomoi” (68,528 Copies Sold)

Lots of fun narratives to explore in female idol music this year, including among all the numbered groups. Yet with NGT48 the only place I can ever arrive on is “how are they still going?” I’m not even talking about past to-dos with that…just like, there’s nothing interesting about them musically or thematically. Even topping Oricon comes during a down week, and they have easily the lowest numbers of any -48 outfit going. The most neat-o detail about NGT48 is they are in Niigata. That’s it, and it’s something they don’t really lean into. Instead, just unrequited love and rehashed idol templates. Credit for surviving though. Listen above.

News And Views

• Easily most important news of the week…Nocchi got married!!!! The Perfume member tied the knot with actor Kento Shibuya. All eyes on Kashiyuka…

• Lots of Kohaku buzz as the NHK year-end bonanza comes into view. Tabloids have reported that Takanori Nishikawa (aka T.M. Revolution), CUTIE STREET, and Ae! Group are set to appear at this year’s edition. Expect even more names to appear in the days / weeks leading up to the announcement itself.

• Seeing as 2026 is nearing its end, the year-end lists have begun to flow. In Japan, that starts with the candidates for “buzzword of the year,” which this year includes a few music-related entries tied to Sakanaction, M!LK and Monaki. Though you could also argue that “dopagaki” — slang for dopamine junkies who need constant changes and excitement in their media to stay glued to it — applies to popular music too.

• Speaking of wrap ups…I’m back on The Idol Cast to talk the year in J-pop!

• Kenshi Yonezu’s video for “Lemon” became the first J-pop song to achieve over one billion views on YouTube.

• Towa Tei now on Bandcamp.

• A…kind of confusing announcement from YOASOBI regarding its 2027 Asia tour. They announced some of the shows had been cancelled but not which ones…probably because they seemingly didn’t announce the city to this point? Yet they also added shows in Australia and Hong Kong so…OK? When I first saw this I mostly assumed they were freaking out over having to rename the tour since Australia isn’t technically Asia but no, there’s something else vague happening here. I’m not alone in thinking this is odd.

• All of the dates on King Gnu’s 2027 US tour…all two of them…sold out instantly, so an additional show has been added to LA and New York.

• Police arrested BONEZ and RIZE singer Jesse on suspicion of using cocaine.

• Some developments with Nebula17, the company started by former Avex USA CEO Naoki Osada.

• In a very interesting development that speaks to how major acts are approaching social media, KAWAII LAB revealed last week all individual member’s accounts would be deactivated with only group accounts being left to disseminate news.

• Mrs. GREEN APPLE among Universal Music’s best-selling acts for the third quarter.

• A concert featuring Hitsujibungako, Otoboke Beaver, and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu comes to London later this year as part of CEIPA’s efforts to promote J-pop abroad.

• Denki Groove Crocs.

• A Girls Band Cry movie is coming to theaters next year. Alongside that Bocchi The Rock!! prequel, shaping up to be a big year for rock-theme anime at the theater.

Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
Check out the Best Of 2026 Spotify Playlist here!