Can’t stop the music!

Hey there! How’s everyone doing? Hope you’re all having an awesome day as I welcome you back to yet another round of the one and only J-Music Exchange/Rate! If you’ve been here before, feel free to jump right ahead to the review, but if this is your first time dropping by the blog and you’re not too familiar with how this series works—

The Exchange/Rate is a tandem album review series conducted every month by yours truly alongside my good friend and fellow Japanese music fan Al (from Omunibasu). Each month we decide on a specific theme with which our reviews would revolve around. We then pick out albums from our respective libraries which we think best coincides with that theme. We will then give the album we chose to the other person and vice versa (exchange), after which we then listen to and subsequently review the album we were given (rate). This project has not only allowed us to explore music beyond our libraries, but it provides an opportunity for us to see our favorite albums from a different point of view. It is our hope that this series is able to do the same for you and that you either find a new artist to try out and/or we offer you a fresh take on one of *your* favorite albums 

Al and I take turns deciding the theme each month, and for this round of Exchange/Rate, it was Al’s turn to call the shots. This time around, he thought it’d be fun for us to talk about albums that made us absolutely obsessed with an artist. I’m sure we’ve all been there before; you stumble upon an album, give it a listen, and before you know it, you’re completely hooked, looping it for hours on end. Happens to me more often than I’d like to admit, especially with how often I blindly check out albums Spotify recommends to me.

In fact, the album I’m handing over to Al this month is one I only picked up at the very tail end of last year (and I mean late December). Despite that, I ended up listening to it so much in such a short span that it actually became my second-most played album of the year. The album in question? Genki de teine. (I HOPE YOU STAY WELL FOREVER) by WurtS. Check out Al’s thoughts on it here!

Al, in turn, tossed OOTD by ASOBOiSM my way for me to check out and share my thoughts on with you guys, so yeah, let’s get right to it!

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ASOBOiSM is a singer-songwriter, rapper, and music producer hailing from Totsuka, Yokohama. She officially kicked off her music career in March 2017, dropping her debut single Don’t Worry Be Happy just a couple of months later in May. Her multicultural background plays a big role in shaping her artistry, coming from a diverse household with parents who specialize in multilingual education, and having studied abroad in both Russia and the United States.

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(＊Spotify link to the full album)

CDJapan Affiliate Link(s):
N/A

＜T ｒａｃｋｌｉｓｔ＞

０１・PRIDE
０２・あまのじゃく feat. 関口シンゴ (sekiguchi shingo)
０３・YOU
０４・TOTSUKA feat. サイプレス上野 (cypress ueno)
０５・HAPPOUBIZIN feat. なみちえ (namichie)
０６・UCHOTEN feat. TACK
０７・スクランブルメンタル/scramble mental
０８・Uwagaki
０９・ROOM205 feat. 森心言 (mori shingen)
１０・Whateva♡ feat. issei
１１・ナイーブ/naive
１２・Wasabi

Ａｌ：While I did stumble upon ASOBOiSM back in 2023 (and later found out that she did some work with a couple idol groups I’m familiar with), it wouldn’t be until the following year when I would actually sit down and take some time with her music. And even though my first exposure to her was through a song like “TOTSUKA”, where it initially felt like another example of the cheesy, ‘hey-yo’ hip-hop style that Japan likes to imitate… going through the rest of her OOTD album made me realize that there is much more to ASOBOiSM than what meets the eye.

I would say that’s the case for a myriad of reasons, such as the smooth intertwining of English in her lyrics and even the great addition of guitars in some of these songs; both of which were inspired by her past life experiences with traveling abroad and being raised by two guitar-savvy parents. But more specifically, what makes this album so fun to listen to is hearing these varying levels of energy or emotion that pairs super well with what she’s singing about. “PRIDE” has this colorful, funky vibe that not only works as a cool opener, but also feels fitting for a track that’s about her moving on from someone and simply not giving a damn anymore. On the other hand, ASOBOiSM touches on her own identity and weaknesses as a person through a more somber & vulnerable-sounding song like “Naive”.

This is why I feel like OOTD is such a great title for this album since, just like how outfits can be put together based on how you’re feeling on that particular day, you can tell ASOBOiSM approaches songwriting in a similar manner. Every song feels like it’s rooted from a specific mood she’s in or an experience she’s had in the past, and the way she hones in on that throughout the entire runtime of each track was pretty sweet.

＜Ｓｏｎｇｓ　ｏｆ　Ｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔ＞

０１・PRIDE
We’re starting things off with the album’s opening track, which is almost never a non-important track to go over in most cases I’m sure, and ASOBOiSM’s PRIDE is certainly no different. Right away the song introduces you to what I think is safe to say the sort of prevailing energy over the course of OOTD which is just good chill uplifting vibes all around. Though I say that, PRIDE actually ends up being I would say the most aggressively-charged track off of the album, at least in terms of sound and arrangement, being the only track that features a cool 808 trap style beat breakdown section in between verses, which ASOBOiSM utilizes to full effect, in turn giving the song a bit of an unexpected bite and and an edge to it.

I later stumbled across an interview ASOBOiSM did with CINRA.net, which shed some light on just how intentional this all was. In it, she reflects on her past as a singer-songwriter under the name Tamana, during which she primarily wrote and performed pop-oriented songs. While she appreciated that chapter of her career, she felt like something was missing; a sense of playfulness, of “sharp edges,” as she put it. Over time, she began to feel trapped in normalcy. Finding Japanese rap and hip-hop was a turning point, giving her a creative space where she could be her true, unfiltered, and, perhaps most importantly, playful self (which, fittingly, aligns with her current moniker, since asobo means “to play” or “have fun”). It’s also worth mentioning that ASOBOiSM wrote and composed all the songs on OOTD, with much of the lyricism rooted in her own personal experiences. In that same interview, she opened up about a period in her life when she worked as an OL (office lady) and the struggles that came with it. She paints a picture of a somewhat hostile work environment, one where she constantly had to put on a front, pretending things were fine when they weren’t, until she reached her breaking point and ultimately quit. PRIDE directly reflects those experiences, which is why the PV plays out the way it does, with ASOBOiSM quite literally pulling an office worker away from her desk to remind her to actually live.

０２・あまのじゃく feat. 関口シンゴ (sekiguchi shingo)、
０６・UCHOTEN feat. TACK
I found it interesting hearing ASOBOiSM talk about wanting to be sharp, considering her delivery tends to lean on the softer side. Of course, she was referring less to her vocal style and more to her lyricism, the wordplay she weaves into her songs and, more broadly, the messages she’s trying to convey. For the purposes of this review, I think it’s fair to say that OOTD largely centers around the idea of staying true to yourself, no matter what the people around you, or society at large, expect you to be. In the interview, she recalls a mantra her host family would tell her every morning before she left for school during an exchange program in America: “Live your life so you don’t have any regrets.” She credits that phrase with boosting her self-esteem and shaping her current mindset, giving her the confidence to pursue the path she’s on now.

This theme comes through strongly in Amanojaku, a song about rejecting societal norms, with ASOBOiSM once again pulling from her own experience, choosing a career in music instead of following the conventional path expected of an adult Japanese woman. It’s worth noting that in traditional Japanese folklore, the amanojaku is a youkai (demon) known for tempting people into giving in to their deepest, darkest desires, while also being infamous for doing the exact opposite of what it’s told. Colloquially, the term has come to describe people who act contrary to and in defiance of expectations, something that ASOBOiSM seemingly fully embodies through her music. I thought this parallel was pretty neat and a great example of ASOBOiSM’s writing style in action.

Going back to what I said about her delivery, the more I listened to the album, the more I started to realize something. Personally, I didn’t fully appreciate ASOBOiSM’s flow and rap style until I heard her alongside other artists. In my opinion, that’s where she really does her best work. I get the sense that she’s one of those artists who truly shine when performing with a collaborator. At least, that was the vibe I got from the tracks on OOTD that featured guest artists, where something about the contrast between her voice and her collaborator’s just makes hers stand out even more. UCHOTEN is a great example of this I feel, especially with the way TACK cuts through in the chorus compared to her more mellow flow.

１１・ナイーブ/naive
Along those lines, though I ended up enjoying UCHOTEN a lot, if I had to pick out a favorite track off of OOTD, I’d say it’s Naive for not too dissimilar of a reason in that it too features a contrasting of styles. Though unlike UCHOTEN and the other songs with featured guest collaborators on them who each have their own styles that make for a contrast within the song, the one found here is within ASOBOiSM herself. Something interesting to note with regard to that is that this is the only track in the album where she actually sings for an extended period, most notably in the first half of the song leading into the chorus, after which she then proceeds to rap the succeeding verse.

While I do enjoy Naive quite a bit purely from a sound perspective, thanks to the way ASOBOiSM seamlessly weaves between singing and rapping, what I appreciate even more is the thematic contrast at play, especially in how it reflects her past and present self. As we learned earlier, ASOBOiSM once performed as a singer-songwriter under a different name while balancing a regular office job. Quitting that job, embracing the ASOBOiSM moniker, and fully stepping into the world of rap marked a clear turning point in her life. That divide between who she was then and who she is now feels embedded in Naive. The first verse, sung rather than rapped, seems to encapsulate her past life, while the second verse, where she fully leans into her rap persona, represents her present. The song’s PV reinforces this imagery beautifully I feel, depicting her in the process of moving out, packing up not just her old belongings, but also a version of herself she’s leaving behind. I thought it was really cool the way she was able to incorporate the transformation that she underwent into the song, and in turn is what made it that much more memorable for me personally.

＜Ｗｈａｔ　Ｉ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｏｆ　ＯＯＴＤ＞

If I had to sum up OOTD in just one word, it’d be liberating. There’s this undeniable sense of freedom in ASOBOiSM’s music that you can really feel as you listen. The tracks have this effortlessly fun, easygoing vibe, and her soft, mid-tempo rap delivery makes for such a light, breezy listening experience, and one that I personally feel fits just about any setting where listening to music would be appropriate. Whether it’s a walk through town, background music while working, or an unexpected gym companion (a role it ended up playing for me more than once leading up to this review, lol), I found myself returning to this album time and time again, each time feeling a certain weightlessness wash over me.

I found that pretty fascinating because I was already getting that sense of freedom from the album before even learning about OOTD‘s overarching themes of staying true to oneself and living life without worrying about what others think. What’s interesting about the songs in that regard is that, while you might expect most (if not all) of them to empower the listener with strong, uplifting messages, just like how the mantra “Live your life so you don’t have any regrets.” did for ASOBOiSM, she actually mentions in the CINRA.net interview that a good number of her songs instead reflect on her own weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and how she draws strength from those experiences. And that, I think, is a big part of what makes OOTD feel so liberating. The struggles ASOBOiSM shares aren’t unique to just her, they’re things a lot of people can probably relate to in some way. That relatability, that feeling of being seen and understood, is what makes the album’s sense of freedom hit even harder.

There are times, though, when OOTD feels a bit too light and weightless, particularly around the middle portion of the album. I’ve noticed that once I hit that stretch while listening, I tend to get caught in a bit of a lull, with the songs starting to blur together. Granted, it’s a pleasant kind of lull, which I’d attribute to the tracks sharing similar tempos and ASOBOiSM largely sticking to the same kind of flow throughout. That said, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it monotonous or same-y, because ASOBOiSM actually does a great job of shaking things up just before it starts to feel that way. Still, if I had to nitpick, that would probably be my only real critique of the album.

＜Ｍｙ　Ｒａｔｉｎｇ＞


４.２５ ｏｕｔ ｏｆ ５

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８.５ ｏｕｔ ｏｆ １０

Like its namesake, OOTD is the kind of album you put on to feel good and have a good time, no matter the occasion. From what I gathered reading ASOBOiSM’s own thoughts on the album, that was actually the intent, she envisioned it as something a listener could pull from depending on their mood, much like picking out an outfit for the day. And honestly? I can totally see that. While the songs largely stick to a similar tempo and flow, they each tackle different themes, making it easy to find one that fits whatever headspace you’re in. Bosses and supervisors giving you a hard time? That’s PRIDE. Got an annoying coworker who won’t stop talking about themselves? You’ll get a laugh out of YOU. Feeling homesick? TOTSUKA has the perfect vibes for that. All in all, OOTD is just a fun and freeing way to wear your emotions, whatever they may be.

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What did you guys think of ASOBOiSM’s OOTD? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments!

And while you’re at it, feel free to share which albums made you completely obsessed with a particular band or artist—we’d love to hear your picks!

Before I let you go, don’t forget to check out Al’s review of I HOPE YOU STAY WELL FOREVER over at the Omunibasu Substack if you haven’t already!

Happy listening!