We’re half a decade old! 🥳

Hey hey, friends! Welcome back to a very special edition of the one and only J-Music Exchange/Rate! That’s right, we’re celebrating five straight years of me and Al trading Japanese music album reviews like the seasoned veterans we now are (lol). If you’ve been with us from the jump, you might remember that while the very first Exchange/Rate actually happened way back in 2018, it wasn’t until 2020 that we officially kicked things into gear and made this a regular thing. Fast forward to now and we’ve clocked in well over 120 reviews. Wild how fast time flies. But! If you haven’t been around for the journey and this is somehow your first time stumbling upon the blog, first of all, welcome! Second, let me break it down for you real quick:

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 

Now, with all that said, this month’s not your typical Exchange/Rate. To mark this special five-year milestone, we decided to switch things up a bit. Rather than trading albums tied to a set theme like we normally do, we went ahead and swapped “mixtapes” instead, in the form of playlists. Specifically, we each put together a selection of songs that we think the other person might enjoy, centered around a theme of our choosing. The catch? Each of us had to build our playlists around a custom set of “exemptions” decided by the other person to make things a little more challenging (and entertaining, lol). Think of it as our own little spin on the Exempt List from the ongoing Season 3 of the Spotify Playlist Draft.

The exemptions that I was given were as follows:

• No Girls Rock (or all-female girl bands/groups)
• No Faceless Artists (or artists intentionally conceal their identity in media)

You can catch my mixtape, and Al’s reaction to it, over on the Omunibasu Substack!

The exemptions I gave Al on the other hand were:

• No Seiyuus (or voice actors/actresses)
• No Male-Fronted Bands (or bands with a male lead singer/vocalist)

Let’s see what he cooked up!

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As mentioned earlier, the idea of having an “Exempt List” to make things a little more interesting actually took some cues from a similar concept I use for my Spotify J-Music Playlist Draft series here on the blog. And since this is a very special occasion, I can’t exactly go about things the way I usually do with album reviews, y’know, picking out a few standout songs to talk about, especially not when the tracks were handpicked by my good buddy Al.

So, I figured… why not take a bit more inspiration from the Draft to decide how we approach this set of songs? Which brings us to:

Ｓｐｏｔｉｆｙ　Ｊ－Ｍｕｓｉｃ　Ｐｌａｙｌｉｓｔ　Ｄｒａｆｔ
＜＜＜ ＥＸＣＨＡＮＧＥ／ＲＡＴＥ　 ＢＯＮＵＳ　ＤＵＮＧＥＯＮ ＞＞＞

Sound the alarm. Rally the troops. Open the gates! A special dungeon has appeared in our midst! That’s right, we’re taking on ALL of these songs the only way we know how around these parts: head on, no fear, Draft-style. If you’re a Draft vet joining us for this impromptu sortie, welcome back, you know the drill, and your experience will no doubt come in handy here. If not, and you’ve yet to check out the series for yourself, here’s the basic rundown: every two weeks, I go through a set of songs provided to me by Spotify to see if they hit or miss, all while keeping a bit of a rogue-like vibe to the whole process. For this special Exchange/Rate Bonus Dungeon, we’re going to be doing something similar by going through each and every song that Al included in their playlist, like how I do during Draft weeks. However, unlike a traditional Draft, where I’m really just after songs I personally like, this time, the condition that’s been set to clear this dungeon is figuring out the central theme behind Al’s picks. God speed.

＜ｍｏｒｅ　ｔｈａｎ　ｋａｗａｉｉ＞

All geared up? Good.
Here’s a quick look at what we’re up against:

Idols. Idols on all fronts.
This Bonus Dungeon’s starting to feel more like a boss rush.

♥ ０１・テレフォニズム/telephonism
by フィロソフィーのダンス (philosophy no dance)

Greeting us at the entrance is Philosophy no Dance with their song Telephonism.
“Filonosu” is admittedly a group I’m not all too familiar with (actually true for about half the groups in this playlist, lol), so I’m not entirely sure if this kind of throwback ‘80s-style retro Japanese pop is the kind of music that they usually put out, but that’s definitely the vibe I’m getting here. I mean, far be it from me to ever turn down a track with brass accompaniments, but what really stood out to me the most was the wispy backing vocals courtesy of group member Otoha. I thought they were a nice contrast to the otherwise powerful singing from the rest of the group. Shame to find out after the fact that she’s since graduated from Filonosu.

♥ ０２・カフェ楽園/cafe rakuen
by ≠ME (“NOT EQUAL ME”)

Our next idol encounter is actually with a group I happen to know a little about: ≠ME (read as “Not Equal Me”, or Noimii for short), thanks in part to Al, who’s talked about them over at Omunibasu more than a few times, often alongside the other Sashihara Rino-produced groups, =LOVE (Ikorabu) and ≒JOY (Niajoy). So I already had a general idea of what to expect going in. Which is why Cafe Rakuen took me a little by surprise in that I definitely wasn’t expecting a funky jazz-type tune. Granted, I’ve since come to find out that this is performed by a subunit of the group, which might explain the curveball, but either way it’s got a fun vibe to it. Kinda reminds me of a TEAM SHACHI kind of song the more I listen to it.

♥ ０３・MICHI
by AMEFURASSHI

Next up is a group I’m actually well familiar with, AMEFURASSHI, whose 2024 album Flora I personally consider to be one of last year’s true sleeper hits. MICHI is an older track of theirs, and you can kind of tell from how it sounds. Whereas “AMEFURA,” have more recently leaned into a glossier, K-pop-adjacent style with highly produced arrangements, MICHI offers more of a playful jive accompanied by a more organic instrumentation. It was honestly refreshing to hear this side of the group, and I especially liked the little breaks scattered throughout the song (particular the one at 00:59 I thought was really fun).

♥ ０４・夢の中につれてって/yume no naka ni tsuretette
by TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE

TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE is one of those groups I’ve always just kinda seen around, but never really sat down and listened to properly. That said, I think it’s safe to say they don’t usually put out sultry bossa nova tracks like Yume no Naka ni Tsuretette. Though, now that I think about it, an idol group that only performs Latin jazz would actually be kinda interesting, lol. In any case, while this isn’t a song I see myself going back to too often (mostly because it feels like it runs its course well before it actually ends), it is one of a few tracks on this playlist that I imagine would be quite the experience when seen and heard live. I’m really a fan of the acoustic guitars on this one too.

♥ ０５・PinPonDash
by pinponpanpon

I thought the inclusion of pinponpanpon’s PinPonDash was hilarious given the context of the playlist I made for Al, as this could’ve easily made its way on there, but I digress. The emergence of hyperpop over the last couple of years has definitely put the Japanese music landscape on notice, with a wave of underground stars making their mark. One of the genre’s major players is the group STARKIDS, known for their distinctive spin on the style. In that regard, pinponpanpon feels like something of an offshoot, not just musically, but literally, as their producer french cries is actually “Space Boy” from STARKIDS. I thought that was a neat connection, and yeah, it definitely shows in this track. Good stuff

♥ ０６・セラセラヴぃ。/c’est la c’est la vie
by わーすた (“Wasuta; The World Standard”)

Wasuta is another group I often see pop up on my X feed, mostly thanks to their passionate overseas fanbase. That said, much like with TGS earlier, I’m pretty sure I hadn’t actually listened to any of their songs before this encounter here in the Exchange/Rate Bonus Dungeon. I would, however, like to think that I have a general idea of what kind of music to expect just based on the group’s aesthetic. Which is also why I totally got hit with mood whiplash hearing C’est la c’est la vie, since it was nothing like what I imagined based on the cover art of the EP it’s from. Suffice to say, I wasn’t expecting an acoustic guitar-driven chill pop song when I queued this one up.

♥ ０７・コノユビトマレ/kono yubi tomare
by yosugala

This might come as a surprise to those unfamiliar with yosugala, but what I found most fascinating after giving Konoyubitomare a listen is that the group only has four members. I say that because, before learning this myself, the song honestly felt like it had the same scale and presence as something you’d hear from a much larger idol group, Keyakizaka46 or Sakurazaka46 came to mind almost immediately. In that sense, this track felt like the most idol-y of the bunch. That said, there were also moments that reminded me a bit of those “Yakousei”-type tracks, just with more of that idol polish. Specifically, the refrain structure and how it’s sung gave me echoes of Yorushika’s Dakara Boku wa Ongaku wo Yameta, which I thought was an interesting parallel.

♥ ０８・アンビバレント/ambivalent
by ギャングパレード (“GANG PARADE”)

I’m gonna be honest, when I queued this playlist up for the first time, I wasn’t expecting GANG PARADE’s Ambivalent to be my favorite song off it. Not because I thought it was gonna sound bad or anything, though maybe the group being named the way that they are I had a much different preconceived notion of what they have to offer. What’s funny is in a way it’s also in their name what it is exactly that I found so enjoyable about the track, and it’s the group’s use of gang vocals. I would differentiate this from the type of singing in unison that you hear in more traditional idol songs, wherein it feels much more in the moment, if that makes sense.

♥ ０９・ハーバームーン/harbor moon
by ヌュアンス (“nuance”)

I’ll talk a little bit more about it later, but it was actually these last two groups that first set off some early alarms for me regarding the direction of this playlist, mainly because I’ve listened to a fair bit of nuance in the past. That is to say, while harbor moon isn’t one of the songs I remember listening to (or if I did, it was probably just in passing), I do know that nuance’s music isn’t exactly what most people, including myself, would consider conventional “idol music.” I mean, just take this song for example, which opens with a laid-back, hip-hop-inspired beat and rap flow. Definitely not the typical idol fare but good fun all the same. Actually reminds me of CYNHN’s crack at a similar track.

♥ １０・ハッピーフレーバー/happy flavor
by tipToe.

Out of all the groups featured on this playlist, I think tipToe. might actually be the one I’ve listened to the most. I only came across them fairly recently, but I’ve become a pretty big fan of their minimalist aesthetic. Their music tends to lean more on the melancholic side, though as you’ll hear in happy flavor, there’s definitely room for exceptions. What I found really amusing about this track is that it almost sounds like they’re singing over a slowed-down, half-step-shifted sample of Renai Circulation, or at least, that’s what my brain keeps telling me when I listen to it (lol).

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Ａｌ：I’ll admit it: I have hesitated MANY times when it comes to suggesting idol songs I like to other people. Whether it’s because some may think all idol music sounds the same, the potentially overblown & ‘dark’ stigma revolving around the industry, or simply because of how saturated it’s become with the rise of TikTok and the pressing need to make the next viral dance trend… most of these I understand, but it is an unfortunate circumstance since a lot of the idol groups I’ve come across, even the overly flashy ones, have genuinely made good music IMHO.

I bring this up because I’ve always had a similar mindset when it came to giving Leap albums for the E/R. Hell, I may just be overthinking all of this but considering that he tends to favor the ‘alternative side’ of idol music, I typically refrained from tossing over a record from the more cutesy idol groups I tend to like myself (this also applies to seiyuu-related releases, which also happens to be one of the restrictions he gave me for this challenge).

However, what I decided to do here was to show that Japanese idol groups can go waaaaaay beyond the viral teeny pop you hear today. So many units have based their music around various, and even unexpected, genres and styles—ranging from funk, R&B, rock, to even digital hyperpop. And I feel confident that what I picked out are great examples of that, like with the absolute wild energy from pinponpanpon, or the chic maturity that Philosophy no Dance and even Wasuta can convey.

There have been many, many fans and writers who have helped put the spotlight on these kinds of ‘unconventional’ idol songs and/or groups, but I thought it’d be fun to give my own take on the matter and further show that idols can be SO much more than what meets the eye. And similar to how I organize my own idol-based roundups, I wanted to provide a decent variety of tracks here so hopefully Leap and everyone else reading can find a group that may suit their fancy!

＜Ｗｈａｔ　Ｉ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｏｆ　ｍｏｒｅ　ｔｈａｎ　ｋａｗａｉｉ＞

To pull the curtain back a bit on this extra special Exchange/Rate endeavor between me and Al, we actually didn’t decide ahead of time whether or not the playlists we’d be giving each other would have titles. It wasn’t until a couple of days later that this one ended up being christened more than kawaii, taking direct inspiration from the @onefive release. Why is this event relevant, you ask? Well, in the meantime of it being given an official name, I’d already given the playlist a few solid listens, not just to get a head start on writing this review, but also to start figuring out the underlying theme behind Al’s picks beyond it simply being a collection of songs from various idol groups.

A good couple of ideas started to float around in my head. One of the first was the thought that maybe Al gave me an idol grab bag, considering how the concept of a “grab bag” has kind of become a fixture for this series. With that in mind, I began paying closer attention to the different styles on display across each song. But as I did, a different through line started to present itself. Starting from Telephonism, I couldn’t help but notice how brass and woodwind instruments were a common denominator between each successive track. I was so sure I had it in the bag. That had to be the theme, right? Idol songs with brass or woodwind accompaniment. confident. And then PinPonDash played (lol).

It was while I was on my way back to the drawing board that Al came forward with the name for this playlist: more than kawaii. And then it all started to click. I was on the right path, but I had been looking too closely, when what I really needed was to take a step back and view things from a wider lens. What I’d missed, when I was honing in on the musical styles of each track, was that close to none of them (Konoyubitomare is right at the border I feel) were the typical cutesy pop that idol music is often associated with. Instead, this playlist is a showcase, a statement, really, that idol music can be more than having a cute sound or just being cute in general.

＜Ｍｙ　Ｒａｔｉｎｇ＞

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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１０ ｏｕｔ ｏｆ １０

And for the most part, I’d 100% agree. There might be this lingering misconception that idol groups have to be branded as “alt-idol” in order to break away from what’s widely considered conventional idol music. While that may have been more true in the past, idol music in recent years has branched out significantly, and fans have become much more receptive to idols dabbling in the genres and sounds they already enjoy. In a way, having a traditionally “kawaii” sound has almost become a kind of stigma, where listeners might dismiss a song outright just because it’s performed by idols. But the reality is, as you’ll hear in Al’s selection here, idols are, always have been, and always will be, more than kawaii.

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And that’s a wrap! What did you think of more than kawaii? Drop us a comment down below! We’d love to hear your thoughts 😊

If this happens to be your first time seeing this kind of post from me and you think it might be your vibe, I also run a regular series called the Spotify J-Music Playlist Draft, where I go through songs in a similar fashion every other week. Feel free to check it out and follow along!

Lastly, if you haven’t yet, don’t forget to head on over to the Omunibasu Substack to see what Al thought of the mixtape I put together for him. I’d love to hear what you think, too 😋

Thank you for riding along our shared journey of Japanese music discovery for as long as you guys have.

Happy Listening!