computer fight — “Teinen Song”
Ryo: Drums pounding an insistent beat, antsy guitars that slice the air more than they riff, ramblings whose tone sends chills from its deceiving calm: this is the sound of giving up, brought by computer fight and their newest release of nihilist post-punk. While the said existential ramblings read rather oblique—denouncing a cult of sheep, crying over a broken iPhone—the band’s screams get straight to the point: “Bored of living / this here is a trash dump.” If the surrounding punk noise didn’t already convey the pointlessness of it all, they don’t get more direct than this.
Foodman — “Cha Cha”
Patrick: Sound-afficiando Foodman has spent most of this year exploring rhythm. “Cha Cha” finds him going especially fast, seeing how his love of oddball noises works when propelling ahead without any kind of parachute in tow. Turns out it is just as fun as any other speed he operates in. Pitched-up syllables turn delerious as theymeld with the beat, and as this one rages on it transforms into something downright hypnotic without ever losing its punch.
HALLCA And Camino The Funk — “Kimi Wa Universe”
Patrick: Well only happening briefly, seeing city-pop/vaporwave blurring idols Especia reunite for a few live appearances is among 2026's most heartwarming moments in J-pop. Yet the actual sound the outfit dealed in — funk pop with touches of internet niche-ry — never drifted far, especially as individual members kept it going after the project broke up in the mid-2010s. HALLCA has especially clung to the Especia sound, and her new collaboration with talk-box maestro Camino The Funk is among her purest distillations of it to date. With Funk's near-robo delivery twirling around HALLCA's singing, they create a dizzying love number in a constant groove.
Massage Attack — “Arubaito Sagase!!”
Patrick: Getting older has plenty of drawbacks...but being fortunate enough to stumble onto something resembling career stability as mid-life draws near can't be beat. Tokyo quartet Massage Attack capture the Sisyphean experience of seeking out part-time work in the modern world, trying out a little of everything and seemingly being rejected at all of them. The way the music itself gallops arounda nd especially the keyboard swirls around feels like the song itself is stuck in a spiral of forms and resumes, turning delirious as it nears its end with no resolution of a convenience store job in sight. Ahhh, the pain of youth.
Technopop Organic Synthesizer Chan — “Appliance・Poetry・Life”
Ryo: For her second EP of the year, Technopop Yuuki Synthesizer Chan returns with a series of electro cuts wonkier and icier than her first. But more than a better supply of beats, a stronger sense of concept places the Sound Denki Electronics EP above her spring release, a facet teased in the tech-life soliloquy of “Appliance Poetry Life.” Over an industrial hum, she narrates in a cold deadpan about her home life ruled by gadgets as if she’s unknowingly brainwashed; right before she snaps out of it, a thick slab of metallic bass takes over the track. The chilly loop, the robotic tone, the postmodern anxiety: Synthesizer Chan channels pure electroclash, updating the technological stress of ‘80s electro and new wave for a sleeker era.
Umeda Cypher ft. R-Shitei, KennyDoes, KOPERU, Peko & Take-M — “Mouth Spinner”
Ryo: I heard that main organ riff and thought, oh, even Umeda Cypher are out to bring back that classic trap-era Atlanta vibe. Then the track rolled out its clubby drum break to take it to a direction separate from the other revivalists. It’s a fresh fusion that befits a rap crew who favors the more bass-y and percussive. That said, the assembled five from the circle does nod to the superhuman feeling invoked by those gleaming trap organs seemingly plucked out of a Lex Luger beat for a Rick Ross anthem, and they spend the next four minutes running their mouths, their verses full of boasts delivered at high speed. Mouth spinners, indeed.
