Despite the ease of access that streaming has brought to the distribution of music, the volume that's released can make it a daunting task to find unique new stuff on a regular basis. This article recaps our weekly selections for the month of April 2026, 24 tracks we think definitely deserve your attention.
All songs featured in this recurring series can be found in our scrmbl selection 2026 playlist on YouTube, Apple Music, or Spotify.
7th Jet Balloon — “Snowing day2”
Ryo: 7th Jet Balloon are eternal romantics, their young hearts always aching in the band’s racing emo-rock tunes: the kind to pen a lament titled “I’m Yamcha, Be Always Unrequited” in earnest. “Snowing day2,” from the new split EP with fellow emo band PLATFORM, finds 7JB in that familiar predicament of heartbreak where a separation is almost too poetically timed with the changing seasons. “It’s melting like that snow,” they sing of their fading relationship. “Let’s not look back anymore.” And the blitzing music plays with fury, like everything is happening too fast for the band to properly make sense of it all.
adieu — “blue hour”
Ryo: From its plaintive title, the second song shared from Moka Kamishiraishi’s upcoming adieu 5 EP suggests a rather cliched turnout for a project whose music often bears its titular sorrow. “Walking the in-between of sadness and joy,” Kamishiraishi begins as if to confirm that expected melancholy. But “blue hour” remains driven by a moving beat, and the thumping indie-rock fully revs its engines once our singer punctuates that scene-setting with a sensuous lyric: “All I know is that I feel it in silence / this heat racing through my body.” This new one from adieu is ruminative like her best while exploring feelings beyond the expected.
Age Factory — “Jomyaku”
Patrick: Speed can be deceptive in the right hands. Trio Age Factory's latest song teases a dash ahead via its skittery percussion and general plunge ahead. Yet despite the pace, the track makes space for singer Eisuke Shimizu to let his vocals rip and add an emotional touch to an otherwise speedy song barreling ahead.
AIR-CON BOOM BOOM ONESAN — “INUMATIAN”
Ryo: AIR-CON BOOM BOOM ONESAN returns with more nonsensical no wave, where she’s now muttering about fake dalmatians over a stiff, jittery beat. Despite her acting sound, the song only grows more ridiculous the deeper she goes on this tangent about whatever an inumatian means. Yet her mnemonic device of a verse — “no speck, no speckle, no owner” — sticks to the mind like a spell especially over the transfixing noise of crooked post-punk guitars and squealing sax riffs.
Blurred City Lights — “Gekkou”
Patrick: Nagoya shoegaze outfit Blurred City Lights keep the mood lowkey on new single “Gekkou.” Here they let guitar gently swoop ahead and the vocals drift overhead, with the band knowing when to let the noise go out so individual elements can deliver heavier emotions (the minimal guitar strumming after the first chorus). It's a song holding something back, and the tension that creates gives it a great tension that still cuts through even as the fuzz picks up in its final stretch.
Daoko — “COMIT COMET”
Patrick: Daoko is capable of adapting to so many styles that it is easy to forget she can just be a straight-up killer pop singer when needed. “COMIT COMET” is slightly throwback dance-pop featuring some juicy bass lines and bounce-along melodies that finds her stepping into the role with vocal aplomb. Listen above.
DYGL — “NRG”
Patrick: DYGL offers up a shaggy garage-rock number hiding an existential reflection on energy and existing. Vocalist Nobuki Akiyama runs through a bunch of states of being, from stressed out to totally free. The guitars turn these rock koans into something sharper, and make DYGL's philosophy into something frantic.
HARUKA ECHO — “Zankyo”
Ryo: If there is a definite “Sakamichi-group sound,” HARUKA ECHO embodies it. The idol group’s debut single builds upon the musical palette but also the structure similar to anthems by Nogizaka46 or Keyakizaka46: shrouded in pensive atmosphere, a lone acoustic-guitar strum soon ushers in arena-EDM stomps and a dramatic string section to bring the point home. “Zankyo” actually should evoke “Silent Majority” with HARUKA ECHO being produced by Bugbear, the duo behind Keyakizaka’s iconic debut single. But more than the sound, the single is driven by the same ambitions toward self-realization as the group’s predecessors: “going to do it with this song / let’s leave proof that we’ve lived,” the idols sing before the big chorus. Like their inspirations, HARUKA ECHO’s debut lands with an indelible impression.
Hikari Mitsushima & cero — “odoru noir”
Ryo: New music from Hikari Mitsushima is coveted in itself with the actress-sometimes-singer sharing maybe a song a year. While each of her works brings a promising collaboration, this one raises the stakes thanks to the involvement of the eclectic electro-soul band cero. If you were imagining the singer improvising to a spaced-out jam session similar to the band’s 2023 LP e o, though, I have to report that the arrangement of “odoru noir” is rather free of fuss without any fractured beats. But it’s idyllic in its own way through the warm tranquility flowing from the song’s soft jazz. “Let me dance,” Mitsushima sings at one point. She’s already feeling the spirit.
LAUSBUB — “Higher”
Ryo: LAUSBUB locate the pop pleasures hidden in techno beats and modular synth patches. While the duo previously reveled in the spaciness of their extended electronic jams, their new one immediately hits it off with a flutter of kick drums that drills in the song’s restless rhythm: “The feelings these days, too speedy, so panic,” vocalist Mei Takahashi sings as if she’s responding to the music in real time. Tending to the busyness, though, seems soothing as it does thrilling in this funhouse version of tropical pop, where the zany beat work warps the balmy synths into surreal shapes.
THE LUV BUGS, N², Baku & Seann Bowe — “Jealous”
Ryo: Nostalgia for the mid-2000s wears heavy in the latest collaborative track bearing the LUV BUGS banner. While the production isn’t quite the saw-toothed electroclash from the school of Charli XCX’s BRAT, “Jealous” dishes out hip-hop-informed, club-obsessed electropop in a similar vein as the types from a little before the EDM era. With their rap cadences done in an Auto-Tune’d drawl, it’s like Baku and Seann Bowe are predicting the second coming of Kesha with her dollar sign intact. If you want to feel more of a time slip, experience the song via the music video that take lengths to replicate the feel of media circa 2008.
Mall Boyz — “M To B Wo”
Ryo: Swag is back in Japan’s rap scene: every other rapper is chanting Auto-Tune’d hooks over glossy synths and brass hits made for gladiatorial arenas. It couldn’t have been a better time for the return of Mall Boyz, who has been crafting chest-beating anthems backed by this sound since the first Mall Tape in 2019. That said, the duo’s new one channels a slightly different swag era with it giving less super-futuristic Soulja Boy than the chaotic clutter of Chief Keef circa Almighty So. Ringtone synths, steel drums and sawing strings sputter about in disarray. While every sound in the beat is fighting for its life to be heard, what you hear the clearest as always is the warbling voice of gummyboy shouting out the duo’s name.
Monaki — “Honmayade Nandeyanen Shirankedo”
Ryo: While Monaki released their debut single just last week, it’s been growing into a huge sensation, perhaps even the year’s biggest idol hit yet, months before the official drop. Everyone’s been dancing to it on TikTok since the start of 2026, riding the song’s giddy Eurobeat and mouthing the Kansai-ben hook in the chorus to viral fame. If you’re a fan of classic Eurobeat idol songs — the flashy, chintzy disco beats; the melodramatic pleading of love — “Honmayade Nandeyanen Shirankedo” should prove to be irresistible as it did for me as well as countless others on that app.
Otoboke Beaver — “I Don't Need To Be In Your Strike Zone”
Patrick: Hey look, a theme developing for the week! Always-frantic rockers Otoboke Beaver also shove unwanted suitors out of the way on “I Don't Need To Be In Your Strike Zone,” but whereas TORIENA brushes them aside with intimidation (see below), this band does so with pure frantic energy. At just over a minute long, this is as forceful a brush off as possible, while still being ready for the pit.
Pilaf Seijin — “Shalala”
Patrick: The arc of Pilaf Seijin is wild enough on its own. A rapper who first caught internet attention because of how badly he wanted to meet his idol Peanuts-kun (who can't relate!), he soon became a constantly buzzing MC who now finds himself releasing his first song made for an anime which...is wild. But “Shalala” stands on its own too, thanks to its pogoing pace and pop energy, drawing from Jersey Club and giving space for a big ol' hook at its center. Listen above.
purini — “you can (not) save me”
Patrick: The early sound of Vocaloid drew from myriad styles as it took shape, with electro-pop being a particularly popular form to play with. Maybe it was the internet nature of the scene, maybe Perfume mania was at its peak. Whatever the reason, the club-ready style was a go-to, which makes producer purini's “you can (not) save me” almost sound like a throwback to early kz or Hachijoji-p. That's what their label NEXTLIGHT specializes in, and here they offer a buzzsaw number with a slightly dark edge via its lyrics. Don't call it a throwback though, because it sounds urgent.
Яu-a — “LOVE POTION”
Ryo: TikTok continues to boggle my mind because you still can scroll through clips of people just unassumingly dancing to a bass-damaged synth-pop bop which opens with the lyric: “I cuckolded your boyfriend / because I don’t think you can satisfy him.” That winking, casually vulgar energy from those lyrics defines the music of Ru-a, the singer behind that tune, including this new one from her just-released Hollow Me EP. As the track fades in nightcore’d rave stabs reminiscent of “Born Slippy”—or more likely PinkPantheress’s “Tonight”—Ru-a flirts with her crush over the phone where she switches her persona between shy girl and playgirl to get exactly what she needs. She sings of her seven-day strategy in “LOVE POTION” with sure confidence, like it’s predetermined that they will fall right into her hands.
Sasane — “mosi mosi?”
Ryo: Sasane just recently dropped this quirky synth-pop tune, her first official song so far, yet it’s been circulating on TikTok as part of a dance meme since the start of the month. Every time I scroll past clips of idols doing the dance, “mosi mosi?” captivates me through its Shibuya-kei-esque sound: the jingle-like keyboard melodies, the airy atmosphere, the nonsensical yet sweetly catchy chorus. Shibuya-kei from the 2000s has been popular on the app, so it’s about time we hear new pop inspired by those acts native to the platform.
STUTS And Taeko Onuki — “Ohayou”
Patrick: The partnership between hip-hop beatmaker STUTS and pop legend Taeko Onuki isn't about updating the latter for a POP YOURS crowd, but rather showcasing how the former can approach retro sounds. “Ohayou” is breezy sweetness featuring strings and horn flair, offering a sunny backdrop for Onuki to vocally stroll through. It's an example of his range, and a dandy number to boot.
Sugar House — “dy”
Patrick: A nervy meeting of musical ideas delivered with no pause. Duo Sugar House match a punk drive with rap-indebted vocals to create a jittery dash that feels like it had a little too much caffeine to start the day. It's that relentless skip, though, that makes it such an earworm.
TORIENA — “KEYHOLDER”
Patrick: Rave-starter TORIENA provides a preview of her forthcoming album MANIAC via a confident bit of boundary setting. “KEYHOLDER” rejects unwanted physical advances, and turns what could be an uncomfortable situation into an opportunity to showcase strength via its icy vocal delivery. The steel-hard beat also helps, turning into a weapon she can wield.
Tota ft. 163braces — “Onomatopoeia”
Ryo: Tota usually sings folk-y guitar pop in the vein of Yorushika or Ikuta Lilas, but those gentle acoustic riffs get filtered into fresh material for surging electropop in this new collaboration with Taiwanese singer 163braces. “What do you call it / my mind’s all twisted,” she sings, nearly tongue-tied, about this rising, inexplicable feeling while the guitars and kick drums thrust the song forward. The fluttering production of “Onomatopoeia” offers no time for Tota to pause and recollect, but she sounds satisfied getting swept away by the music.
Vaundy — “The SILENCE”
Patrick: Vaundy exists as a J-rock chameleon. He has spent his career taking on different shades of guitar music, from the anthemic to the shadowy to the sparse. Latest single “The SILENCE” sees him try out a layer of shoegaze-inspired feedback, one that in its opening salvo clearly nods to early swirl sessions released from the likes of Creation Records in the late ‘80s. My Bloody Vaundy-tine would be a bit of an overstatement as the meat of the song is a little more pop centered, with the noise dissipating a bit to make room for a more clear melody. That makes the moments when it revs back up to add intensity to the song all the more forceful, and underline how Vaundy can mix his rock appearances together.
Wednesday Campanella — “Scipio”
Patrick: Few groups anywhere in the world could create a song about a famous Roman general and twist it into a commentary on the devotion of modern fandom. Even less could set it to the hyperactive sound of Eurobeat. Yet that's why Wednesday Campanella remains such a welcome oddball in the modern J-pop scene. “Scipio” finds vocalist Utaha using BC-era war genius Scipio Africanus as both character and metaphor for the modern supporter of anything, turning an ancient tactician into an oshi worth loving. It's clever, funny and sometimes suddenly aching — she sings about the importance of stanning out for your fave while you can, that last bit really getting to the urgency behind this passion — all while producer Kenmochi Hidefumi delivers a delirious retro-tinged barrage befitting of Velfarre. Listen above.
