CLEAR AND REFRESHING

This is not a complete list of everything good, and on a different day I might have included some different albums. The Her CD/R album Her no Music Phone In is a definite contender that didn't make this list, but definitely deserves some accolade. The Kiiiiiii album was another good one and well worth a listen too. Anyway, they didn't make the list, but here's what did:

15 of the Best Japanese Underground Albums of 2007 (Alphabetical Order)

Afrirampo "Suuto Breakor" A more downbeat album than 2005's Urusa In Japan, Suuto Breakor is actually a far better album. The experimental aspects of it seem to have purpose this time around, rather than simply as an expression of their inner kookiness, the texture is richer, the production is subtler, and most importantly the songs are better.

Eiko Ishibashi & Tatsuya Yoshida "Slip Beneath The Distant Tree" Genre-hopping piano-and-drum led classical/indiepop/no-wave/prog/folk/pop joy from two of the most talented and prolific musicians in Japan. Review here.

Electric Coma Trio "Electric Coma Trio (SS02)" Another great, downbeat record in a year of great, downbeat records. Reminiscent of the darker side of British and German new wave, this instrumental trio's self-released CD/R album came out of nowhere and as yet still hasn't gone anywhere, but it's great so keep your ears open for more. Review here.

Hyacca "Sashitai" This was first released by the band themselves in 2006, but I loved it so much that I had it remastered and re-released it on Clear And Refreshing's own label, Call And Response Records less than a year later. My obvious bias declared, this is nevertheless an astounding mini-album with every track offering up ideas galore with boundless energy, furious noise and glorious pop. Review here and C.A.R. label page here.

Miami "Good Morning Playground" Produced by Motocompo's Dr. Usui, this mini-album featuring the new version of Ace that was used as the ending theme of the summer special edition of the Gakkou no Kaidan anime is an exuberant reminder of everything that charmed you about this disarmingly cute technopop duo in the first place. Review here.

Mir "This Tiny World" Another band that I loved so much that I put out myself, so once again bias applies. Mir's music is as icy and alienating as it is seductive and sweet, with gorgeous, brittle melodies punctuated by bursts of rage and self-destruction. Mir's live music and performances seem to polarise audience reactions in a way that few bands in Japan can do, but in the end, all they're doing is writing catchy tunes, and performing them with brutal honesty. Label page here.

Motocompo "Chiptop Lips" After a wait of more than six years, Motocompo finally released their second full-length album and it was a highly concentrated injection of immaculately-produced pure dance pop, like Madonna or Kylie only better. My review on the Japan Times web site here.

PanicSmile "Best Education" PanicSmile are legends in Tokyo and their hometown of Fukuoka, as well as pretty much everywhere else in Japan, but they've built up their reputation from the shadows, releasing album after album of warped, twisted and downright defiled post-punk. Their sixth studio album pushes the poppy and experimental extremes of their sound still further with intelligence, energy, invention and humour. Review here.

Saladabar "Resort Bomb" A glorious mess of an album with far too many instruments playing all at once pretty much all of the time, creating a towering Hawaiian-shirted monster of prog/jazz/punk noise. There is almost no situation where you'd ever need to listen to this album, but at the same time, there's almost no situation where listening to this album wouldn't make you feel happy.

Shugo Tokumaru "Exit" The third album by prodigiously talented multi-instrumentalist Shugo Tokumaru is a quiet tour de force of quirky bedroom pop and strange clanging noises. Easily one of the most lovely records of the year. Review here.

Squimaoto "Squimaoto" Icy-cool all-girl trio from Kobe who manage the difficult feat of satisfying your inner shoegazer without making you feel like you're fifteen years old again. Review here.

Totsuzen Danball "Junsui de Socchoku na Omoide" One of the first Japanese punk bands, this year celebrating their 30th anniversary, Totsuzen Danball show that they're still teaching those youngsters a thing or two with this fantastic album, in turn dark, poppy, violent and psychedelic. Review here.

V/A "Never Mind The Bollocks... Here's The Softly!" A compilation of Japanese indie bands covering the Sex Pistols' debut album track-by-track. It covers a wide variety of styles and every band brings something unique to their track. The best moments, like Mechanero's Pretty Vacant manage to improve on both the original and the band themselves. Review here.

The Warm "Fantastic Something" Recently released full-length debut by Tokyo electro-punks The Warm. The twin synthesisers that have been their trademark until now are supported by the addition of guitar, but the sound remains very much synth-focussed. 80s post-punk/new wave nerds can play Spot-The-Influence with frequent nods to bands like DAF and The Fall, but it could never be a success without songs. Which it has.

Yolz In The Sky "Yolz In The Sky" A relentless attack of jagged-edged hardcore, offset by angular rhythms that recall early S.Y.P.H., this Osaka post-punk band's debut album confirms their place as one of 2007's hottest bands. Review here.