{"id":539267,"date":"2025-12-30T09:06:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T09:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/media\/539267\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T09:06:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T09:06:28","slug":"ototoy-editors-picks-selected-2025-releases-and-short-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wacoca.com\/media\/539267\/","title":{"rendered":"OTOTOY Editors\u2019 Picks: Selected 2025 Releases and Short Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"
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2025\/12\/30 15:00<\/p>\n

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This feature presents short reviews of standout releases from 2025, each personally selected by members of the OTOTOY editorial team. <\/p>\n

We hope this guide helps international listeners navigate the breadth of Japan\u2019s independent music scene across genres, spanning established names and emerging voices alike. It aims to help readers rediscover old favorites, uncover overlooked gems, and trace new listening paths branching out from these selections. We invite you to listen and explore. <\/p>\n

While the focus remains on music rooted in Japan\u2019s independent scene, the selection also includes a small number of releases from outside Japan that have left a clear mark on Japanese music. This reflects how the Japanese scene has continually evolved through exchange beyond its borders. <\/p>\n

As a Japan-based music platform that functions as both an archive and a store, OTOTOY continues to document and support this evolving scene. <\/p>\n

In the section that follows these short reviews, we also present 50 releases chosen from titles that resonated strongly on the OTOTOY Store in 2025. These include works that captured the mood of the moment and gave shape to the year\u2019s defining sounds, as well as releases explored in depth through our editorial features. Feel free to check out the related feature articles (available in Japanese) alongside each release for deeper context. <\/p>\n

Editors\u2019 Picks: Reviews of 2025 Releases
\n\u2018333\u2019 by the hatch <\/p>\n

The band\u2019s first album in three years, and their first since welcoming new members. From their early days, when Sapporo-born post-punk eclecticism collided with the ferocity of hardcore punk, the hatch have continuously absorbed a vast spectrum of rhythms and sounds, including spiritual jazz, African polyrhythms, and footwork. What resonates most here is how the band\u2019s form has evolved into something that does not retreat inward, but instead leans gently toward the listener. <\/p>\n

There is an approachability that feels as if the music wants to remain in that fragile space where we grieve over small things, grow irritated, and then suddenly laugh. The interplay of percussion and synthesizers, along with its post-production, creates a Fourth World\u2013like soundscape that is deeply comforting. With so many rhythms coexisting, it feels as though the listener can discover multiple places to rest their emotions within the music. <\/p>\n

(TUDA) <\/p>\n

\u2018Bout Foreverness\u2019 by NOT WONK <\/p>\n

The fifth album by NOT WONK, released at the beginning of this year. It is the band I listened to most and saw live most often in 2025. Shaped in the aftermath of a member\u2019s departure and the large-scale event \u201cFAHDAY\u201d in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, the album brings to the surface wordless screams that emerge from the everyday act of continuing to live one\u2019s life. A quiet urgency runs through it. <\/p>\n

The complexity that has long defined NOT WONK, including their intricate song structures and feedback-heavy noise, feels deeper here. Their experiments now extend toward more abstract ideas such as contrasts in volume and the passage of time. Yet for all its experimental richness, the album is ultimately wrapped in a universal mood. <\/p>\n

There is warmth in the overwhelming sound, as if it were gently holding sorrow rather than amplifying it. Bout Foreverness feels like a work addressed to the individual who stands on the far side of that sadness, still present and still listening. <\/p>\n

(TUDA) <\/p>\n

\u2018\u89b3\u5929\u671b\u6c17 (Kantenbouki)\u2019 by \u30ad\u30bb\u30eb (Kicell) <\/p>\n

Their first album in seven years. Alongside new elements introduced after the pandemic, including older brother Takefumi Tsujimura on drums and younger brother Tomoharu Tsujimura playing handmade bamboo instruments, the record is built around a stripped-down trio of the brothers plus keyboardist Takuji Nomura, with guest musicians also appearing. That simplicity allows the strength of the songwriting to stand out all the more, leaving generous space within each song. <\/p>\n

Takefumi\u2019s solo work \u2018The Instant Obon,\u2019 itself wonderfully striking, incorporates elements of min\u2019y\u014d, or Japanese folk music, and traces of that sensibility seep into this album as well. The result suggests a new form for the band, wrapped in an earthy, rooted groove. <\/p>\n

The mix by engineer Naoyuki Uchida, which decisively shapes the album\u2019s sonic image, is undoubtedly one of its highlights. Every track is compelling, but the closing song, \u201c\u7e01\u6b4c (Enka),\u201d unfailingly loosens the tear ducts. <\/p>\n

(Rita Takaki) <\/p>\n

\u2018IMA WO IKIMU\u2019 by T.V.NOT JANUARY <\/p>\n

This is a deeply personal album for me, having had the chance to help a little with the press release text. It features sounds recorded exactly as they are, including children clearing their throats, singing voices, insects in the countryside, and construction noise. As you listen, it is an album that somehow causes \u201csmells\u201d to rise up along with the sounds. <\/p>\n

There is a feeling of being invited to hear the band perform in the garden of the house where they live, at times evoking the sensation of a kind of pseudo live album. If one were to define its genre, \u201cfolk\u201d might be the closest word, but at the same time the music overflows that frame, with a much freer atmosphere running throughout the record. <\/p>\n

That sense of air is the band\u2019s singular and irreplaceable quality, and on this album it feels more vivid than ever. This comes through especially in the uninhibited freedom of \u201c\u30e9\u30fc\u30e1\u30f3\u3068\u5143\u6c17\u306a\u3068\u304d (Ramen to genki na toki),\u201d and in the sequence of the final three tracks, \u201c\u3082\u306e (Mono),\u201d \u201c\u6625 (Haru),\u201d and \u201c\u308f\u305f\u3057\u306e\u524d\u8db3 (Watashi no mae ashi),\u201d where the feeling I want to convey emerges clearly. <\/p>\n

(Rita Takaki) <\/p>\n

\u2018Trooper Salute 2\u2019 by Trooper Salute <\/p>\n

This EP smartly accomplishes one of the most important things in contemporary music by doing something strange while seamlessly distilling it into pop. Surreal and humorous lyrics sit alongside odd time signatures and vibra-slap textures, creating a playful yet sharply executed sound. <\/p>\n

From \u201c\u91ce\u83dc\u751f\u6d3b (Yasai seikatsu),\u201d a pop song that recalls the feel of a beloved Japanese national anime, to \u201c\u4e0d\u6cbb (Fuji),\u201d a long-form, low-tempo shoegaze track, \u2018Trooper Salute 2\u2019 showcases an impressive breadth of sensibility. Throughout the record, the phrasing is consistently inspired. The rhythm section and melodic layers toss striking ideas back and forth like a conversation, and it is exhilarating to hear. <\/p>\n

The keyboard work, in particular, is outstanding. The solo on \u201c\u601d\u8003\u56de\u8def (Shikou kairo)\u201d feels legendary, both in its songwriting instinct and in the sheer quality of the performance. <\/p>\n

(Kanke Takuma) <\/p>\n

\u2018Spira1oop\u2019 by \u5317\u6751\u8557 (Fuki Kitamura) <\/p>\n

A long-awaited first full-length album from Fuki Kitamura, built around texture-focused dance music and presented with a vividly saturated sense of style. The contrast between shimmering, beautifully polished tracks and the soft tones of the flute is particularly striking. On \u201clooping second,\u201d that balance comes through clearly, sometimes locking tightly into unison and other times deliberately drifting apart. <\/p>\n

By contrast, \u201cvivid I: mm\u201d blends tribal-leaning rhythms with industrial sound design and flows seamlessly into \u201cmenou.\u201d The piano solo in the outro lands with a pleasing lo-fi warmth. Every aspect of the album feels finely realized, forming a work that fully showcases the breadth of skills Kitamura has cultivated through her multifaceted creative activities. <\/p>\n

(Kanke Takuma) <\/p>\n

\u2018MAGAZINE.\u2019 by \u6708\u520aPAM (Gekkan PAM) <\/p>\n

One of this year\u2019s standout idol albums. \u2018MAGAZINE.\u2019 serves as an accessible first album from Gekkan PAM, clearly presenting the group\u2019s dual identity: a pop side and a rock side. It\u2019s consistently easy to listen to, while the alternative-leaning guitar sounds on the rock side shine in particular. <\/p>\n

This is a work that deserves to be heard by far more people. <\/p>\n

(Ken Nishida) <\/p>\n

\u2018\u6587\u660e\u958b\u5316 \u2013 East West (Bunmei kaika – East West)\u2019 by \u53cb\u6210\u7a7a (Tomonari Sora) <\/p>\n

The first full-length album from Tomonari Sora, often described as a \u201cReiwa-era pop killer.\u201d Having drawn widespread attention through major hits such as \u201c\u9b3c\u30ce\u5bb4 (Oni no utage),\u201d his sound carries forward the melodic, song-oriented aesthetics of artists like Taeko Onuki and Tatsuro Yamashita, while also absorbing contemporary grooves reminiscent of Tom Misch and Thundercat. <\/p>\n

In essence, it is a work that connects past and future, something like a reinvention of culture through pop music itself. <\/p>\n

(Ken Nishida) <\/p>\n

\u2018Sincerely,\u2019 by Kali Uchis <\/p>\n

After major turning points in her life, including pregnancy and the loss of her mother, Kali Uchis rediscovers a sense of emotional refuge within her music. Comprising fourteen tracks and featuring no guest appearances, \u2018Sincerely,\u2019 is an intensely intimate and personal album, deeply marked by her emotions, memories, and the passage of time. <\/p>\n

The sonic foundation throughout is a mid-tempo, dreamy strain of vintage soul. Within its gentle flow, themes of loss, anxiety, and a quiet hope toward welcoming new life gradually surface. While rooted in personal stories, the album opens itself to the listener and offers a space where individual memories and feelings can be met and soothed. <\/p>\n

Carrying both pain and renewal, \u2018Sincerely,\u2019 captures Kali Uchis at a tender yet resilient moment in her artistic journey. <\/p>\n

(Sachiho Ishikawa) <\/p>\n

\u2018\u85e4\u5b50 (Fujiko)\u2019 by \u91ce\u53e3\u6587 (Noguchi Bun) <\/p>\n

The more you try to understand it, the further you seem to drift from its core. The moment you attempt to place it within an existing genre or conceptual framework, it slips through your hands. When confronted with something outside one\u2019s own range of experience, a faint sense of fear and tension arises, along with the pleasure of having one\u2019s intellectual curiosity sharply awakened. This album is suffused with precisely that sensation. <\/p>\n

Elements of contemporary music, jazz, classical, and hip-hop are collaged together in fragments, yet the work as a whole belongs nowhere. Noguchi herself refers to it as \u201cpop,\u201d but through the gaps in that accessibility, a cold and sometimes aggressive form of rigorously constructed music seeps through. It is an album that urges the listener not toward passive consumption, but toward the active act of listening itself. <\/p>\n

(Sachiho Ishikawa) <\/p>\n

\u2018\u8131\u697d\u5712\u69cb\u9020 (Datsu rakuen kouzou)\u2019 by \u5fa1\u82b1\u5c4b (Ohana-ya) <\/p>\n

The second album released by Ohana-ya, who is active as both a Vocaloid producer and a singer-songwriter. The previous releases, \u2018\u30ef\u30f3\u3061\u3083\u3093\u3001\u30cd\u30b3\u3061\u3083\u3093\u3001\u3042\u304b\u3061\u3083\u3093\u3001\u3042\u308a\u304c\u3068\u3046 (Wan-chan, neko-chan, akachan, arigatou)\u2019 and \u2018\u30ef\u30f3\u3061\u3083\u3093\u3001\u30cd\u30b3\u3061\u3083\u3093\u3001\u5408\u6210\u97f3\u58f0\u3001\u3042\u308a\u304c\u3068\u3046 (Wan-chan, neko-chan, gousei onsei, arigatou),\u2019 were issued simultaneously in two versions, one sung by the artist and the other performed by synthesized vocals. This time, however, the album features only Ohana-ya\u2019s own vocals. <\/p>\n

Perhaps as a result, compared to the previous works that revealed many different facets across a wide range of genres, this album is unified by guitar-driven songs that consistently evoke alternative rock. The result is a work with a strong emphasis on concept and coherence. <\/p>\n

The lyrics, too, mark a shift. Where earlier songs often depicted sadness, anger, and frustration rooted in everyday life, this album expands its scope, adopting a more abstract and narrative-driven atmosphere. That change further deepens the album\u2019s world, adding another layer of resonance to its overall vision. <\/p>\n

(Kotone Fujita) <\/p>\n

\u2018\u30c6\u30ec\u30d1\u30b7\u30fc\u3092\u98db\u3070\u3057\u3066\u3044\u308b (Telepathy wo tobashite iru)\u2019 by SleepInside <\/p>\n

The eighth full-length album released this March by the internet-based home-recording band SleepInside. According to guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter hachigatsu_news, \u201cthe album as a whole represents the end of my moratorium\u201d (from hachigatsu_news\u2019s note<\/a>). <\/p>\n

This work carefully portrays the anxieties and regrets of youth through both its lyrics and sound. Rather than abandoning those feelings, the album stays close to them with warmth, offering a sense of reassurance as it walks alongside the listener and gently guides them toward the next stage of adulthood. <\/p>\n

(Kotone Fujita) <\/p>\n

\u2018STRANGE POP\u2019 by \u7b39\u5ddd\u771f\u751f (Mao Sasagawa) <\/p>\n

Mao Sasagawa returns with his first full-length album in nearly two years. True to its title, \u2018STRANGE POP\u2019 is undeniably pop, yet it glints, buckles, surges up and down, and constantly shifts color under pressure from within. It embodies an alternative in the sense of belonging nowhere else. <\/p>\n

At the same time, the source of the album\u2019s deep sense of embrace lies in its grounding as \u201csong,\u201d and in the sheer pleasure of rhythm. The grooves found in \u201c\u7f8e\u3057\u3044\u8853 (Utsukushii sube)\u201d and \u201c\u6ea2\u308c\u3061\u3083\u3063\u305f (Afure-chatta)\u201d set both the heart and the body in motion. <\/p>\n

This is an album best experienced by surrendering to its balance of constancy and fluctuation. Without question, it stands as my album of the year for 2025. <\/p>\n

(Toshihiro Takada) <\/p>\n

\u2018Anthem 1.1\u2019 by SYAYOS <\/p>\n

The debut album from SYAYOS, a four-piece band based in Ina, Nagano Prefecture. Formed in July 2024, the eight tracks written within their first eight months are brimming with ideas and display a level of completeness, along with an unfathomable potential, that belies the fact that this is a first album. <\/p>\n

From the opening track \u201cSpaceboy,\u201d the listener is struck by the band\u2019s grand sense of scale and explosive power. As the album unfolds, SYAYOS\u2019s ambition continually recalibrates and expands. Centered on the expansive vocals of Hina Suzuki, each instrument rises to meet that presence with equal intensity. <\/p>\n

Rawness and refinement, as well as stylishness and nostalgia, coexist throughout the record. And while the album itself is powerful, SYAYOS\u2019s live performances are even more overwhelming. In 2025, they stand out unmistakably as my Best New Artist. <\/p>\n

(Toshihiro Takada) <\/p>\n

\u2018The Collapse Of Everything\u2019 by Adrian Sherwood <\/p>\n

The long-awaited solo album from Adrian Sherwood, a towering figure in UK dub, arrives thirteen years after his previous release. The record features a group of highly skilled musicians who have supported Sherwood\u2019s work in recent years, including his dub reinterpretations of projects by Panda Bear and Sonic Boom. <\/p>\n

An entirely instrumental album, it unfolds as a restrained yet deeply spiritual form of dub downtempo. Noise, bass, and echo, which are core elements of Sherwood\u2019s aesthetic, permeate every corner of the sound and form a psychedelic dub journey in which his signature sensibility is embedded down to the finest detail. There is a bluesy, almost stoic quality to the music, and the deeper one listens, the more one is drawn into its cosmology. <\/p>\n

Released in 2025, the album resonates as a sound of maturity. It arrives nearly fifty years after the birth of UK dub, a history that closely overlaps with Sherwood\u2019s own career. <\/p>\n

(Yuusuke Kawamura) <\/p>\n

\u2018HOPE\u2019 by SILENT POETS <\/p>\n

Having gained a new generation of listeners through their music being featured in the popular game series DEATH STRANDING, Japan\u2019s pioneers of dub, downtempo, and trip-hop return with their first new album in seven years. An updated sound resonates in harmony with an unwavering aesthetic. <\/p>\n

In a world rife with reactionary demagoguery, racism and colonialism, and rampant violence, \u2018HOPE\u2019 presents a powerful vision of resistance. On \u201cStruggle,\u201d which features vocals by Gaza-based singer Amal, the collaboration with Japanese trumpeter Kazufumi Kodama echoes like a heartrending cry, a prayer for peace to arrive even one day sooner amid the massacres in Gaza. It is a moment of solidarity that feels all the more profound as a work released in 2025. <\/p>\n

(Yuusuke Kawamura) <\/p>\n

OTOTOY Store Picks: 2025 Releases<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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