Needle Time

  Pictured Resort - Once Upon A Season [SYLD-022 JPN 2022 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] I haven't ripped and posted anything from Japan for a while, so without further ado, here is last year's sun-drenched city-pop/indie pop album Once Upon A Season from seasonal blog favourites Pictured Resort. Osaka's Koji Takagi blends British indie-pop from the mid-eighties with West Coast AOR & Japanese city-pop for his third full length album of easy going & catchy pop music. Released by Sailyard Records on marine blue vinyl, Pictured Resort once more fulfills the continuous desire for yacht-pop for all those without a boat. Sweet. A1 Intro A2 Never Be Slowed A3 Oceanizing A4 Stepped Into A5 Day In Day Out A6 Safari Night A7 Electric Birdland II B1 Love Inside B2 Frozen Pacific (Album Ver.) B3 Odometer Rollover B4 Best Mood B5 Gossamer (Extended Mix) B6 Baby It's You

  Pictured Resort - Dye It Blue [SLYD-016 JPN 2021 24-Bit FLAC] Here is my final rip from Japanese dream-indie-pop stars, Pictured Resort. Originally released last year. Dye It Blue is a gorgeously crafted work of six slices of tasty & polished synth-based indie pop held together by Koji Takagi and his Walter Becker-like guitar licks.  The opening  Inherit The Waves hooks you in from start to finish, it has been on repeat here for a while this afternoon. These chaps deserve a following in the west, I am sure it will eventually come, mind you they have already managed five albums and a whole bunch of singles back in Japan.  You might well want this..... A1 Inherit The Waves A2 Glittering Haze A3 Time In Amber B1 Cruising B2 Head West ('20) B3 Now And On ('20) B4 Time In Amber (D∀NGER D∀NGER Remix)

  Pictured Resort - Hurry Nothing [SYLD-020 JPN 2021 24-Bit FLAC] I've covered Koji Takagi's Japanese dreampop before and Hurry Nothing is their latest mini-album released over the Summer of 2021. As the nights draw in and summer becomes just a memory, this album of fresh and breezy synthpop is right up there with Pictured Resort's very best work.  Taking his cue from eighties pop, Takagi adds a modern production style for the very fullest of sounds, when synths and a Fender guitar swap hooks, more than enough times to hold your interest. Full of sparkling melodies and dreamy harmonies, Pictured Resort could well be one of the very best pop bands on the planet right now.  Come back summer, all is forgiven. A1 And Another Chill... A2 Out Of Mind A3 Fashion Smiling Man B1 Sunrise B2 Untitled #02 B3 Nagisa B4 Comfortable

  Pictured Resort - All Vacation Long [SLYD-001LPR JPN RSD2021 24-Bit FLAC] Originally released in January 2017 and rereleased for RSD in Japan just last month - I mentioned in my previous Pictured Resort post how difficult their records are to find on this side of the globe. Thankfully, it seems that at least one distributor has found a way to bring Pictured Resort records to western ears & turntables. Modern Japanese indie-pop is made for downloads, so vinyl pressings tend to be extremely limited ...and hence very collectable, only 950 copies were pressed of this re-release. Gentle plucked Fender melodies over sun-drenched washy-synths define this new era of Japanese dream-pop and Koji Takagi is from a new breed of genre champions. Pulling down influences from AOR and city-pop, Takagi whisks his audience away to picture postcard blue sky summertime resorts with a lush modern day production. There isn't one bad track on this album, the production is a little full-on but ...

  Pictured Resort & Work Drugs - Pictured Resort & Work Drugs [SLYD-018 JPN 2021 24-Bit FLAC] I have worked on a good few Japanese releases recently, nearly all have been older recordings, maybe it is about time I brought things up to date with something new. It is worth noting however, that one of the bands on this mini-album is actually American. From Osaka's J-Indie pop world come Pictured Resort, who are essentially just singer/songwriter Koji Takagi. He whisks away to sunnier climates on exotic sunny islands with his brand of synthy dream-pop much like the former new-wave of USA indie bands, Wild Nothing and Craft Spells, although with a good covering of factor 30, In actual fact, there is a video of Pictured Resorts covering Craft Spells' After The Moment somewhere on YouTube. Pictured Resort have released three albums in Japan only, most of which are already deleted and quite collectible, if you can afford them. Work Drugs from Philadelphia have been around fo...