It’s been a crazy ride but I’ve glad we’ve made it through 2017 in one piece. It was a hectic year for both the music scene as well as for Live Beijing Music. We were hacked back in March last year – which put a lot of what I do here in perspective. And yet, with the help of friends, marched on and dusted off a new site and started anew. The same can be said for the music scene. For every venue that was lost, and every band that went on hiatus, there were three more venues to take their place, and one hungry band after another looking to make their mark on the scene. We march forward and give it all we can. So here’s a toast to the bands, venues, labels, collectives, sound engineers, roadies, corner stores, and most importantly the fans who continue to make this job a pleasure. Onwards!

TOP SHOWS

TOP BANDS

TOP ALBUMS 

TOP SONGS

The post Best of 2017 first appeared on .

While making the yearly playlists have been a joy, the simple fact is, it’s getting harder and harder to get them up on any music platform. The copyright gatekeepers and their algorisms are getting far too advanced. I remember two years ago, not one song was booted from my end of year playlist. Last year: had ten songs booted. This year — well after uploading the first batch of songs, my email lite up like Chinese New Year. So unfortunately, there will be no bloated 200-song playlist this year on Soundcloud. However, I have selected around twenty of my favorite tracks and made a mixtape on my Mixcloud account. 

I’ll also include the full list of my favorite songs of the year below. Email us at livebeijingmusic@gmail.com if you want to inquire about certain bands or songs (or if you wanna bribe me to hand over the whole package of songs)

The post 2017 BEST SONGS first appeared on .

So strap yourself in, toss on some headphones, and dive into the best sounds that kept us going. (If you have any other recommendations please leave them in the comments below – the more vibrations the merrier).

Re-TROS 重塑雕像的权利 – Before the Applause (Beijing/Modern Sky)
After years of waiting, Re-TROS return with their opus, Before the Applause, a sprawling genre-expanding album that takes in everything from krautrock, post-punk, to blistering techno and ambient pop and molds it to their ever-eccentric and unique vision. For a band I was assured had run out of gas, it can’t be stated how much my expectations were surpassed on this release.

Bandcamp / Netease

Goodbye Honey Boy – Daydreaming Days (Beijing/SJ Records)
Beijing-based dream pop trio Goodbye Honey Boy come out swinging on their airless debut EP. With an atmosphere that’s dripping in honey, this release embraces its influences – think Brian Eno to Beach House –and makes for a dizzying concoction that hits all the right notes. A bittersweet delight.

Bandcamp / Xiami

The 尺口MP – Love 愛 (Fuzhou/Qiii Snacks Records)
Fuzhou ‘leisure-pop trio’ THE 尺口MP aka The Romp released this lo-fi pop gem of an EP. A bit of jangly surf rock, some shoegaze riff-raff, and plenty of dream pop reverb, it’s pretty much homemade for the beach.

Bandcamp

Howie Lee – Homeless 无家 (Beijing/Do Hits)
Prominent Beijing electronic producer goes existential on his latest dizzying concoction of Chinese world bass. The six-track EP leans heavily into the ethnic sounds of China but Mr. Lee integrates them with the frenzy of a mad scientist, twisting and flipping any familiarity we may have with these traditional sounds straight onto their back. It’s a jarring experience – one that leaves you feeling alienated and lost, as if you’ve stumbled upon some future civilization.

Bandcamp / Xiami

Shu Ying 树樱 – Girl’s Girl’s World (Shanghai/Self-Released)
Shanghai singer-songwriter, Shu Ying, returns with the snappy, profoundly catchy, emotionally rich LP Girl’s Girl’s World. It’s rock and roll streamlined with a clear ear for what’s makes a chorus pop, with lyrics that are on the mark, and more importantly, a voice that stings with emotional honesty and pulpy aplomb.

Bandcamp / Xiami

ZHI16 – 5PM (Beijing/Self-Released)
Quite possibly the slyest electronic release to emerge this year, 5PM from Beijing-based electronica artist ZHI16 is a lush, serene, sonically smooth sampling of electronica that goes down like a glass of Champagne. Full of intoxicating flourishes, from old Chinese ballads to jazzy brass samples, it’s electropop that glistens.

Soundcloud / Xiami

Dirty Fingers 脏手指 – How’d I Turn So Bad 我怎么学的这么坏 (Shanghai/Maybe Mars)
An assault on the senses, these Shanghai punk ruffians keep things fast and loose with their down-and-out sophomore release – an unholy mess of ramshackle charisma, tightly wound melodies, and a carefree yet volatile attitude. An artifact of a band in their prime without the needed assistance of slick production values or other label tricks, this is punk done right.

Bandcamp

Xie Yugang 谢玉岗 – Echo in Library 回声图书馆 (Dalian/Space Circle Records)
With his solo ambient LP, Wang Wen’s Xie Yugang writes an ambient ode to his coastal home city of Dalian and its venue Echo Library, the bookstore, gallery, and above all else, safe haven for artists like himself. A blissed-out daydream (or better yet, a lost memory) that sinks in, Xie Yugang finds pleasure in the haze, waves, and lyrical currents of life.

Bandcamp / Xiami

Foster Parents – Grim (Shanghai/Qiii Snacks Records)
Playful, melodic, breezy yet instrumentally skillful and astute, the Shanghai duo of Fostets Parens are a worthy addition to the growing list of instrumental bands making their mark on China’s music scene. Far from grim, the album wears its heart on its sleeve, using a grab-bag of samples to invoke ’90s nostalgia while nimbly plucking at those guitar strings. Math rock catnip.

Bandcamp / Xiami

Nouvelle – Nouvelle (Guanghzhou/Black Deer Records)
Jagged noise pop coupled with earnest easygoing melodies that trigger all those bottled up feelings of youth – angst, ambition, and recklessness – as the bandmembers squint ahead towards hazy futures. The Guangzhou trio Nouvelle’s self-titled debut EP is a shaken-up bottle of lo-fi pop ready to break out.

Xiami/Netease

Hai Qing 海青 – The Flesh (Shanghai/D-Force Records)
Avant-garde gets a Mongolian twist on the latest release from Hai Qing. Words linger and strike down with terrestrial veracity, King Crimson-esque dissonant guitar riffs linger, while a substantial amount of didgeridoo and a slew of guests add their esoteric instrumental groove to the mix and in turn, create an intoxicating world of mischief and curiosity.

Xiami/163

Faded Ghost – Moon Mad (Shanghai/SVBKVLT)
A nocturnal fever dream that bewitches and mystifies with its pagan-stylized witch house vibes – Faded Ghost, the side project of Shanghai singer ChaCha, finds the artist in the producer’s chair as she breathes musical life into her memories, experiences, and dreams through a combination of vocals, layered field recordings, and electronic wizardry on her hauntingly beautiful LP. A mood piece through and through.

Bandcamp/Xiami

Default – California Nebula (Beijing/Kanjian Records)
Default, out of Beijing, hold the shoegaze torch high and proud and their debut – a master class of atmosphere, singed longing, and crushing reverb. Perhaps even more impressive – it was recorded in a university cafeteria basement (of the North China Electric Power University) by four students.

Xiami/163

thruoutin – Contingent of Outlying Territory 外地领土 (Beijing/Ran Music)
Beijing-based electronic producer thruoutin outdoes himself on his latest EP, which utilizes everything from Chicago footwork to field recordings to create a dizzying concoction that’s both a dance floor ripper and bedroom mixer. Charting into unknown territory has never sounded so satisfying.

Bandcamp /Xiami

Chinese Football – Here Comes a New Challenger! (Wuhan/Wild Records)
Continuing on their ascent this year, math-infused emo rockers Chinese Football show off their new drummer with four brand new songs that further solidifies the band’s tight musicianship and sound –effortlessly creating twinkly post-emo jams that embrace their pop sensibilities with a gentle touch.

Bandcamp / Xiami

Yue Xuan – Masse (Beijing/Mo Records)
Composer, pianist, and soundtrack artist Yue Xuan continues making good use of her classically trained talents on her latest Masse EP – three tracks of hauntingly gorgeous piano works viewed as “a calm answer to the mixed-up world.” However, it’s arguably in the remix followup that the true magic is allowed to flourish as Chinese electronic producers iimmune, Far Infinity, and Cvalda give their brilliant and ambitious interpretations of Yue Xuan’s tracks.

Original: Bandcamp / Xiami; Remix: Xiami

The Pillowman 枕头人 – The Little Girl Says 小女孩说 (Hangzhou/self-released)
It’s a bittersweet hello and goodbye on the debut from The Pillowman. The shoegaze trio out of Hangzhou didn’t even make it to two years as a band and that fleeting, affecting touch is captured brilliantly on their only EP – a blistering, drowned-out, melancholic letter to growing up – warts and all. We barely knew ya, Pillowman!

Xiami

Little Wizard 小巫师 –  Little Wizard II (Shaoxing/Space Circle Records)
Shaoxing instrumental rock trio Little Wizard, return with their latest offering – a ramped-up freight train of thundering drums, rip-roaring guitars, and jaded bass lines that keep the dial turned up. Never overstaying their welcome, their songs strike with ferocity and precision, a blistering blend of math and post-rock highs that keeps the pace tight and the thrills unwavering.

Xiami / 163

Swimful – Pearls (Shanghai/SVBKVLT)
Looking for a little bubbly electronica to kick off your weekend? Let the UK-bred Shanghai-based producer Swimful lead the way. Nostalgic ‘sino melodies’ that burst with color placed alongside ‘melancholic atmospheres’ that drip with condensation, it does exactly what an EP should do – leave you wanting more.

Bandcamp / Xiami

Zhang Yang Experimental Group – Zhang Yang Experimental Group (Beijing/Taisheng Wenhua)
Drummer virtuoso Zhang Yang breaks it down on his wildly imaginative, frenzied avant-garde release as the Zhang Yang Experimental Group. On the release, Yang uses the opportunity to collaborate with some of the scene’s most prolific musicians including bassist Han Yang, singer Zang Yuhong, guitarist Yao Lan (of Second Hand Rose), musician Song Yuzhe (of Dawanggang), and producer Jason Hou.

Xiami/Netease

TRUETRUE – ASTROLOGY (Macao x Boston/Babel Records)
Listening to Babel Records’ latest, there’s no doubt that the label has a bright future ahead of them. While the label has so far mainly dabbled in upbeat kinetic electronic compilations, ASTROLOGY is the real deal –a full-length introduction to TRUETRUE, the collaborative duo of Macao electronic producer Eliot Lee and Boston-based composer, vocalist, and producer Chuchu Wen. A synth-pop flavored piece of electronica that burns like a sultry and layered love letter to R&B.

Bandcamp/Xiami

Sound and Fury – Sprout (Chengdu/Boring Productions)
Longstanding Chengdu shoegaze outfit finally gets around to releasing their peppy, hook-filled debut Sprout. A melodically charged, reverb-soaked album, it’s an undeniably nimble record with big harmonies lurking just below the surface making for air-tight sugar-coated shoegaze.

Bandcamp / Xiami

Chui Wan – The Landscape the Tropics Never Had 热带从未有过的风景  (Beijing/Maybe Mars)
A little more mature and a little more assured, resident psychedelic groovers Chui Wan aren’t so much trying to shake you loose on their latest but instead are asking you to tag along, as they meander through each riff and progression, twisting and turning as the songs grow denser and denser, taking on new forms, and unraveling in often striking ways. Definitely an album that rewards repeated listens.

Bandcamp/Xiami

Ugly Girls – Welcome to the Suck (Shanghai/Self-Released)
Newly formed Shanghai riot grrl outfit Ugly Girls take a sledgehammer to the paradigm that is Western modern society and culture on their candid, enraged, not to mention, incredibly fun debut Welcome to the Suck. It’s also one of the most pointed, spirited takedowns of gender stereotypes, taking everyone from gym bros to “fuck bosses” to task. The truth never hurt so good.

Bandcamp

Mirrors 解离的真实 – Mirrors 解离的真实 (Shanghai/Self-Released)
A precision missile of panicky mayhem and trance-like grooves, Shanghai’s Mirrors’ debut EP is a psychedelic throttler that hits you like a freight train and doesn’t let up. It’s feral, primal, and as druggy as they come – the kind of music that possesses the spirit and shakes you to the core.

Bandcamp / Xiami

The post 2017 BEST ALBUMS first appeared on .

Alright! Time to hand out some accolades to the bands that made the past year of gig going a treat. Not the esteemed bands who plowed through another year or in some cases proved themselves worthy again – but the bands who hit the floor running and found their voices this year; the bands who cut their teeth on the circuit and came out on top in 2017; the bands who we’ll surely be keeping an eye out for come the Year of the Dog. Here are the best bands of 2017.

Best New Bands

Backspace
Humble, hungry, and highly skilled – Backspace was a band I knew was gonna be big late December last year and they did not disappoint in 2017. While sharpening their edges, they have expanded and equipped their sound with more bluster, finesse, and grit and it paid off in spades. Indie rock with bite that pays tribute to the past and future, we’ll be keeping an ear out for their debut release this year.

Boiled Hippo
Not so much an evolution but a complete renovation – Boiled Hippo has ditched the Slowdive burn of their first incarnation and instead jumped down the Middle-Eastern psychedelic rock hole – full of erotic riffs, offbeat guitar rhythms, and some surprisingly beautiful intonation from lead singer Abing. This is psychedelic music that wears its heart on its sleeve and puts out some great vibes.

Underdog
There’s nothing groundbreaking about Underdog’s sound but good lord do they do it well. I’ve been itching for some ska punk this year and Underdog delivered wholesale with a catalog of songs that hit all the right notes. Lyrically-driven with a keen sense of structure, chops, and fun, they’re a band that knows it needs to make it on its own accord (rather than their other rock ‘n’ roll credentials) and they are proving themselves worthy. And with the addition of a trombone now these guys are gonna be around for some time.

Bands to Listen out for in 2018

The Playcat
Born from the ashes of another Baoding band I had the pleasure of hosting this year – Briefs Dryer – The Playcat have in three months time already made their mark on the Beijing scene with their intoxicating mix of indie rock melodic charm and noise pop swagger. Trust me when I say we’ll be hearing from these cats a lot more this year.

Agoraphobia
This is a band that we need more of right now – melodic indie rock that wears its adolescent heart on its sleeve all the while keeping the energy tight and poised. They haven’t been playing much these days, and they haven’t quite caught the attention they deserve yet, but something tells me they’ll be cooking up something good for 2018.

Goodbye Honey Boy/Xiao Wang
Two bands that stormed the music scene in 2017 only to immediately disappear due to members leaving Beijing to hone their skills and expand their creative minds abroad. Goodbye Honey Boy put together their wonderful LP Daydreaming Days before performing live a few times and then, just like that, went on hiatus. Nevertheless, the reception of their record was so strong that the band reunited for a short winter tour recently and will be back in fighting form by the end of spring. Meanwhile, riot grrrl outfit Xiao Wang busted onto the scene with bombastic appeal, essentially honing their stage presence and chops on stage with reckless glorious abandon – lightning in a bottle indeed. While Xiao Wang’s lead singer Anlin has temporarily moved to Montreal to study, the band recently remerged with its former bassist on vocals, tightening their sound, and getting down and dirty.

Best Electronic Musician

While I got a kick out of a lot of electronic musicians this year – specifically the incredibly ambitious Howie Lee, whose live sets are pushing the genre to new heights – I found myself hypnotized by some lesser-known artists such as L+R (aka Wang Lu) whose mix of modern electronic music with traditional forms of Chinese music (such as having a guzheng on stage) were a treat, as well as the experimental noises of the Liquid Palace crew featuring Meng Qi, Zpax, and more getting their freak on.

The Prajnasonic label also put out some stellar work and live sets as did the Do Hits!, Ran Music, and Babel Records crews who moved their showcases away from places like Dada and into the bigger venues.

Bands of 2016 Who Only Got Better

Lonely Leary, Last Goodbye, SNSOS – I’ve written plenty about these three bands so don’t want to indulge too much in proclaiming my love for them again. SNSOS just released their debut last month and all signs point to a killer 2018 for them. Meanwhile, Lonely Leary (pictured above) kicked it up a notch last year with some seriously killer showcases and will be dropping their debut early this year. Finally, shoegaze groovers Last Goodbye took a little break this fall to replace their drummer and finish off some recordings – they’re probably the band I’m most excited to have back this year.

Out of Town Bands

Once again, some of the best performances I saw this year were by bands from outside of Beijing. Dirty Fingers became a fixture of the punk scene here despite residing in Shanghai; Chengdu’s Hiperson continue to run circles around most Beijing indie rockers; and Mirrors, also out of Shanghai, put on the best debut performance of a band I’ve witnessed all year. Also, musical excursions to Ningbo and Wuhan proved quite fruitful – with The ROMP and der Berliner Nebel standing out the most. If you have the time, check out the music scenes outside of Beijing where the crowds and bands are hungrier and inclusive – I can’t recommend it enough.

The post 2017 BEST BANDS first appeared on .

I really did try to dial it back this year. And when the LBM website was hacked, erasing thousands upon thousands of pictures and other uploaded content, I thought I’d found the perfect excuse to slow down and perhaps even enjoy the other fine things Beijing has to offer. Boy, was I wrong. Instead, it seems I found myself hunting down shows more and more often, grabbing ahold of anyone or anything (my camera as my wingman) to join me, and even more Machiavellian, organizing my own shows to get in my kicks. Simply put, my obsession intensified. Yeah, I failed hard. But in my epic failure, I did happen upon some truly kickass shows, catch some on the cusp of success, and put to memory some glorious times. Here’s just a touch of the crazy gigs 2017 brought in no particular order:

1) Mirrors and Faded Ghost at Wetware Festival
Skeptics be damned – I thought the Wetware Music Festival held in May by Douban was hands-down the best festival Beijing has seen since the glory days of MIDI. And while it’s easy to gawk at some of the more esteemed artists who performed there (Actress, Tim Hecker, RP Boo) it was these two Shanghai debuts that blew me away and twisted my earworms with pleasure: primal psychedelic pile-drivers Mirrors headed by the gleeful lunacy of Aming, who ripped School Bar a new one, and the menacing allure and trance-inducing witch house vibes of Faded Ghost. Distinct, surreal, cutting-edge, and proof that some of the best festival talents are be found within China’s borders. Full writeup

2) Xiao Wang vs. Struggle Session at Temple
Struggle Session’s performances were already a sight to behold – an aerobatic, flailing muscular yet jovial hardcore punch to the face. And Xiao Wang, led by the determined Anlin were slowly becoming one of Beijing’s most fierce acts. Now place them up against one another in a ‘battle-style’ face off and you have one of the wildest, free-wheeling, riotous forty minutes of mayhem Temple has ever seen. And that’s not even mentioning the bare butts, circling crowd of ravenous concertgoers, and the loaded relationships boiling over on stage and off (having Oliver’s family on hand was the icing on the cake). High concept concerts pay off, boys and girls.

3) Lonely Leary at Cassette Store Day
While it’s hard to enjoy yourself at gigs that you’ve had a hand in organizing, there are moments where the stress melts away and you dive headfirst into a performance. And Lonely Leary closing set at Cassette Store Day was just that moment when the remaining patrons had zero f**ks to give anymore, rallied up front at Yue Space and tossed out another in a frenzy feeding off of the riotous post-punk pulse of Lonely Leary, a band that fully developed into its own this year. A glorious cesspool of insanity. Full writeup

4) Bohan Phoenix, Howie Lee at Omni Space
2017 has the year of hip-hop in China. No question about it. And while I was resilient to the genre for some time, once I found myself in the spectacle of Bohan Phoneix, whose wondrous mix of Far East sampling and American hip-hop, trap stylings, and charismatic swag had me and more importantly the audience worked up. It was infectious and in many ways a palette cleanser for me. If that wasn’t enough, bonafide producer Howie Lee was on hand proving again that there is no electronic producer quite like him out there. Full writeup

5) Last Goodbye, Birdstriking at School
Nothing beats a sweaty, giddy mosh pit at School Bar, singing along to a band who you’ve been high on since you first stumbled onto the music scene here in Beijing. Birdstriking are that band and catching them in close quarters is an absolute must. The evening also began my friend and I’s semi-creepy fanboyish obsession with Last Goodbye and one song of theirs in particular that we have since made up verses to and screamed at them from afar. It’s weird and Last Goodbye are awesome.

6) The ROMP at VOX Livehouse, Wuhan
During the May Day holiday, I went on a little gig journey to Ningbo, Shanghai, and finally Wuhan to check out the famous VOX Livehouse which has been a staple of the music scene in China and should be visited by anyone popping through Wuhan. Too shy to talk to anyone, I simply just took in the space and the bands – but when Fuzhou’s The ROMP came out decked out in flip-flops (always a plus in my book) and beach attire I couldn’t resist and scurried up to the front where I watched and joined a group of kids having the time of their lives whipping out the cheesiest, most baller dance moves this side of China. Not a word was spoken but what goofy fun we had. Full writeup

7) David Thomas Broughton (UK) at Yue Space
While some stellar international acts have rolled through Beijing (including being able to scratch off seeing Tinariwen off my bucket list) it was Yorkshire artist David Thomas Broughton that left the biggest impression on me. Part comic act, part alt-folk, there’s something strangely beautiful about seeing a performer lay it on thick in barely attended Yue Space on Tuesday night. Looping intimate chords, performing deadpan physical comedy, and even singing alongside the jarring sonata of a rape alarm, it was surreal, spontaneous, honest, and awkward all at once. Full writeup

8) Re-TROS in Brooklyn, New York City
One of the pleasures of running a site dedicated to all the great music coming out of China is turning folks aboard onto something they would never expect to hear come out of this place. But as many of you in the same boat know, that’s never an easy task. So when the opportunity came to check out one of my favorite Beijing bands, Re-TROS, in New York City of all places and where I was spending a large amount of my short summer holiday, I immediately became ecstatic. No better way to turn people on to a band than seeing them in the flesh. I managed to drag out my childhood friend and I watched as my friend’s eyes lit up as the band performed, ’cause yes, as many of us know, when Re-TROS are on, they’re f**king on. A contact high indeed. Full Writeup

9) The Devil & The Libido (JP) at Temple/School
Another international surprise came from the ragtag team of Japanese artists and bands who financed their own little tour of Beijing over the course of a weekend in August. Besides the DIY bravura and meeting some insanely nice people, I was treated to the wonder that is The Devil & The Libido, a bass drum noisecore duo that set Temple ablaze with their assault of technical mind-blowing two-piece waltz of musical mayhem. So much so that I immediately went out the next evening to catch them again at School Bar. And am the owner of a new shirt. Full writeup

10) Hiperson/Fazi/Dream Can at Various Venues
Being sick in my apartment with my mother-in-law gets old quick, so I jumped on the Maybe Mars bandwagon during the October holiday. While people like to point to bands like P.K.14, Carsick Cars, and Snapline as the paradigm for the label, I think the new guard is going to emerge elsewhere. And after catching the young impassioned Hiperson from Chengdu, the frenzied pop aplomb of Xi’an’s Fazi, and the quirky psych rock of Shanghai’s Dream Can, I think the label’s real merit will be measured by their crop of bands outside of Beijing in the future. Full writeup

11) Backspace at School Bar
Backspace might just be the rookie of the year. After impressing the hell out of me late in 2016, I didn’t catch them again till the infamous annual Xiaoxiao birthday bash at School Bar – and it was there and then, for better or for worse, that I knew they would get signed. An inspired, honed-in set that hit audiences like a sledgehammer and best of all, left you wanting more. Full writeup

12) Dee at Fruityspace
I really don’t remember much about Dee’s performance. He followed a relay of experimental and noise performances from a collective of Shanghai’s noise scene. Some really cool stuff. I recall being invigorated in the most soothing of ways. But the image of Dee shaking a cage with an apple in it, which also happens to be ‘plugged in’ – well, it was probably the most fitting farewell for the mischievous artist and friend before he left Beijing. Full Writeup

13) IZ at Yue Space
IZ, the powerhouse industrial noise duo made of Urumqi musician Mamer on guitar and Zhang Dong on (the coolest ever industrial fan) drums came out last on a warpath of noise and destruction, throwing listeners into the deep end with a chaotic, harsh, industrial, and extremely funky noise set that felt like a glass of cold water to the face and plastered a shit-eating grin on my face. Dude was literally pulling out Home Depot tools out of his pocket. Full writeup

14) Die! Chiwawa! Die!, Underdog, Boss Cuts at Temple
Just one of those drunken happy-go-lucky nights you need every so often at Temple Bar – and a perfect volatile mix of bands, including the incredibly fun, spirited and gonzo Die!Chiwawa!Die! from Guangzhou. The evening also solidified my (and my wife’s) unabashed love for Underdog, who have filled the ska-gaping void in my life. Full writeup

15) Ying Shui Di Jiang at DDC
I had no idea what to expect from Ying Shui Di Jiang. The supergroup formed by Buddhist-faith-raised Nanjing artist Zhao Yuan and featuring 10 members (including a bassist from Japan) is less a band than a massive sound project that just happens to get together once in a blue moon. In fact, this was their second ever live performance. But my goodness – what sweet music they make. Combining elements of Buddhism, folk music, improvisation, turntable hip-hop, electronica, and ever slivers of doom metal, it’s an invigorating gathering of sounds with beautiful attention to detail. Full writeup

Honorable Mentions: DFA1989 at Yue Space; Briefs Dryer at DDC; David Boring at School Bar; L+R at Omni Space; thruoutin at Dada; SNSOS at School Bar; Glow Curve at Omni Space; Downstate at Dada Shanghai

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