In the summer, I tend to listen to a lot of city pop, disco, and old R&B, more than usual. The new PAELLAS album fits nicely into that mix because it is a fresh take on a familiar sound. I would easily call “Shooting Star” my song of the summer. It has an aloof coolness to it that I really enjoy, especially on a warm night.

I’ve always found indigo la End to be the more enjoyable overall of Kawatani Enon’s bands. Gesu no Kiwami Otome. are good for a bop, but their albums are quite bad, just look at the mess they released earlier this year, the name of which I can’t remember, nor be bothered to look up. But indigo’s albums are good as a whole, and their singles are just as good as Gesu’s, but in a way that isn’t so overtly catchy like Gesu’s. The melodies in indigo’s songs stick with you more. There’s an emotional complexity to their songs that I don’t really see in Gesu. But one thing I did notice in this album that borrows from Gesu are more female vocals. A female guest is actually behind the hightlight of this album funnily enough: Qrion’s remix of “Kokorone.” While it is an old song, Qrion breathed new life into it and took it to another place, a place where it is even more enjoyable.