Hiperson 海朋森 –  Ceramics 陶瓷

P.K.14 – A Thousand Ways To Say Goodbye 一千种告别的方式

Zafka – Sadness Prayer 伤之祈祷

Baishui – Eddie’s Blues 艾迪布鲁斯

Peach Illusion 桃子假象 – Peach Illusion 桃子假象

DaBozz – 景观 (feat. 祁紫檀) 

Backspace – Lost Him 被丢失的他

Li Wangnian 黎忘年 – 影子

Lionman – 幻觉记忆

Fishdoll – Rice Wine

Litte Wizard – 街区

Ruining – Catache 猫病

Hedgehog – 火车驶向云外，梦安魂于九霄

City Flanker – Souvenir (feat Ecke)

Moxizishi 莫西子诗 – 远处

Absolute Purity 绝对纯洁 – 绝对纯洁

Nein or Gas Mus 無高潮  – 1st 

Lonely Leary – Arsonist 放火

The Twenties – Is This Love?

Zoogazer 动物园钉子户 – 大大大大大象

Second Hand Rose – 我要开花

The Hormones 荷尔蒙小姐 – 拉萨河

EASYEAST – JUNGLE

Alpine Decline – Blameless

Bohan Phoenix – OVERSEAS 海外

Wang Wen 惘闻 – Mail from the River 水之湄

Lonely Cookies 浪味仙贝 – Midnight Santory 三得利

The Sailor’s Grape 水手葡萄 – Top Of The Town

The Molds – Sad Honey Dreamer

Thin City – The Loop

Endless White 白百 – Hit By Me 你被我浪漫

THE WHOLE LIST 

The post 2018 BEST SONGS 年内最佳音乐 first appeared on .

Acid Accident 酸性事件

Without a doubt, Acid Accident is one of the bands that felt like they knocked 2018 out of the park. While the band has been grinding it out on the bar circuit for the past year and change, they finally got the chance to prove themselves again and again this year and they did not disappoint. For a city that offers so many post rock bands, they’ve stood out from the rest, instilling their sound with some bonafide grooves and lying into their chops. One of those bands that someone immediately will ask who they are at a show.

Sleeping Dogs

While they may be nothing drastically original about what Sleeping Dogs have done, the fact of the matter there is no in China who taps into Afro-beat groves and Middle-Eastern intrigue with such professional relish and skillful glory. With less than three gigs under their belts, the trio, made up of ex-Chui Wan members Liu Xinyu and Li Zichao as well as Boiled Hippo’s Abing, were already getting folks moving opening up for Mild High Club back in September. Heck their track ‘Spider’ is already engrained into my eardrums. Some fine tuning, and if we’re lucky enough some vocals here and there, and these cats are going to have a hell of a 2019.

Bye Bye Fish 拜拜⻥

Speaking of seasoned pros, Bye Bye Fish aren’t exactly new to the scene though they would like you to believe otherwise. But the new incarnation of the avant-grade freak folk duo formed by the power couple behind long-standing punk band SUBS is really something to get excited about. Kang Mao and Wu Hao have taken the offbeat electro sensibilities of SUBS (aspects that some thought hindered the band’s humble punk beginnings) and have utilized them to create something that feels fresh and dangerously alluring – hypnotic, enchanting, and sometimes malevolence songs that feel like they’ve emerged from a dark fairy tale . Would love to see these two interact with the various scenes about town cause they’re on to something.

Wonder Sea 出海部

I remember when I first booked Wonder Sea a couple years back on a quiet Thursday night at Temple (no such thing) – they were young, a bit sloppy, but with a pretty good handle on what they wanted. The band has stuck to their guns – touting the line between sincere post rock and emo-inflicted indie rock, invoking an adolescent sound that manages to be intimate and sprawling at the same time; tangible and far reaching. They’ve been inching their way toward recognition but I suspect 2019 will be kind to these hard-working lads so have been patiently waiting for the rest of Beijing to come around to what they’re cooking. 

Beijing Punks Causing A Stir

Punk made some serious headway this past year – most evident in the trio of troublemakers in the form of Hang Nail 倒刺, Hind Brain 反骨, and Pure 纯(guess which two bands I constantly mix up). I caught Hind Brain and Hang Nail both together at the short-lived 80s Music Club at the beginning of the year, and since them they’ve been walking their way up the food chain, releasing music, and making a name for themselves. Hard work goes a long way folks. Throw in Pure, who added a much needed dosage of rambunctious fun in the scene as well as the hard working and networking Wasted Laika, who have been nurturing not only their sound but the scene as a whole by organizing shows and hitting the road. Hat tip to all of you.

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LBM Abroad: Xi’an/Wuhan/Xiamen

Some the best experiences last year was dipping into the music scene across China – kicking off during the Chinese New Year where I was able to squeeze in two wildly different shows on one night as well as swing by the much hyped Wu Qiong, I was bewildered how much the scene has evolved over the years and can’t wait to go back. During the Qingming Festival, my Nasty Wizard cohort and I made a beeline for Wuhan and Nanjing – for some punk rock excess at the always-welcoming Prison before hanging with the electro kids over at MonoHouse in Nanjing. For the Dragon Boat Festival, I took a short vacation to the coastal city of Xiamen and of course snuck in some music over at Shapowei Art Zone and Real Live, catching wide-eyed adolescent sets from Hotkey Killer and YunJing – two bands we’ll be hearing from in 2019. Basically, what I’m trying to say is get the hell out there and explore a city via its music scene and the folks who inhabit it.

Lysistrata at Fete de la Musique

When Lysistrata, the featherweight emo rock champs took the stage last at Fete de la Musique’s family-friendly afternoon outing I had no idea what to expect. The moment they kicked off their set, there was no letting up. Inched together in a triangle formation, the three young adults delivered one exhilarating math rock infused song after another and like that insanity broke loose on the floor, with everyone from sanitary workers to muesli pushers getting in their licks. It was surreal to say the least, and will remain one of the finest musical moments I’ve witnessed this year.

Farewell Ting Ting x Temple

There’s nothing more satisfying than giving into Temple Bar for the night – relinquishing everything on your plate (including my camera) and throwing your self head first into a mosh pit. It happens at least once every two months there and it’s always a blast. Ting Ting’s going-away  bash was two-fold that resulting in a night that my camera can recall better than me.

The Burning Deck Weekend

 Sandeep Madhavan aka The Burning Deck means business when he says he’s rolling through town. The Mumbai-based bassist and electronic producer, whom I met while working in Bangkok this past summer, is above all someone who relishes the idea of collaborating. So when I set him up with a couple showcases late in October, much of the fun came from plugging him in with some of Beijing’s other creatives, such as the ever dynamic guitar demi-god Jukka or the live animation crew Shining Soundscapes. Watching the way everyone performed, interacted and played off one another was by far the highlight of his stay..

Caliph-8 at Yue Space

The one and only Dee, the beautiful, mischievous, and unpredictable sound shifter of the Beijing experimental scene who moved to greener (and more madcap) pastures in Shanghai last year, returned to his rightful home this past summer. And with some very good company – Caliph-8 – the one of a kind, awe-inspiring, insanely talented Manila-based producer who straight up slapped a shit-eating grin on my face. A deep dive into hip-hop, experimental, folk, no wave, sound art, soul, rare grooves, exotica, krautrock, jazz, psychedelia – my friend (a fellow electronic producer) said it best – ‘it’s as if something took the sound a collapsing building and slowed it down a hundred times’. Mesmerizing.

Trip Fuel at DDC

I had been bugging Trip Fuel for a good half year before they were finally able to clear off their schedule and head up to Beijing from Hefei. Setting up the show was a bit of a struggle – we were supposed to have a band from Xuzhou (who released one of my favorite albums of the year) come through but due to being unable to keep the proper permits it didn’t fan out. But guitarist and vocalist Chen Zoumei’s enthusiasm and bubbly persistence made the whole ordeal fun – from doing promotion to giving him suggestions as to where to shop his release to. The band had already made an impression on me, but when they finally made it to Beijing, it was clear why – they had chops.

Plastic at Yue Space

Maybe when each month – a group of bands were going to come from different parts of the country? That concept sadly didn’t last long but at least we got a taste of Kunming back in March – the real treat of the night came in the form of Plastic, the nonsense melodic punk band who entered the stage like a cherry bomb of charisma and punk rock swagger, delivering one frantic, surly, and sure-footed punk jam after another. Maybe it was the desire for something fully instrumental at that point, but Plastic felt like a breath of fresh air.

U.T.A at School Bar

Have to give School Bar some love as it still remains the most authentic rock and roll club this town has to offer – a place where the front stage can become a dance den. That happened back in March when I went to check the atmospheric and devilishly intriguing U.T.A from Taipei. Conjuring a starry-eyed psychedelic dream pop world that was equals parts foreboding and alluring; playful yet dead serious, filled with both moments that had you rocking your body in motion and others that left you in a daze it was the perfect closer to an intoxicating evening of shoegaze, noise rock, and enigmatic dream pop.

Hiperson at Yugong Yishan

It’s not often you find a band with zero pretensions in China – who come in and lay it all down there for their audience. There’s no divide between them and the audience – every note, every whispered cry, every drum snare, snakes its way through the crowd till all you can do is stare in awe and simply listen. During ‘Ceramics’ which finds singer Chen Sijiang all by her self – the room was completely silent – not a sound among the five hundred plus crowd. The collective silence and active ‘listening’ became a transporting, communal moment that you rarely find in Beijing anymore. Hiperson have tapped into something grandiose, intimate, strange and messily beautiful – and have once again proven themselves to be one of China’s most captivating acts.

Tsenjen at Yichang Cafe

What if Kenny G invaded your KTV Room whilst you were jamming out to European techno music from the 90s? That was one of the first thoughts that formed in my head as I watched multi-instrumentalist Tsenjen, a veteran of the Beijing music scene delivered with the conviction of a minister his sermon – ‘Dance!’ – below blurting out a badass sax solo. So yes – the answer is yes. One part kitsch, two parts awesome, and a whole ton of fun – Tsenjen walked the line between absurdity and righteousness with his ‘electro-jazz’ act and it was something to behold. Yicahng Cafe  – the cozy little hutong spot just south of Dongsi was too good to be true. You’ll be missed.

WuTiaoRen at Yue Space

As we all remember Sound of the Xity – China’s International Music Industry Conference & Showcases – had to pull the plug back in April when authorities decided that the folks behind the event couldn’t organize a large-scale ‘festival’ without the proper paperwork. Quite the hit but at least those lucky enough to venture out that first night were treated to WuTiaoRen. The Guangzhou-based outfit who hail from Haifeng, Guangdong have a knack for urbane story-telling and unhinged folk rock antics and they surpassed my expectations, turning the genre inside out and infusing it with psychedelic playfulness, rugged almost unhinged charm, and yes, a twisted yet very much honest sense of humor.  It’s loud, frantic, sexy (not just the accents), with enough grit and poetic guise to satisfy any music fan.

Railway Suicide Train at Tango

Been eager to check out the Hangzhou neo-psychedelic band Wogui de Houche whose 2016 release Aftermath was one of the my favorites of that year. The band is great at capturing that humid poetic sound that sways in and out of daydream romanticizing and reverb heavy rock and roll blitz. Lo-fi buzz that’s turns volatile when shaken. They certainly did not disappoint.

DFA1989 at Magnet Theater

It’s not often you get the chance to soak in doomy noise symphonies in a theater in the afternoon – so I jumped at the occasion to check out what DFA1989, the infamous doom drone collective, ‘with a constantly shifting line up of musicians with a diverse repertoire of instruments and talents’, had cooked up. And the answer: some dank ass, epic audio-sensory dreamscapes that manage to entice and engulf the senses while remaining tons of fun (at least for those who enjoy staring into the abyss). Kudos to Magnet Theater for the deft meat locker aesthetics – very nice touch.

The post 2018 BEST SHOWS 最佳演出 first appeared on .

P.K.14 – What We Talk About When We Talk About His Name当我们谈论他的名字时我们在谈论什么

The esteemed post-punk godfathers of China, P.K.14, are back with their seventh full-length LP – their boldest and arguably most accessible album yet and one that feels larger than life – both an accumulation of the band’s output over the years as well as a challenge to bands across China. While their influence has long lingered in the underground scene for better or worse, the band has once again raised the bar, creating an album that feels urgent, thrilling, and musically lush with detail and poetic prose. Besides upping the production on this baby up to eleven, the band also brought in members of Berlin avant-garde ensemble Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra – turning Haisong’s musings into manifesto. A masterpiece of lyricism and atmosphere that echoes across the new world order and resonates deep in your consciousness. 

Bandcamp: https://downloads.maybemars.org/album/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-his-name

Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=73835976

Moxizishi 莫西子诗 –  Moonlight Is Very White月光白得很

Beijing-based Yi (southwestern Sichuan) musician Moxizishi, has been steadily making a name for himself these past five years. Utilizing the rhythm and vocal stylings of traditional Yi minority music and injecting it with an experimental even improvisational energy that allows the songs to organically find a poetic nirvana, he once again mesmerizes on ‘Moonlight Is Very White’ which finds the artist taking refuge in the pine forests and mountains where he grew up all the while playing on a larger canvas sonically. It’s a dizzying concoction of world music influences, spearheaded by the singer’s soaring voice, with just enough psychedelic allure, reggae funk pop momentum, and indie rock aplomb to get the weariest of listeners intrigued.

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103745454

Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=39590168

Baishui – Their Paradise

The latest from the Sichuan-raised composer, multi-instrumentalist, and sound artist Baishui is a multi-faceted ambitious ensemble that finds the artist expanding upon his musical eccentricities all the while retaining and sharpening his intimate and affectionate signature. Originally intended to be a purely instrumental piece using analog synthesizers, the album slowly transformed into a spirited, kinetic, electroacoustic song-oriented album that finds the musician honing his singing chops with additional help from electronic musician Yao Chunyang and Chengdu singer Yuan Tian. 

Bandcamp: https://baishui.bandcamp.com/album/their-paradise

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103561188

Zoogazer  动物园钉子户 – Zoogazer 動物園釘子戶

While shoegaze has been seeping into the nation’s consciousness for quite some time, there’s hasn’t been a band to break through as boldly as Zoogazer has done with their full-length via Qiii Snacks Records. Hailing from Xuzhou, Jiangsu, the band has crafted a collection of infectious sun-drenched pop songs that reverberate with a heady scraping of noise bolstered by the crackling of youthful energy. This is dream pop to fall punch-drunk in love with. 

Bandcamp: https://qiiisnacksrecords.bandcamp.com/album/–3

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103657639

Endless White 白百 – Flow West to You 白河夜船

Xi’an’s Endless White has over the years become one of the shoegaze scene’s spotlight bands. They make good on the hype with their exceptional debut. Named after the novel Asleep by Japanese author Yoshimoto Banana, the album plays with the idea of lonely souls bewitched by spiritual sleep. An apt metaphor for depression, Endless White’s music, led by the wispy vocals of singer Zhang Wanyi, feels in many ways like an inescapable daydream – one that’s full of jangly guitar work and sublime walls of sound that engulfs you. Nevertheless, the quartet manages to inject rays of light as the album unfolds, with the band particularly brimming with life by the closing track ‘Hit By Me’. Shoegaze with abundances of emotional heft, Endless White have a winner on their hands here.

Bandcamp: https://endlesswhite.bandcamp.com/album/flow-west-to-you

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103970673

Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=72954551

Zhaoze 沼泽 – Birds Contending 争鸣

Ever since we first heard that pluck of the guqin on their 2011 opus 1911 we’ve been diehard fans of Zhaoze over here. The Guangzhou post rock band has been on a tear since then, with one mammoth release after another. Their latest entitled Birds Contending, recorded in a forest in Belgium (your ears may even detect birds chirping in the background) may not seem like much on the surface – in fact, it’s only one track that stretches out over forty minutes. But within you’ll be treated to one of the finest paced tracks of the year – one that takes the band’s signature sound of guqin-laced post rock and ups the ante, finding new avenues to explore whilst providing spellbinding intervals that can stir your soul before plundering head first into the abyss. 

Bandcamp: https://zhaoze.bandcamp.com/album/birds-contending

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2104247246

Peach Illusion 桃子假象 – 同名专辑

Xiamen quietly and modestly solidifies itself as a city with a distinct scene with Peach Illusion, the dreamy synth pop duo made up of vocalist O.O and producer C.C (The White Tulips’ keyboardist). Full of hushed, gracefully delicate lyrics that would melt the even the coldest of hearts and jangly synth pop flavored arrangements chock full of boyish lo-fi charm and bubbly youthful energy, it’s a fully realized EP and one that immediately comes to life. Romantic wanderlust spiked with fizzy soda pop. 

Bandcamp: https://qiiisnacksrecords.bandcamp.com/album/self-titled-ep

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103773231

EASYEAST – JUNGLE/METROPOLIS

Jinan based electronic producer EASYEAST splashes some Technicolor joy onto Prajnasonic’s sublabel Atmos and their latest two-track EP. Lush harmonies, coupled with brisk melody and beats that reach the softest corners of the listener’s heart, there’s something immediate and intimate about EASYEAST’s style here. A briskness and smooth fluidity between the electronic elements and the more organic sounds (strings, percussion) that recalls some of Four Tet’s more folk-laced tunes, one that paints the rich soundscapes with a seasonal shade, capturing the humidity and flow of the lakes and forests in summer and autumn. 

Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=74159758

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2104161488

Li Wangnian 黎忘年 – Already Left 出来了

After the posthumous debut release from Hangzhou post-punk band Wisdom Teeth on Maybe Mars earlier this summer, lead singer and guitarist Li Wangnian comes swinging back with an exceptional solo release on Wuhan based label Sense Club Records that proves that Wisdom Teeth was no fluke and was just an inkling of what the multi-talented artist was capable of. From piano-led ballads to programmed drum beats over post-punk grooves; to songs that touch upon grief to nods to renowned Chinese poet Lu Xun, with ear-tickling instrumental buffers found throughout, the album is brimming with ideas both musically and lyrically. Unlike Wisdom Teeth, which at times felt confined to its genre, Li Wangnian is able to find solace in the unlikeliest of places here, and in turn, has crafted one of the finest albums of the year.

Bandcamp: https://liwangnian.bandcamp.com/album/–2

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103962339

Wang Wen 惘闻– Invisible City 看不见的城市

With nearly 20 years of existence, the evolution of Wang Wen and surprises they still manage to throw at us is not unusual at this point. But on Invisible City, they seem to have tapped into something interplanetary – utilizing synths, ambient tones, and other electronic flourishes to create one of their most affecting and in some ways warm albums. The bombastic outpouring of melody is still present – no one knows how to build up to a rousing (and at times baroquely haunting) finish like these guys. However, the band seems more in tune than ever in setting the mood and letting the atmosphere fill the void. Another transcendent triumph from Wang Wen.

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103773401

Bandcamp: https://wangwen.bandcamp.com/album/invisible-city

The Twenties – The Twenties

There’s something so direct and refreshing about The Twenties. The Beijing based band are in fine form on their monstrously entertaining debut. Pure, unadulterated guitar pop that may be modest on the surface but is full of pop aptitude and craft. A bottle rocket of lo-fi indie rock that brings to mind everyone from Pavement, The Strokes, to Liz Phair and The Cribs – eccentric, laid-back, sincere and full of riotous youthful energy that’s genuine above all else. A joyous rock and roll album from one of the scene’s finest.

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103771273

Bandcamp: https://thetwenties.bandcamp.com/album/the-twenties 

The Molds – Born Astride The Grave

The Molds bring their cult-like status to light on their rough and tumble, gangly and atmospheric debut Born Astride The Grave, out on Space Fruity Records. Surf rock strung out on methadone, psychedelic rock for those who prefer the company of tumbleweeds, what The Molds do first and foremost is strike a mood and submerge you in it.  Thick as molasses, the band wisely takes their time with each rhythm and verse, allowing the dirt and humid air to seep into the pores of their well-being – so much that Liu Ge’s sounds like he’s wasting away in a bar in the desert and loving every second of it. It’s this restraint, this nonchalant charisma and refusal to give in to their rock and roll demons (or perhaps more appropriately those demons have already done their damage) that lets the band make their mark. 

Bandcamp: https://spacefruityrecords.bandcamp.com/album/born-astride-the-grave

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2104109384

Ruining – Eternity and a Day 永恒和一日

Dalian musician, Ruining, known for his work with the now-defunct Which Park, returns with the absorbing ambient album Eternity and a Day on Space Circle Records. Using every trick up his sleeve – from glitches to plucked strings, from piano chords to modular synth tomfoolery, he engulf listeners in a world that feels forgotten and lost. There’s a meditative ever melancholic spell that looms over the proceedings, giving each track a transcendent aura – and does what any great ambient artist does – freely explore abstract forms and the vast aural architecture within. 

Bandcamp: https://ruining.bandcamp.com/album/eternity-and-a-day

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103952300

Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=74000163

Backspace – Human Nature Architecture 人性建筑

Indie rock with bite that pays tribute to the past and future, Beijing’s Backspace have sharpened their edges and extended their reach on their wildly fun debut as they ‘explore the complexities of modern society, the fragmented minds that populate it, and the grotesque but all too human ways we navigate it’. A slice of William Burroughs, a heavy hit of krautrock, a thick haze of surf rock, and dissociative technological nightmares that’ll consume you, it’s a head trip worth taking whose razor-sharp guitars, crisp bass vibes, and gallant drums aren’t afraid to collapse into a hallucinatory schizophrenic breakdown that all but falls off the rails. 

Bandcamp: https://downloads.maybemars.org/album/human-nature-architecture

Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=71612846

Zafka – The Wild Ark/The Abraham’s Machine

Zafka, aka Zhang Anding, the Beijing-based sound artist, experimental musician, and “youth culture expert” wowed us twice this year with two releases on Shanghai’s emerging play rec label, demonstrating the artist’s penchant for ‘playing outside the box’ and taking every opportunity to take a sound and twist it on its head all the while remaining something that keeps you earworms wiggling in delight. Strange, buoyant, and full of minimalistic wonders, it’s electronic music that’s not afraid to have a little anarchic fun on its way to the dancefloor. IDM music for folks who ingested way too much Nintendo and anime, there’s a sublime joy to the simple pleasures and grooves that Zafka resides in, taking a remarkably restrained approach to riding each new flourish that comes its way with assured ease and playful splicing, like a modern day Phantom of the Opera put through a vaporwave prism. 

Bandcamp: https://playreclabel.bandcamp.com/album/the-wild-ark

https://playreclabel.bandcamp.com/album/the-abraham-s-machine

Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=73612121

The Sailor’s Grape 水手葡萄– Golf Man高爾夫大亨

What happens when four of the punk scene’s most familiar faces – Wang Junping (former guitarist of legendary hardcore band Shit Dog), Shi Xudong (bass player for P.K.14), and Li Fan (drummer of The Bedstars), and Chacha (guitarist of Underdog) form a reggae band – one of the year’s best surprises is what. Recorded between 2015 and 2017, their debut is a loose, unfastened, and endlessly rewarding album that touches on punk, ska, reggae, and 60’s Buddy Holly-style early rock music. What could easily could have been seen as a cheeky side-project from a group of musicians looking to shake things up, their love for the genre comes through and through – capturing the ramshackle lived-in interplay between its members, making it sound as if you’re sitting in on a late night drinking session that inevitably turns into a full out jam session.

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103980028

Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=73016632

Scarlet’s Other Parts – EP 

Boring Productions, the Shenzhen DIY label with an affinity for c86 pop sounds unearths the latest project from the incredibly prolific Airmum, whose previous projects including islet, Kakikuke, and Daytrip Dormancy were favorites in inner indie circles. Scarlet’s Other Parts is a slow burning, tender, janglesome collection of lyrically unassuming yet potent songs which the artist describes as ‘wordy prolix pop’. While there’s an undercurrent of angst and guitar-led turmoil in the EP, Airmum keeps the mood starry-eyed and gentle, like a lounge room singer at his most loose and sincere, crafting some subtly moving tunes. Another win for Boring Productions. 

Bandcamp: https://boringproductions.bandcamp.com/album/ep

Lonely Cookies 浪味仙贝 – East Lake Swimming 东湖游泳

Indie pop done right – equals parts heart and finesse that never manages to feel cheap or manufactured – Lonely Cookies out of Wuhan are the real deal. The four-piece outfit led by the silky-voiced Feng Han, state that the songs were made for ‘night cruising’ where the fantastical romance lingers in the air and we’re able to remove our disguises to reveal our true selves. Catchy as all hell, with a keen sense of melody and harmony, there’s an effortlessness to how easily the band brings you into the fold, relishing late-night stops at convenience stores and wishing that aliens would just show already and take you away from your mundane existence. 

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2104185201

Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=74358912

Bandcamp: https://wildrecords.bandcamp.com/album/eastlake-swimming

Trip Fuel – Departure

The up and coming hopefuls from Hefei don’t disappoint on their ambitious and tender ode to bittersweet love and pain. Released on Wuhan’s Wild Records, the band manages to cover quite a bit of ground – everything from twisty math rock to post rock intrigue, with splashes of shoegaze introversion and dream pop vulnerability thrown in for good measure – but what stands out most is the band’s unwillingness to stick to the script. A promising debut that pays respect to our adolescent fragility and the volatile emotions that lurk just beneath the surface. 

Bandcamp: https://wildrecords.bandcamp.com/album/departure

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2104362340

Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=74822127

Lonely Leary – Through the Park, Almost There

Maybe Mars is having a hell of a year – besides the hotly anticipated debut from Beijing’s Backspace, the independent label has overseen releases from street punk stalwarts Demerit and Chengdu post-punk trailblazers Hiperson. However, none have hit as hard as Lonely Leary’s blistering debut – a down and dirty cesspool of paranoid angst, cool-headed melodies, jagged edges, and pummeling post-punk mania that perfectly captures the band’s live raw energy. 

Bandcamp: https://downloads.maybemars.org/album/through-the-park-almost-there

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103664295

The Hormones – The Hormones

Amidst prominent lineup changes and their brush with mainstream stardom, it’s a relief that The Hormones (lead singer Zhu Mengdie pictured above), the all-female indie rock band out of Chengdu, have managed to retain their edge. More of a relief is just how catchy the band’s debut is – a tightly wound, expertly produced album of somber dance punk that finds the four-piece renewed with a newfound maturity. 

Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=38047053

Fishdoll – Noonsense

Beijing-based singer-songwriter and producer Fishdoll mesmerizes on her new beautifully realized LP – a piece of old-school jazztronica layered to the tee with inebriating flourishes, a tribute to soulful trip-hop that’s buoyant, lush, and rich with detail that plays out like a day trip to ‘90s era New York City through the lens of our increasingly globalized world. Put on Noonsense and what you get is a vibrant swirl of styles and grooves that overwhelms the senses and intoxicates.

Bandcamp: https://fishdoll.bandcamp.com/album/noonsense

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103513125

Genome 6.66Mbp – Self Salvation Compilation

Genome 6.66Mbp, out of Shanghai, dabbles in a dark-minded, bombastic, artistically-elevating brand of electronica that is downright hypnotic. They also made some serious headway in 2017 and to celebrate, put out this delicious compilation chock-full of ‘forward-thinking weirdo club music’ from an array of talent from China (Hyph11e, Dirty K, RVE, Khemist, and Charity) and abroad. Genome 6.66Mbp’s music is both hauntingly mesmerizing and a firm reminder that the Chinese underground electronic scene is heading in exhilarating directions.

Bandcamp: https://genome666mbp.bandcamp.com/album/compilation-vol-2-self-salvation

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103543988

Hedgehog – Sound of Life Towards …

Hedgehog, one of China’s most influential indie rock bands, return with their first release in four years, and quite possibly their last. While far from being the band’s most profound album, there’s no denying their continued knack for crafting lyrically-rich, melody-driven indie rock anthems that speak to an entire generation. In many ways, their latest is an encapsulation of the band’s many modes – from pop delights to grunge breakouts, enraged social critics, boisterous party animals, and for once, young adults who have found themselves on the other side of the mirror. 

Bandcamp: https://hedgehogrock.bandcamp.com/album/sound-of-life-towards

Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=38433092

Pool of Light 光淵 – Abyss 淵 

Anton Bogdanov – the Shenyang-based zen-like master that goes by the name Pool of Light – returns with his latest transcendent experience Abyss, released also on Russian label ΠΑΝΘΕΟΝ Records. The multi-instrumentalist uses guitars, bows, zhongruan, drums, vocal loops, and other sounds to create a pilgrimage of trancelike meditations that transform into hypnotic drones that alternates ‘between states of lost and found, content and dissatisfaction, echoing the human experience.’ 

Bandcamp: https://pooloflight.bandcamp.com/ 

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103707779

Red Scarf 红领巾 – They Know We Know They Are Lying 他们知道我们知道他们在撒谎

Take the soundtrack to Tom and Jerry, douse it in bath salts and you only have the slightest sense of the glorious mayhem found within Red Scarf’s frantic and beautifully assembled 2018 release They Know We Know They Are Lying. A deep dive into the mouth of madness that pits renegade sax, high-pitched souna against a fierce battle between guitar and drums, eventually transforming into a symphony of metal-tinged breakdowns and free jazz roar before it once again jack knifes elsewhere,  the Beijing avant-garde outfit, made of a trio of madmen who deconstruct, reassemble, and then decimate genre after genre, are clearly having a blast with their take on rock, free jazz, and noise. And believe me, we are too.

QQ: https://y.qq.com/n/yqq/album/003Cpwuq4HoJAU.html

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103799854

Lionman – Sea Odyssey
Hi-NRG producer Lionman, from Shenzhen, leads listeners on an exotic journey on his infectious disco love letter. What could have easily come off as trite, instead resonates with authenticity and earnestness thanks to classy vocal samples and ice-cool lyrics all seamlessly blended with Eastern flourishes. Another delectable entry in the retrowave resurgence in China – albeit one that plays out like a fever dream of Miami beaches, psychedelic raves, and arcades. A hella-good time.

Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2103527785

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