City Pop Adventures
Like many others, I was probably made aware of city pop when that Plastic Love song was dug up and spread around the internet. I liked what I heard, and I've always been meaning to check out more of this small genre. Seeing one of these albums on RYM's recommendations gave me the push to dive deeper, and I've quite enjoyed my trip so far so I may as well shine some light on these albums in the order I've spun them.
Keep in mind I am mainly a metalhead and am coming into this ass-backwards, having also consumed a lot of synthwave that has no doubt lifted elements from city pop, either directly or indirectly in trying to capture that 80s feel. So I might have some dumb ignorant takes/observations based on that.
I'll be updating this list over time as I listen to more, and recommendations are welcome. |
| 1 |  | Anri
Timely!!
Released 1983.
Whew what an album to kick off this trip. Such a bright and bouncy record with plenty of disco and funk groove. Thick slap bass is great, instrumentation is super tight, backing vocal harmonies are sublime. Pop really needs funky beats to shine imo, and this album has it in spades. This took another spin to really grow on me when the earworm hooks crept up after my initial listen and were quite welcome. And now I'm listening to it again and I may as well pull the trigger on the 5. This is only going to keep being a welcome rotation over time, I can already tell.
RATING: 4.8 |
| 2 |  | Takako Mamiya
Love Trip
Released 1982.
I can see why this one is also highly regarded. This has the nocturnal chill feel of most city pop locked down. It's super smooth with some nice jazzy feel to it, and slap bass is always appreciated. The only problem is it's a little too smooth and kind of slides off of my memory as a result. But there's enough nice licks here and there to break up a samey feel throughout the album, so it has chops. And I've come to appreciate this more as I've filled out this list.
RATING: 4.4 (up from 4.2) |
| 3 |  | Momoko Kikuchi
Adventure
Released 1986.
Another chill and jazzy album, and Miss Kikuchi has a nice, soft voice. But I think this does little to try and stand out other than the opening track with sounds like a SNES RPG intro. Not to say it's bad at all; it's definitely grown on me as I fleshed out this list some more. Also I love the thumbnail of the album here the resolution makes it look like she is FREAKING out.
RATING: 3.8 (up from 3.6) |
| 4 |  | Taeko Onuki
Grey Skies
Released 1976.
Proto-city pop since this was before the 80s. It's kind of neat hearing the influences here and there but it's also pulling from other stuff too. Still jazzy, but there's a lot of folky stuff here too. Miss Ohnuki has the loveliest voice I've heard out of these albums so far. I would have liked it to be more consistent, but it's a neat vibe.
RATING: 3.5 |
| 5 |  | Taeko Onuki
Sunshower
Released 1977.
Similar to the album above, but definitely pulling from more funk. I think it's a little too long for my tastes when it's not as consistent. I remember the first half kind of dragging but it does eventually pick up.
RATING: 3.3 |
| 6 |  | Taeko Onuki
Mignonne
Released 1978.
Now we're talking. This is still before the short-lived boom of city pop, but it's closest in sound to what the genre would end up being. Jazzy, nocturnal, but with some classic rock, funk, and folky sounding stuff here and there.
RATING: 4.0 |
| 7 |  | Junko Yagami
Communication
Released 1985.
So this is where my ignorance of pop music comes in, because this sounds incredibly modern to me despite being 40 years old. Maybe there was a similar compositional influence of throwing a bunch of 80s stuff into a blender here as there was with synthwave artists. Amazingly consistent synthpop with fantastic production regardless, and Miss Yagami has one of my favorite voices out of the city pop sirens.
RATING: 4.6 |
| 8 |  | Tomoko Aran
浮遊空間
Released 1983.
Definitely the most varied of the city pop albums I've heard so far: Miss Aran was not afraid to experiment. The first track had me thinking who put this 2018 synthwave song in my 1983 city pop album? But it takes guts to put something like Hannya on this kind of album since it's so out there. Definitely a great sampler of the different kinds of city pop besides that weird-ass track.
RATING: 4.1 |
| 9 |  | Makoto Matsushita
First Light
Released 1982.
Dudes are allowed to be the vocalists in city pop? Obviously that was the case as I queued up things for the list, but this is the first city pop album I've heard with one. Vocals are adequate, but the main draw here is real smooth jazzy soft rock. Nice slap bass, some funky feels, real chill. Definitely a sunset summer feel. Something tells me I'm going to need to think of a lot of synonyms for chill and jazzy as I flesh out this list.
RATING: 3.9 |
| 10 |  | Noriki
Dream Cruise
Released 1984.
This is mainly an instrumental album with a few vocals here and there. This one goes into jazz fusion/smooth jazz territory but keeps that funky, airy feel of city pop. Not terribly exciting outside of a few banger tracks, but perfectly inoffensive.
RATING: 3.5 |
| 11 |  | Haruomi Hosono
Paraiso
Released 1978.
I'm not so sure this counts as city pop, random reddit poster that made me add this to the list. Sure, Mr. Hosono has contributed to other city pop releases, and the general funky sound of it is there... but he adds so many exotic and quirky elements all over the place that it's hard to tell. Pretty inconsistent with some corny tracks in the middle that really don't hit imo, but the bookend track clusters are pretty dece.
RATING: 3.2 |
| 12 |  | Rie Murakami
Sahara
Released 1984.
Real deep cut this random reddit poster pulled out; this album is already obscure but we know barely anything about Miss Murakami other than she made this album. She's singing in English and some of her pronunciations are rough enough to be noticeable. The first song is a weirder chorus-way-better-than-the-verse synthpop song but it goes into more standard funky city pop after that. Not bad with some great swells, but a little rough around the edges.
RATING: 3.4 |
| 13 |  | Nadja (JPN)
月日星 (チイチョホイ)
Released 1989.
Definitely more eclectic than your standard city pop but without going into wacky hippy dippy territory like Mr. Hosono above. Lots of experimental/weird instrument choices in the harmonies but they don't clash or stand out too much. Nadja has a lower register which also gives this album a bit more charm.
RATING 3.8 |
| 14 |  | Yurie Kokubu
Silent Moon
Released 1990.
This definitely pulls from the funk elements of city pop more than anything else, and there's definitely Michael Jackson trends in the instrumentation; maybe this was trying to hook some people back in as the city pop trend started winding down? Miss Kokubu has a very strong and confident voice, the best on this list, and there's enough groove to stave off any weariness the long run time may cause.
RATING 4.2 |
| 15 |  | Mariya Takeuchi
Variety
Released 1984.
It's Plastic Love lady herself! Going into this I've heard that song eclipses everything else on this album and it's not indicative of the overall sound at all, so let's see if that's the case. Well first track has Beach Boys vibes so this will be interesting. The studio version of Plastic Love is also a lot shorter than the popular one and the little guitar solo sounds a little out of place imo. And after that we're back to the sound of the 50s or 60s I guess? Curious that there's some songs fully in English but she can pronounce them unlike 12. The songs do start to run together after a while, and it's not my jam but I don't hear anything really wrong with this album. But those preconceived notions were indeed correct.
RATING 3.3 |
| 16 |  | Anri
Coool
Released 1984.
You know it's gotta be cool if she used three Os to spell it. Still has that groovy disco feel of Timely!!, but it's a more chill album overall fitting more squarely in the traditional city pop vibes. But it's still high quality stuff. Also I always have to call out slap bass because it slaps.
RATING 4.4 |
| 17 |  | Junko Yagami
Full Moon
Released 1983.
Less bombastic than Communication, but you could probably guess that based entirely on the album covers. There's definitely a feel of a blend of old and new here in these sound like mellow older pop songs with "modern" instruments and licks here and there. Not that I have any idea what 80s pop was like as a whole; just the vibes I'm getting. Some standout moments but a lot of it kind of blends together with some really saccharine ballads. It's nice, though.
RATING 3.6 |
| 18 |  | Seiko Matsuda
Citron
Released 1988.
Now we're into some recs from the comments. Rockarollacolla says it draws from more R&B/pop rock and may be considered city pop adjacent, and I can see that. Still has those chill uplifting vibes with a touch of funk in the backing synth bass, so it's city pop enough for me. It's rather formulaic and does its one thing well, but I'm left wanting something a little more engaging. Having a classical-inspired ballad is one of the ways to do that, but not when it's the last song on the album lol.
RATING 3.3 |
| 19 |  | Tatsuro Yamashita
Ride on Time
Released 1980.
The highest rated city pop album on RYM, and it's easy to hear why. Perfectly composed pop with just the right flourishes of funk and jazz. The best male vocals so far on this list, though there hasn't been too many so far. The back half of the album winds down and gets chill, and it might have been better to mix up the more energetic ones.
RATING 4.2 |
| 20 |  | Masayoshi Takanaka
Seychelles
Released 1976.
Jazz fusion that takes you straight to the islands. Has some funky tunes, and the basslines are killer, but also more chill out soak up the sun songs, too. Really hard to find much faults here other than a couple of parts are afraid to stick out. Not really city pop sounding (except for synth strings hitting at some point in the last track) but you can definitely tell a lot of these beach-y albums were inspired by this dude.
RATING 4.4 |
| 21 |  | Tatsuro Yamashita
For You
Released 1982.
What a song, that Sparkle. But the album clearly leads with its best foot forward. More polished and pristine pop from Mr. Yamashita, also with more ballads than I'd like. But, unlike Ride on Time, they're dispersed around the album, giving this one the edge for me. Hey Reporter feels a little out of place but I don't see how this would detract from the album that much, it has slap bass even.
RATING 4.3 |
| 22 |  | Tatsuro Yamashita
Big Wave
Released 1984.
A soundtrack for a film, but it sounds just like his other two albums I've heard. So then this has to be one of the best film soundtracks of all time, yeah? The B side is also all Beach Boys covers, and that's another band I'm only aware of what I sound like via cultural osmosis. But this is definitely a very beach-y album in sound, very relaxing and sunny. The B side is weaker; Tats is better than the Beach Boys.
RATING 3.9 |
| 23 |  | Toshiki Kadomatsu
On the City Shore
Released 1983.
This is the guy that did a lot of the instrumentation on the Anri albums on this list. I heard a few similar-sounding licks here and there. Nice slap bass, and a good mix of summery chillout songs and bouncy sunny ones. I still think a female voice fits this type of music better, but we'll see with his other albums coming up on this list.
RATING 4.4 |
| 24 |  | Toshiki Kadomatsu
After 5 Clash
Released 1984.
Okay, let's kick out the beach vibes and go more disco/city nightlife, let's go. Bass is even sicker and is definitely the main reason this album is elevated to new heights. Would have preferred less ballads because that means more subdued bass playing, but the ballads aren't bad at all. Step Into the Light is definitely an oddity, but I dig that he's not afraid to experiment every now and then while still keeping the groovy dance. The almost-title-track is peak (which is still part of Step Into the Light on the original pressing).
RATING 4.6 |
| 25 |  | Toshiki Kadomatsu
Sea Is a Lady
Released 1987.
Back to the beach, but now Mr. Kadomatsu has gone mainly instrumental and is cranking up the jazz fusion and really letting his guitar sing for him. When you're skilled in making catchy vocal choruses, stripping those out takes some guts, but he still knows how to cook without vocals. Definitely in the upper echelon of jazz fusion stuff.
RATING 4.6 |
| 26 |  | Casiopea
Mint Jams
Released 1982.
While Casiopea is a long running jazz fusion act and not pop, from the first few notes I see exactly why this was recommended to me. When so much of city pop is interlaced with jazz fusion anyway, it makes sense that a release from the heyday of city pop is going to have sounds straight out of it. I'd put this on a city pop list before 11, 18, and even 4 and 5. Also is this the best sounding live album ever? It sounds straight out of the studio. Real solid instrumental jazz fusion with great bass.
RATING 4.0 |
| 27 |  | Yumi Matsutoya
Misslim
Released 1974.
Back to recs from around the internet and elsewhere on this site. As you can tell by the release year, this is another precursor to the city pop sound and from the first song surely this was influential back then. Immaculate production for something from the 70s. Soft, folky, moments of funk here and there, nice backing vocal harmonies. I prefer something a little more bouncy if you can tell by my other ratings, but the songwriting chops are strong enough here to get a high rating from me despite this being something out of my zone.
RATING 3.8 |
| 28 |  | Cindy
Angel Touch
Released 1990.
A city pop classic (or at least highly regarded) released this late must have been another one trying to capture that fading spark. But no, this sounds like a transitory sound between city pop and R&B. Or, to my out-of-time viewpoint, R&B with a little extra jazzy spice to make it interesting to listen to. I'm getting some vibes from 14 here; maybe it's doing a similar thing but not as obvious as this album. But this is good it's just not my cup of tea for an entire album. My brain is smarter than I am so there's probably some music theory thing going on why this isn't as gripping to me. This could grow on me, however.
RATING 3.5 |
| 29 |  | Tomomi Sano
Silent Flight
Released 2005.
I wonder if there was a brief nostalgic boom during this timeframe for a city pop album to be randomly released in the middle of the aughts. This definitely sounds more modern than anything else on this list, but with a nocturnal breeze of smooth lounge jazz/funk. Nice bass, but I wish it was louder in the mix. Similar issues with some other albums here where it's a little too smooth and doesn't stick out a lot, but the fifth track is a banger.
RATING 3.8 |
| 30 |  | Hiroshi Sato Featuring Wendy Matthews
Awakening
Released 1982.
I figured with a feature so strong she's in the album title that Mr. Sato is the instrumentation and Wendy is the vocals, but no, this is mainly him with her on backup duties. Mellow funk, cheesy but flows like warm liquid (that's me attempting not to use "smooth"). Not exciting, but good chillout vibes. Gets a slight bump because the music definitely tells a story you pick up on without having to dig into it, which is neat.
RATING 3.5 |
| 31 |  | Miho Fujiwara
California Crisis
Released 1986.
A short EP that's also a soundtrack to something? Also, why is this rated so low? I might have some idea as soon as she opened her mouth, lol. She's got a little bit of that anime girl screech in her voice and she sounds just a little off-key. Music's nice funky synthpop stuff, but Miho is the weak link here.
RATING 3.4 |
| 32 |  | Momoko Kikuchi
Ocean Side
Released 1982.
This chick really likes swimming. Compared to the ultra mellow Adventure, this one is more of that sunny vibrant beachy sound. So I like the instrumentation better here, but her soft voice works better on the smooth sounds of Adventure. Definitely feels like a two sides of the same coin here.
RATING 3.8 |
| 33 |  | Kenjiro Sakiya
Difference
Released 1987.
After some hiatus of a few weeks between the listening to the last entry and this one (lots of good releases that came out), it's time to get back into some city pop. This is very competent synthy funky catchy 80s pop. Real solid stuff.
RATING 3.9 |
| 34 |  | Hitomitoi
City Dive
Released 2012.
Released far after city pop was dead and buried in the ground, but also before it's resurrection by hipsters; this will be interesting. Nice synthpop with a little funky disco bounce to it, very chill and smooth (no screw you I'm not pulling out a thesaurus). Unfortunately it's rather front loaded and loses steam as it goes, but it's still good.
RATING 3.6 |
| 35 |  | Mari Iijima
Rose
Released 1983.
Not quite city pop (except that penultimate track), but it's adjacent enough. Sugary sweet synthpop that doesn't lay it on too thick but also does a lot of neat little things here and there to be more elevated than that sounds.
RATING 3.7 |
| 36 |  | Masayoshi Takanaka
An Insatiable High
Released 1977.
His second album that year and third overall from Seychelles the year prior? Dude's a workhorse. More great summery easy listening jazz fusion, but Mr. Takanaka does not think easy listening should mean an easy composition. Side A (first three tracks) are jazzier and super good, Side B (the rest) is poppier, both sides are nice and funky. I feel Seychelles has better consistency, but this one is certainly no slouch with better peaks.
RATING 4.4 |
| 37 |  | Yasuha
Transit
Released 1981.
I guess this Flyday Chinatown song is a big deal like Plastic Love, but I never heard it until a buddy and I let youtube fly with recommendations with some city pop during a board game night. It sounded cool enough for me to add this album to the list. Production on this album is very strong, and she has a nice voice, able to sound soft and sweet or strong as the song demands. This is pretty varied in sound for city pop, dancing around various funk, rock and roll, jazz, and even samba sounds. A scatting/guitar solo duet is not something I expected in this genre, lol. Sure, Flyday Chinatown is an excellent song, but you're doing a disservice if you don't also check out this album; it's not leaps and bounds better like Plastic Love is to its parent album.
RATING 4.3 |
| 38 |  | Anri
Bi・Ki・Ni
Released 1983.
Hey Anri, it's been a while since you've shown up. And immediately I'm greeted by Toshiki Kadomatsu instrumentation bliss once again; the man is magic in capturing this specific sound, I swear. Gotta shout out Tomohito Aoki on bass at this point in the list, RIP. But I'm little wary when this has a "Disco Side" and a "Sea Side". I like a variety in tone to be spread around an album instead of back to back with a weird switch up in the middle. Disco side is kind of subdued and more laid back than you'd think... kind of feels like a prototype to Timely!! where all the ingredients are there but the mixture just is lacking something. And that switch up in sound to the Sea Side is quite jarring, the instrumentation is entirely different now. Smooth sunset beach vibes... but kind of uninteresting with spikes of neat sounding stuff. Two EPs awkwardly smooshed together, and both need some sauce. Could definitely be worse though.
RATING 3.5 |
| 39 |  | Yurie Kokubu
Relief 72 Hours
Released 1983.
Silent Moon was a banger, so I'm interested to see how her earlier stuff is. This is also really solid stuff; nothing new in sound at this point in the list but that classic slightly funk/disco good bass feel good 80s city pop sound.
RATING 4.0 |
| 40 |  | Yurie Kokubu
Steps
Released 1987.
That dude on the cover is up to no good with that giantess, you can just tell. But this has that funky synth sound that Silent Moon has over the more traditional city pop sounds. There's a bit of R&B in here. This definitely captures that late 80s sound for sure. Feels kind of like a bridge between Relief 72 Hours and Silent Moon. The problem with this one is the dude behind the compositions is just worse than those other two albums. Still good at least. Though why do the two bonus tracks have to be the best songs on the album?
RATING 3.7 |
| 41 |  | Toshiki Kadomatsu
Gold Digger
Released 1985.
Continues the nightlife feel from After 5 Clash. Explores different sounds and manners to groove, but unfortunately the bass work is mixed lower and subdued, boo. The bounciest track where the bass is finally let loose has weird disco rap vocals in it. Really not sure how to feel about this one, but that's the man I like this but I wish it did some stuff differently way.
RATING 4.1 |
| 42 |  | Yukika
Soul Lady
Released 2020.
RATING TBD. |
| 43 |  | Momoko Kikuchi
Tropic of Capricorn
Released 1985.
RATING TBD. |
| 44 |  | Anri
Heaven Beach
Released 1982.
RATING TBD. |
| 45 |  | Jadoes
It's Friday
Released 1986.
RATING TBD. |
| 46 |  | Keiko Kimura
Style
Released 1988.
RATING TBD. |
| 47 |  | Miki Matsubara
Pocket Park
Released 1980.
RATING TBD. |
| 48 |  | Junko Ohashi
Magical
Released 1984.
RATING TBD. |
| 49 |  | Haruko Kuwana
Show Me Your Smile
Released 1979.
RATING TBD. |
| 50 |  | Hitomi Tohyama
Next Door
Released 1983.
RATING TBD. |
| 51 |  | Maiko Okamoto
Fascination
Released 1986.
RATING TBD. |
| 52 |  | Maria Asahina
Maria
Released 1979.
RATING TBD. |
| 53 |  | Naomi Akimoto
4 Seasons
Released 1983.
RATING TBD. |
| 54 |  | Eiichi Otaki
A Long Vacation
Released 1982.
RATING TBD. |
| 55 |  | Iyo Matsumoto
風のように
Released 1987.
RATING TBD. |
| 56 |  | Kaoru Akimoto
Cologne
Released 1986.
RATING TBD. |
| 57 |  | Mariya Takeuchi
Miss M
Released 1980.
RATING TBD. |
| 58 |  | Yuki Saito
Axia
Released 1985.
RATING TBD. |
| 59 |  | Masanori Ikeda
Quarterback
Released 1987.
RATING TBD. |
| 60 |  | Himiko Kikuchi
Flashing
Released 1981.
RATING TBD. |
| 61 |  | Junko Yagami
Lonely Girl
Released 1983.
RATING TBD. |
| 62 |  | Lamp
At Komorebi St. / 木洩陽通りにて
Released 2005.
RATING TBD. |
| 63 |  | Yuuko Shibuya
Made in Japan
Released 1980.
jfc this album cover
RATING TBD. |
| 64 |  | Piper
Summer Breeze
Released 1983.
RATING TBD. |
| 65 |  | Sugar Babe
Songs
Released 1975.
RATING TBD. |
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