scrmbl contributor Patrick St. Michel runs an email newsletter called Make Believe Mailer, an offshoot of his long-running blog Make Believe Melodies. Every week, he shares essays and round-ups of new Japanese music, from J-pop to independent releases, including albums that might have flown under listeners’ radar. Here are some of the highlights from the past month, shared with readers of scrmbl.

Yukiguni — shion

Last year Yukiguni released the fragile pothos, strolling rock with touches of emo focused on the twists and turns of young adulthood in the big city. Follow up shion becomes even more vulnerable, with the group crafting skeletal frames which they build up until the perfect moment of emotional release. Almost every song here opens muted. Just some strums, an understated beat and the higher-pitched delivery of Eiichi Kyo. From there though the trio build in a way they didn’t on last year’s debut. New elements gradually appear to help ramp up their works, say a guitar line gliding in on “Cessna” or the ooh-ooohs on “Himitsu Kichi,” which make the moment everything clicks into place — the guitars swelling, the singing letting syllables stretch out, the drumming picking up intensity — all the more emphatic. Enhanced by a greater sonic curiosity marked by a smattering of machine beats giving its walks a club pace, shion translates catharsis into sound, the album itself building up to its 10-minute-plus title track.

What hasn’t changed is the lyrical focus, which remains achingly youthful as shion’s characters navigate ups and downs against the backdrop of slowly settling adulthood. In that way Yukiguni still reminds me a lot of Homecomings, a group that similarly find a novel’s worth of feelings in the mundane. Yet the build-little-by-little approach coupled with it also reveals them as continuing on where mitsume left off, turning the everyday into sonic material for something strong. Listen above.

ikea — ikea 

The collaborative group between Shijo Kikoku and sz2u presents pop practically fading away and dissolving along the edges. The songs on ikea create catchy tunes out of sounds built from the fleeting, with a number like “oishi-restaurant” starting and stopping multiple times…but still carrying an irresistible melody. Guitars creep in at times, while “lazy emails” offers up a mutated finale built around warped vocals and hand claps tied together by one of the catchiest riffs to come out of this corner of internet music in Japan this year. Listen above.

Daoko — meta millefeuille

It’s not like Daoko needs to prove her artistic flexibility at this point in her career. Yet latest EP meta millefeuille reminds of how diverse she can get, while also finding her trying out some new ideas (and new producers). The overall air of meta is “feverish,” with otherwise chipper numbers such as “MeeM” and “Zense Wa Busho” featuring quick-hit speak-sing vocals that offer urgency or sound like a cartoon that’s breaking apart, respectively. The best, though, comes at the very end with “Rhythm in the Sunset,” finding Daoko working with Vocaloid producer (and, lately, an emerging go-to for many) namitape to create a cheery dance-pop song with slightly odd touches (the plinky-plonk synths, the deluge of Daoko’s late) but which still finds warmth amidst it. Just another new space for an ever-curious creator to explore. Listen above.

cambelle — Magic Moments

“Shibuya-kei” can be a tricky one to pin down. When are you listening to something recalling the ‘90s bricolage…and when are you just hearing someone actually inspired by, like, the ‘60s and ‘70s? New trio cambelle presents an interesting case study. There’s a smattering of sounds easy to associate with the genre mish-mash of peak Shibuya-kei (chiefly, bossa nova), but for the most part the band is creating a warm, often melancholy set inspired by throwback rock rather than trying to subvert it in anyway. At its best, Magic Moments exists in the same lane as a Lamp or Mei Ehara, drawing from older sounds and zeroing in on its emotional pull. Listen above.

rirugiliyangugili — CRAZY JAPAN

Picture a skeleton, riding one of those green Luup scooters through Shibuya Crossing, a 9% Aeon chu-hai held triumphantly in the air. That’s kind of the vibe of CRAZY JAPAN, the latest dispatch from the chaotic mind of rapper rirugiliyangugili. His music has always been blown out and full of screams, but he can also be an adept MC when needed, albeit in a kind of “most intimidating guy standing in front of a Family Mart” kind of way. Here, he’s bringing that whirlwind energy with plenty of friends along, the best moments here being the ones finding rirugiliyangugili at his most wild and unpredictable. Listen above.