Banner image: Shihatsu-Machi Underground.
Whew! Just four posts away from hitting 500 consecutive Saturdays of Weekenders, the streak was almost broken this morning. I am traveling for my niece’s Junior High School graduation (this whole preamble was supposed to be about the stark difference between these graduations of joy versus the devastating ennui of idol graduations we are typically subjected to). Unfortunately, the wifi at the Airbnb was not working last night so I was faced with the prospect of trying to ccompose this post on my phone or breaking our 496 week-long streak. Luckily, the wifi finally kicked in this morning, so I am rushing to finish this and get it onto the interwebs before it fails again. Streak saved!!
Village in Maier and PPPR!! are entertaining Germany all weekend. Have fun everybody! I wish I was there.
The globe trotting YURAPICO is going back to Australia next month.
https://twitter.com/NEONism_Info/status/2056915636220285324
Ma’Scar’Piece is heading to Alberta, Canada in early August.
VIP packs for Isiliel’s Moonbow Legion world tour are now on sale. The tour kicks off next weekend in Tokyo.
Do you like goth girls singing of their love for death? Isiliel also delivered an MV for a track off of her forthcoming “Todeshochzeit” EP which drops this coming Friday.
We get a lot of live and dance videos from Chalca, so it’s hard to believe, but this is just their third actual MV.
We don’t get enough music from the always-excellent Shihatsu-Machi Underground, so rejoice in the fact that they dropped two new tracks this week.
Tokyo Moso Map, our favorite idol unit that sings about the architecture and urban infrastructure of Tokyo, expands their subject matter to the nature of time and space. They also include English subtitles in this MV, which is a thoughtful touch.
While we’re on the topic of acts for hardcore nerds, idol adjacent vocal project, AIR CON BOOM BOOM ONESAN recently dropped her second album and it is as unhinged and brilliant as the first. It is hard to pick a favorite track but I’ve got “Koala San” on repeat the last couple of days. It’s a song about how koalas have smooth brains (a fact I did not verify).
Maison de Queen give us a band set live version of one of the best songs of the year.
PRSMIN is not a persimmon prism themed unit, but they should be.
UtaGe! recently released a single called “Itsuka” which I have been really enjoying so, when I saw that they dropped a new MV this week, I hoped it would be for that. They decided to be superheroes instead, and that’s okay.
The latest PV from AVAM comes with a trigger warning for anyone with a fear of intimacy.
harunison share a band set LV to prove that they aren’t just great at looking wistful in cinematic MVs, they can also rock a stage.
yosugala released a series of live MVs from their 2025 tour final to support their upcoming 4th anniversary live. Remember when they were a quiet little, understated unit? They’ve done so well.
Just starting their journey is myojou, a rookie unit with the small ambition of painting a story in the dawn sky. They are off to a promising start.
Oshiloss Corner
Ryuka Shibuya is leaving LEIWAN on June 17th. With leader Ayaka still on hiatus, the unit is now down to just Mio Monster as the sole, active member
Now down to two members and conducting auditions, Chicken Blow the Idol are going on hiatus on August 31st.
https://twitter.com/CHICKEBLO_ASSA/status/2057417836512071825
ZENON is ending their current system in June.
Oshifound Corner
PLANCK STARS disbanded (again) and a new unit, PRANKCLEAN STARS, has been created with no affiliation with the aforementioned PLANCK STARS. From the announcement: “The new unit’s theme is ‘goodness,’ which is the exact opposite of the traditional concept of PLANCK STARS. We will sincerely reflect on the many rude and immature behaviors of the past.”
Yeah, right.
DREAMY, the post hardcore band project of Yumemi (ex. FaM and Candye Syrup) and Yossy (producer of CHEMICAL X), dropped a new single.
Back in December, RAY released their phenomenal single, “sagittarius”, that was written by Shotaro Shimizu of the standout shoegaze band, kurayamisaka. The band just released their own version.
