Welcome to The Avocado’s weekly discussion of Japanese pop culture! My never-ending quest to get everyone to listen to my favorite music continues this week with Toki Asako’s latest release: Peppermint Time. I’ve written about 土岐麻子 many times since taking over this thread because I really think she makes the best modern city pop. And she’s been doing it for 20 years! That’s what Peppermint Time showcases; it’s a best of collection packed with 31 songs that are a perfect representation of her range. In other words, it’s a great place to start if you’re new to her music! I shared this in the New Music thread last week, but I absolutely love this description she provided for the album on her website, so I’m sharing it here too:

夜景のきらめきと、その灯りの一室のなかの孤独、そのコントラストが私にとっての現代の「シティ・ポップ」のようです。–> (very roughly translated) “The sparkle of the night and the loneliness within the room by that light—this contrast feels like the modern ‘city pop’ to me.”

And that’s what Toki Asako’s music sounds like to me! There’s a sparkle, and sometimes something like loneliness, illuminated by the sparkle. Sometimes you’ll want to dance, other times you’ll want to sit quietly with a song. But you should just listen for yourself, so here’s the trailer for the album to give you a sample of each song:

Or, if you’re ready to dive in and listen to the whole thing:

And, as always…

What have you been watching/reading/playing/eating/listening to lately?

Happy Wednesday! 🙂