November 5, 2025 — Weekly Bullet Reviews
New week, new tunes. This week, our list was curated by our mysterious writer, C! Check out their picks below…
As always, some ground rules:
- These songs are listed in no particular order.
- Basically these blurbs are our rough first impressions of these tracks, so our reviews will be a lot more relaxed!
- Anything released from the past 3 weeks/month is eligible for a bullet review.
- Songs with new, recent music video releases will also be considered for a weekly bullet review.
C: The main riff of “HIPPO” is thick, fuzzy, and wah-ing. It rearranges itself across bass and guitar but through its constant presence on the track it becomes part of the rhythm more than melody in a way that betrays SCRUBB’s garage influences. The fuzzy spoken word and overdubbed singing really remind me of music from Guilty Gear Strive, though. Ichika Nito brings mathy shredding to close out and it’s a welcome addition to a song that needs no extras.
I was debating featuring “HIPPO” over the other Ichika Nito featured track “花霞”. Ultimately, I wanted to showcase a SCRUBB as a Thai garage act that I wasn’t familiar with. “花霞” is far from bad but it leans into Japanese production maximalism that I think is already popular by now.
Li-Wei: If you watched this video on mute, I think you’d be forgiven if you thought that this was going to be a soft indie-pop jam. SCRUBB and Ichiko Nito ferociously rock out harder than most other bands, even as they’re mostly standing still! Makes me want to drop the windows down and scream in my car. Ichiko Nito also stops by for a quick, effectively sick solo. I’m feeling it.
Balming Tiger, Yaeji – “wo ai ni”
C: Balming Tiger bring an uninhibited joy to the tracks they produce. “wo ai ni” falls in line with themes oft written about by the group; about rallying against metamodern malaise and building trust within yourself. However, unlike “Trust Yourself” or “Spirit Chaebol” these themes are subtler and subtextual to the song — “wo ai ni” is the actualization to their goals instead of an anthem to build you up to them. The quirk-filled funky warmth of the track is so earnest and difficult to disagree with. The thesis of the track, “I love you, 我爱你 / I want you, you want me” is plainly stated in the chorus, and its conviction of “I love you” in so many different languages is unwavering.
Li-Wei: Coming from any other group, “wo ai ni” would probably read as too basic, deceptively ironic, or even too much – a large majority of the song is a few minutes of “I love you” chants in multiple languages, after all. But we’re not talking about just any musical group: we’re talking about Balming Tiger, who has the uncanny ability to make even the wackiest of phrases an absolute cathartic joy to scream along to (see: the lyrics from “Big Butt,” “Buriburi,” “Armadillo” etc etc). And judging from the pure-hearted music video, there’s no pessimism here. “wo ai ni” is pure unbridled, infectious joy, and I can already see this being the play-out/encore song whenever the collective tours throughout Asia, where they already feel like musical heroes. Yaeji’s also here on the song, and that’s just the cherry on top.
Takayan – “Cinderella Time Brazilian Funk”
C: Takayan rose in popularity in unison with other acts like Ado and Kenshi Yonezu, sometimes hailed as “knowing girls better than girls do” for his lyrics about feminine pain. However, due to a label change taking down much of his prior work and changing genre stylings away from menhera themes and including more phonk, his popularity has not converted like his peers. “Cinderella Time Brazilian Funk” is an unusual banger, in a characteristic style Takayan does. Partly written from a female POV, the song is about period pains set against a phonk backdrop. Takayan’s Ado-like growling screams smash cut to high pitched wailing as he sings, “For you, the precious one who lives strongly / I pray for clearing your blood and pain”.
Li-Wei: This is maybe the first song that we’ve reviewed here that’s about period pain? I listened to this before looking at the lyrics and thought, “Wow, this one sounds really fun!” After reading the lyrics, it’s definitely more of the “frustration-wrapped-in-a-happy-package” type. Yeah, I have no idea why this song is called what it’s called either. For how short this one is, this would probably kill on Osu! or MaiMai.
C: I remain generally quite harsh to this song. The beat is electronic, bassy and industrial which is a big change for Joji instrumentals. There’s an iambic pentameter swing to the hook, “Pixelated kisses got me going insane” that comes off as clumsy in context. Joji isn’t the best vocalist but the breathy aloof delivery of “Pixelated Kisses” exacerbates cliched lyrics.
Li-Wei: “PIXELATED KISSES” seems to be made with the sole intent to blow out your subwoofer. Other than that, it does feel very Joji with his signature sad-boi growl. I know Joji’s kind of been out of the public eye for a while and there’s a ton of hype about his return, but this one’s not convincing me it’ll be anything exciting or new just yet.
C: Silly Silky (formerly known as YESEO), despite being in the industry for nearly a decade, has never got the shine I think she deserves as a complete package writer, producer, singer. “Sweat, Sweaty” is lushly produced with house production made to sound like it’s underwater. Drips and drops permeate the track while a buzzing bass oscillates beneath the surface with a drum loop professing some afrohouse influences. Silly Silky regularly releases new music, demos, and DJ mixes on her YouTube — check it out if you have time!
Li-Wei: Cool tropical house track that seems equal parts refreshing and warm to the touch. Ready-made for the dancefloor.
Jordan Ward, SAILORR – “SMOKIN POTNA”
C: Jordan Ward very literally has one of the most unique voices in the R&B scene today, high-pitched and babyish but with texture around the edges. “SMOKIN POTNA” is half a smoker’s anthem and half a love song, something halfway between the dichotomy about the intimacy of smoking with someone. SAILORR’s brief verse contains a few highlight poetic lines, the delivery of “Say a prayer to the spliff” is especially memorable to me. Her appearance in the music video includes her trademark black grills and midcentury inspired makeup.
Li-Wei: I’m a big fan of what SAILORR is doing in the alt-R&B scene, but I don’t really know what’s going on with this Jordan Ward collab. “SMOKIN POTNA” is kind of woozy, and has a certain kind of seasick wobbly vibe that signifies a bad trip. The track never truly finds any sort of footing – Ward’s pitched vocals and SAILORR’s voice float together like smoke but sails off without making any sort of impact. I get that there’s a kind of noir-like vibe and an air of mystery here, but I mean… how much mystery can there be when it’s a song about having a smoking partner?
C: “nỗi buồn đô thị” translates to “urban sadness”, a theme well presented by the song. Moments of intensity punctuated by sirens present themself in the intro and occasional moments but give way to a sugary instrumental and singing at the top edge of thức’s range. The lyrics are a big contrast the song’s saccharine exterior, with themes of suicide and lack of care from the world. The video presents surreal imagery of men dressed up with sheep heads, perhaps representations of thức’s suicidal ideations.
Li-Wei: This is one of those songs where watching the video only confuses me more! Honestly, I kind of love that vibe. Follow thức as he survives what seems to be a B-horror, psychedelic film over a dreamy Vietnamese indie pop song! At times, “nỗi buồn đô thị” is drowning in synths, only for it to come up for air with bright guitars and zoopy electronic boops, before indulging in some psychedelic strums. Fascinating? Yes, but I’m not sure if it will make my daily rotation. I highly recommend watching it and drawing your own conclusions.
past self, The Masqs – “DAYWALKER”
C: “DAYWALKER” is funny in a way, equating the experiences of a 9-5 worker to that of a daywalking vampire — only feeling alright in the night. The instrumental is pretty traditional to the genre, echoic dub-reggae derived guitars and snare with gated reverb. The verse is sung through autotune, mumbled and dragging itself along.
I really wanted to bring something special to the Weekly Bullet Review with the opportunity to present a weekly list. It’s very rare to see an Asian goth band so the opportunity to show off past self (technically darkwave/shoegaze) is super exciting — this slot would’ve been taken by Aurat’s “go away” if “DAYWALKER” wasn’t released.
Li-Wei: Well, that’s a first… k-goth! I somehow never knew this was a thing, but past self is now my entry point to a genre that feels so inevitable. “DAY WALKER” draws upon surf and garage rock a lot and immediately gives me flashbacks to Meth Wax in its aesthetic and Pastel Ghost in its vibe. Spooky! I’m intrigued.
C: Peterparker69 is difficult to nail down, a self-described pop duo composed of Jeter and Y ohtrixpointnever they land somewhere between hyperpop, electronica, and alt J-rap. “love it” encapsulates the duo’s stylistic fusions: new sounds seem to come hurtling into the track from nowhere at all times. maito_flame’s aggressive krumping to the track feels almost as though he is being battered by the song itself. The lyrics “I don’t need nobody” and “And I’m feeling down” repeated in the track hint at a prevalent sadness that can’t seem to be fully expressed. As a whole, “love it” feels like a liquid extract taken from the brain of someone overstimulated by their own grief and emotion.
Li-Wei: Peterparker69 is a Japanese group that feels like they’re on the verge of a viral breakthrough – I’ve listened to their debut yo, more times than I’d like to admit this year. Hyperpop and J-rap merge to create a cataclysm of sound that feel spiky and chest-burstingly euphoric. “Love it” encapsulates that youthful spirit that seems defined by Internet-coolness and cosmopolitan, future-sounding beats. Gosh, to be young again…
toe, Jonah Yano – “(AND) NOW I SEE THE LIGHT”
C: “(AND) NOW I SEE THE LIGHT” is a coda to toe’s newest album, and a self-cover of “NOW I SEE THE LIGHT”. Instrumentally, the songs are nearly identical but Yano’s version is more vocally dominant compared to the smothered mix of toe’s singing. Yano brings a crushing lilt to the song, it’s a light touch present in his folk inspired work like “stones (tokyo)”.
Li-Wei: I mostly know toe for their fantastic math-rock instrumentals and Jonah Yano for his similarly challenging musical style, so “(AND) NOW I SEE THE LIGHT” is a collaboration I should’ve seen coming from a mile away. The song itself is a pleasant listen, with Yano singing at almost a restrained murmur on top of toe’s signature bright instrumentals before a revitalized second part of the song. I was waiting for a build-up to something more, but the song just flat out ends? Fingers crossed for an EP where they can explore more together, much like Yano did with BADBADNOTGOOD…
Header photo taken from the press material for thức – “nỗi buồn đô thị.”
Check out our other Weekly Bullet Reviews here.