(Note: this and the four following EPs’ only CD release was in a 5CD box set.) Four songs cut from the same stylistic cloth (and quality) as Hirobumi’s debut album Wan-Gan King from the same year. Hirobumi’s usual charmingly straightforward songwriting.

Rest easy—no Christmas standards here. The four katakana song names here translate to “Funky Christmas,” “Minimal Christmas,” “Tremolo Christmas,” and “Merry Christmas.” The middle two songs are an instrumental synthscape and somber Mio Fou-esque piano track, while the bookend tracks are synth-arranged songs in the style of Hirobumi’s other early-90s output.

Cornets stand out among their Metrotron labelmates with their earthy, organic, acoustic touch (helped with piano and clarinet in the forefront). I can’t find any work any members did outside of this band except for showing up on Moonriders’ Bizarre Music for You. RECOMMENDED! Exactly the kind of hidden gem I was hoping to find buying a pile of CDs like this.

Featuring all 12 tracks from their 1992 album 乳の実, 2 new recordings, 2 unreleased ’80s demos, and a song from their EP for good measure, this release (paired with the EP) is the full Cornets musical output. Like that EP, brings a lovely gentle organic touch to new wave/art pop songwriting. RECOMMENDED!, especially for fans of ’90s Mishio Ogawa, Yoko Ueno/Zabadak, or Nav Katze’s two 1991 albums.

Like the name says, this extremely minimal CD (blank CD label, blank jewel case, album name in a clear sticker) was the first CD released on Metrotron. It includes all of Hirobumi’s debut studio album Wan-Gan King, all of his first EP ‌どん底人生, and 3 live tracks unique to this release.

The first in Hirobumi Suzuki’s “Live Chronicle” series, features 1987–2007 recordings of Hirobumi playing songs from his solo albums and the Moonriders catalogue. There must’ve have been a comprehensive archival goal here, since some of the recording quality is rough, and the extensive liner notes include Hirobumi’s full live dates to that point. While I would’ve cut this down to 1CD of the clearest recordings, the good stuff is good enough to make it worth checking out for fans. (I may even prefer some of these arrangements to the studio versions…)

I have to imagine Hirobumi called up all his friends and asked, “hey, want to record me something weird?” There is absolutely no cohesion to these 16 tracks. It’s not a full hour of musique concrète noise or anything—multiple artists made songs with normal melodies and song structures, but everything has something off or indulgent about it. Only recommended for Metrotron fans who want to hear what people like Hirobumi, Masahiro Naoe, Yoichi Aoyama, and Yoko Ueno make while goofing off. My favorite part of this release is the slips of art made for each track by the original artists, a mix of hand-drawn, collage, and early ’90s computer art.

No, there wasn’t a Vol. 2. How avant-garde! Vol. 3 continues the format of Vol. 1 with an even more impressive incohesiveness (jazz from Kenichi Nishio Quartet! trip hop from Miwako Saito!), and some bigger names, like Morio Agata and Everything Play (Sohichiro Suzuki).

Instead of the chaos of the first two International Avant-Garde Conference releases, this one has a concept: all songs are covers of songs played at Woodstock. Some take the task seriously—Nanako Sato contributes a great cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock”—while others’ are outright shitpost-y. Also features Sohichiro Suzuki, Totsuzen Danball, and four Moonriders among the usual Metrotron regulars.

(A mystery: the physical release has a poster of toddlers dressed as all the contributing members…? Or maybe they all had kids the same age somehow? Not really sure what’s going on.)

I promise this is better than its album cover. Although sometimes playing with Zabadak, Aoki seems to stick to solo releases (still active, with a new album on the way in 2022)—though this is his only album with Metrotron. RECOMMENDED! This is a very “Metrotron” album in sound, but brings an extra oomph in melody and inspired folky arrangement touches on top of the usual ’60s psych and jangly ’90s rock influences. It’s hard to come up with an interesting angle to push an album that just gets basics down so well, but I think the album can speak for itself. A star of the whole label, and this whole page.

While Carnation may have got reputation as the Japanese XTC, Mosquito is in close competition with their strong knack for Andy Partridge-tinged melodies. Their only album—singer and primary songwriter Yamane Koichi has no other work I can find, while Toba Osamu has a few session and technical credits (including multiple albums with Carnation). A very “Metrotron” album—sunny, melody-driven rock.

Saito has an odd career: after singing in the underrated early-80s synthpop group Tango Europe, she has credits for spoken-word poetry, vocals on arranged video game soundtracks, even singing vocals on a porn actress’s surprisingly good album (Eriko Nakagawa – 今夜は入れたまま). This album’s as weird as you’d expect with that background, featuring stilted, exaggerated waltzes and enka over weird synth and sampler-instrument arrangements, but also moments of beauty sneaking through (track 11 is a standout). The album photos include Saito posing with a condom. Huh!

(Metrotron freaks may be more interested in her other 1992 album, One Dozen Gentlemen, which, true to name, features 12 duets with 12 gentlemen friends of Metrotron, including Keiichi Suzuki, Morio Agata, and Totsuzen Danball—though admittedly not as memorably weird as this one.)

Nishimura used his debut solo album (his only for Metrotron) as a chance to diverge more from the Grandfathers sound more than Aoyama did with his. Of all the Metrotron artists’ classic rock worship, Nishimura skews closest to blues rock—and a few country-folk songs as a bonus.

With only seven tracks and a thirty-minute runtime, this makes a great short showcase for Nishimura’s songwriting and his new, energetic full backing band.

(And who is this “Tim Wino,” cryptically credited for “E-mail” in the liner notes? Turns out, it’s Muscle Shoals, Alabama poet Timothy “Lemony” Wino, who would email Nishimura poems that he would translate into Japanese to set to music. I can’t find any trace of Wino online—I don’t want to think Nishimura made the guy up, but how does a poet from a 14k-population Alabama town start a collaboration with an obscure Japanese singer/songwriter? I have to know…)

Taeko Onuki's live album for her 1993 album Shooting Star in the Blue Sky, also performing songs from her previous albums Romantique, Cliché, Signifie, and Drawing. (This is a normal live arrangement, not orchestral like Pure Acoustic and her other live albums.) Includes three bonus tracks from the "Tatsuro Yamashita Sings Sugar Babe" concert from the following year…and, importantly, the booklet contains pictures of Onuki's trip to Antarctica.

Cinema’s power pop, glam, and funk-infused 1981 album Motion Picture showcased Saeko Suzuki on drums before her (fantastic) solo career, with production/arrangement from her future husband Keiichi Suzuki. They wouldn’t make a second album until 2007 with Cinema Returns, and a third 7 years later. This is their straightest ode to their classic rock influences apparent from their debut. Sadly, Saeko and Keiichi only appear for one track each (though, also, so does Skirt/Wataru Sawabe).

Solo debut from Karen Kirishima, hot after touring and recording with the 1989 incarnation of Sadistic Mika Band. Features an oddly stacked production team including Yukihiro Takahashi, Keiichi Suzuki, Kazuhiko Kato, and Takeshi Fujii. Recommended for fans of late ’80s synthpop and samba influences (à la Yukako Hayase). I’m genuinely surprised by its obscurity considering its quality and talent involved.

Plugged by Keiichi Suzuki in an HMV interview. I was surprised by the (to my ear) Western indie folk sound on this album, then found out Kwon is a Korean-American who grew up in Pennsylvania before relocating to Japan. Ah ha! Lush and experimental in arrangements while also keeping the intimacy of a home recording.

Despite sharing the cover illustration with the Anison Roku Plus. compilation, this is an unrelated album, another entry in the T-Square alum and legendary anime composer’s long-running Songbook series. If you’ve heard any of Sagisu’s Songbooks before, you’ll know what to expect: a love letter to soul/R&B, with Sagisu’s characteristic orchestral arrangements and vocals from guest singers and choirs.

Don’t say a Christmas album, this winter-themed album comes to you from Sohichiro Suzuki (World Standard, Everything Play, Suki Suki Switch, Soggy Cheerios) and vocalist/pianist Asaco Nasu. Does include a few traditional Christmas hymns, in addition to covers of Minako Yoshida (“もみの木”) and the folk standard “500 Miles”. A gentle, light, short folk album perfect for its season.

Free jazz improvisations. Masakatsu Takagi pounds the piano like he usually does, sounding like he’s barely holding back against a torrential outpouring of pure goodwill, and Ego-Wrappin’s Yoshie Nakano remains commanding even in her wordless scatting. Like all free jazz, it’s A Lot, but strikes a unique uplifting energy amid its most chaotic swells.

Of all the projects Kazuto Shimizu has been part of (Chakra, Killing Time, Arepos, O-U, and others), Opabinia pushes his characteristic avant-garde(ish) jazz(ish) fusion(ish) style the furthest it’s ever been to outright prog rock. (Contains a third version of “Tasmania”, tying this band with Killing Time and O-U.)

Cover album of well-known English songs (“How Deep Is Your Love”, “Scarborough Fair”, “You’ve Got a Friend”, etc.), backed by Gontiti. If you’ve heard Gontiti, that’s all the sell you’ll need.

First solo album from Gontiti's Gonzalez Mikami. Features vocals from Mishio Ogawa (Chakra) and Mikiko Noda (Dip in the Pool). While still close to the acoustic guitar jazz sound of Gontiti, this adds a mix of European club and dub reggae influences to great effect.

Nanako Sato has one of the most unexpected career paths I’ve seen from a Japanese artist. Best known for her ’70s city pop albums (with a song featured on Light in the Attic’s popular “Pacific Breeze” compilation) and singing in the new wave band (and one-album-wonder) SPY, she returned to music in the ’90s with an unrecognizable new avant-garde, atmospheric sound. While letting others handle the music composition and arrangements (explaining that she sees herself as a photographer and poet first), she has wise taste in collaborators who can push her music to the bold places she wants. For this album, it’s prolific producer and arranger Mark Bingham, and together they make an hour showcasing the full range of nu-Nanaco: some pop, some alt-rock; some heavy, tense jazzy atmospherics; blissful drones with Nanaco’s hypnotic vocals; there’s even a serene cover of the lovable folk weirdo Michael Hurley’s “Tea Song”. A great intro to Nanaco’s underappreciated reinvention.