May is warming us up as we head to the summer season, that means a brand new Ongaku Go is here! We at OTY would like our readers to know what was filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms, with Apple Music featured on this site.

“Cry Baby” by official HIGE DANdism

Now this was a big surprise for me. An Official HIGE song was the last on my list of being a song to be on my top 5 this month, I was quite surprised by the finished product. I was fearful when I learned that they will be releasing a song so soon as in the past we admit that they end up sounding very stale in terms of composition to sound like “Pretenders”. However the “Cry Baby’s” composition is a bit jarring and out there for a band like them, but I had enjoyed it 100%. I hope for future releases they can experiment a bit more like they have with this track. 

Be sure to check out the music video for “Cry Baby” below, along with the track here!

Fushigi by Gen Hoshino

Now I had absolutely loved this song upon first listen 20 seconds in, and I am so happy that he had released a track like this after “Create” back in February. His vocals and the melody just melts into one and entices the listeners on this magical ride that Hoshino is trying to convey. Like I had said prior in other episodes covering him in the past, he’s a type of artist where the miss for a release is a big miss depending on the person and when he creates a hits for a listener, it’s a track that is and absolutely becomes a song of the year contender.  I for one can’t wait for his upcoming release and would like to congratulate him for his marriage to actress Yui Aragaki and wish them a life time of happiness. 

Check out the music video for “Fushigi” below, along with the song in its entirety here!

“Embrace of light” by RAISE A SUILEN

I’ve said it once and I’ll keep saying it, the B-side tracks for RAISE A SUILEN are probably some of best songs that this band makes if not in the entire BanG Dream!! franchise. As they are not required to stay to their usual persona on the B-side tracks, “Embrace of light” kicks it back to the past with a more power ballad feel with vocalist Raychell’s vocal range on the front stage throughout the song. While holding a minor esscents of electronica mix throughout, overall it sounds like a totally different band. While fans might come for the A-side track “EXIST”, I personally think that everyone should stay for “Embrace of light”.

Be sure to check out “Embrace of light” here!

“A Kite (feat. Yellow Bucks)” by Kojoe

This is a track that I fell in love with upon first listen, and while I’m kinda hot and cold about Kojoe’s discography overall, “A Kite” brought a more chill and relaxing factor to my already hectic month. While it does have that slight “yo yo yo” feel, its composition is top notch and I can find myself lost in it time and time again. While I had originally thought of skipping his album HALFTIME, if any of the tracks are half as good as “A Kite” I’ll be giving it a listen soon.

Check out “A Kite” on here!

“MAP For LOVE” by Tomita Lab

While just missing my April Ongaku Go by a couple days, I’d be betraying my Replay 2021 by not including this song on my May list. The absolute wonderment that both Tomita and several of his guest vocalists did for this track is out of this world and had enjoyed every minute of it. The fact that every vocalist made the song their own in the short time they had gives testament to both Tomita as a composer and the vocalist as well. I absolutely loved the rap brake in the middle of the tune and how it was implemented without feeling out of place. I can’t wait for more releases by Tomita Labs as “MAP For LOVE” had shot to my short list of songs of the year and Tomita Lab had instantly gave SIRUP a run for his money for my artist of the year.

Be sure to check out the lyric video for “MAP for LOVE” below, along with the track here!