Various Artists - Soft Selection 84

Various Artists
Soft Selection 84
Glossy Mistakes
Japan/Spain, 1984/2024
LP

Glossy Mistakes put a grail within reach via this fantastic reissue of an obscure DIY Japanese synth-pop compilation. This covers so much ground, from absurdly catchy New Wave anthems, to bubbly proto-electro, to melancholy downtempo gems, to some truly bizarre moments of hyper-pop excess courtesy of Picky Picnic. Still, the comp has a consistent vibe, a playful futurism that’s only gotten more charming as it’s become retrofuturistic.