If you happened to log onto YouTube at any point during 2022, you might’ve seen a delightfully-retro looking music video firmly lodged in your Recommended tab; that video would be “Loretta,” the breakthrough single from Ginger Root, an up-and-coming indie-pop act with a knack for making catchy tunes and killer videos to match.
Now, in what seems like an attempt to reckon with the unprecedented success of his viral hit (which currently sits at 18 million views on YouTube), Ginger Root has announced his new album, SHINBANGUMI, a visual concept album that follows a Tokyo TV executive who tries to find success after being fired by a major media conglomerate. The first single, “No Problems,” sees Ginger Root leaning ever further into his city-pop influence, with soaring string sections and a stupidly-catchy hook that can go toe-to-toe with the best of city-pop legends Junko Ohashi or Mariya Takeuchi (artists who, similar to Ginger Root, you might know from your YouTube Recommended tab.)
The full album comes out September 13th, but you can watch the music video for “No Problems” below. Blanketed in VHS fuzz, jam-packed with visual gags, and seemingly lit with lights so bright you could fry an egg on them, it looks like something that would’ve dominated TRL back in the 1980s – instead, it’ll most likely be dominating YouTube here in the 2020s.