Natsuko Yamamoto -- Kuchibiru Scandal（くちびるスキャンダル）

 

Back in August 2022, I posted an article regarding Natsuko Yamamoto（山本奈津子）, a singer and actress who had a brief career in entertainment during the 1980s before calling it quits in 1988. Her "Hachi-gatsu no Fuan"（八月の不安）from her lone November 1984 album "19/20" was a slice of City Pop with a hint of synthpop. 

I found another track from "19/20". "Kuchibiru Scandal" (Lip Scandal) is a track that takes things more fully into the technopop realm. The whimsical nature of the song made me think initially that either Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）or Akiko Yano（矢野顕子）or maybe even EPO had their hands in the arrangement and/or composition. It was all the more surprising that it was the same duo behind "Hachi-gatsu no Fuan" that took care of "Kuchibiru Scandal". Mirai Minegishi（嶺岸未来）was once again behind the lyrics while Fujimal Yoshino（芳野藤丸）, someone that I usually associate with the groovy City Pop realm, came up with the blippity-bloppity music.

This time around, the demands to have Yamamoto hit the higher registers vocally weren't nearly as great as they were for "Hachi-gatsu no Fuan", so the singer had a better handle on the delivery. Still, the song is quirky enough to be appealing as a good ol' 80s pop tune from Japan.