Tokyo City Pop Is Back: I Don’t Like Mondays. Reinvent Their Sound
Tokyo pop band I Don’t Like Mondays. is turning the dance floor into a storyline. Its new album, “Friday,” reimagines the group’s sound as “Tokyo City Pop” and plays out like a single night at a fictional nightclub.
The release arrives as the four-piece band marks its 10th anniversary. It is also the group’s first full album in three years.
Tokyo City Pop: How I Don’t Like Mondays. Redefined Their Sound in 2026
After following its own creative direction with “FOCUS” in 2024, the band spent 2025 confronting current J-pop trends and staging its first Zepp Tour. For 2026, it chose a third path: defining its own identity.
That identity is now labeled “Tokyo City Pop.” “Friday” is the band’s sixth full-length album, and the concept extends to the accompanying tour, which is also framed as one fictional night at a nightclub.
The CD edition runs to 18 tracks, including five newly recorded songs and nine previously released singles dating back to “jealous.” CD-exclusive bonus tracks give each guest collaboration a second life, sung entirely solo by YU.
“Friday” Album Collaborations: “Bubble Gum,” “1989” and “ODORE” Set the Mood
“Friday” opens with “Bubble Gum feat. claquepot,” the first collaboration between the band and claquepot. The two acts co-wrote the song and its lyrics around a light, funky, bass-driven groove.
Beneath the playful sound, the lyrics compare fading feelings for a lover to chewing gum that has lost its flavor. The result is a sleek but melancholic love song.
Other guests include GAN on “1989,” ZEN-LA-ROCK on “GENIUS” and SHO-SENSEI!! on “ODORE.” Those tracks are produced by GeG, NAOTO of ORANGE RANGE and ☆Taku Takahashi of m-flo, respectively.
“1989” arrived Sept. 7 with a music video, and “ODORE” followed Sept. 16. GAN, also known as Takanori Iwata of J SOUL BROTHERS III, has been friends with YU since they were 3 years old.
The lyrics draw on decades of growing up together, making the song one of the album’s most personal collaborations. With “Friday,” the band looks forward rather than back, inviting listeners into its version of Tokyo after dark.
