And the Japanese come very very close… if it’s any consolation this has an AWESOME video.

[Video][Website]
[7.10]

Sabina Tang: Meanwhile, 2010s electro-pop’s hard edges have finally invaded J-Pop. I’m hard pressed to say why I find this development salutary — scratch the tune’s surface and one finds the same old “teen idol group singing in unison” style, which has never been my favourite J-Pop flavour. I’m taken by the lyrics, though, which are outright cognitive behavioural therapy from beginning to end; and delivered by the Musume-tachi with a jackhammer aggression that borders on fascist frisson. One pictures them irresistibly as propaganda idoru synthesized to keep up the populace’s morale, in one of those anime dystopias where Japan is called “Neo-Nippon” or “Area 11.”
[6]

Katherine St Asaph: Brostep without bros, and exactly as promising as that sounds. I may be overrating this after Eurovision.
[7]

Edward Okulicz: I don’t know how the Japanese done it, but armed with only dodgy presets you could find on the chepest keyboard in store, they’ve created something that is totally mental and hard as nails on the ears. I mean it’s not metal, but if someone hits you hard enough with heavy enough plastic, your skull will crack and it doesn’t matter at all how pink and shiny it is. Weirdly, the main moment of respite from the adrenaline rush is when they sing “Go! Go!.”
[9]

Sonya Nicholson: Exactly the kind of metal-gone-pop that must make Marty Friedman glad to be alive, and glad he left Megadeth for Japan.  Come to think of it, was he involved in this?  Well anyway: classical melodies, Japanese melodies, big-arena melodies, vocals bent into instrumentals (used as melodies), and a couple drops that keep the action going in places where there are no melodies.  Nice clean instrumentals that enhance without competing with the melodies. No dull moments, and excellent melodies. This song is perfect: the platonic ideal J-pop single. 
[10]

Scott Mildenhall: Determination comes across as, or at least induces, panic through all the staccato. It’s quite full-on, and that’s not even mentioning the intrusive, instinct-baiting guitars, or any other part of the altogether frenzied production. To use the benchmark of an uninitiated Brit, it certainly sounds more inspiring (and inspired) than Little Mix’s recent life-changing-in-name-only ballad.
[7]

Cecily Nowell-Smith: What with all the fussing and fighting around AKB48 and their innumerable spinoffs I’d quite forgotten Morning Musume, past masters of the revolving-cast idol group form. While I wasn’t paying attention they’ve gone and done not just the full Sugababes but the full Menudo: about half of the current members weren’t even born when the group started. Idol pop in MM’s mould has drifted away from cute-kid likeability to ultra-competent eagerness to please, yet they’ve managed to keep some vague flame burning for that early funny stuff, hints of the manic silliness of a “Koi no dance site.” The rapid-clipped race through platitudes of the let’s-do-our-best verses, the frankly weird structure that brings the song to a natural end only a third of the way through and then has to wake it up again, and best of all that scree of 90s eurobeat nonsense with which it crashes into life.
[6]

Will Adams: I suppose the only way to make heavy electro basslines more intense was to mess with the four-on-the-floor beat. It’s a good look for “Brainstorming,” which pounds enough to make its moments of rest feel like just that. There’s just enough to catch your breath, though even in those small windows you need a couple of listens to make sense of all the sound.
[6]

Patrick St. Michel: Japanese pop has gone a bit batty over brostep over the last few months. Ayumi Hamasaki commissioned producer Dubscribe to make a wub-tastic remix of one of her songs last year, while singer Koda Kumi scored a number-one song using music sounding vaguely like Skrillex. It’s only gotten more pronounced in 2013 – some artists just flirt with the style (Perfume, Berryz Koubou) while others have embraced it (Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Momoiro Clover Z). Long-standing idol outfit Morning Musume experienced chart success with an EDM-glazed song earlier this year called “Help Me!” which was a surprise for a group that had been seeing declining sales. So now they are milking that sound all they can, as on “Brainstorming.” What’s impressive about this dubstep incorporation is that Morning Musume aren’t changing their sound wholesale as much as they are smoothly integrating heavier electronics into their sound. This melody – especially the skippy chorus – could have been a hit for the 90’s incarnation of the group. But in 2013, it has been tricked out with whirring robotic touches that make it more “hip” without being a drastic departure for J-Pop fans (while also presenting a different strand of EDM to Western ears). This is how to capitalize on popular music trends without sounding obvious. 
[7]

Iain Mew: Yes, there is still an opportunity for success for Japanese idol groups who are not AKB, NMB or HKT48 or some variation thereof! Praise be. That they are doing a hard popping song with enough hooks and vitality not to get overwhelmed by the plastic dubstep let loose on it is an added bonus.
[6]

Brad Shoup: Quite a lot to chew on, from the French house touches to the load-bearing bass. Today’s eleven work a crazy urgent cadence and are spared too much vocal editing. Maybe a little baroque for my taste, but there’s more than enough bits to distract me when I start to get cranky.
[7]