Band Dump: Japan

This Band Dump is brought to you by the many great sounds originating from Japan. Yes, you heard me, Japan: it’s not just cosplay and bukkake anymore.

Lite - Tokyo’s Lite are well on their way to usurping Toe as my favorite Japanese band, which is quite a hefty accomplishment. Their sound is deeply entrenched in the instrumental math-rock universe, but their newest release Phantasia takes a much more mature and refined approach — the results of which are gleaming. This band just keeps getting better and better.

Ovum - Instrumental post-rock spiced with a bit of shoegaze-y goodness. Their debut full length Microcosmos was released in Japan this past April on XTAL Records and is rock solid. Ovum are currently supporting the UK’s Maybeshewill as they tour across Japan, which will hopefully garner them some of the attention they rightfully deserve.

Water Fai - At long last: a female take on the testosterone laden post-rock scene. Osaka’s Water Fai originally formed in 2002 and took four years to release their debut Girls in the White Dream. It took another two for White Shoe Records to bring it to the US. While largely instrumental, Water Fai throw in the occasional dreamy vocal layers to their catchy as hell blend of psych-pop and post-rock.

Muddy World - Highly improvisational math-jazz from this superb Tokyo trio — think Tortoise’s brainy Japanese cousin. The 2006 full length album Finery of the Storm is so packed full of groovy loops it’ll make your head spin, and is definitely going to be a tough act to follow. Their sophisticated sound will appeal to a wide array of listeners; from the PBR swilling Indie kid to the Port sipping Jazz snob. The band is currently playing new material to audiences in Japan, so be on the lookout for something good in late 2008 or early 2009.

Heaven In Her Arms - SAL execs got it right when stating that there are plenty of bands that should have left their singer on the roadside somewhere. Heaven in Her Arms is one such band. I’m all for screaming, but this resembles a sound not unlike that of a mortally wounded hellcat in need of euthanizing. But if you can manage to get past the ear piercing shrieks you’ll hear some truly potent hardcore riffery and pretty post-rock style accents thrown in for good measure.

Akira Kosemura & Haruka Nakamura - Both Akira and Haruka are ambient/electronica artists from Tokyo, though Haruka is known to incorporate acoustic guitars and vocals into her own work. The two collaborated in 2007 and released one of the most beautifully expressive albums I’ve had the pleasure of listening to: Afterglow. Any fan of ambient, piano centered songs should definitely pay these links a visit.

Perfect Piano Lesson - This is Japanese Indie Rock at its finest. Their brand spanking new album Terra Incognita was released earlier this month on Zankyo and can be purchased here for 2000 Yen (about 18 bucks) and may well be worth it for the song “Springstorm” alone. Check it out. I’m not going to spoil it with words.

This installment just scratches the surface of some of the great music our Japanese friends are creating. Do yourself a favor — explore.